The movie A Beautiful Mind Essay Example for Free

The movie A Beautiful Mind Essay The movie is titled â€Å"A Beautiful Mind† and the psychological disorder that is depicted in it is schizophrenia. In the movie, the main character is Josh Nash is depicted as being schizophrenic in the following ways. In one instance, he is revealed as being able to hear voices that other people could not hear. This voices are seen as controlling agents of the actions he does. The voices in the movie control his thoughts and to some extend seem like they want to harm him. His behavior is quiet terrifying to the people around Nash. The depiction of psychological disorder of schizophrenia is a true picture of the condition as it occurs in real life. Another symptom of the disorder that was evident in the movie is the fact the sitting for several hours without any movement or speech. Nash had bout where he could not move or speak for a lot of hours. This is the typical behavior of schizophrenic people. He seemed fine most of the time but as soon as he made a revelation of what was on his mind people were shocked on what was going on in his mind. The portrayal of an individual with schizophrenic disorder in the movie â€Å"A Beautiful Mind† was indeed a realistic portrayal of the disorder CITATION Bus03 l 1033 ( Buss Buss, 2003). My reaction after viewing the movie is that schizophrenia is a psychological disorder that affects families and societies in general. The people who are diagnosed with this condition find it quiet difficult to live a normal life as they rely so much on other people to help them in their daily activities. The only solution to it is by coping with the symptoms of the disease. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Buss, E. H., Buss, A. H. (2003). Schizophrenia: Seven Approaches. Transaction Publishers. Source document

Competitive Environment For HSBC

Competitive Environment For HSBC The financial crisis of 2008 considerably create significant impact to the not only to the bank businesses in Hong Kong but also to global economy. Basically, the general concept of financial crisis of 2008 refers to the degree to which the performance of a firm or an industry is affected by the global financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 which directly affect the lenders and other financial institutions can also affect an individual investor who owns a portfolio; a company; an exporter and importer who concentrates on international trade and even a firm that has no direct international activities. Furthermore, through their impact on the costs of inputs, outputs, and substitute goods play a significant role in determining the competitive position of companies with no direct international operations relative to foreign firms (Solvell Zander 2000). Since few organisations can excel simultaneously all over the scene, they specialise. Some are renowned for their ability to organise and place new issues, others prosper as merger and acquisition specialists, reliable asset managers, skilful forex traders or efficient custodians. The product roster may have a connection with an initial and fairly random advantage, or it may be a judicious response to a shifting environment, competition and ultimately profitability. Regional specialisation, by contrast, tends to have more deterministic elements, geographical and cultural closeness, for example. With respect to the current competitive environment scene and in the banking industry in which HSBC belongs, regulatory and technological changes are the main catalysts, making entrenched competitive structures obsolete and mandating the development of new products, new processes, new strategies, and new public policies toward the industry under analysis (Bond Green, 2003). Financial centres, in vigorous competition with each other, have undergone further regulatory change in their efforts to capture a greater share of international trade in financial services, even as common efforts at the regional and global level have tried to support safety and soundness and a reasonably level competitive playing field. Banks and securities firms have had to devise and implement new strategiessometimes leading events or (perhaps more often) responding to themand the financial services industry has seen a wave of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances in virtually all parts of the world. T here are numerous major banking players in the industry, included in the list is HSBC, who strive for market leadership in all their business aspects. As such, the level of industry competition is very stiff and very aggressive. Competitive Advantage In the case of HSBC, even though this organisation had a very strong market competition in the industry where entrants have little or no threat will earn low returns on their profits if it has to face a superior quality and lower-cost alternative. For competitive advantage, HSBC uses strong branding and a tailored approach to give customers an individual service, whether they want investment banking services for their company, or a personal mortgage. With high personal contact or a range of electronic access points, they can provide their customers with accessibility to their services anywhere in the world. Each product produced is tailored to the customers needs but follows very precise processes. At each stage, the customer and advisor must sign documentation to prove that the right level of advice has been given, is understood and the customer feels that at that critical point, they have received good quality service. Despite of the emergence of global financial crisis in 2008, the global development strategies of HSBC shows superiority but would not be appreciated without the concrete examples of their projects, which indicate the changes and success in the market. Annesley (2008) reports that two years ago, HSBC spends more that 2.5 billion euros a year on IT systems and in-house application development, and set itself a target of cutting per-unit processing costs by 10% every year. This year, HSBC expects to make an 11% saving on transaction processing this year after cutting 8.8% off costs in 2005, after 370 successful system deployments in the past three years, and the continued expansion of its pool of global platforms (Annesley, 2008). In addition, the bank has also set up a single, self-managed global network and consolidated on four global datacenters and two regional ones. Moving application development work to low-cost centers such as India is another key part of the companys strategy, leading the bank to estimate that 4.2% of its technology development work takes place in low-cost locations, such as India and the Philippines (Annesley, 2008). In 2008, Fair Isaac Corporation, the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, announced that HSBC would utilise Fair Isaacs proven software technologies, analytic models and development processes for Enterprise Decision Management, and this integrated solution will help HSBC grow its ability to