Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Evaluating The Objectives Of An E Commerce Security Program

Assessing a companies’ risk is one of many steps in developing a security program. The other is establishing a security management structure and visibly giving security responsibilities. This project will focus on development and implementation techniques of e-commerce security to prevent and identify intrusions. This report will exhibit techniques on how to apply, adapt, and extend the already developed monitoring techniques in areas such as intrusion detection or verification. Beginning with a secure Web server configuration is critical. It involves strengthening the Web server for its function on the Internet. Next, validate that the Web server is secure at least through a firewall. The best way to pick a firewall is to design or revise the present security policy, so it is easy to pinpoint and assess which firewalls have the functionality to enact policy s rules. Once the Web server is protected, verify that the e-commerce application and other services do not generate holes in the network security. Purpose The goal of an e-commerce security system is to provide secure connection between the customer and the company without other parties acquiring personal information. Incentives Incentive helps us understand precisely what each party gains from e-commerce. ï‚ ¨ E-commerce Store: An e-commerce business owner s top priority should be providing safe web browsing and secure transactions. ï‚ ¨ Customers: customers prefer to conduct business with an e-commerce store that hasShow MoreRelatedProposal For Designing And Developing An Integrated IS Strategy For WPTV1615 Words   |  7 Pages  increase viewers and viewer participation through the implementation of wireless applications and an interactive TV broadcasting. It has formed an interactive media development group to help aide in the incorporation and integration of an Internet/E-commerce strategy to keep WPTV a leader in innovation. Currently, WPTV is using local area networks of PC’s and running windows 8 OS. The goal is to upgrade and or replace existing equipment and integrate a digital and social media so that viewers willRead MoreThe Purpose Of A National Cybersecurity Strategy1421 Words   |  6 PagesThe purpose of a national cybersecurity strategy: In this recent past, the e-services, new technologies, and interconnected networks have become integral part of our daily life. Society, businesses, government and national defense depend entirely on the well-functioning of information technology and information infrastructures, communication, transportation, e-commerce, emergency services and financial services depend on the integrity, availability and confidentiality of information streaming theseRead MoreHarley Davidson2426 Words   |  10 Pagesfor the eBusiness Marketplace (Case Study) 1. What new risks did Harley-Davidson face by integrating eBusiness into its supply-chain management system and by allowing suppliers to have access to the company’s Intranet? E-commerce is a fantastic way for businesses to connect with customers around the world in a way that has never before been possible. Yet, that is not to say that eBusiness does not have risks that entrepreneurs must be aware of before setting up a presenceRead MoreImpact of E-Commerce in Starbucks4672 Words   |  19 PagesIMPACT OF E-COMMERCE ON STARBUCKS Table of Contents DATE IV 1 TASK 1 - ORGANISATION 3 INTRODUCTION 3 STARBUCK S INTERNAL BUSINESS FUNCTIONS 4 STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS 6 TASK 2 – IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE 10 INTRODUCTION 10 BUSINESS IMPACT OF E COMMERCE ON STARBUCKS 10 IMPACT ON SOCIETY 11 CONCLUSION 13 REFERENCE LIST 14 Task 1 - Organisation Introduction By definition an organization is a group of people who have come together socially to achieve a common goalRead MoreBusiness System Planning For Indian Railways For The Economic Health Of The Country1436 Words   |  6 Pagesthe project are the CRIS which manages Railway backend software i.e. PRS , broad vision manages e-commerce application, HCL for network and security, 23 banks for online payment through Direct Debit facility, 04 payment Gateways for credit card payment, 03 cash card for online payment. Sustainability The project is self-sustainable through various means. Selling Railway Ticketing products (I-ticket, e- ticket, SOFT and agent model), Sale of Advertising space in portal, Using IT infrastructure resourcesRead MoreBusiness Skills for E-Commerce6864 Words   |  28 PagesBusiness Skills for E-Commerce Group Assignment Executive summary The documentation is about the process of implementing an e-commerce solution for the Dinapala Group of company. As the first step of completion, a preliminary investigation has done about the selected organization in order to have a proper idea about the problem scope and the background. After identifying the circumstantial, organization’s core business functions have assesses under the outcome criteria of understandingRead MoreThe Impact Of E Commerce On Business7352 Words   |  30 PagesIntroduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 1. Understand the impact of e-Commerce on business 1.1 Critically discuss the expectations of internet customers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 1.2 Critically assess the potential impact of common applications on an e-Commerce business†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..........†¦8 2. Be able to plan an e-Commerce strategy 2.1 Plan an e-Commerce implementation strategy for an e-Commerce business†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.12 3. Be able to manage an e-Commerce strategy 3.1 Critically assess the risks of linkingRead MoreMy Challenges as a Systems Engineer at Salesforce.com Essay1178 Words   |  5 Pagesventure. Projects at Infosys have given me invaluable experience in different phases of software development cycle including requirements gathering, design, development and production support. My first project, where I was part of a large maintenance program for Intel (client), required me to support several middleware services implemented in technologies like SAP-XI, TIBCO, Web methods 8.2, and BizTalk. My responsibilities included monitoring applications, gateways and servers, managing tickets, bugRead MoreDavid Jones3817 Words   |  16 Pagescustomer loyalty will determine the viability of the transformation into a successful e-commerce company. Additionally, identification of stakeholders and their requirements are crucial in major organisational changes. To respond to changes in the external environment, David Jones should scale back on capital expenditure on its existing business model and invest in technology to build a cutting-edge e-commerce platform. Improving the efficiency of ex isting operations would secure the financial positionRead MoreEffective Management Of Operations And Supply Chain3011 Words   |  13 Pagesprovide more convenience to the customer as well as expand its reach. The success of online retailing can be attributed to adequate investment in e-commerce. Sainsbury’s online retailing platform is easily navigable and provides the shopper with all the required information including product varieties, prices, and images. The platform has the necessary e-commerce abilities, including the ability to store customer details, provide information about order status, facilitate interaction between customers

Monday, December 23, 2019

Persuasive Essay On Animal Testing - 962 Words

For many years, animal testing has been very widely accepted in the world for the purpose of testing products such as makeup, new medicine and medical procedures, as well as determining whether or not some foods are safe for human consumption. It’s a growing problem in the world that has led to the suffering of animals for thousands of years in order to benefit humans. In order to fix this, these tests need more strict regulations to be implemented in order to save animal lives and find less inhumane solutions to continue humanitys progressive lifestyle without destroying natures. Animal testing has been a widely used practice in scientific research since the dawn of modern civilization. The earliest recorded accounts†¦show more content†¦Chris Abee, Director of University of Texas Cancer Center, stated that without the testing of chimpanzees, they would not have a vaccine for Hepatitis B and the use of animal testing is their best hope for finding a cure for Hepatiti s C. Though a necessity for some things, animal testing isn’t the only way to test new products and find cures for diseases. There are ways that can reduce the animal death toll and prevent inhumane treatment of all kinds of animals. In-vitro studies have been shown to be an effective tool, which is the performance of a procedure in a controlled environment outside of a living organisms. Though not as effective as in-vivo studies, the living cells of a organisms can last months to years if kept in a controlled environment to allow for the study of diseases without the killing of animals. Animal testing is also a very unregulated practice in the world, According the Animal Welfare Act, animals such as rats, mice, fish and birds are not covered, which makes up to 95% of the animals used in research. Another flaw of animal testing is sometimes that drug tests on animals dont always correlate to humans. According to neurologist Aysha Akhtar, over 100 drugs that were effective whe n used on animals wereShow MoreRelatedPersuasive essay against animal testing764 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Persuasive Essay against Animal Testing Abraham Lincoln once said, â€Å"I am in favour of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.†Ã‚  I couldn’t agree more with this statement as I do not believe that animal testing is right and I am totally against it. One of the main reasons I am against animal testing is the fact that the animals don’t have a choice and are being forced to be tested, which can lead to them getting seriously ill or dying as a cause of theRead MorePersuasive Essay On Animal Testing748 Words   |  3 PagesAnimal Testing, what is it? On dictionary.com the definition for animal testing is, â€Å"noun; The use of non-human animals in research and development projects, esp. for purposes of determining the safety of substances such as foods or drugs† So what does that tell us? That Animal testing is okay, and a good thing for scientific research, right? Well in some cases, using lab rats is for a good cause, to test things out and see what’s cures what, but companies such as Loreal, L’Orà ©al, Maybelline, WindexRead MoreAnimal Testing Persuasive Essay1402 Words   |  6 Pagesangers me more, than people working in companies, factories, laboratories, and even in the comfort of their home to use innocent animals to test human products. They continue to test out these products on animals, even after it has been proven that in almost all cases, animal testing has no benefit on us as buyers or consumers. I have found that laboratories are using many animals that are considered as pets to families, such as mice and rats, rabbits, and even guinea pigs. They are forcefully using themRead MorePersuasive Essay On Animal Testing1078 Words   |  5 PagesAnimal testing isn’t something that’s new and unheard of, it has been around for centuries. Using animals for research testing is not only being done in the U.S but also all over the world. What many people don’t understand is that these tests don’t just involve cute, little mice and a maze with a block of cheese at the finish line, it is long days of just sitting in a small cage with little food waiting to be chosen for the next terrifying and painful experiment. It is a harmful and cruel way ofRea d MorePersuasive Essay On Animal Testing704 Words   |  3 PagesAnimal testing has been a around since 384 BC. â€Å"Some testing methods require the animal to; die, be exposed to radiation, remove or expose organs, or subject animals to trauma to create depression and/or anxiety.† (â€Å"THE LEADING SOURCE FOR PROS CONS OF CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES†) Animal tests and human results only coordinate about 5- 25% of the time. Not only is it inhumane, but it isnt even all that reliable. Not to mention, it`s an insufficient waste of government money. Yes it has helped us in vaccineRead MoreAnimal Testing Persuasive Essay706 Words   |  3 PagesThroughout history,  animal experimentation  has played an important role in leading to new discoveries and human benefits. However, what many people tend to forget are the millions of animals that are tortured or killed during the process of these painful, deadly experiments. Many people seem to misunderstand animal nature and th e laboratory procedures and techniques that are executed on the animals. The procedures are cruel, unreliable, and harmful. Luckily there are more humane alternatives thatRead MorePersuasive Essay On Animal Testing1155 Words   |  5 PagesAnimal Testing Animal experiments happen all over the world, but are they necessary? Animals are tested for medical research as well as for cosmetics. Some say that these experiments are not painful, so they are justified. Where others believe that all these experiments are inhumane and nothing can justify torturing and killing innocent animals. Although many believe that animal testing is the best way to improve human health by finding new treatments and tests for the safety of the productsRead MorePersuasive Essay On Animal Testing802 Words   |  4 PagesEvery year over 26 million Animals are used for scientific and commercial testing. They use these animals to develop medical treatments and to determine the safety for human use. Animals are put through intense torture, pain and death just to see if the product is safe for humans. Even pregnant animals get tested on and most of the time the baby animals die in the stomach. Testing on these innocent animals is cruel and inhuman. There is r eally not a similarity on animals and humans, half of the productsRead MoreAnimal Testing Persuasive Essay1694 Words   |  7 Pages About 19,500,000 animals in total are killed in scientific research every year. This means that about twenty percent of the animals tested on each year die, which may not seem like a large percentage; however, if it is taken into account that this happens to the same species in an endless cycle, the numbers can begin to build. Although, through this process of testing, many lifesaving medicines have been created for all types of animals including humans. So, the issue the world is experiencing rightRead MorePersuasive Essay On Animal Testing1521 Words   |  7 Pagesmillion animals are killed each year in the name of animal testing. Now as some might say that sacrifice is needed for the common good, it is safe to say that animal testing may be taking it over the top to get such test results for the common good. Animal testing has been a common practi ce for many years to get results and side effects for food, drugs, pesticides, beauty products, and just about everything one uses in an average day. But now, in the modern world where ethics and animals rights

