Accountability in the Us Army

In the US Army, accountability is a key factor that everyone should be aware of. To be accountable means to be dependable. In order to be accountable, you must arrive on time to PT, formation, work, appointments, etc. It is mainly concentrated on three things: custody, care, and safekeeping. If you make it a point to be accountable 100 percent of the time, then there should be no worries of where you are, if you are in trouble, or if anything is wrong. Accountability is something that the Army does not take lightly. It should never be taken lightly due to the fact that it is a possibility your life could be at stake.What is accountability? â€Å"Accountability is the obligation of an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. † The DOD definition states that accountability is the obligation imposed by law or lawful order or regulation on an officer or other person for keeping ac curate record of property, documents or funds. This may include the responsibility of money, property, documents, NVG's, clothes, a vehicle, TA-50, a field manual, medication, etc.Not only is it considered that, it is also knowing that a soldiers physical and mental needs are taken into consideration so they are able to be more functional as a unit. It is taking responsibility for your actions. Meaning what you say and doing what you say. Why is accountability important to the Army? It is important to the Army because it allow people to know where you are. When you have accountability for everyone, it is easier to track down people when they are needed to do a certain task. Not only is accountability important for people, but it is also important for the safekeeping of documents, gear, weapons, etc.If someone or something is not accounted for, then there is a possibility that something serious could be wrong or something could have happened. This is the reason why the Army has accou ntability formations; so that everyone and everything is safe and accounted for. The Army wants to make sure their soldiers are safe at all times whether it be in the states or over seas which is why they do not take accountability lightly. As an enlisted soldier, it is my responsibility to keep track of all items that are issued to me.An NCO on the other hand is responsible for making sure that soldiers and equipment. A lot of money is spent on military equipment, so the Army expects to know where it is at all times. Without accountability, things could turn into complete and utter chaos. There are many ways to establish accountability. Having everyone’s phone number is the main one. When you have everyone’s phone number, then you have a way of getting in contact with someone. Therefore, it makes accountability a lot easier than it would be if you did not have a way of keeping in contact.Another way to establish accountability is the buddy system. When someone is assi gned a buddy, then they are in charge of that certain person to make sure everything is going as planned and to keep track and make sure everything is ok. Accountability does not stop with the Army. It is essential in the civilian life also. When you have a job as a civilian, you are still expected to be on time for work whether it be when you first get there or after you take a lunch break, etc. In order to be successful in the civilian world, you have to be depended on to be accountable at work.

Running Head: Globalization- Moving Forward or Moving Backwards?

With 35 million people, Tokyo gets the trophy for being the world’s largest city. Second place goes to Bombay with 22. 2 million people and New Delhi follows that with 20. 9 million (McKinnon, 444). It is no question that the world is home for billions of people and the number is growing. The world today is very different from what it was years ago. Through new technologies, we are able to communicate with people in a matter of seconds. The Internet connects people to do business internationally and quick. It has reduced the traditional problems you get with trading. It is now very easy to trade goods and services around the world. Because of this, markets are more open and competition is bigger. Investment has changed with online banking. It allows people to move their money internationally. Globalization is a process where global connections become thicker and it creates relationships between many people in vast distances. Globalization is a system where people aren’t in their own little villages anymore but they are brought together by trade or diplomatic relations. Globalization represents a change in human organization; there are both positive and negative effects of globalization. As our world with new technologies begin to march forward, many countries are being left behind. For example, economic reforms have transformed India into the second fastest growing largest economy. According to India: Rich vs. Poor, they mentioned India's economic growth rate in the year 2007 to 2008 is 9. 1% compared to the United States' growth rate in 2007 to 2008 is 2. 2%. India’s economic growth rate is supposed to be even higher in the next few years. It is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Indian rupee has even grown stronger than the United States dollar (Roskins, 467). With all this said, India seems like its on track to be a dominating world power. However, India suffers from high levels of illiteracy, malnutrition, and gender inequality. India has more poor people than the continent of Africa. We have always lived in a world that has created hierarchies. We have rich and poor, affluent and less affluent, developed and developing, and third world countries. Whatever system we use, the gap between rich and poor will be very distinct. According to a report in the New York Times, technology and Internet access will intensify the difference between rich and poor countries (Miller). This gap has always increased over the years because it is a byproduct of globalization. In 2005, World Bank estimates that 1. 1 billion people in the world lived in extreme poverty. The definition of extreme poverty would be poverty that kills and that people who live under extreme poverty may live off of a dollar a day. More than 8 million people die each year because of poverty. Many times it’s from preventable diseases. For example, approximately 3 million people in Africa die of malaria each year. This situation in Africa has worsened over the last two decades. Forbes magazine has published that there are 358 billionaires in the world. Their combined net worth goes past the combined net worth of the worlds poorest 2 and a half billion people. Globalization goes all the way back to beginning. When people built roads it made the world so much smaller, but at the same time easier. Wheels and boats led to changes in transportation. Humans walked first, then came horses and carriages, after that the invention of bikes came along and soon after that was the automobile. Soon traveling did not take days and months, but in a couple of hours you could get from point A to point B. Another example would be writing with ink to printing books; all of these mentioned were a huge milestone for the human race. From the inventions of these things, more people were able to learn more things about the world. We are no longer stuck in villages, knowing the same people and same traditions. Today, globalization continues with the Internet. Now we can get information in a matter of seconds. People everywhere are connecting through social networking sites, blogs and video sites. We are able to â€Å"outsource† jobs. Outsourcing is when you take a job and handing it to a third party. Everything from clothes to technological jobs are getting taken overseas in the United States. Many companies use outsourcing to decrease the cost of labor (O’ Neil). Education ties into outsourcing because it is different in other countries. Many jobs move over to India because the educated middle class in India has a significantly better mathematical training than students in the United States. From 2000 to 2015, an estimated three million American jobs will have been outsourced. A kid playing a Wii in the middle of America calls a help line in India for troubleshooting on his Wii. We are now getting closer and closer to each other even if we live thousands of miles apart. The causes of poverty in the world’s poorest nations may be complicated. Causes range from where the country is located, diseases, civil war, and natural disasters. It may be things we take for granted such as a lack of clean water, lack of education, or lack of an effective health care system. Many poor nations have corrupt governments as well. Some problems may date back to colonialism, farm subsidies, cultural and historical reasons, or problems with institutions such as World Bank. A lot of times the reason why many countries are in deep poverty is because of colonialism. What happens is that western nations stepped in and stole the riches of their colonies. By doing this, the western countries gained money, and left the country they invaded with nothing else. Dependent development is when a less developed country relies on a modernized country. They act as equal partners but some nations could impose unequal exchanges on others and weaken the economic development so they could make their development stronger or more advanced. Dependent development impacts organization in developing nations because they could mess with their system so they could actually get ahead (O’Neil). An example would be Latin America. After WWII, radicals thought of the dependency theory, which said that the less developed countries is dependent economically in the capital, products and policies of the First World. If they could get out of control of US corporations, they could eliminate poverty. Western countries have taken gold from Peru, rubber from Brazil, tea from India, and cocoa from West Africa. Many times, countries struggled to get out of rule from the countries that took over. When they left, the Western country left them with many problems that the new country could not get out of easily. An example could be India. When the British left them, India has faced challenges such as religious violence, discrimination against certain types of castes, terrorism, and regional separatist insurgencies (Roskins, 449). Some may put the blame on farm subsidies and other trade barriers. Farm subsidies have the effect of transferring income from the general taxpayers to the farm owners. The world’s wealthiest nations give more than 300 billion dollars of subsidies to their farmers every year (McKinnon, 446). By doing this, it makes it difficult for poor farmers to compete with the big Western farmers because in some cases, the subsidy goes to the big industrialized farms. However, if you get rid of these subsidies, it may not help out poor farmers either. If there are industrialized farms in developing nations, poor people who would have worked in the small farms wouldn’t be able to work in the bigger farms because they would be replaced with machinery. So the poor people would move to cities where they may not find jobs. Another factor may be cultural or historical. Some reasons why Arab nations are poor may be because they are not advanced economically in modern times. Arab nations may be behind because of the way they treat their people. Many Arab nations look down on free speech, they don’t have good quality education, and there is a shortage of women’s rights. For example, having gender equalities in a country reduces economic growth. By having gender inequalities, it results in a wide gap between the opposite sexes. There are still 65 million Arab adults who are illiterate, and two thirds of them are women (Friedman). In India, women also suffer from high mortality rates. An example could be that their healthcare favors boys. Boys usually get more access to food and medicine and they get it before girls. Girls don’t get first priority and this results in many children, a lot of them girls, getting sick and dying from malnutrition (Hopkins). The World Trade Organization, International Money Fund, and World Bank are usually the most criticized when it comes to the issue of globalization. Some people believe that big business are looking out for themselves only and expand the world markets for their own interests. Some of the policies of the World Bank have harmed the development of Third World countries rather than help it. The World Bank contains high interest rates, which harm some companies. Their trade liberalization made some countries poorer and unable to compete with the global market. Also, the liberalization of capital markets drove smaller banks out of business. Not all-financial aid given to poor people doesn’t actually go directly to the people. The World Trade Organization is typically the target of anti globalization protests. People against globalization believe that the World Trade Organization neglects labor and human rights, only serves the interests of big corporations, increases inequality, and undermines national independence (McKinnon, 447). Some people may say that globalization will create a monopoly for countries that dominate in businesses. Because of the unequal relationships some countries will be left behind and the ones ahead will dominate the world economy. Another negative is the outsourcing of jobs. It lowers standards and weakens regulations in order to keep or attract business. Everything will rely on each other and when the dominant country falls apart so will the whole globe. Some may argue that as globalization increases, the world population has a wider gap between rich and poor. Globalization will create a greater chance for countries to have crises and problems. It will affect everyone because everything is so close knit compared to before. Some people who support anti globalization believe that globalization will destroy old institutions, traditions, and cultures. Individuality and collective identity are giving way as globalization proceeds. As developing countries accept Western influence, they will throw out what used to mean a lot to them, and accept someone else’s cultures. As societies trade their own cultures institutions for a common global society, what used to be shaped by values and tradition will now be shaped by materialism and consumption. The things that make the society different such as the language, music, food, history, values and norms will be taken, maybe changed, and will be sold around the world. Things (such as products) that did not make the cut, will be taken and forgotten because new things that were more appealing to people around the world will come in and take over. An article titled â€Å"McWorld† by Benjamin Barber explains the struggle of globalization and corporate control versus Jihad, which is tradition and traditional values. Barber believed that there were four imperatives to â€Å"McWorld†. They are: A market imperative, a resource imperative, an information-technology imperative, and an ecological imperative. The market imperative says that all national economies are vulnerable of larger, transnational markets. In these markets, there are free trades, the currency is convertible, and access to banking is open. The resource imperative is when countries will use each other's resources. After all, everyone needs something that they don't have. Every nation has something and some nations don't have anything that they need. The information technology imperative says that technology will connect everyone. Business, banking and commerce depend on information flow and you do these now through technologies. The ecological imperative is when nations ruin natural resources for things that they need. We all depend on each other, so if you tear down a rainforest to get resources, another country may use those resources. This ecological consciousness has meant for greater awareness but to inequality because the nations that are modernized may not want to use their resources to help the nations that are not modernized. Barber concludes that traditional cultures or big corporations support democracy. (O’Neil) The term â€Å"McWorld† may come from McDonalds, which is the fast food chain that gets criticized a lot. McDonalds has opened franchises in over 100 different countries. The symbol is recognized almost everywhere you go: from a small town in the United States to a city in China, you will be able to find a McDonalds almost anywhere you travel. It is controversial when it comes to globalization becomes it associates itself with deforestation, harvesting of animals, and a promotion of junk food. Many people believe that McDonalds is destructive towards many cultures that it has been introduced to. McDonalds gets criticized for destroying the practice of a home cooked meal and many countries, especially the United States, are dealing with problems such as obesity in adults and children (O’Neil). Since McDonalds is everywhere, it has become the model of getting rid of individuality. Some critics against globalization believe that it will overwhelm people with countless choices, ideas, values, and information that may be hard for some cultures to understand. As we move closer and closer together, everything seems to rely on each other. If our world truly globalizes, the struggle of freedom and equality will shift from domestic to international. Globalization may lead to greater conflict and chaos. On the other hand, economic globalization also applies to labor. Globalization can help people move and want to migrate. International economic connections, goods and services are expanding; people want to move where the money is. Countries get to bring out what they produce best and throw away things that aren't as popular. Transnational corporations take advantage of new markets and new opportunities. As a result wealth is to be diffused effectively through open markets for goods, labor and capital. Globalization is supposed to take people out of poverty and allow everyone to be a part of the global marketplace for goods and labor. If you look at it this way, globalization is seen to be positive because you bring billions of people out of poverty and produce affluence by letting more people be part of the global marketplace. As globalization has increased over the past quarter century, the percentage of the world’s population that has lives in poverty has declined. People’s life expectancy has risen, especially in part of the world that globalization is a big deal such as China and India, compared with the countries that are not so globalized, such as Africa (O’Neil). Globalization has opened up bigger communications. It has introduced companies into countries, and has helped many people get out of poverty. Globalization has provided opportunities for the workingman and also women. Many women work now because of globalization, and it was able to provide them with pay where they can support their families. Globalization can promote equality for people. Globalization forces businesses to compete on a bigger scale and the market becomes bigger. The competition is greater and will give consumers more choices. I believe globalization is not always a good thing. I believe that globalization will create monopolies for some companies. I don’t think it will be fair when it comes to competition. It will give people more choices, but I don’t think the quality of goods that we get will be of the best quality. The currency isn’t the same throughout the whole world, so the money that is distributed to some people will be different , because of this I think equality will be harder to reach because some people in countries that are more modernized will be getting paid a lot more than countries that are behind. I think it will eliminate small businesses in the United States and it will be hard for small business owners to compete in the global market. Globalization will eliminate individuality in many things such as goods. I think many cultures will forget their own traditions as well, as they welcome in new ideas. As for the whole world, I think that globalization will increase dependence on other countries. All the countries will rely on each other. If someone’s market crashes, especially from a dominating world paper such as the United States, everyone else’s market will crash. I feel that as our world becomes more advanced, we are consumed in a materialistic way of thinking and its almost as if we are moving backwards rather than moving forwards. We value things that are so obsolete such as materials like diamond rings. It seems to put a price tag on people and in this sense we are almost tribal. I believe globalization will truly take over. Our world is getting smaller and smaller everyday. What we do here, in the United States, definitely will affect other people elsewhere.

