Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Analysis Of The Article Fences - 1165 Words

Fences by August Wilson is a play about an African-American family in the 1950s. Troy Maxson is the breadwinner of his entire family because of his job in a garbage truck company. Cory, one of the children of Troy, is a great football player in high school and he wants to continue to play for college football, which has been absolutely denied by Troy because of the discrimination as a colored people they have. Rose, Troy’s wife, who is taking care of everything at home, but lost her love for Troy when she knew that Troy has been seeing some other woman. Fences happened in the 1950s, a period that is full of the social position in the African-Americans’ struggling and changing for survival. In the article â€Å"Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilson’s Fences† by Koprince Susan, a professor of English at the University of North Dakota. She expounds that â€Å"The game of baseball has long been regarded as a metaphor for the American dream — an expression of hope, democratic values, and the drive for individual success.† In the play, Troy complained to his boss about why black employees aren’t allowed to be the garbage truck driver. Later on, after the conversation with Mr. Rand, his boss, and the Commissioner of the union, Troy got a promotion to be the garbage truck driver. This is a perfect example of what Ms. Koprince stands for. The social attitude of colored people is changing and developing. The baseball is a symbolic representative of how the African American is sufferingShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis of Cory in The Play Fences by August Wilson1109 Words   |  5 Pagesbecause of a fear that was rooted in him nearly eight-teen years earlier. When Troy was released from prison he dreamed of playing Major League Baseball but at that time it was an impossibility because of racial dis he other primary relationship of Fences is that of Troy to his son Cory (Courtney B. Vance) - a promising 17-year-old football player being courted by a college recruiter. Troy himself was once a baseball player in the Negro Leagues - early enough to hit homers off Satchel Paige, tooRead MoreBreak Even Analysis1227 Words   |  5 PagesBreak Even Analysis In business planning, asking the proper questions and obtaining answers to those questions is arguably the most important thing. Questions such as; how much do we have to sell to reach our profit goal? How much do our sales need to increase in order to cover a planned increase in advertising costs? What price should we charge to cover our costs and allow for the planned profit goals? Is our business going to be profitable? Answers to such difficult questions become accessibleRead MoreThe Importance Of Innocence In Wendy Copes Reading Scheme1245 Words   |  5 Pagesof innocence in Wendy Cope’s poem we will first familiarize ourselves on the topic of innocence by looking at two different articles to aid our argument. Also, we will recognize Cope’s writing style and its connection to the theme of the poem. Finally, we will analysis Cope’s poem by looking at evidence from the poem and the perfect villanelle form. According to the article Archaeology: the loss of innocence, written by David Clarke â€Å"the loss of disciplinary innocence is the price of expanding consciousness†¦theRead MoreThe Problem Of Social Cost1117 Words   |  5 PagesProblem of Social Cost The Problem of Social Cost by R.H. Coast is an article examining the economic problem of externalities. The example of externality is a firm’s smoke imposed negative effects on neighbor properties. The standard economic analysis such of the economic situation is generally defined in differences terms of private and social good followed by the treatment of Pigou Economic Welfare. The standard economic analysis results in achieving most of the economists desires to hold firms responsibleRead MoreNotes On The Novel Fences And Pied Piper Of Tucson 1080 Words   |  5 Pagesreading of Joyce Carol Oates’ short story, â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?† and Mara Bovsun’s article, â€Å"Pied Piper of Tucson;† they identify and describe ways authors ‘hook and hold’ readers with specific choices. Next, students read the play Fences by Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson and analyze the role of stories within in the story to create tension and advance the plot. Fences is the foundation for the unit’s cornerstone task: after ranking and discussing important lines in theRead MoreSymbolic Source In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty1287 Words   |  6 Pagesthan a century. In an article titled â€Å"’A Worn Path’ Analysis† the author declares â€Å"Phoenix bird has a cycle of life, death, and rebirth†. In the story â€Å"A Worn Path†, Eudora Welty describes Phoenix Jackson as an â€Å"old Negro woman† (Welty1274). Endurance also represents Phoenix because even though she struggles to get his grandsons medicine, she still manages to go through the woods to the town and back to her house just to get his medicine. In the article â€Å"‘A Worn Path’ Analysis†, â€Å"she falls, gets backRead MoreA Research Into The Enteric Nervous System995 Words   |  4 Pages This system, born in the embryonic stage as part of the neural crest and then migrate to what becomes our intestines, they theorize reacts sympathetically to the food we ingest and its own flora and thereby influence our mood and emotions. The article cites several studies both with people and mice that demonstrated some connection between the food that was consumed and emotion. In some case the food seemed to trigger some emotions and in others emotions caused the subjects to gravitate to certainRead MoreAnalysis Of The Statue Of Marshal Ney In The Fog1368 Words   |  6 Pageselement, a monument representing the i llustrious French military commander Michel Ney (which gives the title to the entire work), positioned on the extreme left, dominating the mid and upper third, while in the lower one it is possible to notice a round fence that encircles the statue, creating both a physical and ideal perimeter around the statue. The right side of the picture is occupied by thick grey brume that occults what could be present in the square, apart from two items. One of them is almost indecipherable:Read MoreFraud Management : An Architectural Insight1144 Words   |  5 Pagesrush to secure the Holy Grail from reaching the fraudsters also causes a high for a broader section of the ethical technical audience who strive to ring fence their organizations. It is quite a feat to think through the various loop holes to ensure that no repeatable fraudulent pattern is left un-scrutinized. An attempt has been made in this article to address available technologies to fend off Fraudsters, and the architectural in sight needed from an enterprise technical architecture standpoint. TypesRead More`` Exquisite Corpse `` By Ashraf Rushdy951 Words   |  4 PagesTransition published a journal article in 1999, Issue 83 (Volume 9, Number 3) â€Å"Exquisite corpse†, written by Ashraf Rushdy. This article chronicled numerous hate crimes executed against African Americans by Caucasians as far back as 1933. The Transition article, a journal dedicated to the advancement of the African American community, written by Rushdy, look to reduce the propensity and likelihood of their constituents being lynched by the white community. It is Rushdy’s hypothesis that prominently

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Organizational Behavior Apple And Samsung - 1922 Words

Organizational Behavior Apple Samsung Student Name : Mengting KE Tutor Name : Vinay Reddy Subject : Organizational Behavior Word account: Contents Introduction ———————————————————————————————— 3 - 4 different approaches to management and leadership —————————————— 5 - 6 Apple’s approaches to management and leadership —————————————— 6 - 7 Samsung’s approaches to management and leadership ————————————— 7 Comparison ———————————————————————————————— 8 Ways of using motivational theory in organizations ——————————————— 8 - 9 Developing effective teamwork ——————————————————————— 10 - 1 Conclusion ———————————————————————————————— 11 Reference List ——————————————————————————————12 - 13 Introduction As a consultant for Orb Ltd a company who specializes in organizational behavior. I have been asked by the CEO to research areas within organizational behavior on the two examples that I selected, so it can be used for future training. Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of the way people interact within groups. Normally this study is applied in an attempt to create more efficient business organizations.(Investopedia.com 2010) Another definition for OB is an action and attitudes of individuals and groups toward one another and toward the organization as a whole, and its effect on the organization s functioning and performance.(WebFinance 2016b) The two companies I have choices are Apple and Samsung. As a well-know companies, Apple and Samsung couldShow MoreRelatedBus 599 Week 10 Assignment 4: Capstone Project Strategic Management628 Words   |  3 Pagesrategic-management/ BUS 599 Week 10 strategic management of Apple Inc. and Samsung Group. Due Week 10 and worth 480 points Use the Internet or the Library to research articles on strategic management of Apple Inc. and Samsung Group. Write a ten to twelve (10-12) page paper in which you: Analyze the existing business strategies, domestic and global environments, industry, and internal capabilities for both Apple and Samsung. Assess the significant manner in which each company’s mission andRead MoreThe Marketing Of Apple Incorporated Essay1406 Words   |  6 Pages Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and several others founded Apple Incorporated in 1976 because they had a passion for developing computers (Yoffie Rossano, 2012). The computers were meant to be user-friendly so that any person could use the computers with ease. Apple’s focus is on continuing to find new ranges of products concerning laptops phones, and many other products. During the making of their computers, the company found that bundling the hardware and software the company produced the Mac OperatingRead MoreWada1669 Words   |  7 PagesDiagnosing the Change Managing Organizational Change Emiliano Delucia Keller Graduate School of Management DIAGNOSTIC MODELS One of the main purposes of diagnostic models is to find a way to identify external and internal factors that can affect the working conditions of an organization. Many diagnostic models have been developed along the years to ensure these factors are well identified and the organizations can function properly following a certain model. The diagnostic modelRead MoreManagement and Organizational Culture in Samsung1548 Words   |  7 PagesCourse: NZDB 530 Organisation and Management Trimester 2 2010 Assessment 2: Essay on Organizational Culture SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS Submitted by: Chung Daewan(Steve) ID# 20904451 Submitted on: 5th July 2010 Submitted to: Jene Parilla TABLE OF CONTENTS â…  . Essay on Organizational Culture †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..................................................3 â… ¡. Metaphor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.......................................................................................6 â… ¢. Appendices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..................................Read MoreManagement and Organizational Culture in Samsung1541 Words   |  7 PagesCourse: NZDB 530 Organisation and Management Trimester 2 2010 Assessment 2: Essay on Organizational Culture SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS Submitted by: Chung Daewan(Steve) ID# 20904451 Submitted on: 5th July 2010 Submitted to: Jene Parilla TABLE OF CONTENTS â…  . Essay on Organizational Culture †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..................................................3 â… ¡. Metaphor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.......................................................................................6 â… ¢. Appendices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...................Read MoreStrategic Management Of Apple Inc. And Samsung Group2547 Words   |  11 PagesManagement of Apple Inc. and Samsung Group Analyze Apple and Samsung domestic and global environments, industry, internal capabilities, mission and vision. Apple and Samsung, actually, considered as pioneers in technological industry. Every company has chosen different business strategies and models within the marketplace. Apple releases few but highly anticipated high-end products while Samsung inundates the market with a wide variety of products. In the beginning, Apple was very carefulRead MoreOrganisational Behaviour4667 Words   |  19 PagesOrganizational Behavior Stimulating Forces To Differentiate Planned From Unplanned Change Apple‟s soon to be legacy... Page 1 Organizational Behavior Table Of Content Introduction page 3 Company Background Operational Definition page 4 Current Scenario page 5 Apple and Steve Jobs Current Position of Apple Smartphone Industry Trends page 6 Force Field Analysis page 7 Kurt Lewin‟s Model page 8 Criticism of Lewin‟s 3-Step Model page 12 Conclusion Read MoreManagerial Economics And Management Decisions By C. M. Birch1702 Words   |  7 Pagesthe case of Samsung, many of these global factors played a substantial role in deciding the survivability rate of the company from succeeding or declaring bankruptcy. This paper will serve as a means to understand Samsung’s corporate orientation such as culture, strategy, structure, organizational leadership, ethical programs, and associated risks. In addition, to analyzing past decisions and identify new strategies to improve Samsung’s corporate function. The South Korean giant, Samsung, is knownRead MoreAnalysis Of Apple And Samsungs Business Strategies Essay2053 Words   |  9 PagesAnalytical perspective of both apple and samsungs’ business strategies Apple Inc. (Apple), headquartered in Cupertino, California, has become a household name around the globe. The company’s business strategy is to bring the best personal computing, portable digital music and mobile communication experience to not only consumers but to students, educators, businesses, and government agencies alike (Appel, 2014). Apple accomplishes this through innovative hardware, software, peripheral, internetRead MoreA Porter 5 Forces Industry Analysis1476 Words   |  6 Pages1] Do a Porter 5 Forces Industry analysis of the PC Industry (NOT just Apple but the Industry as a whole) 2] Historically, what have been Apple’s competitive advantages? 1970 to 1980 an area where technology started to become a filed for competition Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 innovated the first Apple machine and in that year a new generation of computers brand production was borne. Apple’s history is considered an inspiring maze for many who are willing to become a leader in an industry