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Betty Parris Free Essays

The character Betty Parris plays an important role in the story of the Crucible. As one of the girls who danced in the forest she is part of the play’s central conflict. She is the cause of the townspeople blaming witchcraft in the first place and she is also part of the reason that most of the characters are killed by the end of the fourth act. We will write a custom essay sample on Betty Parris or any similar topic only for you Order Now Through her actions over the course of the play, Betty is shown to be fearful, easily-manipulated, and an attention-seeker. In the Crucible, one of Betty’s main characteristics is her fearfulness. When her father catches her in the woods, she immediately faints to avoid any punishment and continues to pretend to be in a coma for a while after. Abigail convinces Reverend Parris that â€Å"Betty was frightened and then she fainted† (pg. 833) but it seems like what really happened was she was clever enough to avoid being reprimanded. She is also fearful of Abigail. After Betty wakes up, Abigail tells her that Reverend Parris knows everything and this causes her to â€Å"springs off the bed, and rush across room to window† (pg. 837) because she is afraid of what might happen. She is harassed and struck by Abigail after talking about Abigail’s charm to kill Goody Proctor and this causes her to submit to Abigail’s demands that no one speaks of what she did in the forest. Her fear of Abigail leads to her joining Abigail and the other girls throughout the rest of the play even though she seems to resent them. Another main characteristic of Betty is her tendency to be easily-manipulated. As one of the members of the group of girls who danced in the woods, she becomes a part of Abigail’s web of lies and deceit. At first she resists Abigail until Abigail threatens to come to her â€Å"in the black of some terrible night† (pg. 837) if she says anything about the charm. After that, she follows Abigail and the rest of the girls as they condemn the people of the town as well as when they lie in the courthouse and pretend to see Mary’s spirit attacking them. She follows Abigail’s every action and mimics anything that she does. This lets her lead Betty to do horrible things to people just because Betty is unable to stand up to Abigail. In the Crucible, Betty is also shown to be an attention-seeker. As a younger girl, she has the natural need for people to pay attention to her. This need is further amplified by her lack of mother, which leaves her fewer people to entertain her. When she is thought to be unconscious, many people come from all over town to visit her. Among these people is Mercy Lewis who claims to have wanted â€Å"to see how Betty is† (pg. 836). This may be another reason that Betty joins Abigail and the other girls in their escapades. She just needs the attention that the townspeople give them for condemning all the witches. One thing that shows Betty’s attention-seeking is when the psalm can be heard outside of the bedroom, Betty â€Å"claps her ear suddenly, and whines loudly† (pg. 839). This action convinces everyone that Betty cannot hear the Lord’s name and the others mark it as a sign of witchcraft. Another example of this trait is shown when all the other girls are shouting out names in Parris’ house. When Betty begins to convict people with them, she stands on top of her bed as she does it. Even though Abigail and the other girls are all doing the same thing, Betty still wants the attention and so to stand apart from the others she puts herself on a higher pedestal to be seen. Through her fainting in the woods, to her participation in Abigail’s convictions, Betty Parris is shown to be fearful, easily-manipulated, and an attention-seeker. Her role in the Crucible is an important one that drives the plot and is the cause for anyone thinking witchcraft is involved in the first place. How to cite Betty Parris, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Personal Branding Imprtance And Criteria †Free Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Personal Branding- Imprtance And Criteria. Answer: Introduction Personal branding was introduced some years back with a set of articles by tom peters. He wrote that we are all the CEOS OF OUR OWN COMPANY and that is our own selves. It is very important to keep us updated and in a fine manner to create a good profile of ourselves on the minds go public. Its in our hands to show the world, the best side of ours. We are our own brands and it is very important for a brand to be well kept for increasing its value in all the terms. Future Business/ Job Project The future job which I want to pursue is becoming head chef in a 7-star rated hotel. I have been very much passionate with my work and have always got good results for the new experiments I have ever done in my life since the time I made cooking a passion from a part time hobby (Gratton, 2010). This job is bit off track from various other jobs which people think of pursuing in their life. But from my thinking, this best I can do for earning a good living as in this area, I can show my interest and work as per my taste. Working long hours would not become a burden for me as I have a keen interest in delivering the best out of me and earning respect and praises from the people whom I serve and make a stand at my workplace. I already have an experience of 10years in the same field in which I have always had a good repo, wherever I served (Gratton, 2010). Now this dream job of getting the position of a head chef in THE TAJ hotel will be my aim. I would try firstly brand my own self in a manner where I can attract people through my own name and fame. What Is Personal Branding And Why Is It Important Firstly, before self analysis, we must discuss what is personal branding and why is it necessary for a person to brand themselves and creature their own image profile. Personal branding is no less than branding a product. It involves polishing yourself with the best you have done and what you aim to do in the future (Joziasse, Selders and Woudhuysen, 2010). Personal branding is a process of showing up your own self to the world the best way one can. While we operate social media sites like, LinkedIn or Facebook or twitter, it is thought that a person creates a space of his thoughts ideas and achievements on the social platform for sharing it to the world. With all the special sites linked with each other, lets the recruiters visit your personal social media profiles and assess you in a different possible way, where, one can check the lifestyle a person lives in, what other hobbies one is indulged in or seeking any other qualities of that person (Gratton, 2010). Companies nowadays do not just focus on the practice of old school methods of recruiting a person for A class jobs but also prefer to look at your social world and social profiles where they can a report of your past instances, your personality and understand in a much better way. Self Analysis As told earlier, I have been a student of hotel management institution. I graduated with a satisfactory score of 89% in my course and have always had good reports in my whole college life. Cooking and kitchenware has been my passion since the time I was in my college. Expect from the score, I have been very good in preparing new international dishes in a fine manner and managing the whole lot of chefs properly. I have worked in 3 hotels in my 10 years experience which were rated as 5 stars. I have my social profiles on almost all the platforms- Face book, twitter, instagram and LinkedIn but i do not keep them well updated. A person, if not updated socially, might face some issues reaching his or her dream job as of now; the companies do look at your personal profile data for taking you inside the company. It has been a new trend in the industry to take aloof on the social profile of a person (Joziasse, Selders and Woudhuysen, 2010). A short SWOT analysis of self can be conducted to review your position in the industry- Strengths- the biggest strength of my life is that, I have an experience of 10 years which matters a lot in the hotel industry. Uri have worked for good brands and have made my own position valuable. This can help me be better than many others looking for the same position as mine. Weaknesses- although I have my profile created in many of the recruitment providing websites but my social profile not well updated and there are no experiences added to my Facebook profile (Kuehn, 2016). All my achievements are on paper and in a file but they are continuously updated in the social websites of LinkedIn and Facebook. Opportunities- there are many opportunities for a person in hotel industry. Infect, nowadays, hotel industry is no less than a show business and a person with good profile and experience is preferred for jobs in good and priced hotels. The pay of hotel chefs and managers is way too good as hotel industry is gaining importance day by day (Joziasse, Selders and Woudhuysen, 2010). There is a good chance of companies looking for new or more people in their hotels to stabilize more and more. Threats- I might have a very good profile on papers but I am not well updated on the social media profile and this can act as threat for me. It can be a negative factor in this filed (Kuehn, 2016). Many new people are coming up with skills in the hotel industry amend with their good social profiles and a better personal brand, can attract companies towards good positions and I might suffer some negative effe cts of being un-updated. Hence, a person must assess his or her SWOT analysis for knowing the reality of his value in todays world. What Personal Brand You Want To Create In Order To Attract The Future Recruiters? Social Networking Profile I would like to update myself with all the social platforms and try to add all my achievements and experiences to my social profiles too. Starting with Facebook, a proper identity must be created with full description of your living, add trees and name. If a person fails to maintain one social profile of his own, then it might have confused the recruiters to know your real ideas and profile. Social profiles must not be confusion. It is all in the hands of a person to show the best of his or her life in the special profile (Kuehn, 2016). Creating personal brand needs- Clear description of name, age and location All the updates of the school level education Updates of graduation level education with clear knowledge of stream Good updates of status and pictures which improves the personal brand Updates of interest and hobbies Pictures of the food and experiences one has had in the work life All the updates of praises and rewards one has received in his life Experiences along with the company and time period and designation (Waldman., 2013) Conclusion In this research in the students needs if personal branding, we realized that personal branding and creating a social profile is very much necessary for a person in todays world. What a person shows to the world is always in his hands so he must use it to show the best of himself (Zarkada, 2010). We must try to create a profile in such a way that Google search displays your name on the top of the list when searched with name and location. Always keep self updated with SWOT analysis which tells about the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to person. This helps a person get better and enhance his or her qualities and defects for improving the analysis for the next time. Always try to go with new ideas and updates in the lifestyle as they help you brand yourself as per the new generation and compete with the new people and world. For making value in the world, person first needs to create of himself that is brand himself with the best of what he has. References Gratton, S. (2012). Follow Me! Creating a Personal Brand with Twitter. Hoboken: John Wiley amp; Sons. Joziasse, F., Selders, T. and Woudhuysen, J. (2010). Innovation, Branding, and Organization: What International Design Managers Think About Their Performance. Design Management Journal, [online] 3(1), pp.38-45. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1948-7177.2008.tb00005.x [Accessed 19 May 2017]. Kuehn, K. (2016). Branding the Self on Yelp: Consumer Reviewing as Image Entrepreneurship. Social Media + Society, [online] 2(4). Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305116678895 [Accessed 19 May 2017]. MacGregor, J. and Cavallo, J. (2011). Breaking the rules: Personal control increases womens direct relationship initiation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, [online] 28(6), pp.848-867. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265407510397986 [Accessed 19 May 2017]. Montoya, P. and Vandehey, T. (2002). The personal branding phenomenon. Santa Ana, CA: Peter Montoya Inc. Waldman. (2013). Job searching with social media for dummies. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley Sons. Zarkada, A. (2010). Concepts and Constructs for Personal Branding: An Exploratory Literature Review Approach. SSRN Electronic Journal. [online] Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1994522 [Accessed 19 May 2017].

