Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The eNotes Blog Free the Research! Make Academic Journals Accessible toAll

Free the Research! Make Academic Journals Accessible toAll Recently, Laura McKenna, reporter for the Atlantic, wrote about her frustrations in trying to find scholarly articles without the access afforded to people with university affiliations. If you do not possess a college identification card, the hundreds of thousands of full-text articles from databases like JSTOR are either very expensive or inaccessible (McKenna shelled out $38 for a single twelve-page article, but also found that a great many articles were not available, period, to non-academics.) Why is this so and why does it cost so much? As McKenna points out, the researcher receives no royalties. (As an academic myself, I find that particularly disgruntling.) In her investigation, the reporter found that the answer lies within the antiquated system of academic publishing. Here is how that very old, very slow, ball rolls: Research takes several years. The academic (usually) receives grants and time off.   The article is then submitted to a journal. The actual journals are published in-house, on the campuses. They stay there because it brings the university acclaim. Journals are edited by faculty members, who often get a small stipend and a little time off to do this extra work. The article then goes to an editor, who then passes it on to other faculty with experience in the articles subject matter. The reviewers put in their two-cents. Article is then returned to the author for revisions. Editor submits that article, with a bunch of others, to a for-profit publisher. That publisher sells the rights to an academic search engine, like JSTOR. The publisher pays nothing to either the writer or editor. JSTOR digitizes the material and sells the content back to the university libraries. The publisher needs to get its money back. It charges a LOT to university libraries to subscribe to its service. It costs some libraries 65% of their total budget.   McKenna succinctly points out the insanity of this system: Step back and think about this picture. Universities that created this academic content for free must pay to read it. Step back even further. The publicwhich has indirectly funded this research with federal and state taxes that support our higher education systemhas virtually no access to this material, since neighborhood libraries cannot afford to pay those subscription costs. Newspapers and think tanks, which could help extend research into the public sphere, are denied free access to the material. Faculty members are rightly bitter that their years of work reaches an audience of a handful, while every year, 150 million attempts to read JSTOR content are denied every year. It seems to me (and to McKenna) that the requirement for print versions of articles is nonsensical. Without the print requirement, there is NO NEED for a third party. Upload the scholarship yourselves, universities. Free the research!!