optimise profitability across the banks consumer lending portfolios, and support its long-term growth objectives in the Asia-Pacific region (Press Release 2008). Moreover, to build upon rapid growth of its credit card portfolios and strengthen its leadership in Asia-Pacifics booming consumer lending market, HSBC required a highly scalable solution to roll out optimised decision strategies across products, countries and decision areas (Press Release 2008). It is evident that the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation or HSBC invest on software programs and applications, in response to the fast-paced technological changes today. With the use of the Internet and other web-based applications, it is easier for the company to reach their customers globally and serve them better and faster. With the pleasant response of consumers to the efficient use of the World Wide Web, HSBC will not have a hard time relating to their customers globally, and even implementing projects and new programs to serve and relate to their customers effectively. Corporate Analysis on HSBC SWOT Analysis As part of the business practices of HSBC, SWOT analysis illustrates their status in accordance to strengths, weakness and opportunities and treats after the financial crisis. HSBCs Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths. HSBC has branches in most parts of the world. This helps them have advantage against their competitors. It also gives them the opportunity to serve more consumers thus they can acquire more profit (Who is HSBC? 2010). The employees of the company are well trained. The employees were well chosen and well trained to do their respective jobs. These employees are well managed to keep them in line with the objectives and standards of the company (Who is HSBC? 2010). This is strength of a company because it brings out the best employees thus the best service can be given to the clients. If clients enjoy the service of the company they tend to return to avail again the services and products offered by the company this results to satisfaction of the goals of the company. The company has an internet banking capability wherein consumers can transact their business online. This promotes ease and convenience to consumers. It also gives them advantage over their competitors since not a ll competitors have such technology. HSBC due to its availability in the world has acquired a strong brand name(Who is HSBC? 2010). This is strength for the company due to people will search for the company when they need such kind of services. Having a strong brand name means that the company has competitive advantage against their rivals. Summarily, the companys strengths include its worldwide reach, well trained and managed employees, internet banking capability, and strong brand name. Weaknesses. The company although has a strong brand name is lacking of promotional programs. The company maybe popular to those who have seen it in the internet, have availed of their services, or have come to know of the company through HSBCs clients but to some people the company is not that known (Who is HSBC? 2010). The company needs an effective promotional advertisement that can give the company more clients. HSBC although performing well against most of their competitors still has to overcome its best competitor which is Citigroup. As shown in the second figure the numbers Citigroup has over the other companies is so high. This means the company has to work double time to overcome or be equal to Citigroup. To sum up, the companys weaknesses include the lack of promotional advertisements, and inability to overcome the best competitor it has. HSBCs Threats and Opportunities after financial crisis Opportunities. After the financial crisis, the main opportunity for HSBC is to increase the number of its strategic acquisitions in order to further strengthen their current market leadership position. Through such acquisitions, HSBC would be able to widen the scope of their market share, improve the quality of services that they offer to their clientele, and develop their core competencies further (Who is HSBC? 2010). A secondary opportunity for the company is its internet banking. They should improve its features so that it can cater to the needs of the consumers. The company should also promote the said technology more to attract more clients. Another opportunity the company has is the website it has. The company can make the website more user-friendly, helpful and informative so that people will be encouraged to use it. The web can also be used as a promotional material that the company can use for more people to know the company. Succinctly, the major opportunities for HSBC are its potential strategic acquisitions and its utilisation of the Internet technology. Threats. The main threat to the company is Citigroup. If the HSBC dont do anything to improve their current status they might not catch up with Citigroup and more success may come to that company. Another treat is the economic condition of the countries they are operating in. The status of the economy in United Kingdom (UK) is different from the status of the economy in Hong Kong, the status of the economy in UK might be good unlike the status of the economy in Hong Kong, potential problems may arise thus HSBC should prepare measures to counter it (Who is HSBC? 2010). Additional threats to HSBC may include the ever-changing legal landscape for international business operations, unforeseen strong industry entrants which could decrease the potentialities of HSBCs market presence in the countries which they have yet to explore. Conclusions recommendations Businesses are continuously evolving in order to meet the needs of its people. However, they should be cautious to the changes in order to maintain competitiveness. Therefore, they need to have a careful review of their financial status. Overhead costs and credit rating should be also reviewed carefully. Business companies around the globe should not rely alone on credits instead they should think of creative ideas to sustain their growth and development. Thus, if the financial crisis hit the country, theyll be able to survive. Basically, the actual cause of the financial crisis or the emergence of financial crisis of 2008 is that both Europe and the United States were living beyond their means for too many years (Foster, 2008). After the crisis banks in Hong Kong including HSBC remain intact despite of severe damages. As previously stated, the context of financial crisis of 2008 conforms to the financial capabilities of a firm in global context. After the crisis, businesses are now much becoming careful concerning the assessment of their business process to avoid downfall. For recommendation, HSBC and other retail banks in Hong Kong should now consider risks management. The cost of indemnity had restricted managements alternatives in dealing with the hazards faced by the organisation. Basically, one of the foremost problems was that insurers rated firms according to