Friday, November 29, 2019

The impact of paid employment on academic performance of students

Introduction In the modern day work environment, many students have opted to work as they study. The question on whether working while still in college is desirable has over the recent past raised more question than answers (Furr Elling, 2000). There are different schools of thought which argue both for, and against working while in college.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The impact of paid employment on academic performance of students specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Proponents of work-study set up think that it is desirable to work while studying since work complements the skills learnt in school (Lauren, 2005). The opponents argue that There is a correlation between the attention given to work and poor performance academically. They further argue that the school time devoted to work offers the student less time to articulate the learning concepts and therefore negatively affect the academic performance (Pri tchard, 1996). This paper discusses the impact of paid employment on academic performance of students and overall experience at the university. Argument for working while still in school Many studies have been done seeking to answer the simple question of whether to work while in school or complete studies first then engage in full-time employment. As such, many proponent of working while in school have come up with numerous justifications for their support for work-study setting. Several reason are given as to why work-study life is desirable. First, it is commonly argued that working while studying enhances a student’s study life since the concepts learnt in school are applied almost at the time of learning. This offers an invaluable experience to the student who get to practically experience the theoretical literature learnt in class while it is still fresh in the mind (Li-Chen Wooster, 1979). A student whose work is in his primary area of study will usually find it easie r to articulate the concepts taught in class since the experience he gets from the work complements the literature taught in class. Some other students also work in order to afford their tuition fee. This may not necessarily positively affect their academic performance but it plays an integral part in ensuring that the students attend college through providing income in order to pay for the college fees. The proponents therefore, posit that for this particular group of individuals, it is desirable to work while schooling.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Argument for not working while in studying Several opponents of work-study programs have come forward to present their case against working while in school. Most individuals against this setting argue that individuals can only devote their productive time to one major activity at a time (Ruhm, 1997). This means that an individual who w orks while studying will have two major areas that require personal commitment and can only attend to one at a time. Therefore, the student will either pay more attention to work and consequently, fail academically, or that particular student will pay more attention to the studies and therefore, result in low productivity at work. The impact of paid employment on academic performance From the preceding discussion, it has been noted that there are several arguments both for, and against working while in school. But the biggest question is whether paid employment has effects on academic performance. It has been found out that employment during school could actually positively influence the academic performance of the students (Pritchard, 1996). However, this is only so in cases where the type of work that a student is doing offers attributes which are complementary with the school’s success academically. These attributes that might improve a student’s academic performanc e include time management and industriousness. Students who work in environments where such attributes are instilled will inadvertently exhibit high levels of personal discipline and this may actually help improve their academic performance (Astin, 1993). This is because a student is able to manage and plan for the available time well in such a manner that there is optimization of the time that consequently ensure high productivity both at work and academically. On the other hand, it is argued that work negatively affects a student academic performance and results in lower grades. This is presented by several researches that have been carried to establish the marginal effect of an additional one hour at work to the students’ academic grades. According to a study done on Townson State University, it was found that an additional ten hours of school for student who were in active employment reduced their academic performance measured by the exams grades by two percent (Dustmann Christian, 2007). This is explained by the fact that a student who is working while studying will tend to pay more attention to work since that particular student’s primary reason for being in school is to find a gainful employment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The impact of paid employment on academic performance of students specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This means that the student who has already secured an employment opportunity will therefore, devote more quality time on the job that on the school work (Laming, 2004). It has also been found out that work hours are treated as exogenous. Other researches done also indicate an increasing relation to scale on the incremental number of hours at work matched with the academic performance of students. As a student spends more time at the workplace, more time is dedicated to the job and therefore losing on the quality time that could otherwise be devot ed to the school hours and thus reducing on the academic performance. Paid employment has however, some other effects on the overall student’s experience at the university. Most students who are engaged in paid employment usually have desirable effects on their overall experience at the university. Employment while at work usually instills a sense of responsibility on the students (Lauren, 2005). This is so because most students who are working while studying are usually at their entry level in their work places. Employees at the entry level usually exhibit higher expectation in terms of career growth since at their level, they are able to establish the stages they need to go through in order to reach their desired targets in their career paths. Employment while in the university therefore, offers a beneficial exposure to the students who are able to objectively evaluate the options at their disposal (Pritchard, 1996). Students have make decisions on leisure or work, or leisu re or school, or even reduce leisure time to concentrate on school and work. This instills an early sense of responsibility to the students since they are able to objectively look at different situations and make responsible judgments. Conclusion From the preceding discussion, it has been seen that paid employment has both negative and positive effects on students’ academic performance. Student who engage in employment where some desirable attributes such as time management and industriousness are enforced at the work place may have better grades in school than those who do not work or those who work under different environments. However, more time spent at work over school may begin to negatively affect the performance of students academically.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is therefore, important to note that a student needs to find and strike a balance between work and school. This is so because there is a high correlation between students’ grades at school and future career growth. The fact that a student is working does not provide a reason enough for that student not to perform well in school. References Astin, A. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass. Dustmann, Christian. (2007). Part-time Work, School Success and School Leaving. Empirical Economics, 277-299. Furr, R., Elling, T. (2000). The influence of work on college student development. NASPA Journal, 454-470. Laming, D. R. (2004). Understanding human motivation what makes people tick? Malden: Blackwell Publishers. Lauren, E. W. (2005). The Effects of College Student Employment on Academic Achievement. The University of Florida Undergraduate Research Journal, 38-47. Li-Chen, M., Wooster, R. (1979). The effects of unemployment on the college students’ academic peformance. College Student Journal, 12-20. Pritchard, M. (1996). â€Å"Hours of employment and undergraduate studies. Consumer Interests Annual, 207-209. Ruhm, C. (1997). â€Å"Is High School Employment Consumption or Investment?†. Journal of Labor Economics, 735-776. This essay on The impact of paid employment on academic performance of students was written and submitted by user Helena P. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Views on Representative Democracy essays