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Use of Chemical Weapons and its Effects on the Neighboring Countries Free Essays

Globalization can be defined as the process of integrating the social, economic, political, and cultural of different countries globally. Globalization stems back all the way to the second half of the 20th century. Globalization has plenty of accolades, but it also has major negative consequences. We will write a custom essay sample on Use of Chemical Weapons and its Effects on the Neighboring Countries or any similar topic only for you Order Now Scientific developments hastened with globalization and tools of mass destruction like chemical weapons started being produced on large scale and demand. This paper focuses on how the use of chemical weapons in Syria has affected the Syrian environment and its relations with its neighboring countries. Background Chemical weapons are some of the most dangerous tools to be used in war. Chemical weapons have been used for centuries in fight, but it was not until the First World War that they were used in large scale. According to Ahmet ÃÅ"zà ¼mcà ¼ says that this was all made possible by the rapid advances in science technology that enabled the mass production of these lethal weapons. Despite the early efforts to control the use of these weapons by signing the Geneva protocol in 1925, it did not require that one could not stock chemical agent; therefore, they continued to be used in warfare during the cold war and even the Iran-Iraq war. In 1993, the world community signed the chemical weapon convention, which was enforced in 1997 (1). This was a much comprehensive ban on chemical weapons. Destruction of these weapons is projected to conclude in the next few years. Recent events in Syria have reminded the world of the horrific impact of chemical weapons. According to Pita Renà © and Juan Domingo, the Syrian government accused a terrorist group of firing a chemical rocket at the southeast of the city of Aleppo, Khan Al Asal that took the lives of 25 innocent people and injured more than 110 people (2). Jefferson quoted the US secretary of state on the event as â€Å"moral obscenity†. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) could not investigate the disaster since at the time Syria was not a member of the Chemical World Convention. However, after the Syrian Government asked the United Nations to investigate whether the use of chemical weapons caused the attack, it started the UN Secretary-General Mechanism (SGM). The UN Secretary-General assembled a mission that consisted of OCPW personnel and medical staff from the world health organization (4). The investigation did confirm that the attack was chemical based, and also set the base for the investigation of other alleged chemical weapon attacks with France and the United Kingdom accusing Syria of another chemical related attack. These were followed by other allegations by Qatar and the USA. They were all alleging that through their investigations they had found the 12 different attacks to have been caused by chemical weapons which were in possession of the Syrian government. The investigations were conducted through the means of individualized governments, which meant that the UN could not use the findings. The United Nations could not use these findings because they did not have the proper chain of protection, as the United Nations required the investigation to be done by its personnel. However, after all the turn of events, the Syrian government decided to join the CWC led to the commencement of international efforts to completely Syria of these dangerous chemical weapons (5). Problems The use of Chemical weapons in Syria attracted a lot of attention from big world powers. Greg says that the USA and the UK became the most spoken in the fight against removing chemical weapons and a new regime in Syria. After the statement of the US secretary of state John Kerry, the then President of the United States of America Barrack Obama also issued a statement warning Syria that any use of chemical weapons by the country would be crossing a global red line. The British Prime minister David Cameron despite conceding the parliamentary vote on taking part in military action and gave a striking warning that the use of chemical weapons would quality a strong response from the United Kingdom. According to Christian Henderson, the UK decided that by â€Å"legal basis military action would be humanitarian intervention.† Syria had potentially made unnecessary powerful enemies who could subdue it if it went past diplomacy (3). Syria was not part of the CWC when the first attack took place; this meant that the relevant authority that was assigned with the task of investigating chemical attacks could not get involved. Even though other individualized governments had carried out their investigation due to the lack of chain of custody of the investigations, even the UN could not take any action. This meant the process would drag on for a longer period than it should have and the relationship between the countries involved would continue to strain. In turn, the process of ridding the universe of chemical weapons would suffer setbacks. Pros The attack in Syria brought back the attention of the world to a problem that needed an urgent solution. Syria was still one of the countries that were still not in the CWC, and the attack showed the world that they needed to do everything possible to get the other countries to join CWC. According to Catherine Jefferson, Syria did allow and joined CWC and had since cooperated with the body in the destruction of the chemical weapons stock. For the OPCW to get involved in the first investigation, it required the activation of the SGM, the enactment of this mechanism showed the importance of achieving Universal membership (2). Since Syria became part of the CWC actions have been taken to ensure that Syria destroys the chemical weapons and through this Samiotis and Grekos, shows in 2014 chemical weapons from Syria were destroyed aboard a vessel belonging to the US Maritime Administration by the name MV Cape Ray in the Mediterranean Sea. This was a big milestone in the fight for a world free from chemical weaponry (2). Cons The first agreement against chemical weapons, the Geneva protocol was signed in 1925, but countries were still stockpiling chemical weapons, and it took well over 68 years before the Chemical Weapon Convention was established in 1993. It took another four years for it to be enforced, but the drawback is that there are countries that are not part of the CWC; thus, this does not affect that which puts the convention under threat. This is seen when the attacks in Syria take place by the use of the weapons, and it is even harder to assemble a mission to investigate the attacks due to the lack of custody (Renà © and Domingo 2). The convention has played a big role in destroying chemical weapons, but there is still a long way to go before they accomplish this mission entirely. The use of chemical weapons in Syria has a very negative effect on the natural environment of the countries affected. According to Pita Renà © and Juan Domingo shows, that the samples collected from the scene of the attack had Sarin decomposition and metabolites. The destruction of chemical weapons in the Mediterranean Sea according to has consequences that even from a scientific perspective still do not know the extent to which it may destroy the sea. The chemicals involved in the making of the weapons cause a lot of damage to the environment which if not dealt with my cause a permanent problem. Many of the attacks have happened within Syria, and any signs of way are a threat to political stability and attainment of world peace. The claims that have been made against the Syrian government have not been proven, and thus no one has taken responsibility for the attacks (4). Solutions According to Christopher Jenkins, the CWC is on the right track towards the complete destruction of chemical weapons. The CWC should engage the countries that have not joined them to subscribe to the cause and help the world become chemical weapon free. Most of the countries are storing the weapons because of the uncertainty that they might face a war shortly. If the CWC and other relevant authorities come together, get involved and guarantee these countries that they won’t fall into the attack, then it may be possible to get them to join CWC (1). Recommendations The Syrian government has strained relations with other countries due to the recent attacks. It is important for these countries to have a good international relationship for the CWC to be well enforced and reduce any chances of them getting into a war and spark another wave of large-scale production chemical weapons. The Syrian government should also get involved in the process of restoring the country to a more stable state. They should get as much outside help as possible and enhance their international relationships. How to cite Use of Chemical Weapons and its Effects on the Neighboring Countries, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Basal Breast Cancer Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Research on Basal Breast Cancer. Answer: Introduction This research was designed bearing in mind the increased cases and mortalities associated with breast cancer. More specifically is the basal like breast cancer in which the cancer cells move to distant tissues and make them different to treat. For instance, the breast cancer cells may move to the tissues where they metastasize and further form lesion on these tissues (Le et al., 2014). Research however indicates that the basal breast cancer cells depends on making alterations on both genetic as well as epigenetic mechanisms in order to complete the process of metastasis. This study was thus set up to find out whether targeting some genes can be important in the treatment of basal like breast cancer (Mavaddat et al., 2015). The interleukins are important in cell processes and thus are in significant numbers in cancer cells. The interleukins, for instance IL 3 is involved in cell growth, maturation and differentiation. More specifically, IL13R2 and IL13R1 compete for the binding to the ir receptors and can be used interchangeably. Previous gene profiling of IL13R2 indicated that this gene is abundant in lung metastasis but its role in cancer has not been clear (Papageorgis et al., 2015). As such, unbiased gene profiling using basal breast cancer was used to determine the roles of IL13R2 in metastasis. Methodology The major method used in this experiment was the gene expression profiling as well as the in silico leveraging of pre-existing breast tumor transcriptomes. In this case, the interleukin 13 receptor alpha 2 was knocked through the mediation of lentivirus. This was accompanied by imaging process which made use of bioluminescence to determine the role of this interleukin in breast cancer and metastasis in the lungs (Papageorgis et al., 2015). Further, confirmatory tests were carried out using microarrays and cell migration tests to better understand the molecular pathways which play part in basal breast cancer and lung metastasis. A weakness of this gene profiling method is that it is not possible to determine the roles of other genes like serpin B3, serpin B4 and CD36 which are also regulated by interleukin 13. Since this is a genetics approach, the biochemical methods which would have been used would be the Elisa tests. In this case, antibodies specific for the IL13R2 interleukin woul d be directed to specific sites in the breast and lung tissues. These would then be coupled with a secondary antibody which is specific for the breast cancers and the reaction measured via the spectrophotometer for either light absorbance or transmittance at a given wavelength. Results The authors were able to prove their hypothesis that when IL13R2 targets IL-13-STAT6-TP63, it alters the breast cancer metastasis. The authors in this research concluded that when there is an overexpression of the IL13R2 leads to increased metastasis in the lungs in some sunsets of basal like breast cancer. Moreover, for the first time, it has been discovered that there exists IL-13-STAT6-TP63 which is an antimigratory signaling molecule which can reduce the rate if metastasis in the breast cancer cells. The control experiment which was used in this research was the histology and immunochemistry in order to make confirmation of the results of microarray analysis on the role of IL13R2 in metastasis. It is this assumed that the IL13R2 can be used for therapeutic purposes to treat breast cancer (Papageorgis et al., 2015). This could be done by amplifying the gene coding for IL13R2 such that it leads to the increased expression of IL-13-STAT6-TP63 which in turn lowers the rate of metasta sis in the lungs and other tissues in patients suffering from breast cancer. The observed results could also be as a result of the orphan chemokine CXCL17 which is regulated by IL-3 genes and facilitates progression to cancer (Matsui et al., 2012). References Le, M. T., Hamar, P., Guo, C., Basar, E., Perdigo-Henriques, R., Balaj, L., Lieberman, J. (2014). miR-200containing extracellular vesicles promote breast cancer cell metastasis. The Journal of clinical investigation, 124(12), 5109. Matsui, A., Yokoo, H., Negishi, Y., Endo-Takahashi, Y., Chun, N. A., Kadouchi, I., ... Kobayashi, E. (2012). CXCL17 Expression by Tumor Cells Recruits CD11b+ Gr1highF4/80 Cells and Promotes Tumor Progression. PloS one, 7(8), e44080. Mavaddat, N., Pharoah, P. D., Michailidou, K., Tyrer, J., Brook, M. N., Bolla, M. K., ... Luben, R. (2015). Prediction of breast cancer risk based on profiling with common genetic variants. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 107(5). Papageorgis, P., Ozturk, S., Lambert, A. W., Neophytou, C. M., Tzatsos, A., Wong, C. K., ... Constantinou, A. I. (2015). Targeting IL13Ralpha2 activates STAT6-TP63 pathway to suppress breast cancer lung metastasis. Breast Cancer Research, 17(1), 98.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Copeland Baskin Essays (463 words) - Spirituality, Human Behavior