business in such a way that a fine run firm that had few losses were required to pay for the claims of poorly run firms within the same industry. With this, the role of risk management must be considered. Management may began to make out that abridged losses intended reduced cost of risk. If managers reduced losses they could hold them themselve s without resorting to indemnity. However, it took some time for industries to settle in management. The delicate inquisitiveness in management is the result of a number of instantaneous drifts. With the current economy, the trade and production has augmented financial and direct investment in unstable up-and-coming markets. With this we may say that risk management has also ensnared consideration as a result of the recurring and well-publicised breakdowns linked with its execution. Regardless of the amplified academic and specialised concentration paid to risk management, common instances still occur when classy investors or firms experience abrupt, unexpected, and devastating losses. Basically, risk is a mean reason in economic existence for the reason that individuals and firms create immutable reserves in research and product improvement, inventory, plant and equipment and human capital, without knowing whether the potential cash flows from these funds will be adequate to pay off both debt and equity holders. If such genuine investments do not engender their necessary returns, then the financial claims on these returns will turn down in worth. In addition to altering the extent of equity and debt in their capital composition, firms/business organisations can also influence their chance of liquidation by extenuating the risk disclosures they countenance. Firms/Business organisations should come out to prefer between the types and degrees of disclosures, assuming those that they consider have an aggressive gain in supervision and laying others off into the capital markets. Other features of the firms processes such as the convexity of its tax lists, can also influence the amount to which administrators challenge to alleviate risks (Tufano 1996). Apparently, Besanko, Dranove Shanley, (1996) believes that economists and strategic planners view risk management as being related to the issue of the boundaries of the firm. In this structure, the pronouncement to alleviate meticulous risks is comparable to the verdict to outsource a particular purpose. Thus, risk management, like technology, allocation, or level, is a basis of eco nomical plus. With respect to risk management as tool to counter financial crisis of 2008, we may also say that, strategies that should used by the banks must contribute to the banks possible success rate especially in the face of crisis that involves the financial aspect of the organisation. The presence of a these strategies may give the organisation a competitive advantage over their rival organisations through their scheme on how the organisations or departments that make up the industry are able to work together, and at the same time how they establish their reputation in order to continue giving their services to their clients. Here, the corporate strategies that companies use involve the bank responsibilities and the brands that contribute to the performance of the bank. References: Annesley, C 2008, Computer Weekly.com, viewed 07 April, 2010, . Besanko, D Dranove, D Shanley, M 1996, Economics of Strategy. New York: John Wiley Sons. Bond, J Green, G 2003, Welcome HSBC Strategic Overview, Managing for Growth 2004-2008, viewed 07 April, 2010, . Foster, JB 2008, The Financialisation of Capital and the Crisis. viewed 07 April, 2010 at http://monthlyreview.org/080401foster.php Press Release 2008, Fair Isaac, viewed 07 April, 2010, . Solvell. O Zander, I 2000, Cross-Border Innovation in the Multinational Corporation, International Studies of Management Organisation, vol. 30, no. 2, p. 44. Tufano, P 1996, Who Manages Risk? An Empirical Examination of the Risk Management Practices of the Gold Mining Industry. Journal of Finance, September, 1097-1137. Who is HSBC? 2010, HSBC Global Site, viewed 07 April, 2010 at . Banking Industry in HK Introduction With the continuous and rapid changes the world and people undergo, organisations find it necessary to adapt new methods or reformulate current business applications so as to function more effectively and achieve specific corporate goals. This paper discusses the variables and issues about the impact of financial crisis among banks in Hong Kong. Particularly, this study will focus on the examination of the impact of financial crisis to the said industry. This paper shows the Hong Kongs bank industry awareness about their both internal and external environment such that they have instituted strategic management imperatives to complement the demands of industry. This paper illustrates the challenges in order to determine the possible strategic moves in order to survive in financial crisis. Future of Banking Industry in HK The global economy is now in extreme turmoil. It initially began in 2007 and was referred as credit crunch when the confidence of investors for the value of securitised mortgages in the United States lost. This has initiated a series of domino effects that that have adversely affected the financial sector due to its complicated and high leveraged financial contracts and operations in the American sub-prime mortgage sector (Culp, 2001). And in September 2008, the sub-prime crisis became even more deteriorated, leading to the crashes of stock markets across the globe and entered the current period of even higher volatility. Under the current turmoil, not have any bank can really not be involved, even the USA five largest investment banks two be sold (Bear Sterns sold to JP Morgan on 29th of May 2008 and Merrill Lynch Co. sold to Bank of America on 15th of Sep2008), at same day of Merrill Lynch sold, the Lehman Brothers been bankruptcy and other two of the bank the Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley change into the commercial bank. And that are not all there are still have a lot bank in the world been bankruptcy, nearly bankruptcy or be come to the nationalisation. From the scenario, it shows that all business effort or venture was continuously facing with different problems about financial management problems. Thus, it is very important for the manager or owner to concentrate and evaluate their business process especially during the times of crisis that the global communities are facing. Thus, key financial decisions usually faces the business administrators in problems and issues that is related to financial investments they typically give solutions about the assets on which the firm requires to put money and how a preferred venture have to be financed. With this consideration, we may say that the recent financial crisis is one of the problems experienced not only by some firms in the United States but also by the global economy including the banks and other business in Hong Kong. Basically, the recent