Admission to a Doctorate of Psychology

If necessity is regarded as the mother of invention, I consider necessity as the driving force that inspires and awakens us to be a man for others. We fail to open the doors of our hearts and listen to the woes of those in need due to our inability to decide on the things that we can do to improve the lives of people around us.Our reluctance to extend any assistance may also be a result of our failure to consider the value of the things that we are capable of doing. Life is not solely dependent on the material resources that we can give. The act of extending our selfless love, time, talents, skills and other resources are too valuable to ignore.One of my renowned accomplishments manifested my organization skills, self-confidence, ability to work under pressure and meet challenges, and to remain optimistic in achieving a goal.While I was in the Marine Corps, I was tasked to be the Pay Chief. Although the position requires a person to have at least ten years of work experience, I was t rusted to be the head of the section while working for only two and half years in the military. When I was assigned in the department, I discovered that the pay-roll auditing task was behind by three years.When a pre-inspection was made in our department, we were informed that there is a need to update the current records to reflect all the payroll transactions that were made during the last three years for 4,000 Marines. Normally, the completion of the task would require three years of forty-five minutes to eight hours of work each day by each person who was assigned in the department.However, we were only given eighteen months to complete the task. Initially, we all felt that accomplishing the task would require a miracle. However, I managed to motivate my people and to exemplify hope amidst our insurmountable challenge. We all worked overtime and maintained our focus to reach our goal.At the end of the eighteenth month period, we were able to update the payroll record and meet th e expectations of our superiors. My hard work was also rewarded when I was given the Navy and Marine Corps individual achievement medal for going beyond and above the call of duty of the U.S Marine Corps, Navy and U.S. government. This award was usually given as a unit award to most Marines and Sailors.My weakness is reflected in my inability to extend my patience to people whom I could only talk to over the phone. It is easier for me to settle disputes or to handle people as long as I meet them in person. Although a person may be reserved or silent, one can easily interpret a facial expression or body language.Unlike in most phone calls that I have handled as a Customer Care for Wyndham Hotel Group, I could only read a person’s feeling through the tone of their voice. In my current job, I deal with owners and managers of hotels. Most of them call and complain about issues that they are already fully aware of based on the information that are posted in the website. Since the owners of the company are practicing transparency, it is my task never to conceal nor withhold any information from the franchise investors.As a customer care representative, I counsel owners and managers about the hotel’s day to day operation and keep them updated on the current status of the hotel. The job has taught me to understand and empathize with the owners whose main concern is to know where their hard earned money is going and if their investments will yield a good return of investment.My array of blue and white collar jobs have prepared me to acquire the skills that will allow me to be flexible and compassionate to people who came from all walks of life. It is also in my exposure that made me realize the need to help the men and women in uniform who have risked their lives in fighting for our country.My passion to be of service is too strong to resist. Hence, I organized my life and decided to take a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in spite of my lucrative b usiness venture in real estate. After getting my college diploma, I intend to take a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology and specialize in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Since I have directly witnessed the trauma and stress that my uncle has experienced as a result of the war in Vietnam, I can empathize with the soldiers and their families who are also suffering from the effects of their battle in a war zone environment.When I become a certified Clinical Psychologist, I will enlist in the U.S. Navy and address the need of people who are emotionally and psychologically suffering from the trauma of war and terrorism. Helping our soldiers heal from within will restore them into a life where they can be productive and fully functional in a war-free environment. Restoring the lives of our soldiers has a positive impact in our society in general and to the service members’ families in particular.When these people have recovered from the trauma and stress of wa r that are affecting their lives, they will be individuals who are capable of contributing to the growth of our nation. In addition to being able to work and raise their own families, their loved ones will be relieved from the burden of coping with the daily mental and psychological stress of a family member who has experienced the trauma of war.I believe that my optimism, empathy, determination, logical thinking ability, sensitivity to the needs of others, ability to pay close attention to what people are saying and my ability to cope with pressure and challenges will help me succeed as a clinical psychologist.

