Wednesday, December 25, 2019

The Bad Of Puppy Mills - 1199 Words

The Bad of Puppy mills On average 3 million dogs are killed or die from the elements of starvation in puppy mills (11 Facts About Puppy Mills 1). There are about 10,000 licensed and unlicensed puppy mills in the U.S (ASPCA 1). From those 10,000 mills about 2.11 million dogs are sold at pet stores (11 Facts About Puppy Mills 1). They are able to produce so many dogs because there can be 1 to 1,0000 breeding dogs in a facility not counting the puppies or litters (ASPCA 1). Also, 100% of pet store dogs are all from puppy mills. To conclude, Puppy mills are harmful to animals and they should be shut down/made illegal. Dogs in puppy mills are brutally abused and killed and they have no ability to defend themselves. In a report filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) it says that female dogs are bred twice a year and when they can no longer produce puppies they are left to die or to be killed (PETA 1). Also, puppy mill workers don t care about the animals as described in an article written by the Animal Rescue Corps (ARC) where it says that collars are put on so tight that after a couple months they become embedded in the animal s fur so badly that they have to cut around the fur simply to unlatch the collars from the dogs (ARC 1). Workers at puppy mills have argued about how people say that they are mean and abuse the animals they say that puppy mills believe in euthanizing (a way to kill a animal or human painlessly and quickly) the dogs. They alsoShow MoreRelatedShelters Vs. Pet Shops1095 Words   |  5 PagesINTRODUCTION I.Have you ever gone to a pet shop and seen all of the cute little puppies and wondered where they came from? Well, chances are they came from a puppy mill. II.I m sure many of you in here have, or have had dogs. Either you rescued them, bought them from a cute little pet shop, or you got it from some creepy guy off of craigslist. III.I have done countless research over the past few weeks regarding these puppy mills. Additionally, my parents have stressed the importance of adoption andRead MoreSpeaking Up For The Ones Who Can Not1562 Words   |  7 Pagesbreeding is a commonly used process all over the world, used to bring new puppies into the world for young children and families, or farm animals for more farming production. However what most do not know is that those animals are not always from a nice pet store or a facility that treats their animals well. Breeding animals like dogs or farming animals in places that are illegal often times leads to forms of abuse for them. Puppy mills often times sell dogs that went through painful treatment and are typicallyRead MorePuppy Mill Essay998 Words   |  4 Pagesdog owners don’t. Some of the dogs could have been raised in a puppy mill. Puppy mills are a problem in the U.S today. And the problem with puppy mills is the effect they have on the dog itself a nd even the owner. There are puppy mills operating all over the country today. A puppy mill is a place that breeds dogs in unhealthy conditions just to put them up for sale. According to the Puppy Mill Project there are about 10,000 puppy mills throughout the U.S. Out of the 10,000, half of them are legalizedRead MoreVolunteering as a Senior1129 Words   |  4 Pagesfire. Puppy Mills In the United States there are many puppy mills. Even though puppy mills are very bad, they are legal (â€Å"Puppy Mills†). Everything they do to the dogs at puppy mills is illegal though and many people are trying to stop them (â€Å"Puppy Mills†). Puppy mills support pet stores or that you buy online. Puppy Mills can hold up to seventy-five dogs. All of the dogs are stuffed in a cage with about three or four other dogs. They are lying in their own feces, pee, and vomit (â€Å"Puppy Mills†). TheRead MoreAnimal Breeding Is Good For The Community And Immoral854 Words   |  4 PagesMany people believe that breeding animals is not good for the community and immoral. This statement is extremely broad. Instead, the statement should read, specifically, that irresponsible animal breeding is bad for the animals as well as the reproduction industry. Knowing the differences between responsible and irresponsible breeding is crucial to understanding the consequences of rec kless breeding. Careless breeding creates health and behavioral defects as well as overpopulation. The negative consequencesRead MoreExposing Puppy Mills Essay885 Words   |  4 PagesPuppy mills have been in the United States for many years, they are underground run organizations so they are not easily monitored by animal control units. Puppy Mills are places where purebred dogs are kept in small confinements, are severely neglected and are forced to mate until their bodies cannot handle it anymore, which then they are inhumanely killed. The puppies then are sent off to pet stores, leaving the bitches and studs there to continue the abusive cycle. Animal rights activists areRead MorePuppy Mills Should Be Outlawed810 Words   |  4 PagesDid you ever think about puppy mills; if they should be outlawed or not? For one to think or answer that question they must know what a puppy mill is, â€Å"an establishment that breeds puppies for sale, typically on an intensive basis and in con ditions regarded as inhumane.†. A website called Humanesociety.org states, â€Å"Over a five†year period (2007†2011), our puppy mills campaign received 2,479 puppy buyer complaints. Buyers complained about sick puppies sold by a variety of sources, including pet storesRead MorePersuasive Speech On Animal Cruelty1014 Words   |  5 Pagesneed to be more involved with stopping animal cruelty and spreading the word about how animal rights are important. There are many types of animal cruelty actions that lots of animals face, but I believe that dog fighting, animal hoarding, and puppy mills are the three worst things that animals suffer. Dog fighting is a very common crime which is where dogs are forced to fight each other until one is killed by the other; or until a dog is proven weak, and is then killed by its owners. Hundreds ofRead More The Doggie in the Window Essay1277 Words   |  6 Pageswindow, you see a cute and cuddly puppy just sitting there staring at you, pleading with you to buy him. So you think, â€Å"Why not, we could use a new member of the family, and this would be a great surprise.† Buzzzzz! Wrong Answer! The problem with pet stores, is that most of them get their puppies from puppy mills. Puppy mills are commercial mass-breeding facilities, located mainly in the Midwest, that churn out litters of puppies to sell to pet stores. The cute puppy that you see sitting in the windowRead MorePuppy Mills are a Crime1051 Words   |  5 Pageseuthanized. For the most part, the dogs that end up living in a puppy mill were born there and do not know what a loving family really is. Puppy mills are numerous in the United States though they are not illegal they should be because their care givers do not treat the animals the way they deserve as in other pet businesses. If abuse is defined as to use improperly or to take bad advantage of that is exactly what is done in a puppy mill, therefore it is abuse. It should be overly recognized to our

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Improving Access And Service Quality Of Mental Health Care

5.2 Providing Comprehensive, Integrated and Responsive Mental Health and Social Care Services in Community-based Settings (WHO 2013) One of the basic goals of integrated and responsive care is to improve access and service quality of mental health care by addressing the shortcomings of prevailing fragmented (primary health care and mental hospital services operating in silo), and ‘institutionalized’(i.e., specialized physchatric-hospital/asylum based) mental facilities. It is suggested that in an integrated system, service delivery should be based on principles of accessibility, coordinated care, continuity of care, effectiveness, equity and respect for human rights. Integration at the clinical level involves integration into primary care settings, the integration of mental health services into general hospitals, the development of links between primary care and secondary services and the integration of mental health into other established health and social programmes (W HO 2007, Valentijn et al. 2013). . There are two evidence based approaches to integration: (i) integrating mental health into primary care for mild-to-moderate disorders, and (ii) Integrating primary care and specialist mental health care in an enhanced environment of a community based setting, involving ‘Community –based Mental Health Teams(CMHT)’ for patients with severe mental illness(SMI). Most developed countries have started efforts to restructure the prevailing care system in the direction ofShow MoreRelatedGap In Access To Health Care Essay1235 Words   |  5 PagesNeeds Priority #1: Gap in access to health care, especially to the uninsured, underserved, and minority populations. This includes children and seniors as well. Although the Affordable Care Act has decreased the number of uninsured people since its implementation, there are still many residents who can’t afford the high deductibles and premiums (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). Furthermore, those with no insurance commonly face the challenge of not receiving preventative care. Due to the remoteness ofRead MoreImproving Health Of The Aboriginal Case Study1637 Words   |  7 PagesImproving Health of the Aboriginals: The North East LHIN continue to work on advancements in Aboriginal health initiatives that help improve access and coordination for the individuals who live in Northeastern Ontario. The challenges that occurred with the Northeastern Aboriginals were that they experienced lower health status, than the rest of the population that lived in Northeastern Ontario (NE LHIN, 2016). The reconciliation and health care strategy plan was a necessity for the aboriginals inRead MoreMental Health Vs. Health Organization1325 Words   |  6 PagesMental Health Vs. Health Organization Human services field is a very broad field. There are many different types of human services organizations out there. To names a few of human services organizations are mental health, health, education, child welfare, and etc... Under each organization there are different human services workers with different tittle and responsibilities; to name a few of human services workers are psychologist, high school guidance counselor, teacher, rehabilitation specialistRead MoreAustralia s Health Care System1192 Words   |  5 PagesThe Health care systems in Australia have one of the most affordable, accessing and comprehensive in the world. Access is the right to enter into and able to use the health care system. Australians have enablers and barriers that may affect their health care system. Barriers have limited or, no access to health care as consumers can have poor understanding of how to access health services, language difficulties for instance medical jargon’s or not underst anding English at all, financial crisis andRead MoreHow Community Nursing Can Potentially Address Them1228 Words   |  5 Pagesinadequate health care in a variety of ways. They face specific health problems in higher concentrations than other populations, including mental health disorders and substance abuse (Harkness, 2012). Many also face chronic health conditions such as diabetes or hypertension that go untreated (Harkness, 2012). In addition, access to health care is a barrier with which this population struggles. Healthy People 2020 includes goals to â€Å"improve access to comprehensive, quality health care services† and â€Å"improveRead MoreNhs ( National Health Trust )1579 Words   |  7 PagesNHS (National Health Trust) July the 5th 1948 – The NHS is born. When health secretary Aneurin Bevan launched the NHS at park Hospital in Manchester today known as Trafford General Hospital, It is the climax of a hugely ambitious plan to good health to all. For the first, hospitals, doctor, nurses, pharmacists, opticians and dentists we brought together under one umbrella organisation to provide services that are free for all at the point of delivery. VISION Everyone has greater control of theirRead MorePreventing Mental Illness And Substance Abuse Found Among Canada s First Nations Communities1326 Words   |  6 PagesIn interpreting the significance of the disproportionately high rates of mental illness and substance abuse found amongst Canada’s First Nations communities, it is critical to recognize that these groups have been long marginalized, and typically live in remote areas bereft of sophisticated and large-scale health service facilities (Gone Trimble, 2012). With this reality in mind, the implications of the statistics and analyses presented above demonstrate that a very significant degree of institutionalizedRead MoreI Visited Wilmington Health Access For Teens For A Field Experience Observation1211 Words   |  5 Pagesvisited Wilmington Health Access for Teens for a field experience observation. Through this experience I observed different types of people seeking care in the clinic. Some people I saw in the clinic were African American females with children and Caucasian females. People who come into the clinic are seeking medical assistance and following up on routine examination appointments. I learned of different barriers when accessing care at the clinic and types of presenting health problems among adolescentsRead MorePost Deployment For Military Veterans Essay1491 Words   |  6 Pagesand care and get hit with the reality of poor care from the Veteran Health Administration and Department of Defense. T. Stecker, J. Fortney, F. Hamilton, and I. Ajzen, 2007, address that mental health symptoms have the likelihood to increase within post deployment for military veterans, especially for the ones who have seen combat. An estimated quarter of recent war veterans who are currently receiving care in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Health Care System have reported mental healthRead MoreThe Patient Protection Affordable Care Act Essay1476 Words   |  6 Pagesin 2011. The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act has only been extended to cover 32 million uninsured individuals mandates. The main issue of access to affordable care will be to exacerbated by limited community- based resources that provide preventive services, primary care access and the continuum care for patients with chronic conditions. There is a need to increase capacity to serve more patients, while improving outcomes and reducing cost. Health disparities in the U.S. range from HIV/ Aids