Saturday, November 23, 2019

What to Do With Short Stories

What to Do With Short Stories Recently I received a simple email from a reader who stated she wrote mostly short stories, and she had no clue what to do with them. She felt the day of the short story was over, and that hers had no chance of being published. She also asked how to make any money with them. These days, short writing is often interpreted as free to read, and she wanted to make a dollar or two from her effort. I understood her frustration and desire. Immediately, I asked her how many publications did she buy each year that catered to the short story. She could count them on one hand. You can guess my response to that. If shes not supporting the short story market, how can she expect to make money from it? Same goes for poetry, mysteries, sci-fi and the rest. {Okay, rant over.) From there, I suggested the following methods to earning income from short stories: 1) Contests In case you are new to FundsforWriters, I post many contests, and only those that pay $200 or more. Short story competitions are popular in the contest world. They usually charge entry fees, which are used to fund the prize money and cover expenses of judges and online promotion. Try to work one a month into your regimen. Contests are no different from submitting to editors. You risk rejection, but you also play the odds of being discovered and published in addition to putting a few dollars in your pocket. 2) Self-pub shorts on Amazon Self-publishing isnt just for novels or how-to books. Whats great these days is that you can sell ebooks, e-shorts, or chapbooks online, regardless of word count. Your short might not make more than 99 cents, but its read, and youre on your way as a short story author. 3) Magazines and anthologies These calls for submissions dont holler loud, so youll need to pay attention to venues like FundsforWriters to find them. Of course you need to sign up for FundsforWriters, and preferably TOTAL FundsforWriters as well. (See https://fundsforwriters.com/total-subscription-special/ But here are some markets to help your efforts: http://thewritelife.com/where-to-submit-short-stories/ amazon.com/Novel-Short-Story-Writers-Market/dp/159963841X/fundsforwriters sfwa.org/category/information-center/advice-for-new-writers/where-to-submit/ http://thereviewreview.net/publishing-tips/show-me-literary-magazines-pay 4) Crowdfunding Do you have a short story project in mind? Pitch it in a crowdfunding campaign at Kickstarter.com , Indiegogo.com , Pubslush.com , Unbound.co.uk or any of two dozen others. These are the most common and reliable for authors. Study the successful campaigns and learn from the masters. Earn money for your project and build a following at the same time. Short people rock!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Price drop of crude oil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Price drop of crude oil - Essay Example In addition, several deals that America has made with war-torn oil-producing countries. The art article addresses the factors mentioned above. The quantity of crude futures declined in the recent past on concerns that the global oversupply is hurriedly filling oil stocks. Total petroleum output in the year 2015 is expected to go up to 9.35 million barrels every day. The quantity is slightly more than the 9.3 million barrels daily forecast in the previous period, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted last week in its monthly short-term energy outlook. Independently, oil stocks went up more than anticipated marking the several consecutive week of a higher overall than at any other time for the last 80 years and more. The American commercial crude oil stocks rose by approximately 4.5 million barrels from the previous week; the EIA said Wednesday. Another reason weighing on oil price is the OPEC policies on the export of crude oil to the global market. As a result, the American oil output could be adversely affected in the recent years due to low oil prices offered by the OPEC countries. In addition, OPEC also outlines that the lower global oil prices may have affected the marginal barrel output from other sources, such as shale. The OPEC is a significant body in the oil industry. Therefore, its decisions and marketing affects trade in crude oil because it controls a large percentage of the world’s fuel production. As such, any decision that they make directly affects the market prices of the commodity (Why the oil price is falling , 2014). In this case, the petroleum trading block may take actions targeting their competitors in order to establish gain control of a larger market. Such activities may include flooding the market with the commodity leading to market forces coming into play and hence price decline.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Exercise 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exercise 4 - Essay Example Calling itself a start up, Mr. Brechner explained that by not taking a risk on the education and early technology training of the Uruguayan children, a whole generation was lost every year since they were prevented from experiencing equality and social inclusion. They did this by enacting active policies within the state. The initiative took great pride in being able to separate policy making and management while conceptualizing the project. The steering committee was involved in policy making while the management of the program was assigned to a separate and specialized institution. This was a feather in their cap because they were able to prevent the politicians in the country from meddling with management and the managers in the government were also unable to meddle when it came to policy making for the program. This was accomplished even though the states within the country were ill prepared to host a program of this magnitude. The program had to overcome such adversities as the fear of teachers that the students would know more than they did about technology, which, as everyone knows, is a given fact in our day and age. The teachers had to become comfortable with the idea that by using computers in class, the students will learn faster and will learn more but, the teachers still hold on to the power and authority that they traditionally had in the classroom. Since 2007 the program has deployed a total of 450,000 computers. These computers were distributed to various students from the first grade and all of primary school to the third grade of secondary school. In total, the computers were deployed to a total of 9 grades in public schools. Servers and connectivity were installed in over 2,500 schools and high schools. The man behind the program proudly announced that 99 % of students participating in their program had internet access in all their facilities with 40% not needing to walk more than 300 meters from where they live in order to have free Cibal in ternet access. Their current program includes transferring the ADSL programs of the schools to fiber optic for better bandwidth and applications. The company made sure that their network access would be publicly available in the most common places such as schools, hospitals, housing complexes and the poorest areas of Uruguay. The program has successfully trained 26 thousand teachers using portals and tv channels to further enhance the training that they received in their 4 year education courses. Total expenses per year for an average student in the program is $100. Included in that cost is the amount of maintenance for the computer, server, and other necessary components for the program. Amazingly, the total expenses on the program so far is less than 5% of the total education budget of the entire country. The results of the program are quite promising. First of all, Mr Brechner emphasized that the importance of the project could be measured in terms of it actually having been acco mplished. The program also had direct and indirect impacts. In numbers, he said that the program has 450.000 impacts, which is the equivalent of the number of students who are participating in the program. He claims that the expenses of the program were worthwhile because of the motivation that the children got to go to the school and study. By offering each student his own laptop, the student miss less classes and they do their work much more proficiently. The laptops brought education