Islam in the modern world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Islam in the modern world - Essay Example After the death of Prophet Muhammad his four companions which are Abu Bakr, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Ali ibn abi Talib and Uthman ibn Ghani were appointed as the Caliph to run the state (Najeebabadi 2001). The first Caliph was Abu Bakr. During his reign many battles were fought against the non-Islamic states. These battles were fought in western and eastern Iraq, Syria and some other regions. The second caliph was Umar ibn Al-Khattab. Umar ibn Al-Khattab fought many battles for the expansion and defense of Islam. The third Caliph of the Islamic history was Uthman ibn Ghani. Ali ibn Abi Talib was the forth caliph of Islam (Najeebabadi 2001). Islam is not only a religion but it also teaches us how to lead our lives in peace and harmony. Prayers in Islam are very important. The main and the most important following of the Prophet’s sunna is prayers and the ways to pray. Prophet’s sunna are those deeds which were done by the Prophet Muhammad. During the life of Prophet Muhammad , he emphasized on giving Zakat, which is giving charity to the needy and poor from one’s surplus wealth. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is also an obligatory practice in Islam. Pilgrimage is practiced as Prophet’s sunna, which is only obligatory on those who have financial resources to perform it. (Nigosian 2004) In the opinion of many Muslim scholars, Islam is a religion that is amended by the every Prophet from Adam to Prophet Muhammad and it is completed with the completion of Holy Qur’an or Koran. Holy Qur’an is a divine book (like Bible and Torah) that was revealed upon Prophet Muhammad (Najeebabadi 2001). The key belief that a Muslim must have is to believe that God (Allah in Arabic) is one and Muhammad is His Prophet. A Muslim must have faith in all the Messengers of God and in all Holy Books. He must have belief that Angles exist and they do as they are ordered by Almighty God. A Muslim must know that he will be asked about his every bad deed at the Day of Judgment and God (Allah) will punish him for his wrongs and reward him for the good deeds. Qur’an is a divine book and covers almost all aspects of life. It also guides us to give charity (Zakat) but it does not tell us the rate of Zakat on our assists. In order to clarify the matter Prophet Muhammad told us that the rate should be 2.5% or 5%. (Nigosian 2004) In first century of Islam, the key beliefs and practices are almost same as directed by Prophet Muhammad. Some scholars believe that religion and politics have no similarity. The difference between the two is vast. The politics in Islam changed the way, people think about Islam. After the first four Caliphs, the system of Caliphate was not remained the same as it was before (Nigosian 2004). During the first century of Islam, it has no sectarian system and the religion is in the principles of Prophet’s Sunna but some Muslims believed that instead of Caliph Abu Bakr, it would be more appropriate that Ali ibn abi Talib would be the first Caliph (Najeebabadi 2001). They argued that Ali ibn abi Talib was Prophet Mohammad’s cousin, so he would be the most appropriate choice. But Ali ibn abi Talib discouraged those people, who were making these discussions. Ali ibn abi Talib had two sons Hasan ibn Ali ibn abi Talib and Husayn ibn Ali ibn abi

Problems in ethics codes of TV, Radio, and Newspapers Essay

Problems in ethics codes of TV, Radio, and Newspapers (www.journalism.org) - Essay Example In reality however, there are systemic challenges to adhere to this principle. Given that most of the media coverage revolves around information released by government spokespersons, the veracity of the information given cannot be easily verified. For one thing, it is implicitly accepted that any message from government sources is an authentic and accurate one. To question or suspect elected representatives and authorities is not natural to many journalists. Hence, there are practical difficulties in implementing this particular code of journalistic ethic. Further in the code of ethics one finds mention of separating the two distinct functions of news media, namely editorial opinions and factual news reports. The former is an area of subjective judgment and opinion while the latter is supposed to be objective and factual. While this dichotomy is more relevant to the print media, it is also applicable to the radio and television news media as well. Maintaining this dichotomous separation is easier said than done. What one finds in reality though is the imprint of the editorial policies on the process of selecting stories to report. A factual report is not in and of itself a neutral and objective one. Editorial pressures usually decide which stories are picked and which are left. Hence, under the apparent disguise of objectivity and factuality there can be an ideological thrust, which can serve against the interests of the common consumer of the particular news media, be it radio, television or newsprint. Another area of consensus that journalists from various mediums have agreed upon is in the judicious choice of facts and photographs that is published or shown in their reports. This code was accepted on the grounds that blatant truth can sometimes offend or hurt the sentiments of certain communities. But the flip side of this argument is the subtle

Corporate Frauds and Absence of Ethical Demeanor Essay

Corporate Frauds and Absence of Ethical Demeanor - Essay Example As per Trevino and Weaver (2003), ethical culture is one which rouses ethical demeanor. Ethical leadership involves proper demeanor through interpersonal relationships and personal actions and the advocating such demeanors to subordinates, mainly through two-way communication, decision-making and reinforcement As per Martin and Cullen (2006), ethical climate in an organization refers to normative systems of organizational work climate mirroring the organization’s policies, procedures, and practices with moral outcomes. As per Victor and Cullen (1988), ethical work climate refers to the organizational procedures and practices that direct the decision-making of organization and the systematic outcomes to ethical dilemmas. The ethical climate is one of the main ingredients of the culture of an organization. Ethical climate plays a dominant role when fraud is observed in an organization. As per Shin (2012), CEOs’ ethical demeanor is directly associated with employeesâ€℠¢ overall view of the ethical atmosphere of the organization (Soltani, 2014, p.254). Enron on October 16, 2001, published figures that exposed conspicuous accounting malpractices. One of the questionable accounting practices followed by the Enron was that is improper accounting of a note receivable from Enron’s equity partners in different limited partnerships. WorldCom also indulged in one of the largest corporate accounting scandals in the US which were projected at $14 billion as of March 2004. SEC alleged that WorldCom purportedly exaggerated its† revenue before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)† in 2001 and in 2002 (SEC Annual Report 2002). HealthSouth Corporation of USA ordered the accounting personnel’ of the company to inflate the revenue to match the Wall Street analyst’ projections (Soltani, 2014, p.262).

Art Criticism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art Criticism - Term Paper Example One of Tooker’s most renowned painting, Government Bureau (1956) is a figurative portrayal of bureaucratic system: the viewer sees the depiction of a typical government office in the mid1950s’ America: walls painted light yellowish color, square pillars support the ceiling, pendant ball-shaped lamps, numerous desks arranged carefully in the office space with clerks peeping though the portholes in matte glass, and people waiting for their turn to be processed. As we look at the foreground, we see a man in a coat who is possibly waiting for his turn or observing the scene. It seems that he is the ‘newcomer’ who is a little confused by the arrangement of the office and numerous lines. However, as the glance shifts to the left, we identify another identical man standing farther. Then, looking at other people in the office, we see that all of them are identical: copies of men and women stand in queues or at the desks. On the other hand, clerks’s faces â⠂¬â€œ or their fragments visible though the holes in matte glass – are identical, too. Moreover, they are holding their hands over the call buttons â€Å"ready to summon the next client† (McKiernan 140). While the clients’ faces are hidden from the viewer, wary faces and hands over the call buttons are all the viewer can see of the clerks’ figures.

Analyzing The Glass Castle examining characters (Rex; the father) Essay

Analyzing The Glass Castle examining characters (Rex; the father) - Essay Example In order to analyze the characters present in The Glass House memoir, it will take a more in depth approach than just physically describing them. Instead, there will be an approach taken to see the different quirks of each character and to see how this influenced the author. Jeanette Walls is the writer and also the narrator in the book so it is important to determine who she is and her relationship with each of the characters. In order to conduct this character analysis, there will be an identification of the character, their characteristics and any conflicts within the story that apply to the person’s place within it. As Jeanette is the main character, she is considered one of the major characters because the series of events which occur within the story all evaluate around her and her perception of them at the particular time in her life. As the narrator, she describes her life starting out by recalling seeing her mother as she was rummaging in the dark in the dumpster, homeless in New York City while Jeanette was headed to a party. Since it had been months since she had seen her own mother, she had become overcome with panic. This initial introduction within the first few paragraphs of the book foreshadows an awkward past that Jeanette had lived and moved past. Most people would be ecstatic to see their parents if they had not seen them for several months but Jeanette almost looked upon her mother as a lost memory. Jeanette actually offered a thorough analysis of her own perspective at this point saying that while her own mother stood 15 feet away, there were rags tied around her shoulders whil e she dug through the dumpster alongside the dog. All gestures were familiar to Jeanette as she looked at her from the taxi as an adult, as they had to her when she was a child. While she had aged and had gray matted hair with sunken eyes, she still reminded Jeanette of the mom she had been when Jeanette was a kid,

RBC Centura Bank Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RBC Centura Bank - Research Proposal Example Culture shares a common viewpoint regarding what constitutes appropriate business and interpersonal relationships and reflects the overall traditions and communications styles acknowledged within the business. At RBC Bank, efficiency and inter-staff respect are at the forefront of culture where expectations for performance begin at the highest levels of the business and trickle down to subordinate staff levels. In this particular organization, the ability to fit in with other employees generally involves being efficient at the job role. Inefficiency leads to an ineffective team and those who do not fit within this cultural norm regarding performance will generally have a difficult time making positive relationship with others. Organizational behavior, closely tied with culture, is the attitudes and actions which take place within the business environment. People in organizations do not work in proverbial vacuums, meaning that they consistently come into contact with others during the course of a regular workday. Organizational behavior are the various interactions between staff members which dictate the overall method by which business is conducted both externally and internally, such as how co-workers interact and how customers/clients are approached. Organizational behavior is the human aspect of how business and the individual interact (Delta Publishing, 2006). At RBC Bank, much like its culture, efficiency and performance are common behavioral characteristics and expectations. Mutual respect is on the forefront of the business’ policies, where all business and associate transactions occur with this premise in mind. All clients and associate workers behave according to high ethical guidelines, s uggesting that the organizational behavior at RBC Bank is one where leadership qualities are valued and developed. Diversity is a common theme at RBC Bank, defined as various differences in