Copeland Baskin Mrs. Floyd Fitness Class 15 October 2017 Effects of Walking Walking is the easiest and most meditative exercise there is well other than yoga. However, walking is beneficial for fewer risks of bodily issues. Walking can bring people together in the time of need and for fun such as walking down the road, hiking, or just touring places. Today I a m going to be writing about walking, cycling, and yoga and its benefits on a person cognitively and with their multiple sclerosis. First , Multiple Scleroses is the hardening of cell tissue and with this disease, there is often cogitative impairment. According to Brian Sandroff , " Cognitive impairment is a highly prevalent, disabling, and poorly managed consequence of multiple sclerosis (MS). Upwards of 50% of MS patients demonstrate cognitive impairment based on neuropsychological testing " (209). With this being a fact, something has to be done to stop it. For example, exercise will helps with cognition in individuals by allowing them to have control of planning, coordination, inhibition, mental flexibility, working memory, and alertness. Walking allows one to have a peaceful mind and coordination because to walk well you have to focus on heel to toe, shoulders aligned, and arms swinging slightly with his/her movement. Cycling is helpful at really pumping up the heart rate. Secondly, yoga is excellent in coordination and control. Having coordination and control is very beneficial for the mindset and sclerosis. Meditation and deep breathing is one of the great things about yoga. Also, positions such as cat and cow, seated twist, child's pose, downward facing dog, supported forward bend, sun saltation, supported triangle pose, and seated warrior, helps with the relaxation of the muscle s with people having sclerosis, along with the concentrated breathing. Lastly, with all of the exercises combined, there was studies and experiments tested on people with relapsing multiple sclerosis and impaired cognition. According to Brian Sandroff , "improvements were made with walking, cycling, and yoga in quiet surroundings." (216). With this being said I think everyone should get out and exercise to prevent risks of diseases. In conclusion, walking, yoga, cycling, and basically any type of controlled exercise can help benefit one from diseases. It is all about managing, focusing, control, and breathing that really helps one's cogitative state. While yoga is more beneficial for relaxing the muscles for multiple sclerosis. Works Cited Sandroff , Brian M., et al. "Acute Effects of Walking, Cycling, and Yoga Exercise on Cognition in Persons with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis without Impaired Cognitive Processing Speed." Journal of Clinical Experimental Neuropsychology , vol. 37, no. 2, 15 Feb. 2015, pp. 209-219. EBSCO host , doi:10.1080/13803395.2014.1001723.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Copybloggers Best Advice On How To Scale To 8 Figures With Brian Clark

Copybloggers Best Advice On How To Scale To 8 Figures With Brian Clark If you are a marketer, then you have probably heard of Rainmaker Digital’s Copyblogger and read some of its articles. Copyblogger is one of the most iconic marketing blogs in the world. It is kind of a big deal, and there’s a good reason for that. The team at Copyblogger works hard to publish specific content that the audience finds extremely useful and valuable. Today, we’re talking to Brian Clark, founder and CEO of Rainmaker Digital and creator of Copyblogger. Brian and Copyblogger are recognized by many as the most influential blogging resources. If you haven’t got the hint yet, Brian knows his stuff! So, learn all about audience, value, and generosity from him. Getting back to basics with digital and content marketing automation and personalization; it’s still the human being in the middle of it that matters the most Know your audience for automation and personalization to be a delivery engine that gets better content to people who care about it Learn how to use new tools before applying them in the fundamentals of a sound digital marketing strategy; the tool does not make the strategy Audience First Content: Build your audience by providing them value; then you will understand what products they want and need Publish content first that attracts an audience, and then build a product Copyblogger is considered the Bible of content marketing despite no advertising Rainmakers: Use email marketing principles and have a product to sell to develop authority and clients How much to give away for free with your content marketing be generous, tell them everything, and share as much as you can, if you are selling something Content Creation to Revenue Generation: Are you getting more business than if you weren’t doing content marketing? Productize content and charge audience for information by knowing the objective and removing all objections that prevent buying Know your audience to determine the right format (audio, video, written, etc.) Internet is the greatest market research environment; it’s no longer about not having enough information, but how to manage and utilize it all Biggest mistake made is trying to appeal to everyone and not turn anyone off Links: Copyblogger Rainmaker Digital Brian Clark on Twitter Permission Marketing by Seth Godin Write and send a review to receive a care package If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Brian Clark:: â€Å"Be super generous because it’s competitive out there, and you have to find a way to stand out.† â€Å"It really should be the right content at the right time for the right person.† â€Å"Audience First is really the idea that you build that group of people by providing them value.† â€Å"That’s what we’ve done every time. Start with the content that attracts the audience, and then develop the products.†

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Strategic Systems Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Systems Management - Assignment Example Mercedes Benz has a very long history of cars manufacturing, being a part of Daimler-Benz company and later belonging to Daimler-Chrysler. Perhaps, Mercedes-Benz is the most well-known automotive brand worldwide. Its rich history and known top-level quality have earned a reputation of luxury cars manufacturer for the company. Mercedes Benz automobiles being prized for prestige and quality often become the choice of the rich and famous. Throughout the history, the goal of Mercedes Benz was providing its customers with more than just cars. Owning a Mercedes Benz was a symbol of belonging to community valuing quality above all. The focus of Mercedes-Benz vehicles is set on high quality and state of the art engineering. Of course it makes them expensive; thus they are made in lower volumes compared to cheaper cars. The company has carefully cultivated an image of superior engineering, quality, and service. Mercedes-Benz is clear leader in the luxury and upper range segment of the market. Recent efforts of the company to move towards lower segments were rather successful: its Smart brand has become a market leader in microcar segment in several European countries. Hence the famous luxury cars manufacturer now tries to make its products popular among low-priced cars to achieve global dominance. The mission statement of Daimler-Chrysler, which Mercedes Benz is currently a part of, indicates efforts towards fulfilling customers' desire for mobile independence (Daimler-Chrysler 2005). Mercedes-Benz is proud of his long 120 years history of car manufacturing, putting its experience and commitment to use in making quality cars. Nevertheless, quality is not the only pillar the company stands upon. The corporate strategy of Mercedes Benz is based on four cornerstones: global presence, strong brands, broad product range, and technology leadership. Invention and innovation put to good use at Mercedes Benz allows a company to set up a high quality standard. Broad product range reflects the company's direction towards dominance rather than being a niche player in luxury cars segment. Its strong brand is often seen as its greatest competitive advantage providing Mercedes Benz cars with a spirit of precision and comfort. Finally, steps taken in the establishment of global presence allow Mercedes Benz to enter new national markets. The great Daimler-Chrysler merger made in 1998 can be seen as an example of establishing global presence of Daimler-Benz. Although the deal was supposed to be a merger of equals, Daimler-Benz quickly took the wheel of the new formed company. "When the dust settled, Daimler was firmly in control of Chrysler, and the shock waves were reverberating on both sides of the Atlantic. An American icon would lose its independence, and a German giant would grow in power and influence." (Stertz and Vlasic, 2000) Another example of expansion is purchasing of Mitsubishi departments serving two purposes: 1) getting closer to a perspective Asian market and 2) using the expertise of Asian car manufacturers in producing small cars. Nevertheless, the sky is not clear for Mercedes Benz. Its recent trends of moving into lower market segments has not gone unnoticed for its luxury cars. "In recent years the brand's reputation once sterling reliability record has been called into question when it was recently ranked rather low in consumer surveys." (Wikipedia 2006) Thus Mercedes-Benz is now