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Prisoners of War During WWII Essay -- World War II

Wars have essentially been the backbone of history. A war can make or break a country. As the result of war, a country can lose or gain territory and a war directly impacts a countries’ economy. When we learn about wars in schools we usually are taught about when they start, major events/ battles, and when they end. It would take a year or two to cover one war if we were to learn about everything. One thing that is commonly overlooked and we take for granted, is prisoners of war. Most people think of concentration camps and the millions of Jews that suffered when prisoners and war are mentioned in the same sentence. Yes it is terrible what happened during WWII, but what about our troops that were captured and potentially tortured trying to save the Jews? How did they suffer? Being captured as a prisoner of war is just an on the job hazard. In this paper I will explain what POWs went through and how it has changes between countries, and I will only scratch the surface. Taking prisoners of war have been a battle tactic for ages. Capturing an enemy troop could be done for many reasons. Mainly enemy soldiers are captured to be interrogated for unknown information on the enemy. There were usually common rules and procedures for taking a prisoner of war, weather they were followed or not was really up to the country. Come 1929, there was a document in the works that set rules regarding prisoners of war. More than 40 countries got together to sign and agree on these new set of rules (â€Å"Life† 11). The signing of the Geneva Convention was held in Geneva, Switzerland. This document of ninety-seven articles defined a prisoner of war as a member of a regular military unit, wearing a uniform (thus spies were excluded). The Convention decl... ... Red Cross and learning the facts about the brutality, General Eisenhower stopped sending POWs to the French. (Tarczal) Works Cited Bowman, Michael. "World War II Prisoner of War Camps - Encyclopedia of Arkansas." The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. 29 Oct. 2009. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . Hutchinson, Daniel. We . . . Are the Most Fortunate of Prisoners": The Axis POW Experience at Camp Opelika during World War II. Publication. Alabama Review, 2011. Print. Tarczal, Bela. Hungarian POW in French Captivity. Publication. Trans. Eva B. Bessenyey. Print. "World War Two - Japanese Prisoner of War Camps." World War Two. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . Wukovits, John F. Life as a POW. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2000. Print.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Astron 2b03

Astronomy / Origins 2B03 Practice Midterm Questions 1. Our solar system is located in the a) Milky Way's galactic halo b) Milky Way's central bulge c) Milky Way's galactic disk d) space between the Milky Way and its neighbouring galaxies e) none of the above 2. What happens when you shine a laser beam horizontally across a room? ) the light would be deflected upwards slightly b) the presence of the gravitational field makes the light move slightly faster c) light travels a perfectly straight path d) the path of the light is curved downward very slightly e) none of the above 3. The terrestrial planets are a) Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars b) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune c) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto d) Venus, Earth, and Mars e) none of the above combinations 4. From lowest energy to highest energy, which of the following correctly orders the different categories of electromagnetic radiation? a) gamma rays, X rays, visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, radio b) visible light, infrared, X rays, ultraviolet, gamma rays, radio c) radio, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X rays, gamma rays d) infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X rays, gamma rays, radio e) radio, X rays, visible light, ultraviolet, infrared, gamma rays 5. Evidence of the expansion of the universe is shown by a) the Einstein Cross b) the 4. billion year age of the Earth c) the abundances of the elements in stars d) the redshifts of distant galaxies e) time dilation 6. Suppose we look at two distant galaxies: Galaxy 1 is twice as far away as Galaxy 2. In that case, a) Galaxy 1 must be twice as big as Galaxy 2 b) we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at an earlier time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2 c) we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at a later time in the his tory of the universe than Galaxy 2 d) Galaxy 2 must be twice as old as Galaxy 1. ) none of the above 7. A black hole and a normal star have the same mass. They each have an Earth-sized planet orbiting them at the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun. a) the black hole pulls harder on its planet than the normal star does b) the two planets feel identical pulls c) the normal star pulls harder on its planet than the black hole does d) the planet is sucked into the black hole e) none of the above statements are correct 8. Which of the following is not part of the official International Astronomical Union definition of a planet? A planet †¦ a) is close to round in shape b) is a satellite c) is in orbit around the Sun d) has â€Å"cleared the neighbourhood† around its orbit e) none of the above 9. We can determine the distance to a galaxy that contains Cepheid variable stars by using a) the period-colour relation b) the mass-luminosity relation c) the mass-radius relation d) the period-luminosity relation e) none of the above 10. Ann sees Bob travel by her in a very fast spaceship a) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running slowly and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running slowly b) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running slowly and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running fast c) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running fast and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running slowly d) Ann observes Bob’s clock to be running fast and Bob observes Ann’s clock to be running fast e) something else 11. Which space time diagram(s) violate special relativity? a) ii b) ii and iv c) iv and v d) i and iii e) iii and v