Contract and Chicago Medical School Essay Example for Free

Contract and Chicago Medical School Essay Facts: In December 1973 Robert Steinberg, the plaintiff, applied for admissions to the Chicago Medical School. He paid an application fee of $15, but his application was rejected. After being rejected he filed against the school, claiming that they did not evaluate his application according to the academic entrance criteria printed in the school’s bulletin. Steinberg argues that the school based its decision primarily on nonacademic consideration such as family connections between the applicant and his family to donate large sums of money to the school. Steinberg assets that by evaluating his application to these unpublished criteria, the school breached the contract it had created when it accepted his application fee. The trail court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss, and Steinberg appealed. Issue: What is a contract? Rules: Mutual Assent- the parties to a contract must by show of words or condut that they have agreed to enter a contract. The usual method of mutual assent is by offering and acceptance. Consideration- each party to a contract must intentionally exchange a legal benefit or incur a legal deteriment as an inducement to the other party to make a renturn change. THIS FOR THAT basically. Legality of subject matter- the purpose of a contract must be not criminal, tortuous, or otherwise against public policy Capacity- the parties to a contract must have mental understanding of what they are entering into. Application: The contract that Steinberg and Chicago Medical School entered into meets the four requirements for a contractual contract. Therefore it is binding and legally enforceable. Conclusion: The court agreed with Steinberg’s position and that both parties did indeed enter a enforceable contract and under this contract by accepting the application fee the school must evaluate give him valuable consideration and his application evaluation was to be based on the criteria stated in the school’s bulletin. Steinberg accepted the school’s promises in good faith and he was.

The Marketing Strategies Of Kellogg Cornflakes Marketing Essay

The Marketing Strategies Of Kellogg Cornflakes Marketing Essay This is a report on the investigation and evaluation of the marketing strategies adopted by Kellogg Company for the marketing of Kellogg Cornflakes a popular household name among branded breakfast foodstuff. Kellogg cornflake is a cereal product which is highly consumed by children and adults as breakfast foods. Cereals are major popular items at the grocery store. Kellogg Company is a leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavoured snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. The report explores the marketing strategies for Kellogg Cornflakes on the basis of the promotional methods and target consumer. It also makes some recommendation for the improvement of these marketing strategies. Marketing is a fundamental aspect of any organisation sustainable competiveness. It is at the heart of the organisation and a key driver of its financial and economy performances. As a result of its importance, organisation defines the best appropriate ways to market the company and its product. Kotler et al (1999, p. 7) notes that todays successful organisation is one that is dedicated to sensing, serving, and the satisfying of the needs of the customers in well-defined markets. Marketing is at the core of this. Marketing is simply the delivery of customer satisfaction at a profit (ibid, p. 7). Therefore, marketing involves the process to identify and satisfy the need of the consumers. These processes are made in several parts, and the main purpose of this short report is to identify, investigate and evaluate this process in regards to Kellogg Cornflakes. In this light, this report will investigate and evaluate the design of Kellogg Cornflakes to satisfy and attend to the needs of the consumer. The consumers as identified are parents and older adults; they represent the main buyer of this product. The transmission of the companys offers to the specific target is therefore very important in the process to meets consumers satisfaction. Specifically, it relates to the identification of target consumer, identification of objectives of the goods (Kellogg Cornflakes), evaluation of media options and identification of best possible media vehicle and the content of the message both in terms of the verbal and visual contents of the message. Therefore, the investigation and evaluation of the marketing strategies for Kellogg Cornflakes would be done on the basis of target consumer and the promotional methods. However, these are simultaneously examined in the context of traditional marketing mix within the customer perspectives of four Cs  [1]à ‚  of marketing. This section followed by recommendations on the best ways Kellogg Company needs to go about marketing Kellogg Cornflakes. It also serves as the conclusion. 3.0 Promotional methods/marketing tools The most noticeable contemporary marketing tool for Kellogg Cornflakes are the company newsletter which incorporates all its product and latest news on each, mass advertising i.e., TV and print media, and direct promotion i.e., coupons. The company is using the right marketing tools through such avenues as newsletter that kept updating the consumer on latest improvement and available offers by Kellogg Company; its television advert in United Kingdom which is based on the sunshine street breakfast and putting the good in good morning and its direct promotion by using coupons which enable consumers to redeem prices. The coupons allow customer to claim box of cereal. This is even made much easier by allowing the customers to claim the free box of cereal coupons on the Kelloggs promotional website (www.freecereal.co.uk). Kelloggs Company promotional methods show that it focus more on its target consumers so as to get in their minds. The company recognises the needs to get in the minds of its customers which are also important towards getting information from the customers. Kellogg Cornflakes is not only appealing in outlook and contents, its promotional offer of free cereal box are also appealing to customers. Therefore, through its coupons Kellogg management is aware of price sensitivity of consumers and gives out coupons that will enable the consumer redeem a free cereal box which is an indirect way of price reduction. The company has also been using the packaging of Kellogg Cornflakes to influence consumer beliefs about the product. Kellogg Cornflakes has colours green, purple and yellow which depict perceptions of green as wellness, natural and organic, purple as creativity and sensitivity and yellow as brightness, happy and uplifting. Colour plays an essential part of business and marketing at b oth strategic and tactical level since it affects consumer emotion and behaviours towards a particular product (Wright 2006, p. 115-116). Kellogg cereal promotional offers such as news and offers from Kellogg i.e., coupons, special offers and promotions, great tasting recipes, nutrition tips, product sneak peeks and getting great saving on their products ensure the company maintain its competitiveness. With its innovative promotional adverts, it is able to strengthening the company market shares and develops more focus organisation. Doyle (2000, p. 1) affirms that in todays rapidly changing environment, a company cannot long maintain market share of profits unless it is innovative. While, keeping abreast of competition in the food industry, it has not in any way compromise it products value. It consistently provides its teeming customers healthy food and as specified on the product packs. However, it is notable that Kellogg Cornflakes promotions are made according to the specification of targeted consumers, in this case mainly children. Therefore it has fancy phrases; fancy labels and pictures specifically to attract c hildren who as earlier stated are the highest consumer of cereals. 3.1 Target Consumer The target consumers for Kellogg Cornflakes are children. Therefore, this group of consumers should be able to identify Kellogg Cornflakes among the tens of cereal boxes in the grocery stores. Kellogg Company designs Kelloggs Cornflakes is such a way that is very attractive to children. The picture on the park is cork hen head, which is bold enough to attract children attention. Children are assumed to like chickens, it fascinates them. So the pack design with cork head will fascinates children to draw the attention of their parent to buy Kelloggs Cornflakes. It is a visual message that children understand easily. Therefore, for children as the consumer, it is convenience and an easy way to find a product they want as well as ensure their parents purchase it. The ability of a company to identify customers need and wants and design products that meet this need and wants is what Fifield describes as real marketing (2004, p.112). The graphics on the Kellogg Cornflakes box captures the c ustomer convenience and communication as it relates to children. The visual communication content explains how this product is advertised to children. On the part of the parents and older people who eat cornflakes, they are hardly concern about the visual contents of the adverts but rather the real contents in the cereal box. This has to do with the amount of cornflakes inside the box and the nutritional contents. In this regard, they will want to search for cereals that are healthy by looking at their nutrition fact labels. With the nutrition labels boldly inscribed on the side of the box of Kelloggs Cornflakes, the parents/ adults are able to check through the nutrition label, which is certainly to meet the nutrition standard for a healthy living. In essence, the product description as low in saturated fat and cholesterol and contains several vitamins will catch the attraction of this group of consumers. This shapes their perceived value of the product. Kotler and Keller (2006, p. 141) argues that customers estimate which offer will deliver the most perceived value and act on it. Consumers are more educated and informed than ever , and they have the tools to verify companies claims and seek out superior alternatives (Ibid, p.141). Certainly, a parent would not want to buy unhealthy product for the child likewise, an adult would not buy unhealthy foodstuff. By regularly updating the vitamin contents of this product therefore, Kellogg Company ensures that the product meets the changing consumer needs. It also has varieties of this product to satisfy different needs of consumer. This explains the promotional aspect of the marketing mix and where communication really matters. The product dimension shown in nutrition fact label explains what is good about Kellogg Cornflakes that is by providing healthy food with its fat specification near 0 and letting the target consumer aware of it easily. However, the possibility that an adult will not concern itself with the graphics on the Kellogg Cornflakes does not remove the fact that package graphic is very important in strengthening or weakening marketers explicit verbal claims (Bone and France, 2001). For instance, green is often used on a product package, particularly f oodstuffs to denote wellness because consumers associate the colour with fresh, natural and organic (Ibid, p. 468). 4.0 Recommendation Kellogg Company has more or less concentrate on marketing approaches that are meant to influence sale and turnover of the company. It has relegated to the background the need to make consumer happy, not just from the satisfaction derives from the product but also by developing a healthy customer relationships that seeks to secure customer loyalty. As a result of the lack of customer relationship aims at guaranteeing customer loyalty rather that directed mainly at product performance, this study recommends that the company upgrades its Kellogg Kids Club. The Kellogg Kids Club should be sponsor in all major primary school in the country. This club that will be taking place once a month will incorporates beautiful story telling about nutrition and wellness. This will ensure that Kelloggs Cereals are established in the minds of the kids and even if their parents have not been buying the product, the children will persuade them to doing so on the long run. Another important area that needs consideration is in the aspect of newsletter. Certainly, the purpose of a newsletter is to provide the necessary information that consumers need in regard to a product. However, considering that children are the major consumer of Kellogg Cornflakes, there should be a newsletter or children magazine that will covers such aspect on cartoons that children are most interested in. Corey, 1991 and; Kotler 1994 agree that market targeting implies major commitment to satisfying the needs of particular customer groups through the development of specific capability and investment in dedicated resources (Slater and Olson 2001, p. 1056). It should use striking and dramatic graphics that will draw the attention of children to want to read the magazine. Although they are children, the graphic pictures in the magazine should be to convey most of the advertorial messages. Hamilton states that we should never underestimate the readers intelligence but never overestim ate their interests (1996, p. 11). By regularly sending cartoon magazines to children, it will ensure their loyalty to Kellogg through to adulthood. In actual fact, creativity is the heart of new paradigm on customer relationship management, and it those organisations that adopt an effective, well-conceive customer relationship that will succeed in the 21st century (2003, p.3). The Kellogg Kids Club will be an avenue to let children sign up for the magazine and will be dispatch to them via regular mail. Apart from ensuring the loyalty of the children, it will ensure that the company have an encompassing database of its consumer, which is essential for the company to tapped into the value that is locked in that customer base outside of what it currently delivers. Therefore, by focusing on targets and keeping track of children and parents that are committed to Kelloggs line of products, it will be able use the database for future market forecast. This is important for the organisation performance. The fact that kids are central influencing factor on their parent necessitates that Kellogg should consider the location of its print media advert bill boards. Understanding and identifying who has influence on Kellogg Cereal products will enable the company to understand how such group apply their influence and how to turn that into the companys advantage. Therefore, given the impact the children can have on their parents buying decisions, it is essential that Kellogg Cornflakes advertorial be placed around children schools. Outdoor advertising is one of the main marketing tools that Kellogg Company should employ to win the attention of its target consumers. Advertising space is as important as the advert itself as such the adverts must reflect creativity that focuses on children sentiments. Hence, to focus on this sentiments and captures the attention of children, the billboards should be placed close and around children schools. At the same time, such outdoor adverts must reflect the product as affordable, best value for money and meets the standard requires in the industry. There are lots of cereal manufacturing companies and some other major brands that posed threats to Kelloggs share of the market using price competition and product proliferations. As a matter of facts, market competition is heated up in the breakfast cereal market as flat sales and low price are predominant. Simply, there are a lot of cereal boxes out at the grocery store and therefore Kellogg advertisement should focus on what differentiate and makes it product better than others. At the same time, the marketing of Kelloggs cereal product should also reflect optimum customer value through pricing and the contents in the boxes. This should be made clear to the consumer. It is also adviceable to get product catalogues to the customers. A regularly mailed catalogue is a direct way of marketing that can improve the sales volume and assist in customer loyalty base. The customer relationship marketing (CRM) involves a mix of marketing intervention such a direct mail, internet contacts, pe rsonal selling contacts, telephone contacts etc (Rust and Verhoef, 2005). In this way, the children would be able to compel their parents to always buy Kellogg Cornflakes since they will be able to say: mum please let us buy Kellogg, I love it and after all it is not expensive and good for health. 5.0 Conclusion Therefore, Kellogg market share is increasingly been challenged not only by other major brands but also by private label cereals product. Private labels cereals products are often more cheaper compare to the high price of branded cereal product. This underscored the need for Kellogg to have an effective marketing strategy so as to maintain its competitiveness in the industry. As stated by Slater and Olson (2001) marketing strategy is a crucial element that determines an organisation willingness to achieve it set objectives and goals. It is the set of integrated decisions and actions by which an organisation expects to achieve and meet its objectives and the value requirements of its customer (Ibid, p.1056). The study have shown that Kellogg Company concentrate of customer, that is it chooses the 4 Cs of consumer-side marketing by focusing on cost, customer value, consumer and communication. As Saunders et al have stated, relationships with customer is a significant advantage generating resources (2008, p.144). Kellogg Company has thus establishes a brand name not only in the minds of its customer but also in the industry that distinguishes and differentiates its product from those of others in the cereal breakfast markets. Kellogg Cornflakes brand allows allow the consumer to identify their desirable qualities and traits with the product. This enables the customer to have a relationship with the brand and thus they feel complete because of the brand. The company knows its target as well as the people that consume the product (mainly children). It capitalizes on this, and using its marketing approaches its product was able to get in the minds of its customers. Customer can even pay more because of the value they get from the brand since they have been associated with it.