financial crisis of 2008 around the globe is actually related to the concept classified by the general media as a credit crunch or credit cris is was started last 2007 of July. The crisis was triggered when most investors loss their confidence in the value of securitised mortgages in the United States and then later it spread out not only in America and Europe but also in Hong Kong. This development created a liquidity crisis that prompted an extensive inoculation of capital into financial markets by the United States Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England (Norris, 2007). Despite of this turmoil in the financial and banking industry of Hong Kong, the future remains to be positive. As seen, after the crisis banks in Hong Kong remain intact regardless of severe damages. As previously stated, the context of financial crisis of 2008 conforms to the financial capabilities of a firm in global context. This is a good indication that businesses are now much becoming careful concerning the assessment of their business process to avoid downfall. Efficacy of Response to the Crisis With regards to the current financial crisis (2008) businesses including banks and other lending and other financing institutions in Hong Kong are exposed to different business risks. Despite of the emergence of these risks, banks in Hong Kong are efficiently responding to counter the risks created by the current financial crisis. According to Joseph (2002), one of the common issues among banking business are the position risk of asset liquidity and market liquidity. It seems that if a loss occurs in the on- and off-balance-sheet performance of the entity due to market price instability, then market risk is also an issue which could arise. Aside from this, there are also concerns linked to asset liquidity risk which could occur when there is an incapability to slacken financial instrument place in a level close to its market value due to require of profundity or market disruption of the instrument (Joseph, 2002). For international, large and active banks, security trading engrossed t hem for the reason that customers surrogated capital markets against banks loans. Consequently, position risk is obtained by these banks. In insurance businesses, position risks come up from funding risk or the risk that they will evade in paying policyholders. Even though technical requirements are secluded by regulation to avoid non-payment, insurance firms uncovered their investment premiums to position risks restraining their further capacity to perform contractual obligations. As response to the current crisis among banks in Hong Kong, Joseph (2002) assured that guideline can avert a subsequent bank crisis through regulation of capital since the capital can serve up as blockade in opposition to the capital as incentive-reducing feature for banks to take considerable risks and loss. Additional, regulation can be more successful when there is a group-wide inspection rather entity-to-entity since it thwarts multiple gearing to avoid unsuitable augment in equity. The group wide-view to regulation is not appropriate to securities firms as a substitute to broker-dealer only due to some grounds. Moreover, Joseph, (2002) believed that negative news will not create crisis because the assets of the firm is unconnected from the assets of the clients and there is simple and non-service unruly transfer of assets to other firms. They carry dated debt mechanisms that are not exaggerated by self-fulfilling forecasts. They hold more liquid assets and resources traded in ev ery day which alleviate the asymmetric issues since lucidity is eminent. Finally, they pass the accountability for payment systems to banks that they stay away from large value outflows. Actually, the main task of any nation in the world is to present their citizens with a high-quality life. Thus, countries like Hong Kong try their best to recognise and arise with elucidations to the various problems meet in their nation. Similarly, the countries including their business organisations discussed in this paper should do the same. Businesses in Hong Kong including their banks were able to face downfalls and adversities in their governments and economies in order to experience triumph. Due to these challenges and adversaries, the governments may make use of all their possessions in looming up with solutions and look for answers to their struggle. These downfalls were apparent in the history of South East Asian countries, and pushed them for improvements in their governments, with the execution of new policies. The nations success relies on the response of the countries citizens, leaders governance and external factors, such as the international trade relations and world output. With the execution of variety of macroeconomic policies in Hong Kong, it helped their governments realise the importance of reform, for in their situation, reform has been beneficial. With regards to the current financial crisis, Hong Kong and their business organisations including banks must consequently sustain their achievement by additional improvement of their current macroeconomic policies, and make new ones for incessant political, economic, industrial and environmental stability and growth, globally and locally. Common Elements in Successful Strategy Due to the emergence of global financial crisis, bank industries around the globe especially Hong Kong are creating strategies to maintain their existence. One of the strategies imposed by banks was through acquisition and expansion. For instance, HSBC, a bank in Hong Kong continuously exerted efforts to their acquisition strategies just to maintain their leadership despite of the current. However, this effort requires considerations of scenarios and business capabilities. Actually, establishing a bank in other parts of the world such as those belonging in the European Union may be more advisable for some entrepreneurs. There are many reasons for this judgment. One of which is the fact that the European Union is a vast region of countries whose level of development varies. This means that EU offers business areas that are less developed than the other, giving better opportunities for foreign banks. Rules and regulations are likely to be more stabilised in some European regions as com pared to the Hong Kong business setting. Tariffs or barriers to entry like taxes may also be lower in other European countries, making foreign entry less difficult. Most importantly, market diversity in EU is far larger than in China, making access to opportunities and market growth easier. Nonetheless, it should also be considered that certain risks can also hinder the development of a foreign bank within EU. For instance, the presence of higher competition level is likely, considering that multiple local and foreign banks will be operating within the region. Moreover, though laws and regulations may be stable, differences in banking policies, operational practices and other relevant factors may make market access not as