Monday, December 9, 2019

Erins Causal Argument Essay Example For Students

Erins Causal Argument Essay Erins Causal Argument Nothing meant more to people who went West in the 1840s and 1850s than mail from home. National Park Service Pony Express Historic Trail Brochure People moved West for many reasons: the prospect of a new beginning, free land, even Gold! Leaving family behind was a hardship that many settlers dealt with. And at this time, the only way to communicate with those left behind was to write letters. Moving was, and still is, a very traumatic process. Picking up and moving everything you own and leaving behind everything familiar – it was a very trying experience. Letters from home brought back a little bit of familiarity†¦a little bit of family†¦a little bit of security. While the wasnt the quickest mode of transporting mail to be developed, it was the first of any speed. In an attempt to create a quick and efficient mode for transporting mail, the U.S government spent more than $30,000 researching and purchasing camels. However, the use of camels did not prove practical because, while camels move quickly on flat dessert ground, the camels were not able to climb and maneuver the rocky terrain of the mountains with any great speed ( Service). At this time, the only way to send a letter was by stagecoach, a method which could take up to 4 weeks. Mail was too slow to be of any use to families and friends. In the case of a death, letters would reach their destination more than a month after the fact. If help was needed in certain situations, up to two months could pass before any correspondence would be returned. The fact was short and simple – sending letters simply took too long. Although not always practical, it was much quicker to go deliver the message in person. The Pony Express was not the first of this type of mail transportation. Actually, the idea of a sort of mailbag relay race originated in China. During Gengis Khans rule in the , mail was transported across much of Russia and China by riders on horses (Moody 181). The Pony Express was developed by William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Waddell of the Russell, Majors, and Waddell freighting company. The Pony Express trail ran from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Along this 1,6000 mile route were 190 relay stations, where riders would stay to rest and wait for their next delivery home.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Stonehenge Essay Example

Stonehenge Essay The word Stonehenge is though to have originated from the Anglo-Saxon period the old English wordhenge means hanging or gibbet. So the word Stonehenge would meanhanging stones However, nowadays the word henge has a specific archeological meaning: a circular enclosure surrounding settings of stones and timber uprights, or pits. Stonehenge is thought to have been built over 5,000 years ago.Before Stonehenge was built, there used to be a forest of pines. Stonehenge was built in three phases. Thefirst phase consisted of a circle of timbers surrounded by a ditch and a bank enclosing a ring of 56 pits. Later these pits were named the Aubrey Holes after the 17th century antiquarian, John Aubrey who discovered them around 1666. The holes were dug to hold wooden posts. The ditch would have been dug by hand using animal bones. In recent excavations, archeologists have recovered animal bones such as deer antlers. The deer antlers were used to loosen up the underlying chalk. Thisfirst stage was built around 5,050 years ago.The second phase was built around 4,000 years ago. Though this time it was rebuilt with bluestones. These bluestones were smaller than the ones you see in the pictures. Still each of them weighed around 5 tons. They were brought all the way from the Presceli Mountains in Pembroke, South Wales, which is 245 miles away. They would be dragged down to the sea, floated across the sea on huge rafts, brought up the river Avon, and finally into land where they are today.The third phase began around 2,000 BC. The second phase was not completed, work had stopped and was abandoned. Thats when the third phase began. Which is what we see today. This one was built with Sandstones not Bluestones. These Sandstones weighed over 25 tons each and were brough from Marlborough Downs, which is 20 miles away. It consists of 30 stones which are positioned in a circle and capp

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

History Of Light Infantry Essays - Infantry, Peltast, Hoplite

History Of Light Infantry Essays - Infantry, Peltast, Hoplite History Of Light Infantry For a long time peace was understood in negative fashion, simply as the absence of war. -Yvon Garlan Kendrick Pritchett in the introduction to the book The Greek State at War points out that in order to write history of Greek Warfare one would require a knowledge of many aspects of Greek life. The would-be investigator would have to be familiar with terrain in the case of any given battle, have an acquaintance with the archaeological artifacts of various types, close familiarity with the written sources, and most important, an understanding of the general economic picture. He would also need some insight into ancient religion and acquaintance with military and naval procedures and strategy. There is a definite truth about the statement. Even such narrow subject as development of light infantry in ancient Greece requires inquiries in multiple areas of overall Greek history. The knowledge of what ancient Greeks considered light infantry, an insight on development of ancient Greek infantry in general, agricultural warfare, key historical event that assisted in changing Greek outlook on war: these areas are absolutely essential in researching the subject of light infantry in Ancient Greece. Researching the primary sources for the subject of light infantry an investigator would find a puzzling fact; there are little or no references to the subject of inquiry. Ancient historians Thucydides, Xenophon, Herodotus, do not refer to light infantry troops, instead they use term peltast. It appears that the term peltast signifies a light armored warrior for the ancient historians. The term itself comes from pelta or pelte - a small shield that inhabitants of Thrace used as their battle armor. We find descriptions of Thracian peoples in Herodotus The Histories. The Thracians in the army wore fox-skin caps on their heads, and tunics on their bodies; over these they wore embroidered mantles; they had shoes of fawnskin on their feet and legs; they also had javelins and little shields and daggers. Climate in Thrace, both political and weather wise contributed to development of specific armor (or lack of it) and way of fighting. Ancient Greek historian Xenophon had served under Odrysian prince Seuthes in Thrace and recorded one of the campaigns in his treaties Anabasis. From the description, Thrace appears to be very cold and snowy which is not uncommon for northern parts of Greece. It also explains why Thracian peltasts had no heavy armor, relied on maneuverability and preferred skirmishing techniques to battle in formation. Also, there is no account of Thrace developing a city-state or any other kind of political organization other than tribes. Which explains predominance of primitive way of fighting over organized formation. Arthur Ferrill argues that although there definitely was a contact between ancient Greeks and Thracians, it had little or no affect on Greek warfare in general. This point is arguable, since there is evidence (mostly pottery, unfortunately) that Thracian shield and helmet designs were used by Greeks from 460 BC and on. Also the appearance of ekdromoi - runner outs in Greek phalanx, was probably a result of contact with Thracians. Ekdromoi were young, physically fit warriors that were instructed to run out and prevent Thracian peltasts from harassing Greek formation. Consequently, ekdromoi had to give up some of their heavy armor to gain in maneuverability. Considering evidence in hand, Ferrills argument appears to be more plausible since history shows that it would take much more than skirmishes with Thracians to change Greek outlook on war and fighting. Agricultural warfare, Greek Hoplites. Placing light infantry on the battlefield by the ancient Greeks signified the change in general Greek way of fighting. Roughly, general way of fighting is associated with hoplite phalanx warfare. Understanding hoplite warfare is essential in uncovering the origins of light infantry aside from it setting the pace of Greek life for almost five hundred years. Sometime between 700 BC and 650 BC formation of heavy infantry or hoplites began to take place. The changes took place primarily due to social and political developments within Greece itself, appearance of polis, Greek city-state and extensive agriculture, which created communities of equal property owners. It is plausible to assume that Greek farmers out of concern that somebody would traverse their land began to arm themselves, farmer solidarity developed.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