Views on Representative Democracy essays The first three theories of political elitism developed, respectively, by Marx, Mills, and Weber most likely cannot coexist with a representative democracy, simply because they allow the people little to no involvement in the nations political process. Pluralism, however, is the situation most likely to hold true in the United States, for it entails the existence of numerous elites, each of which is responsive to its followers interests. If Karl Marxs theory of political elites held true in the United States, for instance, there would be little opportunity for the power of the people to take root and flourish. Marxists believe that the government itself holds little significance or power, because it is simply controlled by the dominant economic class. Political decisions are made by whichever class holds power at a certain point in time: the capitalists or the workers. The members of the dominant social/economic class would then construct policies that promote their own interests, not the interests of the other classes. Such a situation would render impossible any form of representative democracy, because the great majority of the people would hold no influence on (or knowledge of ) the governments decisions. While, in a representative democracy, officials of the government work for the interests of their constituents, government leaders in a Marxist political system would have no obligation to do as the people dema nd. C. Wright Mills theory of the power elite expands on Marxs idea of the elite, but still runs contrary to any form of representative democracy. Mills believed that a nongovernmental elite composed of three tiers corporate leaders, military officers, and top political officials makes most of a societys major decisions. He claimed that this triumvirate serves the interests of the elite, not that of the majority. In the USA...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Mother's day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mother's day - Essay Example â€Å"I cannot think of a more thankless job. I hate to even call it a job, but it is work, with long hours, no vacations and no pay. In the end if things don’t go the way they are suppose to then it is mom’s fault† (The importance of mother’s day, 2010). Even grown up people is taking shelter in their mother’s company when they face severe challenges in their life. Mother’s soothing words often act as a medicine to the children in getting rid of their problems. This paper briefly analyses importance of mother’s day to me and why my mother is so special to me. I was not much aware of the importance of mother’s day during my childhood. However, when I was 15 years old, one of my friends told me that she is going to present her mother with a gift in order to mark her respect and love towards her mother. She also told me that the mother’s day is celebrating all over the world and in UAE it is celebrating in every March 21 st . I loved my mother very much and my friend’s comments stimulated thoughts about giving a gift to my mother. I had not enough money with me during that time and I decided to save some money to purchase a gift for my mother. Being a child of 15 years, it was difficult for me to collect more money from father. Even then, I started to save the pocket money I received from my father for two years. I succeeded in saving around 650 dollars in two years time and decided to purchase a gift worth $ 650 for my mother. Parris Gallery one of the popular gift shops in Dubai. It is located in City Centre, Deira, Dubai. Expensive perfumes, flowers, fashionable items etc are available in Paris Gallery. UAE is an extremely hot country and I was staying around 100 kilometers away from Dubai. If I use a taxi, I could have reached there within 35 minutes. However, my parents were not ready to allow me to go out alone. My elder brothers and sisters were too busy and they also did not hear my requ est. It was impossible for me to walk 100 kilometers alone in extreme hot climatic conditions. I was very much worried since my dreams of giving a gift to my beloved mother were not fulfilled. The mother’s day was approaching rapidly. I shared my sorrows and feeling s with my friends and one of my friends asked me to check whether any home delivery option is available with Paris Gallery. I have gone through the telephone directory and succeeded in collecting their telephone number. To my utmost surprise, they informed me that they can deliver the items anywhere in UAE and that also in a day’s time. I have ordered a costly perfume and asked them to pack it in good manner to present it as a gift. They asked me my name and my mother’s name and contact details. They also asked me about the credit card details and I told them that I do not have a credit card and I can pay cash on delivery. They agreed that and delivered the perfume in the evening itself. My mother wa s not aware of my efforts. When I presented the gift to her on mother’s day, she was surprised. She never received such a gift in her life. None of my brothers and sisters so far gave her any gifts. So when she received my gift her eyes were filled with tears and she embraced me with lot of love and care. My mom is a special person to me and I do believe that honoring her in proper manner is the duty of me. My mother helped me a lot during my childhood and even now I am approaching her whenever I confused with something. My mother has a loving character and she never punished me or used any rash

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Facts that have contributed to urban violence in Brazil Research Paper

Facts that have contributed to urban violence in Brazil - Research Paper Example According to Graham, â€Å"In 2012, 94 police officers have been killed in the city — twice as many as in all of 2011.† Graham also states that â€Å"Between July and September, on-duty police officers killed 119 people in the metropolitan area.† These killings are related to crime and the statistics portray a gloomy picture about the real crime stories obtaining in the Latin American cities. The main problem is that the rate of poverty is high in urban areas that are neglected by the government. Apparently, the organized crime groups as well as the poorly paid members of the police force stay in these areas. The poor police officers living in such areas end up being targets of organized crime groups though they are also suffering and living in abject poverty like anyone else living in the area. The poor urban areas in Brazil are home to thousands of immigrants and the situation has been compounded by the proliferation of gangs who deal in drugs (Graham). It is q uite difficult for the police officers to execute their duties since they are even scared of exposing their identity for fear of being victimized or even killed by the members of the organized crime gangs. Unfortunately, some police officers have become members of the crime gang syndicates as they try to supplement their meager earnings as well as to solicit for protection from the terror gangs so that they are not attacked as well as their families. On the other hand, it can be noted that Roberto Bricano Leon, Andres Villavecas & Alberto Concha Eastman posit to the effect that Brazil reports the highest rates of homicide as a result of the fact that it has a high proportion of urban population and high rate of poverty. The researchers also note that â€Å"the factors related to violence include social inequalities, lack of employment opportunities, urban segregation, a culture of masculinity, local drug markets, and the availability of firearms and widespread use of alcohol.† This situation is compounded by inefficient judicial system especially in Brazil given that it fosters impunity. People can wantonly commit heinous crimes like murder but they can still get away with it. At least, if there were effective judicial systems in this country, the situation was likely to be under control. The study also notes that the majority of young males aged between 15 and 24 years especially in Brazil are the most perpetrators of violence and they are also the prime targets. The main cause of this undesirable trend is related to high unemployment rates which significantly contribute to high levels of poverty. Unfortunately, the government is doing very little in order to address the socio-economic factors that lead to crime such as unemployment. Most people resort to drug abuse and this causes them to indulge in serious crimes that have often resulted in loss of life. Murray Joseph, Daniel Ricardo de Castro & Khan Tulio state that â€Å"between 1980 and 2010 ther e were 1 million homicides in Brazil. Dramatic increases in homicide rates followed rises in inequality, more young men in the population, greater availability of firearms, and increased drug use.† The most important aspect portrayed the authors of this study is that Brazil has the fifth largest population in the world: 197 million people according to the (World Bank 2012b). Apparently, 30% of whom are under age 18 as reported by Unicef 2012. With a gross national income of about (US$ 11,500 per capita in 2011,World Bank 2012b), Brazil continues to have one of the highest rates of inequality in the world. Reaserach has also shown that about 10.9% of the nation's population live in poor conditions of less than $2 per day and the youths are most impacted. Research

Monday, November 18, 2019

Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Nursing - Essay Example One of the most common strategies that have been employed in hospitals to curb this predicament is the nursing competency assessment, especially in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). This strategy is significantly striving to eliminate this deadly infection. This article will review literatures which analyze the ongoing versus annual nursing competency assessments that are aimed at decreasing the number of central line blood stream infections in the ICU. It is estimated that approximately 41,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections occur yearly in the United States alone. Research shows that these infections are liable for between 4 to 20% of the deaths that occur in the country annually. This shows that between 500 to 40,000 patients die yearly as a result of the bloodstream infections. In most health centers in the US, it is recommended that patients are grouped into the insertion bundle and the care bundle. Experts claim that combining nursing practices and technology can si gnificantly reduce these infections. Most of the hospital teams in the United States have asserted that the nursing competency assessment has significantly reduced the number of patients with bloodstream infections in the Intensive Care Unit (Harnage, 2007). This assessment usually involves educating the nurses on the best approach to employ when handling the patients with these infections. For example, they are usually taught several methods of improving hand hygiene. This measure has empowered hand hygiene as part of the Central Line placement. According to Harnage (2007), most health centers have hand hygiene dispensers which are frequently checked. The assessment of nurses, physicians and other medical personnel is usually accompanied with an annual assessment of the personnel in order to decrease the bloodstream infections in the Intensive Care Unit. This assessment involves a periodical knowledge assessment of adherence to certain guidelines involved in the Intensive Care Unit . In most cases, nurses who are competent in the care of such patients are usually situated in the Intensive Care Unit. After the assessment, these nurses are known as intensive care nurses. This shows that intensive care nurses form an integral part in reducing the bloodstream infections. Most health centers, which aim for a high level of compliance, usually ensure that they prevent such infections. Therefore, nurses should be empowered to supervise the preparations during a line insertion by using a checklist that is aimed at preventing such infections (Harnage, 2007). Hatler, Zack, Hebden and Kaler (2010), noted that it is clear that clinical nurses form an integral part in optimizing the outcomes of a patient especially through monitoring and management of the patient. The bloodstream associated infections have a severe impact on mortality and cost of care. The intensive care nurses are responsible for providing the necessary care to such patients. There are several health cente rs that have devised other strategies beyond the common Central Line bundle to reduce the number of bloodstream infection in the Intensive Care Units (Richardson & Tjoelker, 2012). Some of the institutions have included a thorough nurse surveillance system. This is a valuable strategy that aims in ensuring optimal patient outcomes. According to a recent survey, this strategy has decreased the rate of deaths in the Intensive Care Unit and the Critical Care Unit significantly. In most instances, these infections usually prolong the hospitalization of a patient to an average of seven days and an approximate cost of between $3700 and $29500 (Richardson & Tjo