The Personification Of Food In Literature

The Personification Of Food In Literature Since food is created from recipes that have been passed down from one generation to the next, the art of cooking was taught by mothers to daughters, they reawaken the past by reminiscence. It is not a surprise that we find frequent references to the epitome of human characteristics in novels of magic realism, such as Kitchen and Like Water for Chocolate. Food in literature can be used as symbolism for many aspects of things, but its most likely that it represents the ideal voice of a character or the personality of themselves. This is because certain aspects of a character reveal themselves in the personal choices of consuming food and the effects afterwards on the characters. Since eating consists of numeral pre-activities to be performed; the preservation, preparation, presentation, and performance of food as well as the food product itself is what leads characters to behave ambiguously. More abstractly, in addition to giving insights within a character, both Yoshimoto and Esquive l use food to symbolize significant relationships amongst the characters and the association in fact or thought. Therefore, by analyzing the human attributes given to food, we can gain insights into numerous ideas that the writers are exemplifying. This paper will compare the ways in which food is used for the above purposes in both novels. Early in Kitchen we are shown a brief introduction to the main character Mikage and her adoration for the kitchen. Mikage is portrayed as a caring and generous character through her food preparation activities and presentation. While preparing food for others, she upholds a feeling of contentment and happiness because the warmth of food and the company of her loved ones. We see that through the death of Mikages grandmother whose death has left a heavy impact on her. She describes to have slept in the kitchen after her grandmothers death, which indicates her association with warmth and food was what she needed to comfort her worried soul: Steeped in a sadness so great I could barely cry, shuffling softly in gentle drowsiness, I pulled my futon into the deathly silent gleaming kitchen. Wrapped in a blanket, like Linus, I slept. The hum of the refrigerator kept me from thinking of my loneliness. There, the long night came on in perfect peace, and morning came. Furthermore, being a culinary teachers assistant, Mikage has a particularly refined taste for food and always seems able to make eating an event that upholds optimism and hope under any circumstances. She makes it a social experience for Yuichi, an acquaintance of her grandmothers funeral whos family Mikage goes to live with after her grandmothers death. He had been mournful after his own mothers death and Mikage had prepared a magnificent feast in order to cheer him up. And its true that for the whole summer I went about it with a crazed enthusiasm: cooking, cooking, and cooking. I poured all my earnings from my part-time job into it, and if something came out wrong Id do it over till I got it right. Angry, fretful or cheery, I cooked through it all. (56) Mikage is also shown to reveal her inner emotions through the use of preservation and presentation of food to express her sincerity and concern. As a young woman who had been taught by her grandmother to cook, she does not limit herself to only traditional recipes. She prepares food with vast quantities of materials and tries to expand on her options of cooking a good meal. She questions her love for the kitchen, Perhaps to me a kitchen represents some distant longing engraved on my soul. As I stood there, I seemed to be making a new start; something was coming back (56). The intensity of culinary had given her opportunities to express her inner feelings and to maintain a steady relationship with the people in her life. Mikage prefers finely detailed meals which consist of dishes with lots of color and shapes, reflecting her personality within the final product. Her preservation of food reflects her thoughts and concerns for the people in her life, such as her friendship with Yuichi. She identifies his loneliness and sets out to be a better friend by Finding myself standing alone in the standing alone in the street, close to midnight, belly pleasantly full, a hot takeout container of katsudon in my hands, completely bewildered as to how to proceed. (93) From this we can perceive the importance of friendship from Mikages generosity of supplying food for a friend. On contrary, Yuichi is grateful of having Mikage in his life and the food would taste so good because he feels loved and happy amongst his isolation. It is exactly the notion that distinguishes Mikage from other characters in Kitchen. Though Mikage also has a humble taste for food that shes accustomed to, The food was so delicious, and I realized how very, very hungry I was. It occurred to me I always enjoyed what I ate when I was with him. How wonderful it is, I thought (142). In contrast to other characters in the book, Mikage does not care for her social environment. This is evident in which she describes her eating experiences with Yuichi, her very close friend. This shows that Yuichi has bonded with a person who cares very much about him through her expressive eating behavior. The affectionate attitude to food is related to their genuine friendship, and more specifically, conveying their emotions. In a cafà ©, sensible Mikage drank tea with Yuichi, confessing that it was their first time sitting down in such a setting, Yuichi bluntly blurts out Mikages feelings about her grandmothers death versus his feelings towards his mothers death. The literal description of Mikages profoundly response was Yuichi, the fact that youre relaxed enough with me now to tell me how youre really feeling is a source of comfort to me. It makes me very happy. So happy I feel like shouting it from the rooftops (76). It can be interpreted metaphorically with tea being a symbol for relaxation but conveys acknowledgement between people. Contrariwise, Mikages goal in a genuine friendship is shown in her attitude towards her association with food. When she began to sob audibly, everyone in the place turned to stare at her. Chikas shoulders jerked spasmodically, racked with grief. Tear s fell into her soup (86). Again, the fundamental presentation of food is associated with emotions and memoirs. Mikage, who witnesses his touching scenario can identify that the human heart is unquestionably precious and genuine. The human nature of Mikage shows itself in the reply: the experiences of the last months had changed me. In the mirror I could see only a trace of the spoiled princess I had been, the one who took Eriko for granted. I was so far from that now (87). The death of a friend led her to realization that it was too late to say goodbye. Experiencing a similar fate to Mikage, Tita shows her affections through her preparation and presentation of food. However, she is denied of love from her mother and she is used as a tool to compensate the happiness of the rest of family members while not being able to experience her own. While all the food she prepares does not center on her, most of it was having to do with her entity. So it seemed that Tita was destined from the very beginning to learn the traits of cooking since birth, allowing her emotional connection to the food she cooked later in her life as a form of realism. The establishment of traditional recipes being handed down from one generation to the next is relevant to Tita and her emotions. Since her mother has denied her marriage to Pedro, her lover; he has brought her roses which she used for their family dinner. A sense of alchemical process, this is ominously displayed at the dinner: with that meal it seemed they had discovered a new system of communication , in which Tita was the transmitter, Pedro the receiver and poor Gertrudis the medium, the conducting body through which the singular sexual message was passed (52). Her resilient behavior concerning her preparation of food and drinks shows her frustration and insatiable character; on her knees, was bent over the grinding stone, moving in slow regular rhythm, grinding the almonds and sesame seeds (67). Tita finds her sexual satisfaction in passionately committing adultery with Pedro and this is symbolized by the eating of rose petal quail. Without any mention of romantic love, the presentation of food reflects the intensifying emotions during the preparation. This example adds to Titas profile to have affectionate characteristics. The way that food can be used as a literary effect is evidence in both novels Kitchen and Like Water for Chocolate, Yoshimoto and Esquivel seem to share a similar view on the literary use of food symbolism. The reason that something as generalized as food comes to represent the characters and their need to transform the food with their own emotions. Instead of describing directly what kind of character one is or stating how the plot will develop, both authors use the personification of food to convey the ideas. It is this sort of literary technique that makes a novel enduring.