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Lenovo Marketing

Lenovo Acquisition Analysis Product/Brand decisions: Some of the issues Lenovo had to deal with in the acquisition of IBM was how to capitalize on the marriage of brands and how to win corporate respect with the Lenovo brand. The acquisition allowed Lenovo to move quickly into the international marketplace. Given that IBM had one of the most trusted brands around the world, this allowed Lenovo to build on past IBM’s reputation. But Lenovo only had the right to use the IBM logo for five years so they wanted to leverage that asset.The media perception of Lenovo’s association with the Chinese government was also concerning to Lenovo’s executives since firms with this type association tend to get low marks for trustworthiness. In response they did face to face surveys to determine customer concerns. After choosing to focus on innovation and quality the company eventually settled on a strategy with two elements: build up the Lenovo brand as master brand and continue t o strengthen the ThinkPad brand which rated high among corporate buyers. Pricing decisions: Lenovo’s pricing decisions was a case of how to position itself in the minds of consumers.They had already become very efficient with the cost of manufacturing since most of the components were already being made inside of China. But they had to choose what its brand essence would be and over how many categories its brand would be stretched. As they saw it there were two groups with which to compete. One group included the discounted pricing model like Dell, HP, Acer and such. Another group included Apple and IBM which distinguished their products on innovation and quality. So to remain competitive, Lenovo planned to launch their new PC Series 3000.This was an attempt to keep the master brand and the ThinkPad as luxury products at a premium price and to create another product that was priced lower and could compete in the market on another level. They chose not to compete directly on p rice with the 3000 family by applying what they learned business consumers wanted which was ‘worry free computing’. They were going to stress in their marketing strategy that the Lenovo brand stood for innovation. Competing on price would have given the perception of a cheap product from China. But they learned that consumers put a premium value on quality, reliability and durability.Distribution decisions: The acquisition allowed Lenovo to acquire distribution channels that IBM had already built up. It now had a marketplace to 138 countries where both businesses had been selling previously. Prior to the acquisition sales in China for Lenovo’s were 70% transactional through business partners and 30% by relationships or consulting. Globally for Lenovo it was the opposite with only 30% of sales through partners. IBM’s customer base had been predominantly corporate customers. On the supply chain side IBM pc’s were already sourced in China so there were operational efficiencies to be gained.According to one executive there appeared to be no channel conflict since they had complementary products and client bases. They could assembly a broad product portfolio and use global distribution to take products around the world. Combining the two cultures still posed a challenge to making the company function in the manner it was the merger was conceived. Even though Lenovo had modeled itself after HP and IBM by focusing on meritocracy, the potential for corporate and operational clashes had not been clearly removed. However, the young CEO Yang exhorted them to work together as they integrate the two companies. The key message was to trust the other person’. This helped foster an atmosphere that would help the transition. Promotion decisions: Lenovo had many challenges facing them with regard to promotion of the brand and product portfolio. One was how to position the ThinkPad brand with the market and whether to put this brand on ex isting Lenovo products. The marketing manager thought this would dilute the ThinkPad brand and decided to keep the ThinkPad as a separate product class that would build on its reputation of a premium business notebook.This became part of their strategy of a ‘one-two punch’: building up the Lenovo master brand and continue to strengthen the ThinkPad product brand. Just before the acquisition Lenovo had negotiated an Olympic sponsorship in order to introduce the world to the brand. They would be able to use the Olympic logo for marketing and promotion but this arrangement would come at a hefty price of $80 million to start and another $160 for the additional advertising requirement; a large sum for a company with $3. 2 billion in sales.Lenovo would also be able to continue to use the IBM logo for five years as part of the acquisition which they intended to leverage. The promotion strategy led to a three phase advertising plan. First, they ran a worldwide campaign where ea ch ad ended with a mention of the ThinkPad instead of Lenovo to reassure customer and maintain the ThinkPad momentum. The second campaign was labeled ‘ThinkPad Unleashed’ which ran during the Olympics to emphasis that the ThinkPad was being made even better. The third phase stressed that Lenovo stood for innovation which is how they intended to differentiate themselves from their competitors.In order to continue to raise awareness, the marketing manager studied brand-tracking research from 10 countries every quarter. They would chose product placements on TV shows in countries like India as a result of the studies. They also explored unconventional ways to position the company as Dell and HP continued to outspend them in ad dollars by as much as 20 times in the US and 10 times in Japan. Upon introducing a ‘3000’ family of pc’s for the small business market, the challenge was how to position it as price-competitive without the perception that they wer e cheap products from China.This might dilute the master brand. They would investigate more in depth about what business customers ultimately wanted in their pc’s. To help with what their research revealed, each PC came with a set of tools labeled ‘LenovoCare’ for ‘worry-free computing’. Marketing strategy: The marketing strategy would eventually stress a family of innovative products that resulted from the marriage of the two brands. This would help support their mission statement: We put more innovation in the hands of more people so they can do more amazing things.Delivering on this mission would prove to be harder than just saying it. From the outset, Lenovo strived to create a management team that was representative of the new global market. They achieved this by hiring employees in the countries where they sold the PC’s. Developing a marketing strategy that spanned the globe was a daunting task that would only be successful if their dive rse team of executives worked together. Having multiple cultures working together toward the same goal would be difficult. Within the first several months after the acquisition the Lenovo did lose market share.Now the company would have to stand on the Lenovo brand to get them through the next several difficult months of regaining that share and getting more entrenched in the US market. They would find that even in their own home country of China where they once had the advantage that competition had become more intense due to additional ad dollars they were spending. As long as they continued to support the innovative culture which won IBM so much recognition and to work to make the cultures manage together this would lead to a successful future.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Navy Commission Program