How to Get Help from Your Professor

How to Get Help from Your Professor Few students make it through college or graduate school without seeking assistance from a professor for help at one time or another. In fact, its important to seek help rather than let problems fester and intensify. So, how do you approach a professor for one-on-one time? First, lets look at common reasons students seek assistance. Why Seek Help? What are common reasons why you might seek out professors for assistance? Youve fallen behind in class because of illnessYouve failed a test or assignment and do not understand the course materialYou have questions about the requirements of a given assignmentYou need advice on the subject of your majorYou cannot reach the class teaching assistant during his or her posted hoursYou need clarification on policies and/or schedules OK, so there are lots of reasons to seek assistance from professors. Why Do Students Avoid Seeking Professors Help?Sometimes students avoid asking for assistance or meeting with their professors because theyre embarrassed or intimidated. What are common anxieties experienced by students? Feeling out of the loop after missing several classesFear of asking a dumb questionFear of confrontationShynessDiscomfort over approaching a professor of a different age, gender, race, or cultureTendency to avoid interactions with those in authority If youre going to progress as a student and especially if you wish to attend graduate school, you must set your intimidation aside and ask for the help that you need. How to Approach Your Professor Contact. Determine the preferred mode of contact; check the course syllabus as professors indicate their preferred methods of contact and related information. Ask yourself: Is this urgent? If so, then contact by phone or stopping by his or her office during office hours is probably the most logical step. Otherwise, you can try e-mail. Wait a few days for a response (remember that teaching is a professors job, so dont expect replies over evenings, weekends, or holidays). Plan. Check the syllabus for the professors office hours and policies before you make your request so that you are already familiar with their schedule. If the professor requests that you return at another time, do your best to meet at a time which is convenient for him or her (e.g., during office hours). Dont ask a professor to go out of his or her way to meet you at a time that is inconvenient because professors have many more responsibilities than teaching (e.g., lots of meetings within the department, university, and community). Ask. Asking is the only way to learn your professors preferences. Say something like, Professor Smith, I need a few minutes of your time so that you can help me with a question/problem Im having with ___. Is this a good time, or can we set up something that is more convenient for you? Keep it short and to the point. Prepare for Your Meeting Pull your thoughts together beforehand (as well as all of your course materials). Preparation will permit you to remember to ask all of the questions that you need to be answered and arrive with confidence to your meeting. Questions. If you are anxious at all about talking with your professor, prepare a list of your questions beforehand. Be efficient and try to accomplish everything in one meeting, rather than coming back time and time again with further questions. Materials. Bring your class notes and syllabus with you to refer to, if you have questions specifically related to course materials so that you have all the details you need. If you need to refer to a textbook, bookmark the pages that you will need to refer to so you can get to them quickly. Notes. Come prepared to take notes (i.e., bring a pen and paper to your meeting). Notes will help you record and remember the responses to your questions and prevent you from asking the same questions later in the course. At the Meeting Be punctual. Punctuality signifies respect for your professors time. Do not arrive early or late. Most professors are pressed for time. If you need to meet with your professor again, ask him or her if you can set up another appointment, following the suggestions above. Use the appropriate form of address. Unless your professor has indicated otherwise, address him or her by last name and with the appropriate title (e.g., Professor, Doctor). Show some gratitude. Always thank the professor for his or her time and express any gratitude that you feel is appropriate for the specific help that he or she has provided. This rapport will leave the door open for future appointments.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Gangs in America Why are they so out of control Essay - 2

Gangs in America Why are they so out of control - Essay Example Through the advanced technology in the entire United States, drug trafficking has been simplified and even gang recruitment is easier where the activities are mastermind through the use of technology leading to killings and other insecurity issues (Schneider, 1999). The expansion of gangs in the States has also increased in the streets due to the usage of social networking. The use of drugs and drug trafficking is unlawful and it is unethical to the States. To address the problem the federal government together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation should make sure that the advanced technology that is being used by individuals is monitored. Each and every activity that is taking place in United States should be tracked through the use of social media. Gangs are being recruited and expanding in the social media and thus close monitoring of all the activities should be done to ensure all those unethical practices in the States are curbed and eliminated in New York and California States among others. In California, landmark legislation referred to as Juvenile Crime Enforcement was passed in 1996 and Accountability Challenge Grant Program worthy $50 million was started to reduce the crime and prevent young individuals from conducting criminal activities. Young individuals associating themselves with gangs who threat and others cause mass killing in the States has been an ethical issue in entire United States. The young individuals who engage themselves in criminal activities die in many circumstances since they are confronted by the security officers making the youths to be reduced in the society. To curb this unethical issue, it is important for the federal government to fund and implement the program where juvenile rehabilitations centers will be structured where the violent and chronic juvenile offenders will be accommodated. Counseling and other disciplinary acts should be conducted to ensure that

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Virtual Private Network Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Virtual Private Network Architecture - Essay Example Basically, the cloud computing platforms (virtual clouds), both private and public, offer an excellent framework for both all the organizations (small, medium and large) to host their applications (e.g. enterprise resource planning systems) by hiring resources on rent, on-demand and paying charging depending on actual usage. In this scenario, an organization’s IT services can be distributed all through the corporation’s data centers and systematically assigned resources in cloud data centers (Wood, Shenoy, Ramakrishnan, & Merwe, 2011; Tchifilionova, 2011). Cloud computing allows enterprises to obtain as much computation and storage resources as they require, while only paying for the precise amount that they use. In this scenario, a VPN (virtual private network) is established by creating a secure communications link between two nodes by following the characteristics of a point-to-point private link. Additionally, a VPN can be employed by the organizations to smooth the process of secure remote access in the cloud, establish and maintain a secure data channel within a network or securely connect two networks together (Researcher's Blog, 2011; Wood, Shenoy, Gerber, Ramakrishnan, & Merwe, 2009; Rittinghouse & Ransome, 2009). ... advantageous that cloud resources be flawlessly incorporated or combined with an organization’s existing architecture without the need to deal with management, handle substantial configuration, or security concerns. On the other hand, present cloud service providers provide virtual cloud servers as remote units with their own IP address space that is beyond the reach and control of the customer. In addition, this isolation of enterprise resources and clouds augments software and configuration challenges and complexity while putting into practice the services that must communicate with an enterprise’s private network. There emerge various problems when moving an organization’s information system such as enterprise resource planning systems to a virtual cloud. In this scenario, poor communication and lack of coordination between virtual cloud and network resources make the customer once more accountable for autonomously managing for bandwidth guarantees and traffic separation with a separate network service provider. Thus, in order to deal with these challenges, there is a need to improve the cloud computing architecture to flawlessly put together virtual private networks (VPNs) (Wood, Shenoy, Gerber, Ramakrishnan, & Merwe, 2009; Rittinghouse & Ransome, 2009). In addition, the majority of business organizations are adopting incremental approach for the migration of their enterprise resource planning systems to virtual cloud. However, organizations that are planning to move their resources to virtual clouds must keep in mind that any migration, no matter it is associated with the cloud or not, engages one-time expenditures and a lot of opposition to migration for instance some of the staff members can be against the migration. In addition, there can be some cultural