The Theme of Racial Intolerance in Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay

It is commonly argued that ‘Heart of Darkness’ is nothing more than a racial tirade from a misinformed Englishman. Although Conrad is not misinformed and has no intention of fronting a racist point of view, when the treatment of Africans in the text is closely examined, the theme of racism is presented so deliberately all other themes merely fade into the background. Conrad’s evocation of the African environment and population preaches racial intolerance and creates a stark contrast between the life of Europeans and Africans. The constant slandering of the African population as â€Å"niggers† and â€Å"cannibals† and â€Å"savages† and the referral to the continent as an immense â€Å"Heart of Darkness† are the base examples of this racial intolerance. But despite this racist viewpoint, Conrad is merely conveying the language and prevailing attitude of the day; that Africa is considered as subordinate to Western civilization. However, Marlow’s observation of the Indigenous population of Africa develops on the idea of racial intolerance. The dancing Africans on the riverbank yield the first example of t...

Overcoming Barriers To Effective Communication Essay -- Communication

Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communications Everyone has experienced, at one time or another the frustration of feeling misunderstood and being unable to make ourselves understood by another person. Anything which, blocks the meaning of a communication, is a barrier to communication. Effective communication is like a house built one block at a time. First to build a house trust must be built; trust is not a group process it is created in one to one connections with each individual. Second, be bold and open, better communications are clear, direct, respect, reflective and frequent. And finally, strive to continually overcome the barriers to effective communication, challenge others to grow and educate your self. There are many barriers to effective communication, we will examine four of the main ones, stereotyping, language, showing approval or disapproval, and becoming defensive. One of the greatest barriers to communication is stereotyping. A stereotype is defined as "A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image"(www.dictonary.com). When an individual has a preconception about another individual, it makes it difficult for the individual not to view the other individual's communication with prejudice. Within stereotyping there are many facets in which one hold's bias views to another individuals message. Of these there are stereotypes for race, religion, and gender. To better understand how stereotyping can hinder effective communication each area needs to be scrutinized in greater detail. To this day, some people are still judging others by the color of their skin. Racial stereotyping is an extremely detrimental facet of stereotyping. It can very well pave the road to out right racism. R... ...uickly bringing any major conflicts into the open and resolves them as a team; build common ground. Since there has been many different examples expressed of barriers related to everyday communication, whether at home, or at work, you now have the tools to overcome these barriers. Just remember to be patient, listen and make yourself more effective at communicating. What it is you want to say? Build a house strong and others will follow. References htÂ…/fulltext.assp?resultSetId=R00000000&hitNum=5&booleanTerm=effective%20 communication&fuzzy/Term 10/12/2000 htÂ…/fulltext.assp?resultSetId=R00000000&hitNum=6&booleanTerm=effective%20 communication&fuzzy/Term 10/12/2000 http://www.mediate.com/articles/foster.cfm?plain=t 10/12/2000 http://www.health.ufl.edu/nursing/fall99/nur3065c/hx/tsld014.htm 10/12/2000 www.dictonary.com