easy. From this standpoint, it becomes clear that establishing a bank in any foreign country has its advantages and downsides. This suggests that foreign entrepreneurs must be skilled in handling this possible business risks. Hong Kong and its banking sector have a lot to offer for foreign investors; however, the country and its administration must improve some of its banking aspects not only to make Hong Kong more appealing to entrepreneurs but also to prevent business issues. One of this means would be the stabilisation of its business laws and banking legislations. The country must have a definite ruling for both domestic and foreign banks in such a way that both will benefit from. While the Hong Kong government is protecting its local banking sector, it must also employ means that will make foreign bank investors less cautious. The restrictions should also be implemented at a reasonable level. Hong Kong has in fact, conducted several changes so as to be more open for foreign banks. For instance, it has attempted to improve its corporate governance by requiring and encouraging banks to introduce governing boards. Moreover, approved accounting firms are now used for auditing. Operational risks are also being handled by strengthening balance sheets; financial statement definitions are also slowly being accomplished based on international standards. The foreign investors themselves can apply certain means to safeguard their businesses from these recognised risks. One of the important strategies that firms should consider is to operate alongside a local business partner (Overby, 2000). This will help the firm adapt easily to the Hong Kong business environment. A local partner can also assist in learning the Hong Kong culture, practices, regulations and means of interaction. More importantly, a Hong Kong business partner can also help in achieving progress faster. Training the staff becomes even more important in foreign business ventures. The workforce must be supported fully particularly in adapting the business new concepts, standards and technologies. The management should ensure that the local staff is also well-adjusted to the new system so as to encourage them to contribute more for the business (Berger, Hancock, Humphrey, 1993). In general, the investors can start off by analysing the business environment they wish to invest on. It is important that business entrepreneurs are aware of the distinct features of each foreign setting; in this way, the investors will know how to address in the most effective way. With this, it is evident to say, that one of elements needed to consider for a successful strategy was learning and adaptation since these are perhaps the two most important factors that should be present. For instance, it has been reported that at the end of 2003, HSBC launched the Managing for Growth program, which is a strategic plan that provides the company with a blueprint for growth and development from 2003 to 2008 (Strategy 2010). This strategy builds on the companys strengths and addresses the areas where further improvement is considered both desirable and attainable. HSBCs core values are integral to its strategy, in communicating them to customers, shareholders and employees, and comprise an emphasis on long-term, ethical client relationships, high productivity through teamwork, a confident and ambitious sense of excellence, being international in outlook and character, prudence, creativity and customer-focused marketing (Strategy 2010). In addition, there are several key elements in achieving HSBCs global development objectives, and these include accelerating the rate of growth of revenue, developing the brand strategy further, improving productivity, and maintaining the companys prudent risk management and strong financial position. Developing the skills of their employees is also given emphasis to ensure that all employees understand how they can contribute to the successful achievement of HSBCs objectives (Strategy 2010). Moreover, there are eight strategic imperatives included in the plan of HSBC in accordance to their development strategy. Their first imperative is their brand, by making HSBC and its hexagon symbol one of the worlds leading brands for customer experience and corporate social responsibility. The second imperative is their Personal Financial Services, which drive growth in key markets and through appropriate channels, HSBC can be the strongest global player in personal financial services. The third one is Consumer Finance, which is extending the reach of this business to existing customers through a wider product range to penetrate new markets. The fourth imperative is Commercial Banking, making the most of HSBCs international customer base by creating an effective relationship management and improved product offerings in all their markets (Strategy 2010). Furthermore, the fifth imperative is Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets, which accelerates growth by enhancing capital markets and advisory capabilities, by being focused on client service in sectors where the company has critical relevance and strength. The sixth one is Private Banking, which aims to serve the company

Slavery in Anthem :: essays research papers

In Anthem the leaders not only enslaved the bodies of their people, but they also destroyed their minds and had seek to accomplish a tyrannical end. The leaders of Equality 7-251?s community took control of the bodies and mind of the citizens, by completely brainwashing them from the day that they were born. The people didn?t try to fight back nor escape because they didn?t know that the way they were living is wrong or that there was any other way to live. By making it a sin to be an individual they didn?t have to worry about those who were smart, figure out the truth. From the day that they were born every baby was taken to the house of infantry without ever getting to see their parents. Then as they grew older they are sent to different houses, at different stages of their lives, and once they turn of age they are sent to have a baby with someone they do not know and the cycle continues. Without the love and care of parents, the children grow to never know love so their whole world is loveless. Which makes it safe and easier for the leaders to control them. They never have normal experiences like privacy. They sleep in a room of one hundred beds and are never allowed to be alone. They are told it is a sin to be an individual. They speak in third-person and do not use the word ?I?. Not allowing them to be individual means not allowing them to ever think for them. They will follow everything the leaders say if they do not have pride in themselves so they were never allowed to see there own reflection. They weren?t even allowed to have their own names, everyone who lived in the house got one name then a number. The most important reason individualism is not allowed, is because individualism is the key to ego. Ego is the one word of which all people were forbidden to speak of.