Sunday, November 17, 2019

The Motion Picture Association of America Essay Example for Free

The Motion Picture Association of America Essay American Psycho, A Clockwork Orange, Boys Don’t Cry, and Clerks. What do all these movies have in common? They were all rated NC-17 at first viewing. The reason why they were rated as such is the real issue. They were rated NC-17 for the sexual content, either shown or talked about. The way in which it was presented in these movies made the MPAA give it an NC-17 rating. The MPAA found it offensive and inappropriate. The violence, some of it quite gruesome, was seen as less offensive and inappropriate according to the MPAA. Despite their best efforts in trying to protect children and what they’re subjected to, the MPAA is utterly useless. The internet provides easy access to pornography and other sexual content by the click of a mouse. The boundaries made by the MPAA in regards to sexual content are unclear most of the time and the rating is inconsistent and gender biased. The MPAA has worn out its usefulness and should be entirely eliminated and replaced with a more democratic, fair and open rating system. A rating system for film has been around for quite a while. Since 1926, the film industry has been rated in some manner. Back in 1926, much more was banned sexually and in terms of violence. â€Å"For almost 40 years the US film industry was governed by the Motion Picture Production Code, which banned nudity, drug use, religious ridicule, disrespect for the law and other depictions in film that would have the effect of lowering society’s moral standards† ( Feiser, np). Many movies back them were quite subtle compared to today’s day and age. Many filmmakers didn’t get adventuress and stayed well within the parameters of the rules because our society was more modest and pure. There was a much harsher strain on sexuality. Romantic scenes were heavily scrutinized to uphold ‘the sanctity of the institution of marriage’ and ‘excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown’† (Feiser, np). Filmmakers had no option, they needed to comply with the code or their film would not be released. When the times changed, the rules needed to as well. â€Å"In 1966 the standards of the production code were relaxed, and two years later it was replaced with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) film rating system, which, in modified form, we follow today† (Fesier, np). However, with this rating sysyem, filmmakers have the option to not follow the guidelines set in place. â€Å"Filmmakers can opt out by not submitting their films for rating and accept an NR (not rated) designation. But by taking NR rating, a film will have less theatrical distribution and will attract fewer viewers to movie houses. Thus, for mainstream films, participation in the rating system is a practical necessity† (Fesier, np). Many filmmakers are stuck when it comes to getting their movie rated because the MPAA is the only company out there that rates films so what they say goes. Even though filmmakers can make their films NR, the film won’t get any publicity and will most likely fail. All filmmakers can do is hope for the best when they submit their film for rating. No filmmaker wants to receive an NC-17 rating because it would require severe editing and cutting of the film. Every filmmaker knows that sex is the only thing that will drastically effect a rating but the rules and guidelines of what sexual things are and aren’t allowed have never been stated by the MPAA and often times, it is shocking what is allowed in one film and not another. Let’s first discuss the issue of masturbation in films. For example, Kevin Smith’s film Jersey Girl, released in 2004, was made by Kevin Smith for his daughter. It’s about one man’s struggle to be a single father after his wife dies in childbirth. The movie contains no nudity or sex scene. When Kevin Smith gave it to the MPAA for rating, Kevin Smith said â€Å"The MPAA gave Jersey Girl an R rating for a scene where Liv Tyler and Ben Affleck’s characters discuss masturbation in a diner† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Kevin Smith, who disagreed with the film’s rating, talked to the head of the MPAA and her response was â€Å"It’s uncomfortable to think of my 16 year old daughter listening to this† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Kevin Smith then said in response, â€Å"Do you really think your daughter hasn’t masturbated? † (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Kevin Smith’s response, although quite brave, brings up quite a valid point. Masturbation is a natural part of life but the MPAA don’t want kids knowing about it. The MPAA is incredibly gender biased when it comes to rating a film that includes physically showing masturbation. For example, in the film But I’m a Cheerleader, in its original viewing, it received an NC-17 rating. The director Jamie Babbit said that â€Å"The MPAA told me that in order to get an R rating, I would have to cut a scene where one of the girls is touching herself fully clothed† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). The director, furious, then makes a great comparison when she uses the example of American Pie. Jamie Babbit says â€Å"In American Pie, Jason Bigg’s character masturbates in an apple pie not fully clothed and yet that only received an R rating† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). A scene much more vulgar and inappropriate receives an R rating because it’s a male and not a female that does the masturbating. A girl fully clothed rubbing herself or a male, with his pants down, masturbating in an apple pie. It’s almost as if the MPAA views guys masturbating as inappropriate but natural but a female masturbating is unnatural and worse. That is insulting to women and angering as a film watcher. The MPAA is also quite harsh in their issue of physical sex between two people and sex scenes in movies. There are many perfect examples of movies being rated harshly, including NC-17 simply for sexual content over extreme violence like blood and gore, and mutilation. One example is when Marry Harron, the director of American Psycho, sent her movie to the MPAA for a rating. She asked the MPAA why it was rated as such and she paraphrases, saying â€Å"It was rated NC-17 but not for a scene of brutal mass murder with a chainsaw. No brutal murder scene was the issue; the issue was a rear entry three way sex scene† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). One scene determined this movie’s harsh rating. One sex scene was enough to overlook several scenes of brutal mass murder. This is just one of many movies that have gotten an NC-17 for one sex scene and not for anything else. For example, Blue Valentine was rated â€Å"NC-17 for a scene of explicit sexual content† (Berkeley Library, np). Crash, as well, was given an NC-17 rating for â€Å"numerous explicit sex scenes (Berkeley Library, np). Even This Film Is Not Yet Rated was given an NC-17 rating due to â€Å"some graphic sexual content† (Berkeley Library, np). Maria Bello is an actress that was in The Cooler, which is another movie rated NC-17, this time because of Maria Bello’s pubic hair being shown in the sex scene. She gives her opinion in This Film Is Not Yet Rated when she says â€Å"I’ve always been such a fan of the way European filmmakers in the way they view sexuality which is real people and real bodies and it’s a way of life and human nature† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). She goes on to say that â€Å"We’ve desexualized sex because we’ve taken it out of being a day to day function. We’ve desexualized because we’re afraid of it† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). David Anser, a film critic for Newsweek says that â€Å"Europe has always found America odd in sexual matters† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Finally, Allison Anders, a director, says that the US has become so strict in their policies of sex that it’s become a â€Å"denial of women pleasure, but of pleasure in general† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Despite all of what is said, there are people who believe that movie censorship is a good thing. Jack Valenti, founder of the MPAA, has had to defend the MPAA and his opinion on censorship for years. He sent an article to the LA Times where he discusses why things are the way they are and why the MPAA is in fact successful. In the article, he states that â€Å"For the last 15 years, more than 70% of parents with children under 13 find the system to be Very Useful to Fairly Useful in helping them guide their childrens movie going† ( Valenti, np). He then mentions that the 2006 poll showed that â€Å"an increase in approval by parents with children under 13 to 80%. Those who said the rating system was Very Useful rose 10% higher than last year. This latest poll underscores my central theme that parents, for whom the system was designed, are highly approving of what it does they trust it† (Valenti, np). First of all, parents with children under 13 years of age are infected by the higher ratings because they can’t even be allowed into a PG-13 movie without a parent. The high ratings are the ones that affect ages 15-18. He should poll those parents and see how many parents agree with the R to NC-17 rating, or even the PG-13 to R rating. Secondly, Matt Stone, co creator of South Park states that â€Å"Valenti brings up these statistics that say that 70% of parents find the ratings useful. I always felt like that was because they’re the only game in town. As compared to nothing at all, they probably are useful† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Having no ratings board at all would be chaos. There needs to be a ratings board, there is no doubt about that. Having nothing at all would is not acceptable but since the MPAA is the only rating board that rates movies, they should be fair in their ratings as well as listen to directors arguments and try their best to accommodate. The MPAA refuses to ever change their minds or hear what anyone has to say. It’s their way or the highway. Unfortunately, the MPAA is not the end all be all in censorship. The internet, although a great tool, has little to no censorship and someone can find just about anything on the internet. As John Waters put it â€Å"All teenagers, because of the internet, have seen more hard core pornography then their parents have seen. They’ve seen the most hideous things you can find on the internet and they’ve all seen it. All kids have searched and gone deep into web porn sites† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Although film is a huge media outlet, kids aren’t seeing any less hideous things just because they’re not allowed to see this movie or an inappropriate sex scene was cut out of a movie. According to Internet Pornography Statistics, â€Å"The average age of a child’s first exposure to pornography is 11. A total of 90 percent of children ages 8-16 have viewed pornography online† (Ropelato, np). Another striking statistic is â€Å"15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures is 80% and 8-16 year olds having viewed porn online is 90% (most while doing homework)† (Ropelato, np). Unfortunately, kids have so many options when it comes to pornographic sites. â€Å"There are 4. 2 million (12% of total websites) pornographic websites and 420 million pornographic pages† (Ropelato, np). By censoring or harshly rating films based on sexual content, all the MPAA is doing is forcing kids to go online to find pornographic material and as proven, it is as easy as the click of the mouse. â€Å"Encino, California inside the headquarters of the Motion Pictures Association of America, an anonymous group of parents gather to rate film G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. But the MPAA won’t let anyone inside to see who these people are or how they make their decisions and among their most controversial decisions are the movies they rate NC-17† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). The MPAA has been anonymous and their members have been unknown since the MPAA’s inception. This has come under much scrutiny with filmmakers and film producers because they believe they have a right to know who these people are that rate their films. There are many opinions as to why the MPAA members are unknown and one opinion is by Kimberly Pierce, director of Boys Don’t Cry. She says â€Å"You’re dealing with a very powerful, cultural censorship group that doesn’t want to be disempowered. If you made those names public, you might disempower them† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Kirby Dick, the director of This Film Is Not Yet Rated asks John Lewis, author of Hollywood v. Hardcore â€Å"Is there any other review board in this country that you can think of in any industry besides the C. I. A. that is secret that operates in secrecy. † John Lewis’s simple is a simple but powerful â€Å"No. † The MPAA is the only other association besides the C. I. A. hat operates in secrecy. There is something seriously wrong with that picture. All the MPAA does is rate movies, the C. I. A. helps keep our country from being destroyed. The C. I. A. risks their lives every day to protect us and MPAA members sit in a dark room and rate movies. There is no good reason why the MPAA should be secretive. Naturally, Jack Valenti had something to say as to the reason why board members names are unknown. He told the L. A. Times â€Å"First, the Motion Picture Assn. f America withholds the names of the rating board members so they wont be harassed by disgruntled producers. Grand jury members names are withheld; so are criminal jury members, all for the same reasons. Theres nothing sinister about this. We convey to the press, upon request, a brief biography of each rater. We could make public their names, but if we did, how would that advance the quality of the ratings? † (Valenti, np). What Valenti doesn’t realize is that he has more disgruntled producers because the member’s names are unknown. Producers have the right to know who rated their movie. Kirby Dick said it best when he told Joan Graves â€Å"It seems like the raters who you are trying to protect from influence actually are in direct contact with the people who can influence them, the senior rater’s especially† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). The senior raters would, in all likelihood, have a huge impact in what rating a movie gets and the other raters would be more inclined to agree and give it the same rating as the senior rater did. This is probably due to the fact that the raters have the opinion that the senior raters would know more knowledge of ratings and have more experience so therefore their rating must be the best rating for the film. Senior raters wouldn’t be the only ones that would influence raters, other raters as well would be able to convince another rater to give a rating. Even though Valenti tried to avoid influence, influence is still a big factor in the MPAA. Valenti also told the L. A. Times about the guidelines required to be an MPAA rater. He told the L. A.  Times that â€Å"They are parents, who see a film through the eyes of a parent. We have three senior raters who give historical knowledge to the system, have administrative duties and whose children, young when they started, are now over 17. The rest have younger children† (Valenti, np). Kirby Dick, director of This Film Is Not Yet Rated, hired a private investigator to discover the identities of the MPAA raters and find out if what Valenti said about them is in fact true. The investigator figured out the names of the raters on the 2005 board and discovered that what Valenti said wasn’t 100 percent accurate. One rater was â€Å"Joan Worden, Age 56, Children: 18 year old twins† and â€Å"Howard Fridkin, Age 47, Children: none† (This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Dir. Kirby Dick, IFC Films, 2006, Film). Joan Worden has two twins who are old enough to see an NC-17 movie so how does she know what’s best for children to see? How is someone with no kids like Howard supposed to know what children should and should not see? Ultimately, it’s these factors that make the MPAA utterly useless and really more harm than good. The MPAA and the process of getting a game rated leaves many directors and producers frustrated. The MPAA should be replaced by a rating system which has clear rules and regulations when it comes to how movies are rated. It should also consist of members names that are known so as to give the producers and directors some idea who rated their movie and therefore can discuss easily what needs to be done to get a different rating. This system should also treat violence as being a serious factor, like sex, that determines a movie’s rating. These factors are essential for a successful movie rating system that will benefit not only the movie makers but the audience as well.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Guy Debords The Society of the Spectacle :: Debord Society of the Spectacle Essays

Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle    For decades, Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle was only available in English in a so-called "pirate" edition published by Black & Red, and its informative, perhaps essential, critique of modern society languished in the sort of obscurity familiar to      political radicals and the avant-garde. Originally published in France in 1967, it rarely receives more than passing mention in some of the fields most heavily influenced by its ideasÑmedia studies, social theory, economics, and political science. A new    translation by Donald Nicholson-Smith issued by Zone Books last year, however, may finally bring about some well-deserved recognition to the recently-deceased Debord. Society of the Spectacle has been called "the Capital of the new generation," and the co    mparison bears investigation. DebordÕs intention was to provide a comprehensive critique of the social and political manifestations of modern forms of production, and the analysis he offered in 1967 is as authoritative now as it was then. Comprised of nin    e chapters broken into a total of 221 theses, Society of the Spectacle tends toward the succinct in its proclamations, favoring polemically poetic ambiguities over the vacuous detail of purely analytical discourse. There is, however, no shortage of justif    ication for its radical claims. Hegel finds his place, Marx finds acclaim and criticism, Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg add their contributions, and DebordÕs own insights are convincingly argued. It becomes evident quite quickly that Debord has done his homewor    kÑSociety of the Spectacle is no art manifesto in need of historical or theoretical basis. DebordÕs provocations are supported where others would have failed. The first chapter, "Separation Perfected," contains the fundamental assertions on which much of    DebordÕs influence rests, and the very first thesis, that    the whole of life of those societies in which modern conditions of production prevail presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles.   All that was once directly lived has become mere representation. establishes DebordÕs judgment; the rest attempt to explain it, and to elaborate on the need for a practical and revolutionary resistance.    By far DebordÕs most famous work, Society of the Spectacle lies somewhere between a provocative manifesto and a scholarly analysis of modern politics. It remains among those books which fall under the rubric of "oft quoted, rarely read"Ñexcept that few ca

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Social Media and the Egyptian Revolution

January 2011 marked the beginning of peaceful protests and movement demonstrations staged by citizens throughout Egypt. Movement actors fought for democratic advances, political freedoms and equality. The genuine commitment for change, the unity of the people and most notably the tactful com/the-effects-of-social-media-on-communication-skills/">manipulation of social media resulted in the disposition of the suppressive regime. Modern social media has significantly changed the traditional forms of activism and has simplified the efforts needed to provoke civic mobilization.Social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube hold the dynamic power to manipulate, control, inform and motivate. Essentially, they have become excellent tools for activists. This paper seeks to describe and assess specifically the relationship between social media and the Egyptian Revolution. Building on this foundation, this essay will prove that social media platforms were the major catalysts fo r social change in Egypt. To begin, social media, or more precisely Twitter and Facebook, defined and formed the movement's collective identity.These platforms represented safe environments that permitted individuals to consult about common grievances and share revolutionary ideas (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466). Furthermore, social media applications played key roles in facilitating the efforts needed for communication, organization, and recruitment (ibid). These applications were highly trusted as they allowed activists to network effortlessly and moreover, assisted in turning rational individuals into constituents. Lastly, social media aided in attracting global support and ‘helped spread democratic ideas across international borders' (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466).By referencing the works of scholars such as Kenneth Pollack, Halim Rane and Francesca Communello, this paper will prove social media as the underlying force of the Egyptian revolution. To begin, the con versations held on Facebook and Twitter shaped the collective identity that would make ‘individuals feel capable of effecting change' (Staggenborg, 2008; 191). Twitter and Facebook were the underlying catalytic forces of the movement as they provided a space that would allow Egyptians to publically aspire for changes and ‘express opposition to the existing order' (Doran, 2011; 41).â€Å"We Are All Khaled Said† was a Facebook page that established Khaled Said's death as the spark of the Egyptian movement. With Said's brutally beaten face as the banner, this page quickly spurred anger as it emphasized both the unreasonable level of cruelty that was exerted towards him and as well as the oppression Egyptians faced daily. Remarkably over the course of a few weeks, half a million Egyptians were on Facebook, expressing their anger and sharing their grievances over police brutality, rising food prices and corruption.This platform page assisted in framing the movement â⠂¬Å"in terms of demands for dignity, justice, freedom and democracy† (Rane et al, 2012; 80). The establishment of the movement's frame gave rise to many other Facebook pages. These highlighted the corrupted practices of the government and educated both constituents and adherents to the movement about democracy and its benefits. Facebook succeeded in breaking down the psychological fear barrier that obstructed Egyptians from participating.Once fear was no longer an issue, the Egyptian social capital progressed intensively as the collective consciousness emerged. Facebook was used as a mobilization structure that would undeniably give back the power to the people and restore their self esteem. Correspondingly, Tunisia's success in toppling their dictator, had inspired a wave of revolutions in the Middle-East. Socio-political debates and ideas of democratic advances in Egypt were highly influenced by the current events in Tunisia. These influences had left a marginal impact on th e Egyptian collective identity.By using social media platforms, Tunisian activists guided their Egyptian counterparts regarding the matters of revolution. On Facebook, Tunisians inspired Egyptians by further highlighting the benefits of democratic advancements and by providing words of encouragement and advice ( Rane & Salem, 2012; 85). Tunisians contributed to the empowerment and collective morale of the Egyptian people entirely through the use of social networking applications. Social media is what ultimately allowed the Egyptian people to be galvanized.It created a type of common room that allowed dissidents to speak feely which gave emergence to the movements collective action frame and identity. As Twitter and Facebook were deduced as safe and anonymous environments, the psychological fear barrier had eventually been broken, thus supporting the thesis that social media was undeniably a prominent feature in the outcome in Egypt. (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84) In addition, Twit ter and Facebook had facilitated the movement's needed efforts for mobilization.Activists used these platforms as reliable tools  to propagate their message and contact fellow movement actors. Both Twitter and Facebook contain features that allow statements to be liked, shared or quoted; therefore breaking down all geographical barriers. Egyptian activists, while by passing government restrictions, would use these applications to strategically organize peaceful protests and other forms of collective activities and events. Movement actors would organize ways to contest authorities on Twitter or Facebook as they knew their great power to spread news (Idle and Nunns, 2011, p. 20).Specifically, Twitter played a key role during the revolution as it held the power to potentially turn a simple tweet into a worldwide trending topic. Similarly to the diffusion theory, Twitter along with Facebook became key channels of diffusion. Both these applications accelerated the speed at which the ad opters received the innovations initiated by the transmitters, resulting in the instantaneous mobilization of individuals and resources ( Rane & Salem, 2012; 78). The pertinent example of this phenomenon presents itself a few days prior to the massive revolutionary demonstrations of January 25.To avoid attracting authorities, main organizers of this uprising had avoided disclosing details too early. When details were finally shared, it diffused virally over social media applications at an impeccable speed that would attract 80, 000 protestors in two days, thus proving social media as a prominent inciting force. Social media was used to raise expectations of success and coordinate strategy (Howard et al. 2011; 9). These networks were manipulated in ways that would inspire â€Å"dissidents to organize protests, criticize their governments and spread ideas about democracy† (ibid).Twitter and Facebook supported Egyptian activists by sustaining collective action and by facilit ating the process of diffusion (Rane & Salem, 2012; 90). To deduce, social media simplified the dynamics needed to provoke the mobilization of the Egyptian social movement, thus supporting the thesis that Twitter and Facebook were the catalysts to the movement. Lastly, social media platforms galvanized foreign support and â€Å"helped to globally spread voices against [oppressive] regimes† factors that contributed to the movement's success (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466).As previously mentioned, social media networks had broken down the geographical barriers that would otherwise limit activists. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube disseminated images and videos of police brutality towards the relatively peaceful protestors; which heightened awareness in countries. Activists used these platforms in their favour to gain international support, thus weakening the oppressive regime. Simply put, the more Egyptians attracted awareness, the more likely Mubarak would fall.Specifical ly, Egyptians directed these images to Western countries as they recognized that added pressures from these States was paramount (Khamis & Vaughn, 2011). An important speech permitted Egyptian movement actors had known of their success days before Mubarak had actually resigned. When Obama publically stated his discontentment with the Egyptian government's abuse of power, there was a cry of victory in all of Egypt. The Leader of the Free World's statement had rekindled the fire of passion and had empowered Egyptians, inspiring them to continue their pursue for change.Moreover, similarly to the Tunisian Revolution, the Egyptian Revolution had sparked movements throughout the Middle East. Countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region share many common elements, thus explaining the wave of uprisings (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84). The Egyptian movement was merely a response to a lack of human rights and freedoms and its success, motivated all pro- democratic activist s in the MENA region. These activists learned of the power of social media by following the Egyptian movement on Twitter and Facebook.In hoping to rid their countries from â€Å"adverse social, economic and political situation†, activists look at social media platforms as the initiators for change (ibid).. Consequently, current oppressive governments in the Middle East have taken example from the failures of the Egyptian and Tunisian governments and â€Å"have been subjected to a new level of scrutiny† (Doran, 2011; 43). In Syria, the authoritative government has been behaving with great brutality in response to mobilization efforts. Assad has ruthlessly killed many of the rioting individuals all while censoring the media, in efforts of shielding ‘himself from foreign audit' (ibid).The social media tactics used by Egyptian and Tunisian activists have weakened their respective government all while strengthening other authoritarian governments in the region. Twitte r and Facebook supported Egypt during its plight for social change as they assisted activists in raising international awareness. Because of their abilities to cascade information virally with no geographical limits, the Egyptian Revolution became an international topic in a matter of weeks; ultimately leading to the movements success.Lastly, social media aided with  spreading ideas of revolution and democracy in the MENA region (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84). The diffusion of Egypt's success on Facebook and Twitter, inspired pro-democratic movements throughout the Middle East; thus supporting the statement that social media was the seminal impulse for social change in Egypt and as well as the rest of the Middle East. â€Å"The best practical reason to think that social media can help bring political change is that both dissidents and governments think they can† C. Shirky ( Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 461).The Egyptian Revolution and the contributory role played by Twitter and Facebook demonstrate the predominant effect social media platforms have on social movements. The achievement of the movements objectives didn't solely depend on social media; offline efforts were required. Nevertheless, Twitter and Facebook were the major driving forces of the movement as they accelerated the movement's progression towards success. To begin, these social media applications shaped the collective action frame and defined the collective identity, ultimately leading to the mobilization of the movement.Furthermore, these platforms facilitated communicational efforts and the transfer of pertinent information thus simplifying all the dynamics involved with mobilization. Lastly, Twitter and Facebook helped in the spreading of democratic ideas and attracted the international awareness needed that would essentially overthrow the Mubarak regime. Considering these statements aforementioned, it is extremely likely that without these social media platforms, the revolution wou ld have evolved at a much slower pace, therefore proving that these platforms were verily major catalysts for social change in Egypt.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