The Navy Commission Program The Navy Commission Program The navy commission program has core values that all navy officers are bound to abide.They include,honor,courage and commitment.In honor of state,I will conduct myself in high ethical manner to those I relate with both my peers and follow commands from my supervisors.i will be responsible for all my actions and I will always keep my word as I have been taught.i will be mindful in serving my fellow citizens. Courage is also another core value which i have always respected and believe its a value everyone fighting for his country should have.I will defend my country and support every mission that is in my line.I will take courage in carrying all my duties however demanding or hazardous they they may appear to be. Commitment is a virtue that is compulsory in achieving the set goal.Iwill do my best in in working as a team with my fellow officers since team work is the only way of excelling in daily activities.I will be commited to serve all people without any discrimination. My main reason for applying for this commission program is a great passion for serving my country in the force's capacity and especially navy. I believe I have all the qualifications that are required for the program. I did well in high school especially in math and sciences. I am a good swimmer; my height and weight is in the required range, and I have no health issues. I am the type of a person who believes in perfecting what I do; I am driven by the urge of achieving my set goals and objectives. In this case, I understand that the work of a naval officer is very involved and requires a lot of commitment. Sometimes, it may call for great sacrifice especially if another country tries to attack from the waters. Applying all the knowledge and skills I have learned in high school and as a scout, I believe, I will deliver the best services for this Country.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Brittle Stars and Basket Stars