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Multifaceted Topic of Free College

The Multifaceted Topic of Free College In a world where blue-collar jobs are considered unappealing by many, an increasing amount of individuals have begun to choose to attend college in the hopes of achieving prestigious positions in the white-collar industry. Unfortunately, however, ones decision to further their education at post-secondary school can have one rather drastic unforeseen consequence: thousands of dollars worth of debt. As a result of this growing epidemic plaguing college students around the nation, rallying cries for free higher education have begun to spring up throughout the country. But, for as many logical, thought-out arguments that exist in support of free college, there are just as many against it. In fact, as highlighted in Dissent Magazines special issue titled Arguments on the Left, in which three different authors share their differing viewpoints regarding free higher education, this debate is anything but simple and is more complex than individuals would both hope and imagine. As a result, on e can only conclude that the idea of free college, while idealistic and tempting, is not completely beneficial nor easily achieved, especially after taking these three articles and their varying arguments into consideration. The first of the three articles, Tressie McMillan Cottoms Why Free College is Necessary, takes a die-hard stance on the supportive side of the free college debate. Believing that higher education should be free regardless of what it can and cannot achieve, Cottom preaches the words and ideas that every college student that has ever faced debt wants to hear. However, while Cottoms argument surely makes sense from the humanitarian side of things, it fails to delve into where the funds are going to come from. Logically speaking, funds from either the state or government that would help students attend college for free would come from the taxpayers own wallets. In a country that is already in a large amount of debt, with public institutions and services often taking the brunt of cutbacks, increasing the amount taxpayers have to contribute in order to provide students with a free college education shouldnt necessarily be a top priority. Additionally, Cottom states, An educational justice policy must include institutions of higher education but cannot only include institutions of higher education (Cottom). Unfortunately, this adds even more burden to an already overwhelming financial undertaking. According to this logic, this notion of free education must expand beyond the boundaries of college and into the realm of trade schools as well, which only increases the cost that cannot easily be paid. Furthermore, Cottom also points out that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦free college would likely benefit only an outlying group of students who are currently shut out of higher education because of cost (Cottom). While I wholeheartedly believe that everyone who wants to learn should, regardless of their economic standing, looking at the situation from this point of view can cause one to question the validity of the whole endeavor. That is, what way does it make sense to undertake such a huge financial burden if free college wont necessarily benefit everyone? Much like Cottoms argument, Mike Konczals article titled, Generation Debt, also approaches the topic of free higher education from a rather positive stance. Konczal proclaims that education is a right that every human should have access to, and insists that the government be the ones responsible for providing the service. However, instead of insinuating that higher education be provided for free, Konczal points out that part of the root of the problem regarding student debt in particular is the fact that there has been large-scale disinvestment from and privatization of post-secondary education. Arguing that, Higher educationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦shouldnt be left to a handful of private schools, where administrators pursue their own objectives independent of public need, or to the market, which is only interested in how much it can profit at any given time (Konczal), he exposes the fact that colleges and universities around the nation are run more like businesses than anything else. In doin g this, students are placed at a disadvantage because they are merely pawns, often attending schools that exist not for the betterment of our nations citizens, but to exploit as much money as possible from the unsuspecting and undeserving. Only worsening the situation is the fact that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦public disinvestment in the states has been paired with generous tax cuts for rich individuals and corporations (Konczal). Combined with the money-making machine that is higher education, the fact that states have chosen to side with the rich and powerful instead of standing with their own constituents only ensures that the rich will get richer and the poor, poorer. Furthermore, as stated by Konczal, National conversations on higher education are often dominated by a few elite schools, so they ignore the promise of mobility offered by the state system (Konczal). As a result of this, community college is often frowned upon and deemed obscure, despite the fact that attending a two year sc hool can save students thousands of dollars. In addition to falling into the trap of capitalist-oriented colleges, many students also choose not to attend community college simply because it is not prestigious, thus further sentencing themselves into debt. The final article, Matt Bruenigs The Case against Free College, takes a rather different approach than the previous two articles when it comes to the free college debate. Overall, Bruenig argues that students already receive various forms of assistance for college in the form of grants, loans, and subsidies, which, in his opinion, is already giving more than what students should expect. In addition to this, Bruenig also articulates that providing even more than what is currently offered, or even making college free, would simply bring more inequality than social justice. Specifically, this is due to the fact that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦only around 20 percent of children from the poorest 2 percent of families in the country attend college. For the richest 2 percent of families, the same number is around 90 percent (Bruenig). So, providing a free college education to current college students would only continue to put those who are lower in the economic ranks at a disadvantage. Much like how Tressie McMillan Cottom admitted that free college would only benefit those who are currently excluded from higher education due to their economic standing, providing a free college education would only keep more money in the pockets of the rich. As a result, Bruenig states that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦making college free for everyone would almost certainly mean giving far more money to students from richer families than from poorer ones (Bruenig). Sure, providing free college education would give deprived students an opportunity to continue their education, but would do little in the long run when it comes to trying to reach a more egalitarian society. Once again, what are the benefits of free college education if it has the potential to only worsen the inequalities within American society and benefits only a small percentage of individuals? As a current college student, I could only hope and dream that a plan may arise in the near future that would eliminate or drastically cut college expenses, namely tuition. However, after reviewing the three articles in Dissent Magazines special issue titled Arguments on the Left, it has become clear that free college is not as beneficial or easily obtained as one would hope. While this notion of free college is tempting to say the least, it is certainly not feasible without a redesigned tax system, complete overhaul of higher education institutions and their intentions, and careful consideration regarding just who would be benefitting the most from free higher education. As it currently stands, free college will only benefit a small percentage of individuals, failing to address the capitalist nature of universities nationwide, while also acting as yet another way for the rich to keep hold of their wealth. However, it also must be stated that we must not give up hope and abandon the idea altogether. Although the cons currently outweigh the pros, there will one day be a way to implement a free college education system that benefits everyone without continuing to make the rich richer. As a nation, we must work towards that day together, implementing a foolproof plan to become a more egalitarian society without continuing to put thousands of young individuals into debt with the help of our current college system. Works Cited Bruenig, Matt. The Case against Free College. Dissent Magazine, Fall 2015, dissentmagazine.org/article/matt-bruenig-left-case-against-free-college. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017. Cottom, Tressie McMillan. Why Free College is Necessary. Dissent Magazine, Fall 2015, dissentmagazine.org/article/tressie-mcmillan-cottom-why-free-college-necessary. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017. Konczal, Mike. Generation Debt. Dissent Magazine, Fall 2015, dissentmagazine.org/article/mike-konczal-generation-debt-free-college-argument. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Wake Up, Stark County! :: Sleeping Disorders Essays

Wake Up, Stark County! Approximately 40 million Americans suffer from chronic disorders of sleep and wakefulness, such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and insomnia. The majority of those affected remain undiagnosed and untreated. At the Doctors Hospital Center for Sleep Disorders, 1001 patients are regularly treated for some form of these disorders at the present time (Roman interview). Fewer than 5% of these patients are children and 65% are men over the age of 40. Dr. Frankie Roman, a Board Certified Sleep Specialist, operates this Center. It is the only one available to Stark County residents at this time. To adequately discuss these disorders, first we must provide a working definition of the individual conditions that the terms denote. Sleep apnea is a cessation of air exchange at the nose and mouth, lasting at least 10 seconds (Williams, pg. 48). Narcolepsy is a disorder of excessive sleepiness. This sleepiness is characterized by brief episodes of lapses into sleep that occur throughout the day, usually lasting less than an hour. Insomnia means an inability to sleep. There are many kinds of insomnia, some chemical, some emotional, and some psychological (Thorpy 104). In addition to the 40 million people with chronic sleep disorders, there are 20 to 30 million people who experience intermittent sleep-related problems. These may be due to demanding work schedules and/or various other lifestyle stress factors. The consequences of sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, and excessive sleepiness can be significant. They could even include morbidity. It has been estimated that, in 1990, sleep disorders and sleepiness cost the United States a minimum of $15.9 billion in direct costs alone (National Commission, vi). This estimate does not include the billions of dollars in indirect and related costs, such as those attributable to sleep-related disasters (e.g. Exxon Valdez grounding, motor vehicle accidents, and diminished productivity in the work place). Some sleep disorders are potentially fatal, while others are little more than an annoyance. Some are life-long, with effects on family members; others are brief and non-recurring. Falling asleep inappropriat ely can blot out a few minutes of television, or it can cause catastrophic damage to life and property. Patients are often thought to be lazy and can become socially isolated from friends and family. I am a victim of sleep disorders. I suffer from sleep apnea and narcolepsy. I am a regular patient at the Sleep Disorder Clinic at Doctors Hospital. Here, I am wired to various electrodes which protrude from my head and then am told to go to sleep naturally! My breathing and brain waves are monitored, and I am later informed of how many times a night I have ceased to breathe on my own.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Organization Behavior Case Study