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Statistics MT Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Statistics MT - Speech or Presentation Example Hence, the 95% confidence interval for the population mean using the Students t-test is given by, In such cases, the placement of the central tendencies are Mean 5. the positively skewed cumulative distribution curves are characterized by a concentration of mass on the left-hand side of the curve. Such a curve is drawn in the side diagram. Quite clearly, since the median considers the mid-point of the curve and the mean of the curve is actually the weighted mean, considering the frequencies with which each observed value appears, the mean has a greater value than the median in this case. Thus, the rational agent will accept the mean salary of major league baseball players, rather than the median salary. 6. The decision to eliminate an applicant could be taken only after studying the percentage mean of their test marks and the variations of the marks obtained in each test from the population mean value, which is measured by the standard deviation of the observations from the mean. The higher the population mean and lower the standard deviation are, the better is the situation considered. In fact, a high standard deviation implies a lower consistency in activities and thus the situation which displays the highest value, is considered as the worst one. In this particular case, it is found that the test results of Applicant 3 has the highest standard deviation and thus he is the one ho should be eliminated. = (800/2000) x 100 = 40%. From the normal table it is known that at 95% confidence interval using to-tailed tests, the value of the standard normal variate is 1.96. Hence, the formula to calculate the 95 percent confidence interval about the true population percentage

Monday, November 18, 2019

How are the issues presented in Barn Burning still relevant in the Research Paper

How are the issues presented in Barn Burning still relevant in the recent history of the United States - Research Paper Example There was a time when the African Americans had not been granted the human rights equivalent to their white counterparts. This segregation prevailed in every department and even in public places including hospitals, parks, railway stations and in public transport, where the Blacks were bound to vacant the seats in the buses for the whites as a token of their so called superiority. The Blacks were not allowed to even sit in buses and other public places alongside the white people, and even had to vacant their seats at buses provided any white person entered in a bus with no seat to sit in. (Parks, 1992) However, time turned drastic change, and the movements of the Black community to win equal rights for them turned out successful, and the segregation of the races at schools, public places and even public offices observed complete and unconditional eradication. The African American students used to seek education at segregated schools separate from the whites. Somehow, the ethnic and r acial discrimination witnessed the gradual eradication from the very face of the US society, where the individuals belonging to every races and ethnic group observed social justice and equality in the country. Consequently, the door of opportunities looked wide open for all and sundry in the country, and the Black could study, play, work, travel and dine along with the white people in the aftermath of the human rights movement launched by Martin Luther, Malcolm X, Rosa Park and several other Black leaders. However, according to Faulkner, the white maintained serious reservations about the attitude and behavior of the African Americans due to the very reality that they appeared to be far more aggressive, antagonist and revengeful during their conflict with the whites, and leave no stone unturned to take revenge of their humiliation particularly at the hands of the members of white Anglo Saxon Population (WASP). The same happened in the story under analysis where Abner Snopes, the mem ber of Black community, always underwent humiliation at the hands of his master(s) because of his extremely sluggish and laggard nature. Instead of complying with the orders of his master, and paying due heed to his professional responsibilities of looking after the barn, crops and cattle, Abner appears to be spending most of his time in taking rest as well as getting involved in chit chat with family members and friends. Thus, he transfers the duties assigned to him to his daughters, which are not in a position to perform the same in a proper manner. It not only infuriates the masters, but also paves the way towards Abner’s insult and humiliation. Somehow, instead to mending his ways, Abner turns reactionary and conspiringly set the barns under his supervision to fire before leaving the place he has been working. Answer 2: Since Faulkner has observed several incidents regarding the Black people’s turning out reactionary, the writer is of the view that such an irrespon sible attitude of the African Americans not only frightens the white community, but also they are reluctant to hire the services of the Blacks for any purpose. Actually the white community had displayed their hatred for the Blacks in all social institutions provided they considered them as their slaves and the progeny of their old slaves, which should be treated keeping in mind their old past. It is therefore

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Strategic Decision Making Case Study: Zara