Cloning and Ethical Issues

Essay on cloning and ethical issues that immediatly Subject : cloning and ethics come up when talking about it. Completed: 8/11/2012 Due:9/11/2012 Numerous articles appeared in the newspapers about one particular sheep, born in 1996. Her name, as you may have figured out, was Dolly. She was special as she was the first sheep to be cloned entirely by humans. The cloning of this sheep raised a lot of questions. The most important ones being â€Å"why would we do clone a living animal† and â€Å"can we clone humans too†.Of course these questions do not only require a scientific answer, but also an ethical answer as we are talking about living creatures. First of all: how exactly can you clone living organisms? There are three main types of cloning. DNA cloning, reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. DNA cloning or recombinant DNA technology is to transfer one piece of DNA into something that can duplicate himself. Bacterial plasmid, viruses and also yeast chromosome s are used for this as they are able to duplicate easily.The DNA fragment containing the gene which is needed is isolated using enzymes, and after that it will be transferred to the bacterial plasmid using once again enzymes. After that the bacterial plasmid starts multiplying, and the outcome will be one certain fragment. Reproductive cloning was how Dolly came to earth: the nucleus of a donor adult cell is placed in an egg cell without nucleus. This cell will then need chemicals or an electric current to stimulate cell division. If it has indeed started dividing it will need to be placed in a uterus where it continues till the animal gives birth.Therapeutic cloning, sometimes referred to as embryo cloning, is the production of human stem cells for use in research. This isn't used at all to create cloned human beings, it's just for the research because Stem cells are quite important. Stem cells aren't specified yet so they can chance into any kind of cell depending on what scientis ts want to research on. Now you may ask what this has to do with the whole â€Å"can we clone humans† and the ethical and moral issues. Can we clone humans using the DNA cloning? No. But we can use it to create new medicines or vaccines as this method can nly be used for certain parts of DNA and not the whole of it. Reproductive Cloning could, theoretically, be used for cloning humans. In real life however this technique wouldn't be used because it's expensive and has a really low rate of success. There were hundreds of failed clones, several dead fetuses and horribly deformed animals before the scientists had Dolly. Most scientists do not feel that this is good for cloning as it is far to risky and also we do not know a lot about this technique either. Therapeutic cloning can be used for parts of the body containing the same set of cells.You could for instance and theoretically seen once again, clone a kidney. There are however a lot of risks such as the fetal tissue dying, or tissue rejection if you actually create an organ. It's not possible to clone entire human beings as there is little known about cloning and the human body is just far to complex to be created in a laboratory. So most scientists agree that it is not possible yet to clone entire human beings. Most of these scientists highly doubt that it would be possible in the near future to clone entire human beings, but there are always the â€Å"what if† questions.What if it was possible, what would happen then? The advantage would be that there are no more donors needed and everybody can live longer and happier. But killing a clone for a transplant, wouldn't that be considered murder? After all you would kill someone who is composed out of the same DNA as you. This raises another question, how would you treat the clones? The same DNA, the same needs. Should the parents of the child or teenager, or adults themselves take care of their own clone or would the clone be raised by some sort of company?These are most what if questions and to be quite honest I believe that we shouldn't clone human beings. There are always people who would want to abuse this technology. This abusing can take many forms: people who have access to all information could either sell or keep it, to create a position for themselves which may result in a lot of income inequality. But that isn't the only disadvantages. Imagine that there will be clones, it would surely narrow down the gene diversity which we have created over the years.Excessive cloning could cause a loss of the diversity and therefore we might be less resistant against bacteria, viruses etc. Not only biological but also the ethical questions show that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. The benefits of cloning (parts of) humans being that we wouldn't need any more donors, or we could do research on organs without having to use humans themselves. The disadvantages are that we would abuse the power once again. If we could clo ne entire humans that would be defying the rights to live freely. There would be loss of gene diversity which would be contradictory to all that shaped us.After all living is survival of the fittest. Victoria Smit ( 5vf) Sources: http://www. ornl. gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning. shtml http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cloning http://www. geneticsandsociety. org/article. php? list=type&type=59 http://learn. genetics. utah. edu/content/tech/cloning/whatiscloning/ http://thefarnsworths. com/science/cloning. htm Movie the fifth element ( actually not a source but wort watching! ) repo men ( about the disadvantages of cloning organs. Also not really a source but worth watching! ) Cloning and Ethical Issues Essay on cloning and ethical issues that immediatly Subject : cloning and ethics come up when talking about it. Completed: 8/11/2012 Due:9/11/2012 Numerous articles appeared in the newspapers about one particular sheep, born in 1996. Her name, as you may have figured out, was Dolly. She was special as she was the first sheep to be cloned entirely by humans. The cloning of this sheep raised a lot of questions. The most important ones being â€Å"why would we do clone a living animal† and â€Å"can we clone humans too†.Of course these questions do not only require a scientific answer, but also an ethical answer as we are talking about living creatures. First of all: how exactly can you clone living organisms? There are three main types of cloning. DNA cloning, reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. DNA cloning or recombinant DNA technology is to transfer one piece of DNA into something that can duplicate himself. Bacterial plasmid, viruses and also yeast chromosome s are used for this as they are able to duplicate easily.The DNA fragment containing the gene which is needed is isolated using enzymes, and after that it will be transferred to the bacterial plasmid using once again enzymes. After that the bacterial plasmid starts multiplying, and the outcome will be one certain fragment. Reproductive cloning was how Dolly came to earth: the nucleus of a donor adult cell is placed in an egg cell without nucleus. This cell will then need chemicals or an electric current to stimulate cell division. If it has indeed started dividing it will need to be placed in a uterus where it continues till the animal gives birth.Therapeutic cloning, sometimes referred to as embryo cloning, is the production of human stem cells for use in research. This isn't used at all to create cloned human beings, it's just for the research because Stem cells are quite important. Stem cells aren't specified yet so they can chance into any kind of cell depending on what scientis ts want to research on. Now you may ask what this has to do with the whole â€Å"can we clone humans† and the ethical and moral issues. Can we clone humans using the DNA cloning? No. But we can use it to create new medicines or vaccines as this method can nly be used for certain parts of DNA and not the whole of it. Reproductive Cloning could, theoretically, be used for cloning humans. In real life however this technique wouldn't be used because it's expensive and has a really low rate of success. There were hundreds of failed clones, several dead fetuses and horribly deformed animals before the scientists had Dolly. Most scientists do not feel that this is good for cloning as it is far to risky and also we do not know a lot about this technique either. Therapeutic cloning can be used for parts of the body containing the same set of cells.You could for instance and theoretically seen once again, clone a kidney. There are however a lot of risks such as the fetal tissue dying, or tissue rejection if you actually create an organ. It's not possible to clone entire human beings as there is little known about cloning and the human body is just far to complex to be created in a laboratory. So most scientists agree that it is not possible yet to clone entire human beings. Most of these scientists highly doubt that it would be possible in the near future to clone entire human beings, but there are always the â€Å"what if† questions.What if it was possible, what would happen then? The advantage would be that there are no more donors needed and everybody can live longer and happier. But killing a clone for a transplant, wouldn't that be considered murder? After all you would kill someone who is composed out of the same DNA as you. This raises another question, how would you treat the clones? The same DNA, the same needs. Should the parents of the child or teenager, or adults themselves take care of their own clone or would the clone be raised by some sort of company?These are most what if questions and to be quite honest I believe that we shouldn't clone human beings. There are always people who would want to abuse this technology. This abusing can take many forms: people who have access to all information could either sell or keep it, to create a position for themselves which may result in a lot of income inequality. But that isn't the only disadvantages. Imagine that there will be clones, it would surely narrow down the gene diversity which we have created over the years.Excessive cloning could cause a loss of the diversity and therefore we might be less resistant against bacteria, viruses etc. Not only biological but also the ethical questions show that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. The benefits of cloning (parts of) humans being that we wouldn't need any more donors, or we could do research on organs without having to use humans themselves. The disadvantages are that we would abuse the power once again. If we could clo ne entire humans that would be defying the rights to live freely. There would be loss of gene diversity which would be contradictory to all that shaped us.After all living is survival of the fittest. Victoria Smit ( 5vf) Sources: http://www. ornl. gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning. shtml http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cloning http://www. geneticsandsociety. org/article. php? list=type&type=59 http://learn. genetics. utah. edu/content/tech/cloning/whatiscloning/ http://thefarnsworths. com/science/cloning. htm Movie the fifth element ( actually not a source but wort watching! ) repo men ( about the disadvantages of cloning organs. Also not really a source but worth watching! )

English will eventually become the dominant world language

English has without doubt achieved some kind of global status as many countries adopt the language they consider to be synonymous with economic success and a cosmopolitan culture. However, factors such as the increasing numbers of speakers of other languages, including in English-speaking countries, an increase in bi-lingualism and growing anti-American sentiment in some parts of the world, all indicate that English may not occupy an entirely stable position in the world.This essay explores some of the reasons why English has become so widespread and then argues that global domination of English, despite its current position as a medium of international communication, is unlikely to take place. According to Crystal, (1987, cited in Pennycook, 1994, p. 8) â€Å"English is used as an official or semi-official language in over 60 countries†¦it is the main language of books, newspapers, airports and air traffic control, international business and academic conferences, science, tech nology, medicine, sports, international competitions, pop music and advertising†¦Ã¢â‚¬ .It is the working language of ASEAN, the Asian trade group, and the official language of the European Central Bank, even though none of the member countries has English as its first language (Wallraff 2000, p. 3). The extensive economic power of the United States has also influenced many countries to view English as the â€Å"key to economic empowerment† (Guardian weekly 2000, p2). English has also become dominant because it is regarded as cosmopolitan and the way of the future.According to Cohen (2000, p. ), the dominance of American popular culture has influenced many young Europeans who aspire to the â€Å"unfettered, dynamic, creative culture of California† rather than the â€Å"rigidity† of many European societies. Volkwagon in Germany called their car the â€Å"new beetle† rather than the German equivalent neuer Kafer because advertisers believed it sounded more â€Å"hip†. Similarly in Asia, English is associated with the glamour of block-buster movies and the pop industry. However, despite these factors English is unlikely to dominate the world.English speakers are still the minority of the world's population with 372 million speakers, well behind Chinese languages which have 1,113 million speakers (Wallraff, 2000 p. 5). Within fifty years English is likely to lose even second place to the South Asian linguistic group which includes the Hindi and Urdu languages. Spanish and Arabic will also become as common as English. There are also increasing numbers of bilingual and multilingual speakers, even within English-speaking countries.Currently about one in seven American citizens prefers to speak a language other than English at home, including 2. 4 million Chinese speakers. (Wallraff 2000, p. 3). This suggests that the future of other languages is guaranteed despite the popularity of English. Another reason why English will neve r dominate is because of a growing anti-American sentiment. Wallraff (2000, p. 5) suggests that there may be â€Å"†¦a backlash against American values and culture† and that this could lead to a resistance to learn the language of the United Sates.In post-September 11 times this seems a very real possibility. In Europe France and Germany have also held a conference focused on defending Franco-German culture against the cultural pull of America (Cohen 1998, p. 2). Afrikaaners in South Africa are also leading a passionate fight to gain equality with English as are many other indigenous languages (Alexander 2000, p. 2). Still further reasons that may prevent a world take-over by English include political, economic and technological factors.Political factors include the potential formation of new alliances between non-English speaking countries and the probable rise of regional trading blocks in Asia and the Middle-East. It is also possible â€Å"that world-changing technol ogy could arise out of a nation where English is little spoken† (Wallraff 2000, p. 4). This could tip the scales away from English to the use of another language. Finally, in a world of rapid technological change and increasing political instability it is difficult to predict what the future may hold.Although English has enjoyed a period of great expansion as a language of international communication, it is unlikely it will eventually dominate the world. The sheer numbers of non-English speakers, the potential of new political trading partnerships or new technological developments as well as the possibility of a rejection of the â€Å"cultural imperialism† of the West may in fact contribute to a decline in the spread of English. Perhaps English speakers should be a little less complacent about learning other languages themselves.