Communication is the process of information exchange between two and more than two individuals or organizations (Bowditch and Buono, 1997, cited by Anotony and Macvicar, 2011: 106). In general, communication process could be divided into two forms, verbal and non-verbal (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010). Verbal communication includes oral and written, non-verbal communication includes body language and eye contact (ibid. ). Because of the development of technologies, especially the progress of internet, communication approaches becomes more diverse and effective (Shrivastava, 2012). In organizations, effective communication strategies could improve their both internal and external managing process (ibid). Thus, most of organizations are keep developing their communication strategies for improving their competitiveness in the market. However, communication process always launch with several noise, which considered as communication barriers, and these problem could occur in every phase of transmission stages (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010). There are various kinds of barriers defined by scholars, for instance, Shrivastava (2012) labeled barriers into physical, emotional, perceptual, culture, gender and others. These barriers contribute to the lack of efficiency and uncertainty in the process of communication (ibid. ). Due to communication is the fundamental issue in the stage of the management in an organization, most of organizations are looking for an appropriate strategy for improving the efficiency and reliability of communication (Goh et al, 2005). Consequently, this essay will try to figure out three organizations’ challenge of communication, these three samples will be Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ferrari and Saint John’s international school, meanwhile, their solutions for overcoming communication barriers will be evaluated in the essay. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Enterprise Rent-A-Car is one of the biggest car rental company which has over 370 locations throughout the UK. As a multinational company, Enterprise’s business covers seven countries with 8,200 rental office for offering daily and weekend car rental for individual and business (The Times 100, 2013). To guarantee that a variety of internal and external stakeholders are able to receive messages effectively, Enterprise has used different communication strategies. However, the challenge for Enterprise is that they cannot ensure that the methods and channel they used are the most appropriate for each audience (ibid). To be specific, this phenomenon is considered as medium barrier in the communication process. To solve this problem, Crothers (2007) claims that each particular communication could be effective by an appropriate medium. Enterprise communication strategies launched with the internal and external stakeholders, which aims to deliver the values and culture of the company according to such induction events, website, meeting and poster (The Times 100, 2013). Mostly, the communication approaches which are used by Enterprise are verbal communication. According to Waldstrom et al (2011, cited in Antony and MacVicar, 2011:112), verbal communication is able to express information much clearer than that of non-verbal communication. However, verbal communication might lead several misunderstanding of the massage. The communicator and receivers are not in the same position, even receivers can understood the words, they might cannot understand the meaning and attitudes of the communicators who are not familiar with them (Wright and Whalley, 1979). Meanwhile, Sonnenberg (1990) states that verbal communication cannot be effective without developed listening skills. Thus, if receivers’ listening skills such as ability of emphasis and evaluate the information and be able to chose the important information can be improved, such misunderstanding and incertainty can be avoided (ibid. ). On the other hand, An appropriate channel for feedback could be crucial for internal communication, communicators can collect feedbacks to analyse receivers needs and give them explanation of confusing questions. (Wright and Whalley, 1979). Thus, Enterprise builded a internet based system which is called â€Å"The Hub† to ensure that employees exchange their opinion directly (The Times 100, 2013). For the external communication, Enterprise’s service is divided into business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) approaches (The Times 100, 2013). Enterprise used various channels includes TV advertising, -mail and company newsletter to deliver the information, which ensured that they can cover all of the customers (ibid. ). Goh et al. (2005) shows that multiple communication channels not only deliver rich information effectively, but also be able to catch specific receivers’ needs. Therefore, Enterprise created multiple communication approaches to ensure the information could be deliver effectively and cover both internal and external stakeholders. Ferrari Ferrari is an excellent values company which has high reputation in the sport car industry and performance quite well in car racing events (Patrono, 2012). Meanwhile, Ferrari is the only car manufacture which has entire production line, that allows Ferrari to design every part of car just for its production (Invernizzi and Romenti, 2012). Before Luca di Montezemolo became Ferrari’s CEO, Ferrari faced an internal feedback communication barrier which is that employees cannot communicate well with senior executives, since the internal communication approaches were closed, it contributes that even Ferrari had a very good performance in racing events, but did not performance well in general market (ibid. ). Goh et al. 2005) states that a closed internal communication environment might leads the reducing of stakeholders sense of participation, commitment and passion. Similarly, Wright and Whalley (1979) claims that if employees feel under pressure, they cannot present their information clearly, and also, they might be not willing to exchange their creative advice of work. The closed communication channel not only contributes the barrie r between employees and employers, but also leads an ineffective communication process between different sectors of Ferrari (Invernizzi and Romenti, 2012). In order to solve the invalid communication process, Greenbaum (1980) point that a crucial element in internal communication process in organization is that senior executives should be more initiative to receive stakeholders idea. Thus, Ferrari’s CEO Luca di Montezemolo create a new communication system which is called ‘Formula Uomo’ (Patrono, 2012). For the internal communication, Formula Uomo creates a permanent listening instruments, such s the ‘open door’ office, which requires leading managers have to listen and pay more attention to the needs of employees to improve employees’ participation, commitment and performance (Invernizzi and Romenti, 2012). It not only provide a easier way for sender to communicate with the receiver, but also shared the whole information includes every aspects of this company, that allows participant to give their opinion of each processes (ibid). This open communication strategy is able to encourage employees jo in the whole operation of organization (Greenbaum, 1980). Therefore, eventually, Ferrari figure out an effective communication system in order to increase employees’ senses of belonging. Compare with the case of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, if Ferrari build an accessible intranet for internal communication, their efficiency of communication might be able to improve further. Saint John’s international school Saint John’s international school is using British curriculum to teach Thai children in Thailand, all the teacher in the campus are from Britain. It faced a culture barrier between teachers and pupils (Monthienvichienchai, et al. 2002). In this case, the major problem is that due to the culture difference, students cannot understand what teachers want to communicate and the meanings they want to convey (ibid. ). According to Hofstede (2001), in a cross-culture organization, the main barriers of communication is the different awareness of working style and the cognition of the goal. In the Saint John’s case, Thai students are more likely to learn how to do rather than how to learn and they feel more comfortable in a structured leaning situations (Monthienvichienchai, et al. 2002). For the major goal of learning, the major gap between British education purpose and that of Thai, Thai people consider that diplomas are more essential in building personal self respect (ibid). This might cause British teachers and Thai cannot working in the same way for a same purpose. In order to solve this problem, Wiseman, cited in Monthienvichienchai, et al. (2002) claims that three essential elements of improving the efficiency of communication are knowledge, motivation and skill or action. Thus, Saint John’s international school not only provides the basic curriculum for pupils, but also creates face-to-face communication opportunities for students to communicate with teachers, which aims to improve pupils’ knowledge of the purpose and the teaching style of British education (Monthienvichienchai, et al. , 2002). English (2001) states that in an interculture organization, informal communication might reduce receivers’ tension and increase the comprehension of different culture. Therefore, students in Saint John’s school are able to understand the British culture through the well-designed informal activities (Monthienvichienchai, et al. , 2002). In summary, Saint John’s international school overcomes several culture gap between Thai pupils and British teachers, however, due to the different education from home and school, this barrier cannot be completely solved. Compare with Ferrari case, Saint John’s international school might also need a better communication environment, such as ‘open door’ office and teacher might need to be more initiative. In conclusion, this essay has analyzed the three different organizations’ (Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ferrari, Saint John’s international school) communication process, and discussed the communication barriers of them separately. Furthermore, the solutions which in order to remove these barriers also have been evaluated in the essay. According to these cases, to improve the internal and external communication efficiency, an appropriate channel, a harmonious communication environment and suitable methods could be beneficial. Additionally, communication strategies are flexible, they could be change and improved in an appropriate time and situation. Thus, it is important that organizations need to be more sensitive for the changing communication barriers. However, this essay targets are narrow, there are also a considerable number of different types of communication barriers such as gender and language barriers are existing in some organizations, which are leading to the inefficiency and uncertainty in the process of communication. Organization Behavior Case Study Communication is the process of information exchange between two and more than two individuals or organizations (Bowditch and Buono, 1997, cited by Anotony and Macvicar, 2011: 106). In general, communication process could be divided into two forms, verbal and non-verbal (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010). Verbal communication includes oral and written, non-verbal communication includes body language and eye contact (ibid. ). Because of the development of technologies, especially the progress of internet, communication approaches becomes more diverse and effective (Shrivastava, 2012). In organizations, effective communication strategies could improve their both internal and external managing process (ibid). Thus, most of organizations are keep developing their communication strategies for improving their competitiveness in the market. However, communication process always launch with several noise, which considered as communication barriers, and these problem could occur in every phase of transmission stages (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010). There are various kinds of barriers defined by scholars, for instance, Shrivastava (2012) labeled barriers into physical, emotional, perceptual, culture, gender and others. These barriers contribute to the lack of efficiency and uncertainty in the process of communication (ibid. ). Due to communication is the fundamental issue in the stage of the management in an organization, most of organizations are looking for an appropriate strategy for improving the efficiency and reliability of communication (Goh et al, 2005). Consequently, this essay will try to figure out three organizations’ challenge of communication, these three samples will be Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ferrari and Saint John’s international school, meanwhile, their solutions for overcoming communication barriers will be evaluated in the essay. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Enterprise Rent-A-Car is one of the biggest car rental company which has over 370 locations throughout the UK. As a multinational company, Enterprise’s business covers seven countries with 8,200 rental office for offering daily and weekend car rental for individual and business (The Times 100, 2013). To guarantee that a variety of internal and external stakeholders are able to receive messages effectively, Enterprise has used different communication strategies. However, the challenge for Enterprise is that they cannot ensure that the methods and channel they used are the most appropriate for each audience (ibid). To be specific, this phenomenon is considered as medium barrier in the communication process. To solve this problem, Crothers (2007) claims that each particular communication could be effective by an appropriate medium. Enterprise communication strategies launched with the internal and external stakeholders, which aims to deliver the values and culture of the company according to such induction events, website, meeting and poster (The Times 100, 2013). Mostly, the communication approaches which are used by Enterprise are verbal communication. According to Waldstrom et al (2011, cited in Antony and MacVicar, 2011:112), verbal communication is able to express information much clearer than that of non-verbal communication. However, verbal communication might lead several misunderstanding of the massage. The communicator and receivers are not in the same position, even receivers can understood the words, they might cannot understand the meaning and attitudes of the communicators who are not familiar with them (Wright and Whalley, 1979). Meanwhile, Sonnenberg (1990) states that verbal communication cannot be effective without developed listening skills. Thus, if receivers’ listening skills such as ability of emphasis and evaluate the information and be able to chose the important information can be improved, such misunderstanding and incertainty can be avoided (ibid. ). On the other hand, An appropriate channel for feedback could be crucial for internal communication, communicators can collect feedbacks to analyse receivers needs and give them explanation of confusing questions. (Wright and Whalley, 1979). Thus, Enterprise builded a internet based system which is called â€Å"The Hub† to ensure that employees exchange their opinion directly (The Times 100, 2013). For the external communication, Enterprise’s service is divided into business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) approaches (The Times 100, 2013). Enterprise used various channels includes TV advertising, -mail and company newsletter to deliver the information, which ensured that they can cover all of the customers (ibid. ). Goh et al. (2005) shows that multiple communication channels not only deliver rich information effectively, but also be able to catch specific receivers’ needs. Therefore, Enterprise created multiple communication approaches to ensure the information could be deliver effectively and cover both internal and external stakeholders. Ferrari Ferrari is an excellent values company which has high reputation in the sport car industry and performance quite well in car racing events (Patrono, 2012). Meanwhile, Ferrari is the only car manufacture which has entire production line, that allows Ferrari to design every part of car just for its production (Invernizzi and Romenti, 2012). Before Luca di Montezemolo became Ferrari’s CEO, Ferrari faced an internal feedback communication barrier which is that employees cannot communicate well with senior executives, since the internal communication approaches were closed, it contributes that even Ferrari had a very good performance in racing events, but did not performance well in general market (ibid. ). Goh et al. 2005) states that a closed internal communication environment might leads the reducing of stakeholders sense of participation, commitment and passion. Similarly, Wright and Whalley (1979) claims that if employees feel under pressure, they cannot present their information clearly, and also, they might be not willing to exchange their creative advice of work. The closed communication channel not only contributes the barrie r between employees and employers, but also leads an ineffective communication process between different sectors of Ferrari (Invernizzi and Romenti, 2012). In order to solve the invalid communication process, Greenbaum (1980) point that a crucial element in internal communication process in organization is that senior executives should be more initiative to receive stakeholders idea. Thus, Ferrari’s CEO Luca di Montezemolo create a new communication system which is called ‘Formula Uomo’ (Patrono, 2012). For the internal communication, Formula Uomo creates a permanent listening instruments, such s the ‘open door’ office, which requires leading managers have to listen and pay more attention to the needs of employees to improve employees’ participation, commitment and performance (Invernizzi and Romenti, 2012). It not only provide a easier way for sender to communicate with the receiver, but also shared the whole information includes every aspects of this company, that allows participant to give their opinion of each processes (ibid). This open communication strategy is able to encourage employees jo in the whole operation of organization (Greenbaum, 1980). Therefore, eventually, Ferrari figure out an effective communication system in order to increase employees’ senses of belonging. Compare with the case of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, if Ferrari build an accessible intranet for internal communication, their efficiency of communication might be able to improve further. Saint John’s international school Saint John’s international school is using British curriculum to teach Thai children in Thailand, all the teacher in the campus are from Britain. It faced a culture barrier between teachers and pupils (Monthienvichienchai, et al. 2002). In this case, the major problem is that due to the culture difference, students cannot understand what teachers want to communicate and the meanings they want to convey (ibid. ). According to Hofstede (2001), in a cross-culture organization, the main barriers of communication is the different awareness of working style and the cognition of the goal. In the Saint John’s case, Thai students are more likely to learn how to do rather than how to learn and they feel more comfortable in a structured leaning situations (Monthienvichienchai, et al. 2002). For the major goal of learning, the major gap between British education purpose and that of Thai, Thai people consider that diplomas are more essential in building personal self respect (ibid). This might cause British teachers and Thai cannot working in the same way for a same purpose. In order to solve this problem, Wiseman, cited in Monthienvichienchai, et al. (2002) claims that three essential elements of improving the efficiency of communication are knowledge, motivation and skill or action. Thus, Saint John’s international school not only provides the basic curriculum for pupils, but also creates face-to-face communication opportunities for students to communicate with teachers, which aims to improve pupils’ knowledge of the purpose and the teaching style of British education (Monthienvichienchai, et al. , 2002). English (2001) states that in an interculture organization, informal communication might reduce receivers’ tension and increase the comprehension of different culture. Therefore, students in Saint John’s school are able to understand the British culture through the well-designed informal activities (Monthienvichienchai, et al. , 2002). In summary, Saint John’s international school overcomes several culture gap between Thai pupils and British teachers, however, due to the different education from home and school, this barrier cannot be completely solved. Compare with Ferrari case, Saint John’s international school might also need a better communication environment, such as ‘open door’ office and teacher might need to be more initiative. In conclusion, this essay has analyzed the three different organizations’ (Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Ferrari, Saint John’s international school) communication process, and discussed the communication barriers of them separately. Furthermore, the solutions which in order to remove these barriers also have been evaluated in the essay. According to these cases, to improve the internal and external communication efficiency, an appropriate channel, a harmonious communication environment and suitable methods could be beneficial. Additionally, communication strategies are flexible, they could be change and improved in an appropriate time and situation. Thus, it is important that organizations need to be more sensitive for the changing communication barriers. However, this essay targets are narrow, there are also a considerable number of different types of communication barriers such as gender and language barriers are existing in some organizations, which are leading to the inefficiency and uncertainty in the process of communication.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Nuclear Power Essay Example