Strategic Decision Making Case Study: Zara Introduction ZARA is the brand of the Spanish retail group, INDITEX SA. Its one of the well known performers in a retail market in recent years its stores can now be found in the most important shopping districts of more than 400 cities in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. With year-on-year sales increasing at around 25% over the last 5 years, it has become one of the worlds fastest growing retailers (Lopez, 2009). Task 2 Strategic decision A strategic decision is what is thought to be a long-term investment and which is helpful in changing the direction of business undergoing in any organization. Such a decision can be a lot risky as the market changes very rapidly but if it turns out to be successful it give a competitive advantage over its competitors. The decision will be made by the top level management in a company and the shareholders will be consulted for that (Harris,ÂÂ  1998). Example For taking an example of a strategic decision we can take a look at their working with a design driven strategy, they produce about 11000 styles per year which means that they produce about 1000 new styles every month which is managed by a team consist of experts in design and development fields of over 200 people. This means that every member of the team on average is producing around 60 styles a year. As a result of that in zara stores a customer can always find a customer can always find new and latest products. This comes out to be a successful strategic decision in order to gain the competitive edge and higher profits in the market (Machuca, 2005). Tactical decision The second type of decision is called tactical decision making. Such a decision may be made by a group of managers but the shareholders are not involved in it as it is a medium term decision and have a lesser effect then a strategic decision. The result of such a decision can be seen within a period of less than a year or so and it has no contribution in changing the direction of the business. (McKinne) Example An example of such a decision is Zaras unique approach to advertising and marketing. It an additional factor within their business model which adds a lot to their success. They spend 0.3% of total revenues on advertising and marketing. This percentage is very less as compared to the competitors in their markets as on average companies like GAP and HM spend about 3-4 % of their total revenue for the similar expense this shows that Zara is successfully maintain a cost advantage to their competitors in marketing activities. For completing with its peers successfully Zara uses different useful locations, store layouts and the life cycle of its products as an effective marketing tool. they open their stores in primes markets to get the maximum visibility. And as mentioned earlier their product are in stores for a very small period of time which provokes the customer to visit time and again and make a rapid decision about purchasing as they might not get that product again when they visit the store even next day. Zara also spend heavily to the layout of their stores each store is remolded after every five years to keep up with the current trends (Gallaugher, 2008) Operational decisions Operational decisions are those which are made on regular basis the effects of such decisions are often minimal and usually do not last for more than a week of so these decisions are mostly done by staff and do not require much of an attention by the top level management (Harris, 1998). Example The example of such a decisions at Zara is its Centralized Logistics and Distribution they have maintain a control and have optimized their supply chain very effectively at many different levels. Within a week there are two orders or prescribes specific days and hours with usually prepared overnight shipments in La Coruna. (Felipe et al., 2010) There are specific times for trucks to leave and shipments to arrive at stores, the garments are pre-hung, already labeled and priced even those which are set by air.ÂÂ   As a result of this clearly defined rhythm, not on the supply chain works smoothly but also the customers know the time and days to visit the stores to get the fresh arrivals and new designs. It is very interesting to know that where in industry a standard time of 6 months has to get the product from sketch to store Zara does this in a remarkable short time of just 2 weeks (Vitzthum, 2001) Task 3:Â  Information needed for decision making Following is the explanation of the type of information required for strategic and tactical decision making. Human intelligence such as information from store managers and market research and information technology such as PDA devices are being used in order to form a hybrid model for flow of information from where houses to stores. Manager present at Zara stores use hand handheld device to send the standardized information about the feedback by customers and ordering needs directly to in house designers. This not only support and helps in making strategic decisions along with the rapidly changing trends and customers demand but also make the company be aware about the merchandise which is less desirable. The competitors of Zara completely rely on information technology which the unique approach being used by Zara makes them manage their inventories well helps them create a link between demand and supply and also helps in controls the problems occurring due to obsolete merchandise. For supporting the operational decisions Information from the distribution centers and from the production facilities, gives a better view to the manager of a certain store about the availability of garments at the stores this also helps in adjusting their orders and passing on information needed by the customer. (123HelpMe.com, 2010) Task 4:Â  Competitors intelligence The competitive intelligence is a process of monitoring the activities of rivals in market. It helps to know about competitors plans and review the own strategies for taking successful decisions (Arik, 2010). Main competitors of Zara are HM and Gap. HM OPENS its distribution centers in the region it has its stores in order to cut down the lead time and transportation cost. It also heavily investing in advertisement which helps them cater large market size and capture attention of a lot of customers worldwide. Another risk which is reported to the Inditex group it works by reinvesting all its profits in opening new stores HM is Sweden based retailer that spent heavily in advertising and is a close competitor of Zara. HM opens its distribution center in the country of its operations so as to cut down on lead time and transportation cost. (Pankaj and Jose, 2006) The process which id adopted by Zara of obtaining the market information is very different from its competitors. Many of them majorly rely on small elite design teams that plan all the needs of the business. Their stores have a very little autonomy in deciding which products they should out in display or which to go for sale because the quantities and planned and shipped according to the forecasts. Where the speed of Zara in product development is far better than anyone in the market (123HelpMe.com, 2010). When it comes to Strategic Partnerships and Cost of Production Most of Zaras competitors have 100% outsourcing to cheap Asian countries. Zara does not use Asian outsourcing unlike its competitors such as Gap, Benetton, and HM and 80% of Zaras materials are manufactured in Europe with 50% made in Zara controlled facilities in the Galicia region of Spain . The cost of production in Spain is 17-20% more expensive than Asia this gives a cost advantage to it competitors in regard to labor and expands their market worldwide (123HelpMe.com, 2010). The information and communication technologies being used by the competitors of Zara are quite different the cost spent by Zara in this regard is less than 0.5% of its total revenue and the it employees account for about 0.5% of Zaras total workforce. And if we take a look at its competitors they spend on average 2% of their total revenue on it expenditures and have 2.5% of their total workforce devoted to it. Which certainly makes their working far better in these areas? This is the global age and these gimmicks are demand of the time so Zara should pay some more attention to it both financially and strategically (123HelpMe.com, 2010). Task 5:Â  Importance of Business-To-Business for Zara Business to business commerce is a form of E-commerce involving business to business transactions, servicing customers, working with other businesses and the exchanging of products or services. B2B opens up a global market at little cost, reduces the costs of sales and promotions and can increase demand. This term specifically defines the electronic collaboration among different enterprisers. The B2B is a lot more important for Zara to promote its business activities at a bigger level and to cater a bigger market. It makes sure the world about the about the presence of variety of products available in its stores. Zara is even new to e-commerce as it launched it website in 2009 (Alisa, 2009). As compared to its competitors Zara is offering cheaper rates and a good quality product that is why many dealers would want to make a purchase to save their expenditure on high prices designers clothes of same quality. This will also give the benefit of saving time and money because after taking the order the product may be delivered to the door step of the customer. And other e-commerce retailers who are involved with fashion will be looking carefully to what Zaras online store can bring to online shoppers. The pace of which your ordinary high street stores are moving online and developing e-commerce solutions is set to lead to a more intensified competition for online sales, and more focused e-commerce marketing strategies. (DeltaQuest, 2010) Canada and China: Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency Canada and China: Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Cyber-crime, Cryptocurrency, Canada, China. Cyber-crime is a byproduct of the information age and is growing very fast worldwide (FBI, 2017). As technology has advanced so have the criminals methods to exploit the internet. Cyber-crime can be described as the use of a computer, a network or other electronic device to facilitate a crime, Interpol makes a distinction between two types of cyber-crime (INTERPOL, 2017): Advanced cyber-crime attacks on computer software or hardware; Cyber-enabled crime financial crimes, crimes against children and terrorism are more prevalent since the introduction of the internet. These types of crime in the past would have been likely to be conducted by small groups or even individuals, but new trends according to Interpol show organized criminal gangs worldwide have embraced technology to further their profits be it from illegal gambling, sale of fake goods, theft, fraud etc. Since 2009 the criminals now have a new virtual currency also labelled as a cryptocurrency called Bitcoin which is used by many to conduct transactions on what has become known as the dark web. The dark web can only be accessed through encryption software and this area of the internet is largely un-policed and users can remain anonymous. The anonymity is an ideal scenario for the criminal to work in. This paper will discuss firstly the give a brief overview of cyber-crime and the origins of bitcoin in more detail. Secondly how this electronic currency technology is being used for legal and illegal purposes. And lastly how governments around the globe are trying to regulate this electronic currency, with a major focus on the Canadian government and Bill C-31. Criminality is nothing new it has been part of lives for centuries, crime as such has not changed over the years only the tools used to carry them out have developed. Criminals have learned to use technology to hide themselves in the shadows and use technology to further profit. The biggest technological advancement in the last thirty years has been the internet. The internet has revolutionized our lives in so many ways from ease of communications, e-commerce to the large wealth of knowledge on line. Cyber-crime comes in many forms but it is primarily aimed at computers, computer infrastructure and other connected devices. With the large spread of the internet and smartphones, now nearly 3.2 billion people on the planet have access to the internet (ITU, 2015). It increases the pool of people that criminals have access to. When this is compared to decades ago when computers were only used by government agencies, research and financial institutes, crime in this area was limited to those who had the expertise and access to these devices (Clough, 2015). Now a small group can conduct crimes on a global scale without the restrictions of physical location to perform the crime. Bitcoin is an electronic virtual currency that allows users to conduct transactions between themselves (peer to peer) over an electronic network without the need for a third party namely a financial institution (Nakamoto 2008). Bitcoin was released in January 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto which there is little known about as this was an alias used by the inventor (Powers 2014). The Bitcoin software is open source and in order to use the currency a user must obtain a wallet, there are two common types of wallets. Firstly the software wallet and the secondly the mobile wallet (Bitcoin 2017). The software wallet is mostly stored on a users hard drive, with the mobile wallet being stored on mobile devices such as android phones, IOS phones and tablets, giving the user the flexibility of have a currency attached to a mobile device. These wallets contain both a public and private key, the public key is what a user will share with other Bitcoin users in order to have them send bitcoins over the internet, whereas the private key is used by the owner of the bitcoins to make payments from the wallet (Miller 2015). The back bone of this cryptocurrency is the public ledger called the blockchain, this ledger records who owns what bitcoins and records transactions that take place. No one controls or owns the blockchain its all in the public domain. Transactions on the blockchain cant be reversed, the blockchain is only written too and are confirmed by the peer to peer network. Nakamoto has placed a limit of just under 21 million bitcoins, once that limit is reached, no more bitcoins can be made. Bitcoin is viewed as being the electronic equivalent of cash, as no financial institutes are involved no personal information is required when creating a personal wallet or purchasing Bitcoins. This anonymity has drawn scrutiny from some sectors to Bitcoin because some criminals have adopted the currency instead of conducting business in more traditional financial ways (Miller 2015). Just like any currency, Bitcoin can be used to purchase many of the everyday things in life the same way that we use traditional cash or credit cards. You can transfer Bitcoin to relatives, donate to charity, and this was what Bitcoin was created for to be a replacement for current systems. The first Bitcoin ATM was opened in Vancouver, Canada in 2013. In its first week of operation, the ATM performed over 10,000 independent transactions with a third of users being first time Bitcoin buyers (Wagner 2013). Across the world, entire city areas are accepting this cryptocurrency Bitcoin as payment for a range of goods and services. In the Germany City of Berlin, the borough of Kreuzberg, has the highest number of businesses accepting Bitcoin on the planet. This is expanding across the globe because every day more and more businesses are authorizing Bitcoin as a means of payment (Small 2015). Kirkpatrick (2017) refers to an interview with David Decary-Hetu, an adjunct professor of criminology at the University of Montreal, There are many helpful and legal reasons for having bitcoin, Decary-Hetu says, noting that large established companies such as Dell Computer, Expedia, Microsoft, and PayPal, each accept bitcoin, and are clearly not dealing in illegal goods. Small (2015) stated the total market value of the Bitcoin currency is currently estimated at slightly below $7.6 billion. The main argument for the regulation of virtual currencies and Bitcoin is that because of the anonymity offered to the buyer of such currencies, criminals have advantage over law makers and law enforcement. This anonymity helps obscure the identities of those purchasing drugs, money laundering, illegal paraphernalia and terrorist financing with the use of Bitcoin. Kirkpatrick (2017) again in his interview with Decary-Hetu says There is no way to tie your identity to your online bitcoin wallet address, if you do it properly, noting that when users try to convert cryptocurrencies to traditional money they may lose that anonymity. Thats where sloppy people are going to get arrested. China In China, the government banned Bitcoin in December 2013. The Peoples Bank of China does not give Bitcoin any legal status, refuses to recognize it as a currency, and has misgivings about Bitcoin as a central authority does not regulate it (Ponsford 2015). This was not always the case as in May 2013, the Chinese government unofficially gave its blessing to the currency when the government sponsored a documentary that was shown on state television to inform the public about Bitcoin (Small 2015). Because of the interest that came from the documentary, a surge of Chinese clients downloaded Bitcoin software, more than any other country for the last seven months of 2013. Before the ban, China accounted for the most Bitcoin exchanges and as a result Bitcoins value plummeted nearly twenty percent in a single day after the announcement (Small 2015). Canada In Canada, the government in 2014 stated that Bitcoin was not legal tender. The government however did state that it was a payment system (George-Cosh 2014) and as such should be taxed as a commodity when Bitcoin is exchanged for Canadian currency. Canada was the first jurisdiction in the world to pass concrete legislative measures to deal with Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Bill C-31 was passed into law in June 2014, which made reporting requirements on the use of virtual currencies like Bitcoin. These measures are similar in nature to regulations on other financial transactions in the country. Bill C-31 made it law that Bitcoin be regulated as a money services business, requiring users to register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). These Bitcoin regulations would apply to both domestic and international Bitcoin operators (Ponsford 2015). The summary of Bill C-31 stated (in part): Division 19 of Part 6 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to, among other things, enhance the client identification, record keeping and registration requirements for financial institutions and intermediaries, refer to online casinos, and extend the application of the Act to persons and entities that deal in virtual currencies and foreign money services businesses [emphasis added]. Legislation that specifically altered the definition of money services business stated: (4) If subsection 256(2) comes into force, then on the latter of January 1, 2015 and the day on which that subsection comes into force, money services business means an entity (a)(iv) dealing in virtual currencies, as defined by regulation Other legislative provisions incorporated virtual currency language, including foreign businesses directing services at a Canadian person or entity. This legislation has had effects on Bitcoin use in Canada, because firstly it regulates virtual currency as a money service business; secondly imposes registration with FINTRAC to combat money laundering and terrorist financing; thirdly extends to both users inside and outside of the jurisdiction, or services within Canada; fourthly prevents banks from dealing with unregistered users (Ponsford 2015). References bitcoin.org (2017). Available: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet. Last accessed 18/03/2017. Calumn Jeffrey and Tobias Feakin. (2015). Ungerground web. ASPI Special Report. March 2015. Daniel Miller. (2015). Bitcoin explained: the digital currency making millionaires. Available: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-02/bitcoins-the-digital-currency-explained/5119034. Last accessed 19/03/2017. David George-Cosh. (2014). Canada Says Bitcoin Isnt Legal Tender. Available: http://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/2014/01/16/canada-says-bitcoin-isnt-legal-tender/. Last accessed 12/03/2017. Dr. Mike McGuire (University of Surrey) and Samantha Dowling (Home Office Science). (2013). Cyber-dependent crimes. Cyber crime: A review of the evidence. p4-p5. FBI. (unknown). What we Investigate. Available: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber. Last accessed 16/02/2017. Jeffery Powers. (2014). January 3, 2009: Bitcoin Introduced, 1983: Computer Machine of the Year. Available: http://dayintechhistory.com/dith/january-3-2009-bitcoin-introduced-1983-computer-machine-year/. Last accessed 19/03/2017. Jonathan Clough (2015). Principles of Cybercrime. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p6. Keith Kirkpatrick. (2017). Financing the Dark Web . Communications of the ACM. 60 (3), p21-p22. International cyber security protection alliance. (2012). Detailed Findings. Impact of cyber crime on businesses in Canada. ICSPA (4),p3, p16. INTERPOL. (2017). Cybercrime. Available: https://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Cybercrime/Cybercrime. Last accessed 18/02/2017. International Telecommunication Union. (2015). ICT revolution and remaining gaps. ICT Facts and Figures 2015, p1. Kurt Wagner. (2013). Worlds First Bitcoin ATM Opens In Vancouver, Canada. Available: http://mashable.com/2013/10/30/bitcoin-atm-2/#HUU2o4zadsq7. Last accessed 18/03/2017. Matthew P. Ponsford . (2015). A Comparative Analysis of Bitcoin and Other Decentralised Virtual Currencies: Legal Regulation in the Peoples Republic of China, Canada, and the United States . Hong Kong Journal of Legal Studies Volume 9 (2015) . p51-p70. Satoshi Nakamoto. (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Stephen Small. (2015). BITCOIN: THE NAPSTER OF CURRENCY. HOUSTON JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW. 37 (2), p585-p640.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