American Cruise line Company

Medicine River by Thomas King focuses primarily on communal life. It talks about the theme of mixed blood and how such people fit in to the society. The issues related to social life, intermarriages and the significant roles of the community. The novel follows through the experiences of Will Thomas and the trickster, Harlen Bigbear. The novel highlights the journey of the photojournalist’s integration in to the native Indian community, helped greatly by the trickster, Harlen Bigbear. With reference to Harlen’s character, it is assumed that he has a narcissistic personality.Let us first divulge in to the interiors of narcissism. Narcissism is defined as having an exceptional love and admiration for ones self, according to the Webster’s online dictionary. (Webster, Pp1) This implies that a person having a narcissistic personality would be absorbed in himself. His priority would be self-defined; if the outcome would benefit him, he would be ready to go for lengths f or it. Such people are usually hard-workers and are ready to burn midnight oil in order to achieve success. For them societal norms and values; traditions and beliefs play a very minimal role.They believe that their thoughts and ideas are above everyone else. In fact, they try to impose them on others for they tend to believe that it is they who are correct. Due to this over confidence they are highly sensitive to criticism and often respond in excessive rage. Such people are not worried about the welfare of others. Their world consists of, I or me and not them or they. This insensitivity towards others greatly hinders with their social life. They will refrain from putting themselves in situation s where they know they will fail. In short they contemplate a great deal before involving them selves in some project.Thus, they expect that due to their success they should be considered superior to others. (Library of the national Society, Pp1) With this explanation in view, it appears co ntroversial to assert that Harlen Bigbear. While as a trickster, he appears to be confident and successful. As a native trickster he has been upgraded to a divine level. His dialect and his actions speak for his self-confidence. As narrated by Will Sampson, â€Å"I used to have conversations with Harlen that didn’t make much sense and didn’t seem to go anywhere† (Thomas, pp. 169).Through this quote two narcissistic attributes come in to the spotlight: Harlen’s confidence and his feeling of himself being better than others. Since, he as the trickster, considers himself above others he tends to transfer his thoughts to others, his thoughts which he considers wise. The persistent repetition of this particular attribute of Harlen accounts for his narcissism, to which Will does not speak against. Thus, like a narcissist person, Harlen meddles in the affairs of others, trying to impose his wisdom on the society. (Siemerling, Pp 71)This is because of his belief in himself, which is left unchallenged.Thus, as a narcissistic trickster, Harlen tends to interfere with things not related to him, In order to do good to the society. This is reflected several times in the novel, typically when Harlen interrupts Will in his studio. However, this same trait of Harlen also provides comic relief for the reader which is why the role of Harlen received so much significance. However, this particular trait of Harlen also contradicts deeply with his reference as a narcissist person. This is because there is an eminent goodwill in all that Harlen operates. This goodwill of Harlen is present at various instances throughout the novel.Harlen’s insistence of Will residing in Medicine waters shows his inclination towards making the son of a woman who married a white man become blended in to the society. Harlen wanted to make Will a part of the native community and take him out of his life of isolation that he lived in Canada. Harlen’s goodwill is a lso mirrored when he uses his social contacts to provide a living for Will. Perhaps this is one reason why Will states that â€Å"Harlen Bugbear was one of the most charitable people I had ever known. No matter who it was, Harlen Big bear would go on looking for good in a person.† (Thomas pp. 151) this trait is also reflected when Harlen, while meddling in the affairs of Louise heavy man, tries to find her a male counterpart. Partly because she is unwed and expecting a child. To do her good he coaxes Will to escort her, which leaves the community thinking that Will is the father of the child. This ultimately results in Will naming the girl as â€Å"south wing† and also looking after her, when she was in distress. Another fact that also refutes Harlen’s narcissistic personality disorder is when he encourages Will to act as a father figure for some people of the community.(Lundquist Pp, 175) He tends to bring Will closer to the natives and the natives closer to wi ll so that they both accept each other. He involves Will in the native basketball team, encouraging more interaction with the locals. His hard work bears fruit when ultimately Will is asked by the people to also be a part of the photograph that he is shooting. Thus he succeeds in blending Will in to the society as a part of the society and not as an outcast for he was considered one due to the fact that his mother had married a white man.All these evidences point towards the fact that Harlen‘s interests were in working for the betterment of the society. He intervenes to make the world a better place and as his world is that of the native Indian community he tends to work for its people. As per the work of a trickster, he seeks to end conflict and maintain decorum in the society. He is the emblem of the good spirit of the community. His narcissistic attribute s is refuted by the fact that nowhere in the novel does Harlen boast about his superiority in terms of success.Rather he falls short as well: he can not read maps and also catches flu. The only indication that Harlen’s character provides its readers is that of his good will for bringing the society together. For not letting superficial norms and values come in the way of the welfare of even one individual of the society. This is why we see that he helps not only the unwed woman who is expecting a baby, but also the ex-convict who is released from the prison and also Will, an outcast in the society. References: Thomas King ,Medicine River , Edition: reissue Published by Penguin Books, 1995.Pp 151 and 169 Suzanne Evertsen Lundquist. Native American Literatures: An Introduction. Published by Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004. Page 175 Library of the national Society. Narcissistic personality disorder. Retrieved from http://www. medical-library. org/journals2a/narcisistic_personality_dis. htm Winfried Siemerling ,The New North American Studies: Culture, Writing and the Politics of Rec ognition. Published by Routledge, 2005 . Page 71. Webster Online Dictionary, Narcissism. 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. websters-online-dictionary. org/definition/Narcissism

Confessions of St.Patrick

Kelvin Kublall Feb, 4/2013 History of Christianity Confessions of St. Patrick St. Patricks story is a quite dramatized one, it speaks about the great things he has passed through. St. Patrick was one of the first and most influential missionaries to Ireland, bravely entering this superstitious and violent country to bring the healing balm of the gospel. Firstly He was born in Great Britain nearing the end of the fourth century. He was the son of Calpornius, who was a deacon and decurion.Patrick was of a noble birth, he was a Roman citizen. At about the near age of 16 he was captured by barbaric Irish pirates and taken to Ireland where he served as a slave tending to the sheep. During his Shepard time, he was converted to the Lord and then after 6 years, God gave him a dream to leave Ireland for his â€Å"ship awaits†. God made St. Patrick travel two hundred miles to where God told him the ship would be and boarded it and set sails back to his homeland in Britain.Now while amon g his family, he had another dream, this time a voice spoke to him telling him to return to Ireland. During this time an outlined map of Ireland was identified with the forest of foclut near the western sea. Here a childhood confession he made before he became a deacon returned to haunt him. And later there was many boasting of bringing religion to the Irish. It spoke on how they never knew God and cherished idols. Then in paragraph 42 he baptizes a beautiful Irish princess in Gods name.Then he closes his confessions by saying that those who believe in the faith of God and fear him and do only what is pleasing in His sight will glorify God’s name eternally. For those were his confessions before he died. It seems that the new church leadership did not share their predecessors’ approval of Patrick’s mission, particularly his emphasis on reaching the lost rather than shepherding the existing flock. The bishops felt Patrick’s teams were spending too much time with the pagans and not enough time tending to their own spiritual well being.Patrick quoted Mathew 28, explaining that Jesus had commanded his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation, baptizing the nations and teaching them to obey everything he had commanded. By most accounts Patricks efforts were successful. By the end of Patrick’s approximately 30 years of ministry in Ireland, the Church was blossoming and a previously violent, pagan land was becoming much more peaceful and virtuous.Patrick’s theology also freed him to build a bridge to the Celtic culture by celebrating and emphasizing the aspects of that culture that he found good and righteous. The key to Patrick’s approach, was his ability to tell the Celtic story better than the Celts could. He offered them a more complete explanation of their history, showing how it finds its fulfillment in Jesus. Likewise we are today when doing missionary evangelism, we should conduct proper surveys of the population and know our roots before entering. Knowing our roots simply means to be grounded in the faith of Jesus.

The Technique of Sampling in Music and Notions of Authorship Essay

The Technique of Sampling in Music and Notions of Authorship - Essay Example The credit for having composed the piece of music that was borrowed may or may not be explicitly given to the person who had originally composed it. This technique offends the sacrosanct position that music is given in the lives of many. Issues of plagiarism arise and royalties are almost never offered to the composer of the original tune. This leads to many problems within the music industry as well. Sampling is a technique whereby a part of a certain recording is used as a part of another song that may be the composition of an entirely different person who is then the ‘author’ of that particular song. The extensive use of this song and the attitude of its author shall also form a part of the analysis in this paper that shall attempt to dissect the issues of ownership that this song and the technique of sampling destabilize. The metaphorical death of the author that Roland Barthes talks of in his essay, The Death of the Author is one that can be seen in the extensive us e of the technique of sampling in the music of today. A particular portion of a song may be used in another as a part of it. The now ubiquitous discotheque where tunes and songs are mixed and remixed are places that question the notions of ownership that artists may raise when their tunes are being reworked. In today’s world, however, exclusive ownership of a work of art is impractical and is not enjoyed by anybody. A shared ownership of the music or any other work of art that is all that an artist can expect. This is tied in with several notions of authorship that have emerged in the modern world. In his seminal essay that was referred to earlier, Barthes talks of how the interpretation that a reader provides a text is what provides the text with its meaning (2004). The meaning that the author intended for a text only forms one of the many meanings that may be attributed to a text. The creation of meaning and essence, the till then inalienable right of the author and owner o f a text, thus passed on to the person who received the text. A piece of music is according to modern theorists, a cultural text that allows for multiple interpretations. The theory that applied to traditional texts, that is, books, would thus be applicable also to music. Music videos and recordings are thus texts that are able to elicit multiple interpretations from its audience. The destabilization of the roles of authors thus extends also to the authors of these cultural texts, musicians. The creation of these new roles for the audience and the artists is a modern phenomenon. The modern age is characterized by the rise of science and technology and it is widely agreed upon that technology has had a great part to play in the way the modern age functions. The technique of sampling is a very good example to prove this point. The technique of sampling makes the ‘primary text’, the original recording, available to the world to twist into any shape that it wants to. Each v ersion or song that features a portion of the original song can then be considered to be an interpretation of the original by the person who creates the new version. As Andrew Goodwin puts it, in â€Å"an age of electronic reproduction†