A Person Who Has Made a Great Impact on My Life

Sometimes we come across a person who changes our whole perspective of life for better. Last summer I met Uncle Joe. My parents sent me to my uncle on holidays. I was supposed to spend my whole summer holidays with him and his family. That was the first time we have been introduced to each other. At first, I thought that it was going to be my worst holiday ever. I felt embarrassed of living with people I hardly knew and wanted to return home but days passed and I got to know my uncle better. Everyday, we used to wake up early in the morning and go for fishing.We packed our bags with provision and went to the river. He taught me how to fish and then we sat together for hours, fishing. While fishing, he used to tell a lot of interesting stories based on his own life experience. He told me stories about his student life, about his career, and about life in general. Once he asked me what I want to become and what I want to achieve in my life. I did not know what to answer  and never th ought about it before. He told me that I should  decide wisely  so that in the end I would not regret about anything I have done. I  told him  that I don't know what I want to do.Then he advised that I should do only what  I am interested in. I remember his words, he said, â€Å"Don't care about money or prestige of your occupation. Just do what you really love. † I started to list down the things which I really love and began writing them in my diary. The whole summer I spent exploring myself and finally deciding that I want to connect my future with physics and architecture. Therefore, I came to conclusion that I should study civil engineering. But this is not all what my uncle has helped me with. He also told me that I should be determined and persistent in achieving my goals.He often said that resolute determination is the truest wisdom. However, I think the most important lesson I got from my uncle is to see only positive side in any occasion. One day, we did n ot catch any fish and went home with empty hands. I looked at my uncle and noticed that he was smiling. I wondered why he was smiling as I did not see any reason to be happy. Then he said exuberantly, â€Å"We didn't catch any fish, but we had a great time. I don't see any reasons to be unhappy. † I admire his attitude. He is always grateful to everything he has and is truly happy.Uncle Joe is the person who has made an impact on my life. After that holiday, I changed my lifestyle and attitude. I used to spend a lot of time in front of my computer, playing games and surfing the net. Now, I spend more time studying, playing basketball and going out with my friends. I learned a lot of things which were new to me. I became more serious, optimistic and mature. During the time I spent with him, I also learned that no matter how smart I am or how much I know, there is always more to learn or experience. I'm grateful to him that he has helped me to find out who I am and what I want.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Free Essays on My Future Goals

My Expectations in life. A person needs to achieve certain goals in one’s life before you can call them successful. Success is to achieve goals, you have set. I have set certain goals I would like to achieve in my lifetime. Some of these goals are personal while others are professional. My professional goals in life are to find a good job that makes me happy, get a good education, find a job that makes enough money for me to support my family, and help people. Goals It is very important for me to receive a good education. Most job fields require a descent education. If I don’t have an education I would not be able to function properly at the work place and I would not understand what to do. To maintain a good job that will make good money will require me to go thorough schooling or training and maybe even both. Education is the first and foremost way to become successful, because the job I will choose will need me go to school and maybe even beyond college. My happiness in what I do is also a goal for me I my life. There is no way someone can become successful if they are not happy with what they are doing. If their job is going to make them miserable, they will never show 100% in their work and they will slake off. If someone did this they would probably get fired or their pay would not be very high. The job I want will be interesting to me. I will need that I love my job and I love what I am doing. I need to be putting 100% into my work. Another professional goal of mine is for me to be making good money in my work. I am not saying that I need to be making millions but I want enough so I can help support my family. I cannot expect to have a family I can’t afford. My job will help me buy a home, pay health insurance, and other things I need for my family. My main goal in the money is to keep, my family happy. I want them to have enough but not too much. I want them to have the necessities. I have also alway... Free Essays on My Future Goals Free Essays on My Future Goals My Expectations in life. A person needs to achieve certain goals in one’s life before you can call them successful. Success is to achieve goals, you have set. I have set certain goals I would like to achieve in my lifetime. Some of these goals are personal while others are professional. My professional goals in life are to find a good job that makes me happy, get a good education, find a job that makes enough money for me to support my family, and help people. Goals It is very important for me to receive a good education. Most job fields require a descent education. If I don’t have an education I would not be able to function properly at the work place and I would not understand what to do. To maintain a good job that will make good money will require me to go thorough schooling or training and maybe even both. Education is the first and foremost way to become successful, because the job I will choose will need me go to school and maybe even beyond college. My happiness in what I do is also a goal for me I my life. There is no way someone can become successful if they are not happy with what they are doing. If their job is going to make them miserable, they will never show 100% in their work and they will slake off. If someone did this they would probably get fired or their pay would not be very high. The job I want will be interesting to me. I will need that I love my job and I love what I am doing. I need to be putting 100% into my work. Another professional goal of mine is for me to be making good money in my work. I am not saying that I need to be making millions but I want enough so I can help support my family. I cannot expect to have a family I can’t afford. My job will help me buy a home, pay health insurance, and other things I need for my family. My main goal in the money is to keep, my family happy. I want them to have enough but not too much. I want them to have the necessities. I have also alway...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

What Is Fiat Money

What Is Fiat Money Fiat money is a currency established as money by government law. The term is a derivation from a Latin word fiat (let it become) used in the sense of an order or decree. It differs from commodity money and representative money. Fiat money is a currency established as money by government law. The term a derivation from a Latin word fiat (let it become) used in the sense of an order or decree. It differs from commodity money and representative money. Commodity money is created from a good, often a precious metal such as gold or silver, which has uses other than as a medium of exchange, while representative money simply represents a claim on such a good. The simplest definition of fiat money is:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Money that exists because a government says so. MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND Historically, most money was based on some commodity such as gold, silver, or other important goods, and had a value which could be expressed in terms of some amount of that commodity. Fiat money, by comparison, has no intrinsic value; its value is based on faith in the issuing government. How Fiat Money Works Fiat money is essentially a form of credit. When a government declares a currency to be legal tender, that means it can be exchanged for goods or services equivalent to the value of the currency, and the credit comes in the form of the assurance to the seller of the goods or services that the currency can be exchanged for further goods or services. From a purely theoretical perspective, fiat money reverses the relationship of prices and currency value. With commodity-based currency, one unit of currency is equal to some quantity X of a backing commodity. The price of a cheeseburger (or other product or service) is an equivalent value of some quantity of the same commodity, expressed in terms of units of the currency: So in other words, $1 might be worth 1/1000 ounce of gold, and a cheeseburger – after the maker of the cheeseburger considers his costs to make it, the amount of profit he must make, and what he thinks his market will be willing to pay for it – might be worth 3/1000 of an ounce of gold, which makes the cheeseburger worth $3. The backing commodity is what actually serves as the money, with the coins or paper bills simply representing a sort of â€Å"IOU† for a particular amount of it. HOW TO SAVE MONEY IN COLLEGE? With fiat currency, there is no backing commodity to serve as a common frame of reference, so the value of the currency is expressed in terms of the goods and services purchased with it: This is fine, of course, as long as everyone agrees that the currency represents a certain value. When the cheeseburger maker is reasonably certain that the $3 he charges for it will cover the costs of its production plus provide him a profit, then $1 is worth one-third of a cheeseburger. In turn, his suppliers must be reasonably certain that what he pays for the bun, meat, cheese, condiments, and gas or electric needed to cook it will cover their costs plus a profit, and so on. If confidence in the assumed value of the currency is lost at some point in the whole complex value chain that exists between wheat seeds, cow embryos, and the customer standing at the fast-food counter, the fragile system begins to break down, which we usually experience as price inflation. Are There Any Advantages of Fiat Money? Fiat money is a Keynesian economic concept, so the debate among economists about whether or not it’s a good idea, unfortunately, has a distinctly unhelpful sectarian tone to it. From the purely Keynesian perspective, fiat money provides the government a means to control prices – and by extension, consumption and production – by controlling the money supply. The more money available, the less each unit of money is worth, so prices inflate; remove money from the system and the unit value decreases, thus deflating prices. This is the basic idea behind â€Å"quantitative easing†; the government prints more money to encourage lending by banks and spending by businesses and consumers. If done properly, injecting money into the financial system should hypothetically boost lending and spending enough to increase production, which compensates for the inflation in prices caused by the availability of more money. Commodity-backed currency, on the other hand, cannot be so easily managed because the amount of money is determined by the reserves of the backing commodity, usually gold, and by the price at which that commodity is being traded. Price inflation and deflation in a commodity-backed system are caused by fluctuations in the price of the commodity. For example, let’s say Country A has a reserve of one million ounces of gold and sets the value of its currency (the A$) at 1 A$ = 1/100 ounce of gold when the price of gold is 100 A$ per ounce. As the price of gold changes, the real value of the currency changes, resulting in inflation or deflation: The price of Gold Value of 1,000,000 oz. Gold Reserve Amount of Currency Value of 1 A$ Inflation/Deflation Rate 100 A$ 100 million A$ 100 million A$ 1 A$ +/- 0% 105 A$ 105 million A$ 100 million A$ 1.05 A$ -5% (deflation; 1.05 A$ worth of goods are worth only 1 A$) 98 A$ 98 million A$ 100 million A$ 0.98 A$ +2% (inflation; 1 A$ only buys 0.98 A$ worth of goods) The government can moderate inflation/deflation by either increasing or decreasing the money supply as needed to match the value of reserves, or by buying or selling the reserves themselves. Because of the value of commodities changes rather quickly, and because adjusting either the money supply or a number of reserves also affects the price of the commodity, managing prices in a commodity-backed currency system is much more difficult than it is in a fiat money system. The biggest problem with the Keynesian point of view towards fiat money is that the verdict of history is rather clear that fiat money systems are ultimately catastrophic. One of the earliest examples is the long collapse of Roman currency between 0 and 244 A.D., where â€Å"fiat money† took the form of progressively reduced proportions of silver in Roman denarii coins. In 11th-century China, a shortage of copper for coins led to the issuance of one of the world’s first paper currencies, which devalued quickly as more and more were issued (and in all likelihood, widely counterfeited). Three times in French history – after the death of Louis XIV in 1715, after the French Revolution in 1789, and during the Great Depression in the 1930’s – fiat currency was issued, rapidly over-supplied, and collapsed due to hyperinflation. Germany’s post-WW I Weimar Republic, the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, Mexico’s â€Å"Tequila Hangover† in 1994, the severe devaluation of the Russian ruble in 1998, the Argentine financial crisis of 1999-2002, and the almost unfathomable hyperinflation in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe are also examples of financial calamities brought on, one way or another, by the use of fiat money.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Engaging Ethics in Architecture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Engaging Ethics in Architecture - Assignment Example In addition to giving a snapshot of the various ethical concerns embedded in architecture, this report goes further to put into perspective how architects may incorporate ethics into their practice with different stakeholders. Architecture is one of those sensitive professional fields that pose serious negative impacts to the stakeholders involved whenever ethical standards are ignored. Essentially, architectural ethics define the moral responsibility to do the right thing or make the right and best decision on variety of situations as mentioned in the introduction. Architectural work involves the consideration of a rich blend of cultural diversities. This necessitates the need for anyone in this profession to think about the cultural perspectives that may come up at any time in the working environment. This is yet another pointer as to why ethics may be necessary for the architectural profession. Professional ethics will demand that individuals be able to deliver high standards of s ervice in their professional jurisdiction without compromise on grounds of cultural diversities. Architecture, in itself, has an ethical nature. As put clearly, it is one of the processes that are involved in the beautification of man’s natural habitat, to become a better place (Wasserman, Barry, Gregory, and Patrick 13). This provides an avenue for the man to find satisfaction, both in the spiritual and emotional context. As such, the architectural professionals are obliged to come to the realization that their profession is not just about following a set of instructions or doing things for the sake of it. Rather, they need to come to a conscious knowledge that they are actively involved in the process of bringing about fulfillment in human life. They are also a central part of the emotional and spiritual aspects that make life worth living. Ethics, being an integral part of the architectural profession, will, therefore, dictate all the decisions made by anyone in that field .  