The Arab Conquest of the Central Asia Essay -- History, Muslim Populat

The Arab Conquest of the Central Asia was a significant event which impacted on the whole region at the beginning of the eighth century. Abu Ja’far Muhammad al-Tabari was one of the historians who described this conquest for the Muslim population later in ninth century by using different accounts (p. 16). His text is useful for the evaluation of Qutayba’s conquests of Central Asia and can be compared with the same century’s Persian historian al-Baladhuri (p. 11) and his description of the Arab Conquest. This excerpt can be regarded as relevant to the Silk Roads Survey due to the fact that it reflects in detail all aspects of past events, and emphasizes their historical importance. Firstly, the author refers to accounts from various sources (p.16) and describes in detail what happened during the seizure of Sogda. Secondly, when al-Tabari narrates about the events occurred in this region he uses direct quotations of the Arab conquerors and Sogdian defenders. For instance, when Sogdians asked Fergana kings for the support (p.17) al-Tabari demonstrates the full reflection of things happ...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Jose Rizal: the Portal of Hope from the Past

Considered as the national hero of our country, Dr. Jose Rizal played a significant role in our history. He was known as one of the most prominent writers of his time. Among his famous works were the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These notable stories gave way for his nationalistic thoughts which became the wick of the long revolts in the past. He believed on the power of pen in contrast to Bonifacio’s view. His death made us face a reality that undeniably tells us the deplorable image of our nation. But do you think he succeeded in opening the eyes of each Filipino? Of course, he did. His works, legendary writings and exemplary lifestyle formed who he was and became to be. Most people live similarly in that they progress through stages of life that ultimately make them who they are. Rizal inspired all the Filipinos to fight for their own freedom. But sadly, most of what he contributed was just left behind and taken for granted. Everyone searches for different pleasures in life, whether it is money, power, fame, knowledge, peace, understanding of self, or just the thrill of adventure whatever it takes. Somehow, we are already forgetting the roots of our valued land. For instance, the crimes are becoming widespread. Due to our fears, we neglect the importance of seeking for truth and justice. We let others decide for ourselves. We do not have anymore the will to struggle for righteousness. As long as we live, we opt to stay away from scenarios involving critical thinking and vital decision-making. So did Rizal’s existence made sense? Appreciation is where we all need to start. Now that we’re aware of how essential his works are, we must open our eyes and make changes. Let us show our deep love and concern for this hero of democracy. In fighting for what we think is right, we are opening the portals of hope from the past. We eagerly face the future with valor and optimism. And we indeed show this great person of yesterday that we still value what he valiantly fought for us.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Minit-Lube Case Study Essays

Minit-Lube Case Study Essays Minit-Lube Case Study Paper Minit-Lube Case Study Paper Date: September 12, 2011 1. What constitutes the mission of Minit-Lube? To provide fast, reliable and superior service in a customer friendly environment while ensuring lowest possible prices. 2. How does the Minit-Lube operations strategy provide competitive advantage? A narrow products strategy could be defined as lubricating automobiles that allows the subsequent development of more focused and efficient operations. Because of limited task variety, high repetition, good training, and good manuals, quality should be relatively easy to maintain. The process strategy allows employees and capital investment to focus on doing this mission well, rather than trying to be a general purpose garage or gas station. Facilities are usually located near residential areas. The three bays are designed specifically for lubrication and vacuuming tasks to minimize wasted movement on the part of the employees and to contribute to the speedier service. Purchasing is facilitated by negotiation of large purchases and custom packaging. Focuses on hiring a few employees with limited skills and training them in a limited number of tasks during the performance of which they can be closely supervised. Should be relatively low, and they should expect a high turnover. Scheduling: Scheduling should be very direct, assisting both staffing and customer relation. Very little equipment to be maintained, little preventive maintenance required. With three bay and three systems, there is backup available in the case of failure. 3. Is it likely that Minit-Lube has increased productivity over its more traditional competitors? Why? How would we measure productivity in this industry? Yes, precise task assignments and good training are designed to move the car into and out of the bay in 10 minutes. The idea is to charge no more, and hopefully less, than gas stations, automotive repair chains, and auto dealers, while providing better service.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

WATCH How to create personal boundaries at work

WATCH How to create personal boundaries at work We spend A LOT of time at work. Â  And colleagues can quickly become friends. Â  But if you find yourself working with someone who has mistaken your friendliness for flirtation, then it’s time to re-establish your personal boundaries. Â  Today’s Bossy Skirt clip offers three actionable and drama-free ways to keep things professional (and comfortable) at work. Source: [Daily Fuel]

Monday, November 4, 2019

Income inequality in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Income inequality in America - Essay Example Income inequality has greatly influenced the nature of government in most parts of the world. Power has always been closed linked to the amount of wealth owned by an individual. It is only those who are rich and have the means regarding wealth, remain leading the country. Elections unfortunately in most countries are done favouring those said to â€Å"own such a nation† concerning wealth. It is also evident that inequality has great impact on the health of the population. Eberstadt and Sally argue that â€Å"health is the most sensitive indicators of the social costs of inequality (5).† Further, inequality causes people to see others differently. For instance, â€Å" inequality causes people to perceive their neighbours as more alien or less trustworthy (Eberstadt and Sally 2).† The notion by many that power goes hand in hand with the financial stability of an individual is totally against the principles of democracy and free human rights and freedoms. Like Rober t Reich would state, â€Å"leaders are born and not determined by social status (Reich 30).† the discrepancy amid the rich and the poor has been a great hindrance to mature politics in any given state. The United States over the 1920's centuries ago, after industrialization, several prominent individuals have worked hard to bring about the mature politics and free democracy at present. Political games of elections conduct regarding wealth factors, is a big blow to the promotion of democracy that has been the target for most countries.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Home Land Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Home Land Security - Research Paper Example In terms of the security issues at port, the maritime transport act was introduced to provide more security in the ports and to decrease the case of smuggling and entry of terrorist. In road transport, the overall surveillance of the transport system increased considerably with implementation of technology to improve the security system. The transportation Security in USA has become matter of prime concern since the September, 11 attacks in the country. The US government dedicated their best efforts in increasing the security system of the country in every mode of transportation. As an initiative to make the transport system more secure, the Transportation Security Administration started operating under the US Department of Homeland Security. The primary objective of the agency was to provide safety and security to the traveling public based in the country so that any an incident like 9/11 does not occur again. Special task was assigned to develop policies to protect the overall transportation system in the country with a special focus on airport security and in the prevention of hijacking of aircrafts. The federal government also adopted special policies to look after the security issues in highways, roads, railways and in ports. Over the years the security in the transportation system have modified in a large exte nt to protect the common public. In the process of securing the transportation system the US government faced massive challenge in as providing security to hundreds of airports along with the sea ports and transit service proved to a daunting task. Much of the responsibility for strengthening the aviation system was assigned to the TSA which came into existence just after the massive attack on world trade center. TSA was engaged with the screening process of the passengers and the property. In the newly reformed security system in aviation, explosive