Pos. and Neg. of DNA Profiling Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Positives and Negatives on DNA Profiling DNA testing has many uses, both positive and negative, in our society. Genetic profiling has been beneficial in paternity suits and rape cases, where the father or the assailant could be identified. However, despite its growing number of utilizations, DNA profiling is extremely hazardous when results are inaccurate or used to discriminate. Many have benefited from the genetic engineering that has developed at a frightening rate in the last decade. Evabeth T. wrote in the Family Forum expressing her gratefulness of DNA testing. â€Å"Had I not had the genetic testing, I would not have known of the tumor until symptoms occurred, and then I might have had major problems like a heart attack or a stroke,† (Ask the Family). Evabeth is not the only person DNA profiling has benefited. In 1989, Donald Roultodt a prominent father of three was convicted of sexual abuse with his seven-year-old daughter in the Georgia courts of law, (Thompson, 1989). Donald’s conviction, along with many other similar cases, was due to the DNA testing Aside from its usefulness in many legal investigations, DNA profiling can be used in the workplace to discriminate against employees whose profiles could pose a financial risk. For example, genetic technology can and has been used to determine whether or not a person will contract certain diseases, such as sickle-cell anemia. This could cause many employers to hesitate in hiring these people. In the early 1970's, the United States began a carrier screening for sickle-cell anemia, which affects 1 in 400 African-Americans. Many of those identified as carriers mistakenly thought they were afflicted with this debilitating disease. Furthermore, confidentiality was often breached, and in some cases, carriers were discriminated against and denied health insurance along with employment. Genetic engineering with respect to insurance does not stop here. Further development could lead to a complete knowledge of who will develop a disease and when. This will drastically affect the practicality of life insurance policies. Another striking danger of insurance companies discriminating is with infants. The companies may become extremely hesitant in insuring babies who have a high susceptibility to certain diseases. The frequency of genetic testing in criminal investigations has been increasing dramatically despite... ...fidentiality and discrimination, and insurers and employers concerned about liability, it will fall upon legislators and the courts to define the proper use of genetic information.† What matters is how the knowledge of DNA profiling is used. DNA profiling can be an extremely beneficial tool in the war against crime. However, when used for discriminatory purposes, this tool becomes a crime in itself. The ability to compare and contrast a person's genetic code with another should not be taken lightly, for with this great knowledge comes great responsibility. Bibliography â€Å"Ask the Family.† VHL Family Alliance Home Page 5:4 (December 1997): Online. http://www.vhl.org/newsletter/vhl1997/97dpdnat.htm. Grubb, Andrew. Blood Testing, AIDS, and DNA profiling: Law and Policy. Bristol: Family Law, 1990. â€Å"Paternity and Testing Center.† DNA Diagnostics Center Home Page Online. 09 October 2000 http://www.dnacenter.com/htm. â€Å"Privacy and DNA Fingerprinting News.† Eubios Ethics Institute Publications. Online. 10 October 2000. http://www.zobell.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp~macer/NBBFP.htm. Thompson, William C. "DNA Evidence in Criminal Law: New Developments." Trial. 08 August 1989.

Response to the Film William Faulkner, a Life on Paper :: Movie Film Essays

Response to the Film William Faulkner, a Life on Paper My first response in general to the film is how utterly scary many of the people interviewed were. Coming from Central Florida, I can honestly say I am not from the Deep South, as there were several instances where someone was speaking in the film and I simply could not figure out what they were saying through their accent. Of the people interviewed who were not locals from Mississippi, many of the Hollywood representatives were decidedly more intelligible yet no less intimidating, many of them men I would not want to be stuck talking to in a party. But aside from such characters, the film created an interesting portrait of Faulkner the father. One could certainly see intent on the filmmakers’ part to cast Faulkner the father in the shadow of Faulkner the author. The film shows interviews with two of Faulkner’s daughters: one full and one stepdaughter. Intriguingly, the latter of these is shown speaking on camera only once, a scene in which she characterized her stepfather’s severe drinking problems and how scared she was of her stepfather during those experiences. Jill, his full daughter, seemed to go along with these sentiments. She recalls one time she tried to stop him from drinking, to which he responded with the most memorable line of the film: â€Å"Nobody remembers Shakespeare’s child,† which apparently was effective in discouraging any further attempts to stop his drinking. Jill seems ambivalent of her father. On the one hand, she knows she is on camera speaking about her famous and beloved father, and is thus expected to like him. And indeed, she does effectively convey some sense of love for her father. But she simultaneously embeds a disconnectedness from her father. If she had not repeatedly referred t o him as Poppy, one would never catch on that she was his daughter. Her revelations and reminisces seem hardly familial, but rather read the same way all of the other memories of him do: enigmatically and unfamiliarly. The film suggests Faulkner does not feel disappointed in having a daughter rather than a son, and I might go so far as to believe that this characterization of the unfamilial child would have existed for a son as well.