Friday, November 1, 2019

Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Term Paper Example Corporate social responsibility on the other hand can be defined as the responsibility that a Corporation has, beyond economic and legal obligations, to act ethically and to contribute in a positive way to the good of the society (Trevino &Nelson). Corporate social responsibility requires that every business organisation contribute to the good of the society in which it operates. This paper looks at whether or not the common practice of corporations making campaign contributions in hope of political and legislative favours is in line with these three values of business organisations. In America, Politicians, especially presidential candidates are sponsored by big corporations in exchange for favourable legislations if the sponsored candidates win in the elections. The funding of the political campaigns by corporations is a controversial issue; some people are of the idea that the funding of the political campaigns by politicians is in line with the law, the ethics, and the social responsibility of business organisations, while other people are of the idea that the funding of the political campaigns by corporations is against the law, the ethics, and the social responsibility guiding business organisations. This topic is quite significant because the sponsoring of political campaigns has big influence in the American politics, i.e. without the corporations sp onsoring politicians in America, many politicians in America, especially the presidential candidates would not be able to fund their campaigns. Before we explore the controversy of the funding of political campaigns by politicians, it is important to have background information regarding this topic. On the law and the funding of the political campaigns by the corporations, it is argued that since the law recognizes business corporations as persons, the business corporations have rights to influence the political process by

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Management Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management Information Systems - Essay Example Cost leadership and Differentiation focus strategy will be discussed with examples in the following section. Wal-Mart stores have successfully expanded its operations across many countries with cost leadership strategy by gaining competitive advantage through under-pricing products while maintaining decent profit margin; thanks to savings from lower costs that allows Wal-Mart to transfer savings to customers. Starbucks Corporation currently employs the differential focus strategy and caters to a specific target consumer segment with unique and distinguished products. Selling unique line of coffee and tea products to high-end customers at a high cost gives it a competitive advantage. It doesn’t aggressively market itself but the attention to detail, product quality, impeccable customer service, and ethical practices have helped position the organization as â€Å"one of the most valuable global brands†. Wal-Mart currently has a management information system that helps sto ring and sharing information from and for its world wide operations. It uses point-of-sale system to record all the sales information and telecommunication to connect with its stores worldwide to maintain stocks. Starbucks has an advanced information system in place to collaborate worldwide operations, especially focusing on direct coordination among finance, purchase, sales and marketing, and human resource department. However, both the firms need to extensively focus on information security and customer profiles in order to avoid potential security breaches and information misuse to ensure sustained success and growth. References Trevino, D. (2009, May). Starbucks Details Strategy For Profitable Growth. Starbucks Newsroom. Retrieved from http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=184 Ireland, D. R., Hitt, M. A., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2011). Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases. Cengage Learning. Retrieved from

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Marketing Profile Analysis On Pandora Internet Radio Media Essay