Thursday, October 31, 2019

LAW Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

LAW - Case Study Example One of the iconic pioneers of law in health issues was Dr. John Snow (Goodman, et al 3). This came after an outbreak of cholera and thus states had to enact proper rules to regulate the spread of this contagious disease. The practice of Medicine is entwined to the practice of Law (Corfield, et al 1). Thus, medical practitioners at one point or another are required to give either written or oral evidence in courts of law. This study relates to the application of law in medical situations over a period of time. There are four sources of law. These are: the Constitution, Statutes, Decisions and Rules of administrative agencies and Court decisions (Stelner 5).In most states, there is a department concerned with law relating to healthcare issues. Another external source of law is the International law (Stelner 9). Under the International law, state agencies are allowed to surrender the privacy of medical information of their citizens travelling to foreign countries. This study will look i nto six different scenarios. Workforce scenario 1 In the first scenario, Cayce Pollard, the new African-American nurse has to undergo several health tests before being hired at Big City Hospital, BCH despite the fact that she is a licensed nurse. Licensing of health practitioners is done to ensure that only the qualified individuals undertake the delicate duty of health provision. This is to protect the interest of the public (Stelner 84). This is an example of Common Law only applying to the terms of employment in BCH. She is also not allowed to smoke, both at work and off duty and should her BMI exceed 26, she has to pay higher premiums for her insurance cover. Agreeing to these terms by both parties makes it an Implied Contract. In the first instance where a mother does not want her baby to be attended to by an African-American, she feels offended. However, this falls under Charting by Exception. Since there was a chart indicating that she could not attend to the baby, it would b e a criminal offence for her to do the contrary. In the second instance, her male colleagues have been sexually harassing her which is against the code of ethics at BCH.Her senior, whom she is supposed to report to also, enjoys the sexually explicit content that the other two use to harass her sexually. Though she knows that this amounts to punishable crime, she resorts to remain silent. However, according to state laws, this does not amount to crime since Quid Pro Quo applies in instances where a senior or fellow staff solicits sexual favor in order to grant a promotion or other work related favors. Also she has noticed that Bernard, her colleague might be a drug user and might cause problems while in duty. Upon reporting the matter to the supervisor, all their lockers are searched but against their consent. This is an instance of invasion of privacy. On another instance, Cayce and her friend Ivy discriminate their colleague Robert. They both discriminate him on gender arguing that male nurses are not competent. Ivy also discriminate him racially saying she does not like the Chinese. Negligence scenario 2 In the first instance, Dr. Yang diagnoses Ms. Campbell with PCS and Compound P which are new drugs being tested on patients. This he does with the aim of prolonging her life despite her being not eligible for the drugs but only after she accepts to take it. Though the drugs did tremendously help other patients, Mrs. Campbell’s condition worsened and she developed fever and rashes. Upon realizing this, the doctor prescribes Gallacticol, a drug that is approved for treating asthma. Her conditions became worse and she died. The doctor expected her to live for three or more months even after injecting her with Compound P but due to his negligence in not prescribing

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The history of ligers dates Essay Example for Free

The history of ligers dates Essay The history of ligers dates to at least the early 19th century in India. In 1798, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844) made a colour plate of the offspring of a lion and a tiger. In 1825, G. B. Whittaker made an engraving of liger cubs born in 1824.[3] The parents and their three liger offspring are also depicted with their trainer in a 19th-century painting in the naà ¯ve style. Two liger cubs born in 1837 were exhibited to King William IV and to his successor Queen Victoria. On 14 December 1900 and on 31 May 1901, Carl Hagenbeck wrote to zoologist James Cossar Ewart with details and photographs of ligers born at the Hagenbecks Tierpark in Hamburg in 1897. In Animal Life and the World of Nature (1902–1903), A.H. Bryden described Hagenbecks lion-tiger hybrids: It has remained for one of the most enterprising collectors and naturalists of our time, Mr. Carl Hagenbeck, not only to breed, but to bring successfully to a healthy maturity, specimens of this rare alliance between those two great and formidable felidae, the lion and tiger. The illustrations will indicate sufficiently how fortunate Mr. Hagenbeck has been in his efforts to produce these hybrids. The oldest and biggest of the animals shown is a hybrid born on the 11th May, 1897. This fine beast, now more than five years old, equals and even excels in his proportions a well-grown lion, measuring as he does from nose tip to tail 10 ft 2 inches in length, and standing only three inches less than 4 ft at the shoulder. A good big lion will weigh about 400 lb [] the hybrid in question, weighing as it does no less than 467 lb, is certainly the superior of the most well-grown lions, whether wild-bred or born in a menagerie. This animal shows faint striping and mottling, and, in its characteristics, exhibits strong traces of both its parents. It has a somewhat lion-like head, and the tail is more like that of a lion than of a tiger. On the other hand, it has no trace of mane. It is a huge and very powerful beast.[4] In 1935, four ligers from two litters were reared in the Zoological Gardens of Bloemfontein, South Africa. Three of them, a male and two females, were still living in 1953. The male weighed 340 kg (750 lb) and stood a foot and a half (45 cm) taller than a full grown male lion at the shoulder. Although ligers are more commonly found than tigons today, in At Home In The Zoo (1961), Gerald Iles wrote For the record I must say that I have never seen a liger, a hybrid obtained by crossing a lion with a tigress. They seem to be even rarer than tigons. Size and growth The liger is often believed to represent the largest known cat in the world.[1] Males reach a total length of 3 to 3.5 m,[6][7] meaning they are the size of large Siberian tiger males.[8] Imprinted genes may be a factor contributing to huge liger size.[9] These are genes that may or may not be expressed on the parent they are inherited from, and that occasionally play a role in issues of hybrid growth. For example, in some dog breed crosses, genes that are expressed only when maternally-inherited cause the young to grow larger than is typical for either parent breed. This growth is not seen in the paternal breeds, as such genes are normally counteracted by genes inherited from the female of the appropriate breed.[10] Other big cat hybrids can reach similar sizes; the litigon, a rare hybrid of a male lion and a female tiglon, is roughly the same size as the liger, with a male named Cubanacan (at the Alipore Zoo in India) reaching 363 kg (800 lb).[11] The extreme rarity of these second-generation hybrids may make it difficult to ascertain whether they are larger or smaller, on average, than the liger. It is wrongly believed that ligers continue to grow throughout their lives due to hormonal issues.[citation needed] It may be that they simply grow far more during their growing years and take longer to reach their full adult size. Further growth in shoulder height and body length is not seen in ligers over 6 years old, same as both lions and tigers. Male ligers also have the same levels of testosterone on average as an adult male lion, yet areazoospermic in accordance with Haldanes rule. In addition, female ligers may also attain great size, weighing approximately 320 kg (705 lb) and reaching 3.05 m (10 ft) long on average, and are often fertile. In contrast,pumapards (hybrids between pumas and leopards) tend to exhibit dwarfism. Hercules and Sinbad[ Jungle Island, an interactive animal theme park in Miami, is home to a liger named Hercules, the largest non-obese liger, who is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest living cat on Earth, weighing over 410 kg (904 lb).[12] Hercules was featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper 360, Inside Edition and in a Maxim article in 2005, when he was only three years old and already weighed 408.25 kg (900 lb). Hercules is healthy and is expected to live a long life. The cats breeding is said to have been a complete accident. Sinbad, another liger, was shown on the National Geographic Channel. Sinbad was reportedly similar in weight to Hercules. Longevity[Shasta, a ligress (female liger) was born at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City on 14 May 1948 and died in 1972 at age 24.[citation needed] Valley of the Kings animal sanctuary in Wisconsin had a male liger named Nook who weighed around 550 kg (1,213 lb), and died in 2007, at 21 years old. Hobbs, a male liger at the Sierra Safari Zoo in Reno, Nevada, lived to almost 15 years of age before succumbing to liver failure and weighed in at 410 kilograms (900 lb). Fertility The fertility of hybrid big cat females is well documented across a number of different hybrids. This is in accordance with Haldanes rule: in hybrids of animals whose sex is determined by sex chromosomes, if one sex is absent, rare or sterile, it is the heterogametic sex (the one with two different sex chromosomes e.g. X and Y). According to Wild Cats of the World (1975) by C. A. W. Guggisberg, ligers and tigons were long thought to be sterile: in 1943, a fifteen-year-old hybrid between a lion and an Island tiger was successfully mated with a lion at the Munich Hellabrunn Zoo. The female cub, though of delicate health, was raised to adulthood.[13] In September 2012, the Russian Novosibirsk Zoo announced the birth of a liliger, which is the offspring of a liger mother and a lion father. The cub was named Kiara. Appearance Colour plate of the offspring of a lion and tiger, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Ligers have a tiger-like striped pattern that is very faint upon a lionesque tawny background. In addition they may inherit rosettes from the lion parent (lion cubs are rosetted and some adults retain faint markings). These markings may be black, dark brown or sandy. The background colour may be correspondingly tawny, sandy or golden. In common with tigers, their underparts are pale. The actual pattern and colour depends on which subspecies the parents were and on how the genes interact in the offspring. White tigers have been crossed with lions to produce white (actually pale golden) ligers. In theory, white tigers could be crossed with white lions to produce white, very pale or even stripeless ligers. There are no black ligers. Very few melanistic tigers have ever been recorded, most being due to excessive markings (pseudo-melanism or abundism) rather than true melanism; no reports of black lions have ever been substantiated. As blue or Maltese Tigers probably no longer exist, grey or blue ligers are exceedingly improbable. It is not impossible for a liger to be white, but it is very rare Ligers in the wild: It is unlikely a mating of this type would ever occur in the wild, for a number of reasons. Firstly, lion and tiger habitats do not meet, though youll often hear claims that they overlap in one area of the world, this being the Gir National Park and Lion Sanctuary in Bangladesh. The truth is tigers are not found within 100 miles of Gir Forest. Within the sanctuary itself is the only lion subspecies found outside of Africa. This is the very rare Asiatic lion (only a few hundred remain and they face extinction). The lion rules in Gir Forest and no tigers are found there. Tigers are not found in Africa, and are restricted to Asia. Though it is conceivable that a tiger may cross into lion territory, both species are so rare that it is highly unlikely the two would ever meet. On top of this, the Gir Forest is surrounded by farming and agriculture. The lions within the sanctuary are effectively captive in the wild and tigers do not like to cross large stretches of open ground. What would happen if the two species did meet? The very solitary tiger would be little inclined to join in with the more social pride of lions. Apart from periods of mating, tigers even go out of their way to avoid their own species. The Tigon is a hybrid cross between a male Tiger and a female Lion WHY ARE LIGERS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN TIGONS? The large size of the liger and small size of the tigon is due to genomic imprinting the unequal expression of genes depending on parent of origin i.e. whether certain growth genes are inherited from the male or the female. This is linked to the species lifestyle and breeding strategy whether the female mates with only one male while in heat (non-competitive) or whether she mates with many males (competitive). This results in growth dysplasia. The following explanation is greatly simplified as a number of other genes are contributed unequally by the male and female parents and also affect the general health and longevity of the offspring. Lions live in prides led by several adult males. The lionesses mate with each of those males. Each male wants his offspring to be the ones to survive, but the females genes want multiple offspring to survive. The fathers genes promote size of the offspring to ensure that his offspring out-compete any other offspring in the womb at the same time. Genes from the female inhibit growth to ensure that as many offspring as possible survive and that they all have an equal chance. By contrast, tigers are largely solitary and a female on heat normally only mates with one male. There is no competition for space in the womb so the male tigers genes do not need to promote larger offspring. There is therefore no need for the female to compensate, so the offsprings growth goes uninhibited. When a male lion mates with a tigress, his genes promote large offspring because lions are adapted to a competitive breeding strategy. The tigress does not inhibit the growth because she is adapted to a non-competitive strategy. Therefore the offspring (liger) grows larger and stronger than either parent because the effects do not cancel each other out. Ligers take several years to reach full adult size, but it is a myth that ligers never stop growing. When a male tiger mates with a lioness, his genes are not promoting large growth of the offspring because he is adapted to a non-competitive breeding strategy. However, the lioness is adapted to a competitive strategy and her genes inhibit the growth of the offspring. This uneven match means that the offspring (tigons) are often smaller and less robust than either parent. Growth dysplasia has other effects: the size of the placenta may be affected (causing miscarriage), the embryo may be aborted at an early stage due to abnormal growth, the cub may be stillborn or may only survive a few days. In some rodents, mating Species A males with Species B females produces offspring half normal size, but mating Species B males with Species A females cause the offspring to be aborted as they try to grow to several times the normal size. Because of the impossibility of a gene being inherited from only females, there is a competing hypothesis. This hypothesis (allthough not tested) is that the Lions sperm is damaged somehow during fertilization and that a growth inhibiting gene is typically destroyed. It is impossible for a gene carried on a chromosomes to be passed along only from the mother. The reason for this is there are no chromosomes that only a female can have. Female Tigons and Female Ligers both possess a tiger X chromosme and a lion X chromosome, yet only the female Ligers will grow large, this means something must happen to either alter the genes or that the cause of the growth dysplasia lies at least partially outside of the genes. Another possible hypothesis is that the growth dysplasia results from the interaction between lion genes and tiger womb enviroment. The tiger produces a hormone that sets the fetal Liger on a pattern of growth that does not end throughout his life. The hormonal hypothesis is that the cause of the male Ligers growth is his sterility essentially, the male liger remains in the pre-pubertal growth phase. This is not upheld by behavioural evidence despite being sterile, many male ligers become sexually mature and mate with females. In addition, female ligers also attain great size but are fertile.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Does The Media Undermine Democracy In Malaysia Media Essay