Nuclear Power Essay Example Nuclear Power Essay Nuclear Power Essay Nuclear energy is one of the best sustainable resources around on the planet, 1 Goof reactor grade uranium contains enough energy to power a household light buy lb for 1,172 years. I believe that with the proper precautions taken, nuclear energy c become our worlds primary source of energy, instead of burning fossil fuels. There are several controversial questions that come along with the topic that need to be answered such as: Are nuclear hazards any different from any 20th ere hazards that we accept everyday such as driving a vehicle or flying in a plane? Can uncle ear rower production be kept safe from natural disasters (Fuchsia for example e)? Where and how will the nuclear waste be stored and is it possible for it to be recycle d? How would the waste be transported without the threat of terrorism? What is the a average price tag for a nuclear plant to be built, worked, and maintained? Are the risks of nuclear Donaldson 2 power worth the investment in the long run? These questions I feel like are the e most important subtopics that go along with this argument. My opposition fits into my argument because it allows both the reader and I t o be ware of the possible risks and facts that come along with nuclear energy. ME letdowns, natural disasters, human error in the plant, hazards of operating a nuclear pill NT with communities nearby, terrorist threats, possible exposure to nuclear radiation and a high cost to build/maintain a working nuclear reactor. For the outline of paper, the introduction will be fairly basic. Giving a small amount of basic background information on nuclear energy/ power, such as how a nuclear plant works and the process of how the uranium or other radioactive element is used to produce energy. End the introduction with a thesis, something along he lines of With the adoption of nuclear power as a primary power source, the world WI I benefit greatly as opposed to the continuation of burning fossil fuels. In the body of he argument, I will be answering the main controversial questions about nuclear power. I will investigate possible hazards of nuclear power plants and how they can be prevented. Safety from natural disasters will be discussed, the geographical action of where a power plant has to be built will have to be taken into consideration. L footer asset from used radioactive elements will have to be addressed, what happen ins to it after it has been used? Where is it transported to afterwards? How is it trans orated in the first place? Are the workers transporting the used elements considered SE fee from the radiation? Lastly, would the hazardous risk of building a nuclear power pill NT be worth the initial investment? Donaldson 3 Donaldson 4 Annotated Bibliography Celery, Daniel. Nuclear industry dares to dream of a new dawn; reactor build RSI think that fossil fuel prices and climate fears will revive nuclear power. But will now reactor designs overcome the concerns of utilities and the public? Science. Opposing Viewpoints. 19 Gag. 2005. Web. 20 March 2015. Celery article in summary was about how with natural gas prices on the rise a ND stocks of oil are going down, new energy options are being looked at, nuclear energy being one of them. With the need of new energy sources, nuclear energy cool d see a renaissance emerge. However for this to happen, nations would like to see s impel and safe ways to operate the reactors with ease. A point that stood out in the article were how U. S. Reactor builders arent necessarily looking into the long run of nuclear energy, but only the short term m. These builders need to think about how nuclear energy will be working in the next c people hundred years, not a couple decades. I would use this source in my argument to facilitate my discussion on how nee w forms of energy needed to be used, specifically nuclear energy. Luther Carter, Lake Barrett, Kenneth Rogers. Nuclear Waste Disposal: Showed own at Yucca Mountain. Issues in Science and Technology. Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 20 March 2015. This article was about how congress and other political groups are against building a geological repository. Carter, Barrett, and Rogers went into detail a bout how Donaldson 5 the repository would be used, what it would store, how long it would be used for, and where it was going to be built. Congress and other political groups keep denying the license for this repository from being built, but Novenas Nee County (which is the host country of Yucca Mountain), believe it is safe and an economic asset. Old be using this source to talk about how nuclear waste would be stored, cycled, and disposed of. Moore, Patrick. Nuclear Power is the Most secure Form of Energy. Coal. Opposing Viewpoints. 2011. Web. 20 March 2015. In Moors interview, he clears up the fog about nuclear energy. He states that there has never been a member of the public injured from nuclear reactors in the united states, nuclear reactors are built to withstand an impact from a 747, and uncle produces no regulated air emissions. In fact coal releases more radiation than nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy has a higher capital cost than fossil energy plants, but a lower operation cost once it is established. In the long run, a nuclear power plant WI II pay itself off and produces cleaner energy than fossil energy plants. When expansion of a nuclear power plant is needed, most sites already have room for extra reactors actual Ii. Also, nuclear energy has several forms Of fuel, uranium, which is the most common fuel being used currently, plutonium, and thorium. Thorium is the most abundant uncle AR element proven to be able to be used for nuclear energy. Donaldson 6 would incorporate this into my paper when I would bring up safety issues in he U. S. Regarding nuclear power plants in the past, terrorism, and capital plus pop aerating costs to run nuclear power plant. Taylor, John. The Nuclear Power Bargain. Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 20 March 2015. Tailors article about nuclear power touches on several controversial topics about nuclear energy such as: waste management, who uses nuclear energy and how much of the nation is powered by it, and how nuclear energy could be compete dative with todays fuel sources.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010