Brittle Stars and Basket Stars Theres no question as to how these creatures got their common names brittle stars and basket stars. Brittle stars have very fragile-looking, worm-like arms and basket stars have a series of branching arms resembling a basket. Both are echinoderms that belong to the Class Ophiuroidea, which contains thousands of species. Due to this classification, these animals are sometimes referred to as ophiuroids. The mouthful of a name Ophiuroidea comes from the Greek words ophis for snake and oura, meaning  tail - words that presumably refer to the animals snake-like arms. There are thought to be over 2,000 species of Ophiuroids.   A brittle star was the first deep-sea animal to be discovered. This occurred in 1818  when Sir John Ross dredged up a brittle star from Baffin Bay off Greenland.   Description These marine invertebrates are not true sea stars, but have a similar body plan, with 5 or more arms arranged around a central disc. The central disk of brittle stars and basket stars is very obvious, since the arms attach to the disc, rather than joining to each other at the base like they do in true sea stars. Brittle stars usually have 5, but may have up to 10 arms.   Basket stars have 5 arms that branch into many slender, highly mobile arms. The arms are covered with calcite plates or thick skin. The central disk of brittle stars and basket stars is usually relatively small, under one inch, and the whole organism itself may be under an inch in size. The arms of some species can be quite long, though, with some basket stars measuring over 3 feet across when their arms are extended. These very flexible animals can curl themselves into a tight ball when they are threatened or disturbed. The mouth is located on the animals underside (oral side).   These animals have a relatively simple digestive system that is made up of a short esophagus and a sac-like stomach.   Ophiuroids do not have an anus, so waste is eliminated through their mouth. Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Echinodermata Class: Ophiuroidea Feeding Depending on the species, basket stars and brittle stars may be predators, actively feeding on small organisms, or may filter-feed by filtering organisms from the ocean water. They may feed on detritus and small oceanic organisms such as plankton and small mollusks. To move around, ophiuroids wriggle using their arms, rather than using the controlled movement of tube feet like true sea stars. Although ophiuroids have tube feet, the feet dont have suction cups. They are used more for smelling or sticking to small prey, than for locomotion.   Reproduction In most ophiuroid species, animals are separate sexes, although some species are hermaphroditic.   Brittle stars and basket stars reproduce sexually, by releasing eggs and sperm into the water, or asexually, through division and regeneration. A brittle star may purposely release an arm if it is being threatened by a predator - as long as a portion of the brittle stars central disc remains, it can regenerate a new arm fairly quickly. The stars gonads are located in the central disk in most species, but in some, they are located near the base of the arms.   Habitat and Distribution Ophiuroids occupy a wide range of habitats, from shallow  tide pools  to the  deep sea.  Many ophiuroids live on the ocean bottom or buried in mud. They may also live in crevices and holes or on host species such as corals, sea urchins, crinoids, sponges or even jellyfish. They are even found at hydrothermal vents.   Wherever they are, there are usually a lot of them, as they can live in dense concentrations.   They can be found in most oceans, even in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.   However, in terms of numbers of species, the Indo-Pacific region has the highest, with over 800 species. The Western Atlantic was second-highest, with over 300 species.   References and Further Information: Dubinsky, Z. and N. Stambler. 2010. Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition. Springer Science Business Media. 552pp.Mah, C. 2009.   The Basics: How to Tell Sea Stars (Asteroids) from Brittle Stars (Ophiuroids).   The Echinoblog. Accessed April 28, 2016.Paterson, G.L.J. 1985. The deep-sea Ophiuroidea of the North Atlantic Ocean. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 49(1): 1-162.Stà ¶hr, S., O’Hara, T. Thuy, B. (Eds) 2016.  World Ophiuroidea Database. Accessed April 26, 2016.Stà ¶hr, S, OHara T.D.,, Thuy, B. 2012. Global Diversity of Brittle Stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea). PLoS ONE 7(3): e31940. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031940University of California Museum of Paleontology.   Introduction to the Ophiuroidea. Accessed April 28, 2016.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