Does The Media Undermine Democracy In Malaysia Media Essay Throughout the last decades, Malaysians have enjoyed regular elections and political stability. However, the stability slowly took a turn when the detention of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the subsequent sentence of 15 years for charges of corruption, abuse of power, and sexual misconduct made the public lose its faith in the integrity of the governments aims (Heufers, 2002) This the somehow added the growing number of detentions under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other repressive laws severely threaten political competition, participation, and civil and political liberties. The media in Malaysia comprising of the mainstream that is mainly owned and controlled by the government and the alternative media, a form of independent journalism. Many government leaders in the developing world would justify their control over the media in terms of jealously guarding and guiding its members towards the path of national development and to ensure that the media does not fall into the wrong hands (Mustafa, 2005) In other words, the government wants to take control of media so they can set the agenda in the minds of society. This already restricts a sense of openness in the mainstream media. Mustafa (2005) stated in an analysis on the coverage of Malaysias 2004 general elections by four mainstream newspapers (The Star, the New Straits Times (NST), Berita Harian and Utusan Melayu), the total number of news items that were positive towards BN among all four major newspapers were roughly 40% and above. The other part of the percentage went straight to new items that were negative towards the opposition. Only a slight number of news (4% and below) were negative new items towards BN. Mustafa (2005) also highlighted sample of headlines used by these newspapers that gave an idea of slant news reporting; Malaysians prefer Pak Lahs vision of Islam (NST, March 15 2004), Perlis merana jika pilih pembangang (Perlis suffers if opposition is voted) (Utusan Melayu, March 16 2004 ) This shows a high level of bias coverage within the highly influential mainstream newspapers during the 2004 general elections. Another research presented by Ramanathan (2008) consists of a two month content analysis on how the mainstream media presents their reports on the 2008 general elections. Choosing newspapers in four languages (English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and Mandrin) and the new media; internet, online newspapers and SMS as well as monitoring commentaries by selected television channels such as RTM, CNN and Channel News Asia on a selective basis. According to research, the type of coverage done by five of the mainstream newspapers was sided towards pro-BN stories. 277 stories analysed from Utusan Malaysia has 155 pro-BN stories, 56 pro- opposition and 66 neutral. The Star had a total of 153 stories analysed, 100 were pro-BN and only 22 were pro-opposition. Nanyang Siang Pau had 118 stories, 74 of them pro-BN and 26 pro-opposition. For Tamil newspapers, a qualitative analysis was undertaken that led to conclusions of since Tamil Nesan was being majority owned by Datin Indrani Samy Velu, the newspaper printed many stories featuring Dato Samy Velu and prominent MIC politicians and there were hardly any coverage given to Indian candidates form opposition political parties. The mainstream media weakens the openness of presenting political news to society. If democracy is all about the peoples right to oppose, to provide critiques with the role of media to influence the people, they are not giving much of a decision or choice to begin with. Of course there are minimal parts where the government values and would take into consideration the opinions of the people. For example, the topic of teaching Maths and Science in English (PPSMI), society is free to give out comments and opinions on what they think about the topic. People are writing in to newspapers, taking part in massive forums to state their opinion and to fight for what they stand for and the government values the opinion of the people in this case. Why cannot this be the same with political issues? After all, it is the political opinion and stands made by the public that would contribute to the democracy of the country. Some may say that the alternative works as a perfect place for independent journalism; however it is still closely monitored by the authorities. Blogs and online publications are beginning to worry the Malaysian authorities enough to re-consider the existing policy of non-regulation of the Internet and to call for some controls over the content (Ramanathan, 2008) A clear example was when Raja Petra Kamarudin, editor of alternative news Portal Malaysia Today was charged with publishing a seditious article on 25 May 2008 with the title, Lets send Altantuya murderers to hell. Raja was the first blogger to be charged under a sedition act where he claim trail but refused to post bail. Six months after detention under the ISA, Raja was released with no charges being filed against him. Accountability The tight gate-keeping and censorship practised by the government over the mainstream media influences the accountability of democracy. The government does not like reports that are too critical; therefore the responsibility to forming a democracy country is limited due to the restrain in reporting. During the general election in 2008, Ramanathan (2008) analyzed two-months prior to and after the elections, the mainstream media did coverages on upbeat stories about Barisan Nationals chances and dismissed the oppositions chances. Among them were: a two-page focus on Issues close to the heart featuring an in-depth interview with Abdullah, an article titled Guan Eng not a threat in Penang dismissed the chances of opposition leader Lim Guan Eng in capturing the state government in Penang and instead Lim won handsomely. With slanted reporting like this, the accountability of the government would be doubted by the public hence would give the public the opportunity to opt for something else which they did in the 2008 general election whereby BN suffered one of their worst lost because the public opted for an alternative media. This incident brought the alternative media to a different level when weblogs, text messages and copies of Internet-streamed videos became the most influential information sources for voters ahead that resulted in a surprise blow to the BN) party, which has ruled the country for more than 50 years. The media holds the representative responsible for taking care of the the people so what happens when these politicians lose in an election? How would they answer to accountability? The innocent death of Teo Beng Hock signifies a crisis of confidence in Malaysian democracy and accountability. Many critics, including those in the current government, argues that restrictions were put in place at a time when they were needed and that preventing public discussion of certain issues is not only counter-productive but it is also futile (Ramanathan, 2008) With the support towards the alternative media and the growing public sphere, the results from the 2008 election are bound to bring about greater freedom of expression. Though the responsibility of the democracy is in hand, there are some heartening post-election developments; The Home Affairs Ministry approved in April 2008 an application for a permit from the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to publish its party newspaper. With such actions, this would indeed encourage and strengthen the accountability of the peoples perception towards the countrys democracy. Conclusion The mainstream media needs to loosen its strings and start to bring greater media liberalisation to unclog the clouds of uncertainty and doubt in the minds of society. The alternative media is not enough. Society needs to hear the truth from the government. Only then can the country achieve great democracy.