The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010 The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010 The Best of Daily Writing Tips in 2010 By Daniel Scocco First of all we wish a happy 2011 to all our readers. Second, we compiled a list with our most popular posts in 2010, so that you can re-read your favorite ones and check if you missed any. Next Monday well resume the writing tips, so stay tuned! What Is Irony? (With Examples): Recently I was walking and talking with my co-worker, who happens to be a freelance writer and aspiring journalist. We were talking about the fact that our employers were providing us with a Thanksgiving lunch the day after Thanksgiving, and she said, â€Å"It’s so ironic!’’ â€Å"There’s† and â€Å"There are†: Contractions are supposed to be easy to say. For example, they’re for they are is easy to utter, but adding another re to there to create â€Å"there’re† produces a word difficult to pronounce. English words Don’t (usually) End with â€Å"u†: The spelling â€Å"thru† has an entry in the tolerant Merriam-Webster that jumps to through.The OED has no entry for â€Å"thru,† although the spelling is listed along with many other historical variations in the through entry. â€Å"Ma’am† and Regional Colonialism; Where I come from, children are taught that responding to grownups with a mere â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† is impolite. â€Å"Yeah† is unforgivably rude. As a child I was taught to say â€Å"yes, sir, no, ma’am† and when I grew up, I continued to say it. When I lived in England, women whom I’d addressed as â€Å"ma’am† would sometimes smile and tell me that over there â€Å"ma’am† was reserved for the queen. 20 Computer Terms You Should Know: A great deal of jargon is used when talking about computers, and it’s surprising how often these terms are used incorrectly. Even published, successful novels sometimes do so. The following list provides an explanation of some of the more common computing terms you may come across or need to employ in your own writing. â€Å"Fun, Funner, Funnest†?: The word fun probably originated as a dialect pronunciation of Middle English fon, which as an adjective meant â€Å"foolish† and as a noun meant â€Å"fool.† The Middle English verb fonnen meant â€Å"to be foolish, to be infatuated.† 16 Manuscript Format Guidelines: If you submit manuscripts to publishers or agents, you’ve probably come across the demand that you use â€Å"standard manuscript format† (or â€Å"SMF†) for your submissions. However, it isn’t always spelled out what this actually means. Curbs and Sidewalks: In U.S. English, the word sidewalk refers to a paved footpath alongside a street or a road. The sidewalk is usually raised above the level of the road. The curb is a stone or concrete edging between the road and the sidewalk. 100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid – The Book: One of the fastest ways to improve your writing skills is to free yourself from the most common English mistakes: things like exchanging less with fewer, misspelling its as it’s, or placing commas where they are not supposed to be. This Sink Needs Fixed: The expression is often associated with Pittsburgh and â€Å"a narrow band in the middle of the country extending from the east coast to Montana.† I grew up outside those regional boundaries and am quite used to hearing â€Å"The lawn needs mowed† and â€Å"This sink needs fixed.† Taking and Bringing: Both bring and take have numerous meanings. One can, for example, take medicine, take the Fifth, take a liking to, take it on the chin, take a partner, take in a stray, take up for a friend, take out a date, and take an oath. 40 Twitter Hashtags for Writers: If you use Twitter, you’re probably already familiar with the idea of hashtags. These are simply a way of categorizing particular tweets by including within them a keyword prefixed with the hash or â€Å"pound† (#) symbol. PIN Number: To keep your writing as clear and concise as possible, you should generally try to remove unnecessary words. Sometimes duplication is fine – for artistic effect, for example – but as a general rule, it’s best to say things in as few words as possible. Corporate English: Thanks to reader Nick Corcodilos for sharing a link to an especially mind-numbing bit of English prose. I won’t publish the link he sent me, but I will give you an excerpt. Book Titles from Shakespeare: When I was receiving my secondary education in a small Arkansas high school many years ago, every student was expected to study four Shakespeare plays before graduating. The Letter â€Å"Z† Will Be Removed from the English Alphabet: Surprising as it sounds, it looks like the English alphabet will be losing one of its letters on June 1st. The announcement came from the English Language Central Commission (ELCC). No Talent for Writing: Unless the questioner wants to become an oral storyteller and tell these great stories to a live audience, or record them as audiobooks, the answer has to be, â€Å"Yes, you’re stuck.† However, I suspect that the person asking the question has made some attempt to put stories into writing, but is unhappy with the result. Post, Entry or Article?: My co-blogger and I have come across an interesting usage problem. We don’t know what to call what we write. It feels strange to refer to blog posts as â€Å"articles.† â€Å"Articles† sounds official, proper and very old media. â€Å"Posts† is the more common word, but it demeans the quality of the writing. 20 Movies Based on Shakespeare Plays: For me, April is Shakespeare’s month. I’ll be writing several Shakespeare-related posts this month, starting with Shakespeare in the movies. Story Writing 101: Since prehistoric times, when tales were told around fires and painted on cave walls, stories have been an essential part of our human experience. But what exactly is a story – and how can you write a great one? Don’t Be Burnt By â€Å"Inflammable†: In English, the in- prefix is often used to reverse the meaning of an adjective. Thus inactive is the opposite of active and inelegant is the opposite of elegant. So why isn’t inflammable the opposite of flammable? Mankind, Humankind, and Gender: My views on gendered language are perhaps too loose to meet the more extreme requirements of political correctness. For example, I don’t see anything wrong with using the word mankind in the sense of â€Å"all human beings living on the earth.† As I understand the word, it comes from an Old English construct in which man means â€Å"person.† 30 Religious Terms You Should Know: When I was growing up in small town America, stories about religion were generally confined to the Saturday church pages in the local newspaper. Catholics and Jews were the most exotic religious practitioners in town, and â€Å"atheist† was a strong term of disapprobation. â€Å"Completed Suicide†: My take is that, outside its valid use in medical literature, the expression â€Å"completed suicide† is being used as a euphemism by people who feel there’s more of a stigma attached to saying that someone â€Å"committed suicide.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of Phrases"Certified" and "Certificated"7 Sound Techniques for Effective Writing