In the Letter from Charles Lamb to English Romantic Poet

In the letter from Charles Lamb to English romantic poet William Wordsworth, Charles sends a very kind invitation into Cumberland to William. I am asked to analyze the techniques the author (William) uses to decline Charles’s invitation. The author is trying to inform Charles Lamb that he will not be able to accept the invitation by using mainly persuasion, exposition, Pathos argument, Figurative speech, some description, compliments and past memories to inform Charles that he can not accept the invitation. The author starts by telling Charles that he is honored by the invitation by the quote, â€Å"With you and your Sister I could gang anywhere. † He then gives the bad new that he can not accept the invitation, â€Å"But I am afraid whether I shall ever be able to afford so desperate a Journey. † Therefore the author gives a compliment before giving the bad news to Charles. The quote, â€Å"The rooms where I was born†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. When I have sunned myself, my old school, -these are my mistresses. The author uses Figurative speech and persuasion to try and change Charles point of view on why he (William) cannot accept the invitation, the author tries to persuade him that he cannot go not because he doesn’t want to, but because he can’t. The quote, â€Å"Your sun & moon and skies and hills & lakes affect me no more, or scarcely come to me in more venerable characters, than as a gilded room with tapestry and tapers, where I might live with handsome visible objects†, shows that the author used personification and figurative speech. Another technique the author uses is Exposition, the author informs, explains, and clarifies his/her ideas and thoughts. The author uses Exposition in the quote, â€Å"Separate from the pleasure of your company, I don't much care if I never see a mountain in my life. I have passed all my days in London, until I have formed as many and intense local attachments, as any of your Mountaineers can have done with dead nature†, by writing to Charles that he cannot go because he has lived almost his whole life in London and made many local attachments that he cannot leave behind. The author writes descriptions of places and people like tradesmen and costumers and the lighted shops to explain that all those are his memories and only home, he uses Pathos argument and Descriptive writing along with past memories in the quote, â€Å"The Lighted shops of the Strand and Fleet Street, the innumerable trades, tradesmen and customers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. all these things work themselves into my mind and feed me without a power of satiating me. Through Pathos argument the author uses vivid description, Emotional tone like in the quote,† and I often shed tears in the motley Strand from fullness of joy at so much Life†, so the Charles can experience what the writer experiences. In conclusion the author’s purpose is to inform Charles that he would be honored to go to Cumberland, but cannot because London is his home. He uses many techniques such as persuasion, pathos argument and exposition.

Kudler Fine Foods E-Commerce Website

Kudler Fine Foods E-Commerce Website Kudler Fine Foods E-Commerce Website * Introduction â€Å"E Commerce is one of the most important facets of the Internet to have emerged in the recent times. Ecommerce or electronic commerce involves carrying out business over the Internet with the assistance of computers, which are linked to each other forming a network. To be specific, ecommerce would be buying and selling of goods and services and transfer of funds through digital communications† (Benefits of Ecommerce†,  2007).With the launch of Kudler Fine Foods new eCommerce solution quickly approaching, this is an exciting time for Kudler and its staff. The benefits of this expansion will not only increase revenue for the company, but afford the opportunity to create new jobs and provide a new range of services to all customers. From the customer’s perspective, everything will start from the Kudler Fine Foods homepage. The home page will maintain the original look and design, but the customer will notice two new additions when visiting. The first addition will be a â€Å"shop† link included in the navigation bar.This will bring the customer into the store’s inventory of items available for online purchase. These new features and services will now be explained, as well as a step by step walk through the customer will experience when making online purchases. Shop When Shop is selected in the navigation toolbar at the top of the website the user opens a new webpage. This webpage is the â€Å"shop† page where the user sees a dropdown box giving them the following categories to choose from: Bakery, Meat and Seafood, Produce, Cheese and Dairy and final Wine.After selecting the category the user will then click on the â€Å"shop† button to the right. They will then be sent that category webpage to make their purchases. Purchase of Items To purchase items the user will see the category webpage where there is a list of all the products offered for this category. Each item will have a description of the product and the price of each item. There is an â€Å"add† button at the end of each item description where the user can choose to purchase this item by â€Å"clicking† on the add button.At the top of each category page the user has the option to go to the other category pages by clicking on the â€Å"go to† button for each category listed on that button. At the bottom of each page there are two buttons to choose; View Cart and Checkout. View Cart View cart allows the user to see all the items that they have chosen to purchase. A list of each item with their price will be shown. At the end of each item row there is a â€Å"remove† button where the user can remove the item from the list. This is the only location the user can remove their items they have chosen to purchase.At the bottom of this page there are buttons to choose to go to the other category pages or to checkout page. If the user chooses to go to another category and selects and item from that page, it will be added to the view cart page. Even if the user goes all the way back to the â€Å"home† page they can start looking at other categories and each item will be added to the shopping cart where it can be seen on the view cart page. After the user has made all their choices to purchase, they can click on the â€Å"checkout† button at the bottom of the page to finalize their purchase.Checkout The checkout page is the final page the customer will need to go to in order to finish their purchase. Here the customer can see all of the items they have selected along