Marketing Profile Analysis On Pandora Internet Radio Media Essay For our Group project we will be doing a marketing profile analysis on Pandora Internet Radio. First, we will explain what the company does. Next, an in depth analysis including the site navigation, the Pandora business model, brand interactivity, the brand look, brand personality, their competitors, Pandoras metrics, what kind of consumers use Pandora, how consumers behave, and where Pandora could use room for improvement will follow. In the business model we will look at how Pandora makes their revenue through the different services they offer. Site navigation will describe where each click will take you and how to get from page to page. Brand interactivity explains how not only user can interact with Pandora, but how Pandora can interact with its users. Further, we will see how the brand looks across different formats from computer screens to mobile phones in brand look. Next, in brand personality, we will discuss what kind personalities are embedded in the brand. Also, while looking at competitors we will see how Pandora fares against their top competitors and what they do differently. Pandoras metrics will include the sites traffic, how long a consumer stays connected to a site, and its reach. Finally, when we look at consumers, we will look at how the Net gen is the majority of Pandora users, and how consumers move through the behavior model of acquisition, consumption, and disposition. What is Pandora? Pandora is a Internet radio service created by the Music Genome Project. They started up in 2000 and according to their website its the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. Users can enter a song or artist and Pandora will play music that you entered, but also music that is stylistically and auditorily similar. They have more than 50 music analyist that study and listen to the music one song at a time, collecting details on every song based on close to 400 attributes that include melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, and lyrics. According to their website, the typical analyst working on the Music Genome Project has a four-year degree in music theory, composition or performance, has passed through a selective screening process, and has completed intensive training in the Music Genomes rigorous and precise methodology. Pandora never uses any bots or machines to extract data from any of the songs. The songs are always being updated and new songs are continually added to their ever expanding catalogue of titles. Site navigation Pandoras website is very easy to access. The address is http://www.pandora.com/. When the page loads, there are 3 places you can click at the top half of the page. You can register a new account, log-in with a preexisting account, or type in an artist, or song, and immediately begin listening to music. Clicking on the register hyperlink takes you to the registration page and is completely free. The only information needed is an email address, a password, the persons birth year, their US zip code, and their gender. There is a opt-out check box for personalized recommendations and tips. Once everything is complete you can click register for free of cancel. Registering for a Pandora account allows you to save you stations and access them from anywhere. If sign -in is chosen, all that is need is an email address and password. This takes you to all of your saved stations and also allows you to type in a new station or artist. Typing in an artist or song starts playing the music. The bottom half of the page is newer. There is a space where you can click to see the information about the music you are playing, view a mini feed of your profile, select music by genre, learn about how to get Pandora radio on your mobile phone and in your home, and see whats happening in the Pandora video series. Below this feed, you can view concert listings, gift a station where you can make a station and give it to another Pandora user, look at bookmarked songs, and again, go to the video series page. Business model The business model for Pandora is mostly ad driven. Consumers can register for free and begin listening to music immediately. Users are never required to pay anything because it is payed for by the advertisements. However, they have two more aspects to the business model. Once free Pandora accounts reach the 40 hour mark of listening per month, the music stops and you are required to pay 99 cents for unlimited listening for the rest of the month. You can also just come back the next month for another 40 free hours. Each month has the same choice on the limit and they never bill you after the fact of charge you. The final part of the business model is a paid Pandora One subscription account. This offers unlimited listening hours each month, plus no advertisements. It comes with a high stream quality, desktop application, extended interaction timeout, and a mini player. This can be purchased for a subscription for 36 dollars per year. Pandora also has a box through HP that you can purchase to stream music anywhere in your home. It has built in speakers and Wi-Fi connectivity. Aside from music, you can now view the Pandora vise series and look up concerts coming to areas near your town. Pandora is branching out to video and live music avenues. They also work with mobile companies through advertising and putting mobile applications on phones so you can listen to Pandora anywhere instead of just a computer or home device. Pandora allows for users to expand their musical knowledge based on their own personal preferences without requiring the user to purchase songs on a whim. The seemingly archaic days of buy before you try have ended partly because of services like Pandora. Pandora gives users the option to purchase each song multiple ways in a variety of digital formats. One of these methods is to buy a song via iTunes. While the iTunes service itself allows for the sampling of a given song, it does not give users the ability to stream the entire song prior to purchase.    Brand Interactivity Pandora is becoming more that just an internet radio player. Consumers can create a profile much like social networking sites and add friends to communicate with. Users can leave comments on other users profiles, share radio stations, and even find other Pandora listeners. With Pandora mobile applications, users can access this information where ever they are and listen to music straight from their mobile phones. Not only can you search to find song, or artist, you can also take a look at the Pandora video series, which is a video blog that contains videos about music, how the music is made, and where to hear it. Pandora also has a written blog where users can interact and comment on posts. The final point of interactivity is users can see a schedule of local live shows in their area. The list is based on your bookmarks list, thumb up and you station seeds, so the concerts that they show you are going to be based off of what your profile says you listen to and what you like. For each event, you can click on the ticket info button which takes you to the event website, to view the event and get tickets. This can also all be accessed from the mobile phone application. Brand look across formats Pandoras brand look is, for the most part, uniform across its various mediums. The page is identical no matter what browser you chose to view it on. This is extremely important for a service like Pandora. This is because a user might choose to view this content on a computer loaded with a browser that is different from the browser that they usually use Pandora on. An example of this would be a user who usually uses their windows-based computer loaded with Internet Explorer to access Pandora being forced for some reason to use a mac-based computer loaded with Safari. Because of Pandoras uniformity across platforms, this user will be able to use their Pandora on the mac-based computer without the initial learning curve often associated with using new web based services. Pandora is also able to be accessed on various broadband enabled mobile devices. Pandora has taken steps to make their service as uniform and consistent as possible across the mobile devices that might be used to access Pandora. For instance, Pandora accessed on a users Apple iPhone 3G looks almost identical to Pandora accessed on another users Motorola MOTORAZR V3. Furthermore, the page layout on both devices mirrors that of Pandora accessed on the users personal computers. This is another step Pandora has taken in order to reduce any additional learning curve that might be associated with accessing Pandora service on a users mobile device. Brand Personality Pandoras brand personality includes both a mechanical passion for music as well as a passion for connecting users with music that they otherwise might not have had or wanted access to. This mechanical passion for music is made evident by Pandoras Music Genome Project. Because of this mechanical passion, Pandoras brand gives off a scientific vibe. Pandora is also very diverse because no one persons musical taste is exactly like the next person. Musical taste is something that is very unique and Pandora is trying to cater to each persons uniqueness. They know each person is different, which what makes them different from other internet radio stations. Pandora is kind of like the guy that no one really cared about, but then everyone wants to know him because they realized how cool he really is. Major Competitors While Pandora brings many new and unique features to free internet radio, it is hardly the only game in town. Last.fm, Imeem, and Grooveshark are just a few internet radio alternatives to Pandora. Each of these services offers their own take on Internet radio. Lately, Last.fm has taken the position of Pandoras primary competitor. Like Pandora, Last.fm offers users the ability to stream custom playlists based on a users personal preference. While both services share this feature, they have unique and independent ways of doing so. Last.fm employs a technique called Scrobbling to determine which songs rise or fall in popularity. This is accomplished by the user downloading software on their personal computers and ranking their streaming music. With millions of users doing this on a daily basis, this is a great way to crowdsource popularity. Pandora on the other hand is based on The Music Genome Project. This is essentially a database of artist-defined analysis of each song. This analysis is primarily based on the songs musical attributes as well as unique qualities associated with the each song. So one on hand, you have millions of laymen ratings helping to improve the listeners streaming experience, and on the other hand you have a selected group of well trained ears pouring over individual songs to produce unique playlists for the user. Which is better is left up to the individual user. Recently, one of Pandoras competitors, Imeem, has stolen a substantial amount of traffic away from Pandora. Imeem is part social networking site, part internet media service. With Imeem, users interact with each other by streaming, uploading, and sharing music and videos. Imeem also allows users to build and share custom playlists with others directly on Imeems website or via an imbedded Imeem player through external sites such as Facebook and Myspace. Other online music services such as Grooveshark compete with Pandora. Grooveshark allows users to upload, stream, and vote on content similar to Imeem. Grooveshark also incorporates a Pandora-like system for recommending content based on the users personal song choices. With all these great features, why is Groovesharks traffic almost stagnant next to Pandoras mammoth annual growth of close to three million users? Grooveshark users have provided criticism that Grooveshark does not indemnify its users against any unlicensed uploaded content. Essentially, this means that Grooveshark is not responsible for the content that they host. Pandora Site Metrics According to Alexa.com, a website that specializes in web traffic metrics, Pandora is ranked 82nd for United States website traffic. This sandwiches Pandora between Newegg.com, arguably the internets largest electronic retailer, and the United States Postal Service for internet traffic. There are many metrics with which to compare a websites e-traffic and ultimately said websites/services success. The first of these metrics and arguably the most important is a websites daily traffic rank trend. This metric compares Pandoras daily traffic against other websites accessed. According to this metric, daily Pandora traffic has fluctuated over the past year. Currently, Pandora is ranked 371. Another metric with which to compare Pandora to its competitors is the time the average user stays connected to the given website. Currently, the average Pandora user stays connected eleven minutes. In relation to Pandoras previously discussed competitors, Pandora has the longest user retention rate. This compares to Last.fm and Imeems five minute and Groovesharks seven minute user retention rate. The last metric used is Reach. Reach refers to the percentage of global internet users who visit Pandora. According to Alexa, 97.7% of Pandoras users access Pandora from within the United States. This metric shows that Pandora has a strong national user base but should look into expanding their international user base. This is not necessarily the case for Pandoras competitors. Imeem, for example, has an extremely strong user base in Thailand, having a national user base of only 42.8% United States users. Last.fm has a United States user base of 35.2% with the remaining 65% consisting of international users. Ultimately, Pandora will need to begin increasing their international traffic if they plan on sustaining their growth. Customer Profile The types of people we see using Pandora, more frequently, and more often are the Net Generation. They were typically born from 1980-2000 and are anywhere from 10-30 years old. The reason that the Netgeners use Pandora more is because Pandora is a digital product and the Netgeners are growing up in a digital world. They are different from other generation in that their lives are surrounded by digital media. (Tapscott) 73% of youths between the ages of 12 and 17 use the Internet. For most teenagers it is a way of life. So, it is only natural that we see this age demographic using Pandora services. The characteristics of these consumers are as follows according to Tapscott. They have fierce independence because they create online identities and acquire knowledge to make their own decisions. They have and Intellectual and emotional openness and view the world in a global context. They have very free expression and have strong views. They are also very innovative and have a strong desire to be more mature than their predecessors. They investigate things out of curiosity, demands real time and fast processing, are very sensitive to corporate interest, and are very trusting online. Consumer Behavior Acquisition How the consumer gets content from Pandora is that they find it. This is accomplished by typing in an artist name, or song name, and Pandora streams then the content. They also get to choose more or less what they listen too. Also creating a profile helps in the acquisition process. They also get to create stations so that they can the content that suits them best. Consumption The customer consumes content by listening to the music, reading the blogs, or watching Pandoras video series. They can also consume content by getting gift stations from other users and communicating with them through a simple messaging service. Disposition In the disposition process, consumers can bookmark and save songs to remember them later and even use the information so that they can personally own the song. The content never really goes away though. They can listen, watch, or read the duration of the content, but its always there for the consumer to go back and listen, watch, or read it again. Ideas for Growth   Ã‚              The first idea for growth, which I think will also target a larger market, is somehow incorporating their service into automobiles a little better.   Currently, Pandora can only be heard through computers and cell phone with broadband data plans. If Pandora can create a way for people to get internet radio in cars with services, they could reach a larger audience for people that either dont listen to music on their computers or dont have expensive smart phones. A way of implementing Pandora into an already well respected device would be to implement Pandora functionality into satellite radios. It would also be a safer alternative to have something compatible with a car that being distracted by a mobile device.   Ã‚           Next, Pandora needs to begin expanding into the international market. Currently, Pandora has blocked access to users outside of the United States. This clearly explains why Pandoras user base is comprised of 97.7% United States users. Pandora founder Tim Westergren spoke directly on the topic saying: As it stands now, there is still no affordable license for a webcaster to stream legally (ie. abiding by all standing copyright law and properly compensating performers and composers) anywhere outside the US. However, Pandora has publicly stated their commitment to finding a way to provide Pandora service to international users, leaving new potential users with only keep the faithà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Finally, Pandora should look to advertise their paid services more. Even if they dont in publications or Ads, they need to at least start pushing it on their website more. The guess would be that they dont want to seem like they are moving to a paid service, but if they want to stay in this business, more money is what it is going to take and they need to start pushing people to subscribe, or buy products from them. Channel Mix Plan The Channel mix plan for Pandora is Internet. It is the one channel that can reach the maximum number of clients for their business model. They also use a phone application as a channel through mobile Internet service providers. The messaging with customer through both channels is all opt-in only. You will only receive emails if you check a box and any information is only sent or retrievable of you want, or ask for it. Conclusion In conclusion, we have discussed Pandoras business model in detail. It seems that once Pandora can monetize their service appropriately, they will be an extremely, financially, successful digital media venture. Furthermore, Pandora has a great deal of legitimate future growth considering they have yet to expand their service outside of the United States. Ultimately, Pandora has an extremely bright future in the internet radio market.