What Is the Impact of the Media On the Body Image of Girls 16-20 Essay

What Is the Impact of the Media On the Body Image of Girls 16-20 - Essay Example The research has shown that media has a very high impact on the body image of young girls. The influence is so high that they often ending up aspiring to have such bodies and in the process, cause significant damage to their physical and mental well being. Body dissatisfaction can result in a very wide range of unhealthy behaviours. Any factor, such as idealized media images, that proves to be a factor of body dissatisfaction has an influence on the well-being. The notion is deeply imbibed and almost becomes a subconscious conditioning due to the wide exposure to mass media. Hence, it becomes very difficult to move them towards the direction of body satisfaction. The author says that many young girls are not fully aware of the artificiality of the images projected on the media. This leads to desperate attempts and disappointment at failed attempts, until it becomes a vicious cycle. The level of vulnerability as well as immaturity often becomes key factors in deciding the level of impact that each individual faces due to the body images projected by the media. If these young girls are made to understand the difference between, ‘images’ and ‘reality’, then they would move away from the concept of body dissatisfaction. To understand the impact of media among the young girls between the ages of 16 to 20, the research methodology that was used was of personal interviews. A personal interview was carried out individual for thirteen girls based in the UK between the said age group. This group was chosen based on the interest that the girls expressed in talking about the issue, and not based on a random criterion. The person al interview

Friday, November 1, 2019

Is it still necessary to know what constitutes a bank Essay

Is it still necessary to know what constitutes a bank - Essay Example To eliminate vagueness or ambiguity of a concept entails the formulation of a definition. However, one’s definition extends to the breadth of his/her exposure to the subject matter. At times, though, development becomes rapid that one’s knowledge or awareness regarding the subject lags behind. This could be said when seeking an exact definition of what a bank is. Advancements in technology and business have resulted in more efficient banking operations. The same have also resulted in increasingly complex banking systems and the laws governing banking operations, thus, making it relatively more difficult to come up with an encompassing definition across ages and disciplines. In the ancient times, it would be relatively easier to find a definition for banks due to the simplicity of the system and that people used common services. Over the years, some additional functions including the acceptance of deposits, transferring of money from one account to the other, extending of loans and investing of funds have become notable (Heaton). With the worldwide improvements in transportation and infrastructure, people have become increasingly mobile, trade on the international level occurred. At the rate trade both on the national and international levels has developed, banks have exponentially increased their functions and the services they provide. In this regard, aside from being economic agents, banks have evolved into becoming legal entities as well. Banks can be defined by economic agents based on their functions and classification, which are as follows: -Banks (commercial banks) are privately or state- owned, offering a broad range of financial services to myriad economic agents subject to control and regulation of government agency concerned. They finance credit needs of individuals, firms and governments. Moreover, they receive deposits, transfer funds, issue traveler's checks and letters of credit, and safe keep valuables. Aside from these, they also serve as trustees for economic agents, act as agents for purchase and sale of assets and disseminate relevant information pertaining to the economy. (Menzies) Banks (savings banks) that promote savings especially for moderate-income earners where deposits of clients are invested in government obligation or treasury bills and other medium- to long-term industrial obligations (Menzies). They extend loans for single-family homes and other residential properties as well as business consumer loans and mortgages ("What's the Difference"). Banks (investment banks) primarily function to finance investments of both private enterprises and government across various levels. They market a variety of stocks and bond issues as well as arrange mergers and assist in a number of specialized lending fields. (Menzies) Although the functions of these banks have become less distinct over the years, differences lie in the regulatory and supervisory structures ("What's the Difference"). Depending on their legal classification, these banks are regulated by different government agencies and regulatory bodies. Their operations are governed by laws stipulated in the UK Banking Act 1987. There are also some financial intermediaries with functions similar to a bank, but not classified as banks. The definitions given above do not seem to differentiate these non-bank institutions from banks in terms of function. Non-bank financial institutions may include the following: Credit Unions. These are cooperative financial institutions formed by groups of people who pool their funds which serve as based deposits. Similarly, they accept deposits in a variety of accounts just like banks. ("What's the Diff