with the total of the purchase they are about to make. It they want to remove an item they will need to go back to â€Å"view cart† where they can remove the item. Under the list and total of the items to be purchased, there is a form to fill out. This form is the Payment Information form needed to finish the purchase. Here the customer will input their Name, Address, Town/City, State and Zip code.Then they will select from the dropdown box which credit card they plan to use to make the purchase. After selecting the credit card, there is a box for the credit card number to be entered. After the customer enters in their credit card number, they can either choose the â€Å"submit† to finish the purchase or choose the â€Å"reset† button to clear out the form. If they choose to reset the form, the information will be deleted and they may begin a new ordering process. Marketing our website/promote website Marketing in e-commerce is just as important as the site itself.That brings us to how we can add code into our site to help make us more visible to search engines; meta data is what is used to make us visible to our customers. â€Å"Meta data is, quite simply, data about data. Your document is nothing but a piece of data for a search engine, and meta data helps describes and categoriz es it. Webmasters place meta data inside their HTML documents, to help improve their ranking on search engines, and to help end-users locate their site† (â€Å"Marketing Your Website : Meta Data†,  1999).We will put a description meta tag and keyword metadata tag on each of the webpages we have made for the shopping feature. This way each category will be part of the web search when a customer is looking for one of our products. The metadata tags we are going to use will be the â€Å"description†, â€Å"keyword† (these will be on all webpages); â€Å"author†, â€Å"content-type†, â€Å"refresh† and â€Å"revised† tags (only one the shop page). The description tag lets you put the title of the page when the keyword tag is where you can put important keywords to be found when search engine can find it easier.The author tag shows all that look at our website who created it. The content-type tag shows what we used such as text, ht ml and the UTF8. The refresh one allows the page to refresh at the time limit we set for each page. Then revised will show who ever has to update or modify the shopping pages will know when they were last done making it easier to keep up with the alterations. SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing a website so it will position well in search engines results. â€Å"This means designing your web pages so the search engines will find the right keywords in your web page content.Optimization is all about making sure the search engines will find information that will increase the chance of your page being included in search results†(â€Å"How to promote a website as part of the website design†, n. d. ). some ways to help in this area to make the site more visible include but not limited to include the main keywords in the website title, more keywords in the website description, keywords in the sidebar links, keywords in the content text, be sure all pa ges are reachable, and pages should be easy to navigate. A website can be submitted to search engines so they will know about it.This used to be a necessary step to notify search engines about new websites. Now search engines constantly monitor the Internet for new web pages (and changed web pages) so they will discover your website. â€Å"To ensure that your fresh content or site improvements don't languish un-indexed, submit to Google an XML sitemap, which shows your site's coding, each time you do an update. Google will help you correct any errors in the sitemap to make its indexing more accurate, and will crawl your site more often if you routinely send it XML sitemap updates. † (McElgunn, J. )It is still a good idea to submit your website to all four major search engines (AOL, Google, MSN, and Yahoo) because these four primarily are the ones used for most Internet searches. Another way to increase the SEO for Kudler Fine Foods is with a Facebook page since they are used to get consumers from a social media. Creating a Facebook page for Kudler Fine Foods and getting the consumer to click on â€Å"like† on the page will boost the way the SEO ranks there website. Facebook is another way to notify customers of deals being offered so they will want to check them out on their website.More consumers viewing their website will move them to the top faster. We will add the Facebook logo to the top of each page so the customer can access it from the website. Publish/upload website Once the website has been created, the testing is complete, and the site is ready to go live we need to upload the files to our web server so our customers can start accessing and using the site. One easy option we can use is a program called FileZilla which uses an FTP (file transfer protocol) or we can use a web design product from the host that can upload all the files easily.With the FTP option we have to manually upload each file we want to use. If using a web design pro duct it will upload everything you have at one time. â€Å"Be sure to thoroughly test the website after the upload to be sure all necessary files were successfully uploaded and work correctly. When you need to update a web page you can just upload that page (and related files) and the upload will overwrite the old files. NOTE – Some web design software products save web pages in their own unique file format and automatically convert the files to web format files (e. . HTML) when the upload/publish function is used. If you are going to use FTP software for your uploads, you will first need to do a save-as/export for the web page files to create HTML files. It is a good idea to save these files in a separate folder to make the FTP file selection easier as the web design unique format files do not need to be uploaded. Also, if you use FTP software for your uploads you must also upload files and graphics used by the webpage† (â€Å"How To Publish/upload Web Pages†,à ‚  n. d. )†. Resource: Benefits of ecommerce. 2007). Retrieved from http://www. ecommerceprogram. com/ecommerce/benefits-of-ecommerce. asp How to publish/upload web pages. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. doawebsite. com/publish. html How to promote a website as part of the website design. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. doawebsite. com/promote. html Marketing your website : Meta Data. (1999). Retrieved from http://www. davidreilly. com/topics/electronic_commerce/web_marketing/meta-data. html McElgunn, J. Google Grabbers. Profit, Mar2008, Vol. 27 Issue1, p56-57, 2p.