Monday, September 30, 2019
Another Look Back, and a Look Ahead
Imagine the impact technological innovations have had on society? How much did technology influence society a decade ago, and how much does it influence society now? Technology was created from humans to become a more efficient specie. Although technology has advanced society with respect to technology and efficiency, it has also created problems not previously seen because of the use of technology. Edward Tenner, a writer and technology consultant, wrote an article titled ââ¬Å"Another Look Back, and a Look Aheadâ⬠published in 1996. In his article Tenner argues, through the use of the rhetorical appeal ethos, compare and contrast, and cause and effect, that society is advancing at an alarming rate and suggests a ââ¬Å"retreating from intensityâ⬠(Tenner 78) in order to allow society to slow its progression and accustom itself to new technology. Tenner uses his credibility as an exceptional writer to appeal to audiences and inform them about the subject in his article. Throughout the article, Tenner uses an extensive vocabulary and shows fluency in his writing. In the sentence, ââ¬Å"The prognosis for revenge effects is hopefulâ⬠¦by replacing brute force with finesseâ⬠(Tenner 60), Tenner shows his expertise by using collegial writing skills and even introduces a term he created, ââ¬Å"revenge effectsâ⬠. He is well informed about what he is talking about and never leaves the reader guessing what he is trying to say. The fact that he was formerly employed as the science editor at the Princeton University Press makes him an even more credible source. When Tenner talks about ââ¬Å"the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588â⬠(Tenner 63), it demonstrates to the reader he is educated and increases ethos. By the end of the article, Tenner has effectively made his case for society to slow its technological progression. Aside from using ethos in his article, Tenner uses compare and contrast to show his audience how technology has changed over time. Tenner provides many examples to show how they compare and contrast from now and the past. He talks about the sinking of the Titanic becoming a signal event, ââ¬Å"one that reveals an ominous and previously underestimated kind of dangerâ⬠(Tenner 64). At the time the Titanic was the biggest technological innovation to start the twentieth century. Ship engineers have become more aware of the dangers the ocean presents ships. Although in comparison ships might be of the same size and provide the same transportation over waters, its comparison shows they have evolved. ââ¬Å"The higher potential speed of steamships requires more rather than less care. The larger number of passengers and crew required more careful drills and inspection of equipmentâ⬠(Tenner 65). The speed of ships has significantly changed over time as well as the technology of ship engines which allow for them to reach significant speeds. Through these advances one could argue it has created an efficiency of allowing people to travel much faster, however Tenner reminds them of the ââ¬Å"revenge effectsâ⬠these innovations create. Today much more safety regulations are used than in the past, this is due to the new dangers technology creates. Another example Tenner uses is the comparison and contrast of transportation over time. Humans created the automobile to become more efficient and make travel and transportation much faster throughout the world. ââ¬Å"Nearly every passenger journey or freight shipment began and ended with a horse-drawn vehicle or a horseâ⬠(Tenner 67). Due to technological innovations and Henry Fordââ¬â¢s assembly line, motor vehicles were created not only to suit the rich but for all society to enjoy. Through this progression people were not limited to where they could travel and the time it took to get there. People could take regular jobs that were far from home rather than having to move to accommodate their needs. Roads and freeways soon followed with the increase of automobile use. ââ¬Å"The greatest surprise of motoring was the speed at which traffic clogged the roads, including freeways and other limited-access highways built to relieve congestionâ⬠(Tenner 70). Tenner compares the use of transportation over time, demonstrating that although it has made transportation much faster, it has created ââ¬Å"revenge effectsâ⬠such as traffic and congestion, things that before the technological innovation were never seen. Examples such as these have led Tenner to advise society to fix problems that new technologies bring not by creating new technologies to solve the problem, but by slowing down and addressing the problem itself, not a quick fix. Comparing and contrasting the impact technology has had on society effectively illustrate Tennerââ¬â¢s main argument, but through the use of cause and effect the audience can relate and understand how Tenner formed his thesis. In the text Tenner provides many cause and effect examples. An example Tenner uses is the effects that are created because of industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Industries that create carbon dioxide allow for many benefits such as electricity and transportation, but they are also responsible for warming the earthââ¬â¢s temperatures, ââ¬Å"global warmingâ⬠. ââ¬Å"The increasing cultivation of the earth would bring about higher temperatures and eventually a melting of the polar icecapâ⬠(Tenner 76). Another cause/effect example Tenner uses is ââ¬Å"strict directives on meat radiation after the Chernobyl meltdown of 1986 destroyed the Lapp reindeer-meat economyâ⬠(Tenner 76). A catastrophic event in Chernobyl created a lasting effect on the economy. Tenner argues that these technologies have many lasting effects, known as ââ¬Å"revenge effectsâ⬠. From beginning to end, Tennerââ¬â¢s article urges the reader to draw back from such a rapid progression of technology. Tenner argues, through the use of the rhetorical appeal ethos, compare and contrast, and cause and effect, technological innovation instead of creating efficiency create ââ¬Å"revenge effectsâ⬠which create more problems for society. Tenner suggests that society recoil its progression of technology, not forever, but until accustomed to the use of new technologies. Tennerââ¬â¢s argument in the article opens many readers eyes as to the real problems they choose to ignore due to technological innovation. This issue is relevant and provides a subject that all people can identify with. Technologies are all around society and the impact it has is colossal. Whatever your side of the argument for technologies and society may be, the reality Tenner presents reveal a need to retreat from intensive technological progression.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Analysis of The Shifting Heart, by Richard Beynon Essay
Thesis: In The Shifting Heart, the playwright Richard Beynon conveys ideas and representations of Australian identity through the use of narrative techniques, especially dialogue and characterisation. Each character represents an aspect of Australian society in the 1950ââ¬â¢s that Beynon perceives to be true. 1st published in 1960. Set in 1956. NUTSHELL- 1. Not accepting of other cultures; Abuse against Gino and failed assimilation halfway between identities. Cultural heritage is important in establishing identity -Through the characterisation of Gino, Beynon shows the rejection of Australians towards immigrants and other cultures. -Page 95 Australian citizenship Certificate shows the belief Gino had that he had been accepted into Australian society. Momma ââ¬Å"This we gotta put in a frame, he says.â⬠It means something to him. Constant beatings he receives at the dance hall show that he is not accepted, as well as Barry shoving in the way in line ââ¬Å"He tries to put his load straight on the scales- before us, so I told himâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ Clarry: ââ¬Å"You shouldnââ¬â¢ta told him (page 27). Eventual death of Gino via the beatings shows the extreme racism and prejudice in Australia during the time of production. -Assimilation is encouraged to fit in -He tried to assimilate into Australian society, Pg 34 ââ¬Å"Clarry. If heââ¬â¢s Australian, orâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ and then continues on page 35 ââ¬Å"Maria. Italian? (Pressing hard) What if heââ¬â¢sâ⬠¦ between the two?â⬠2. The play explores the systemic racism that exists within Australian society and portrays the justice system as corrupt and discriminatory -Throughout the play it is evident that racism is widespread and commonly used, with the people supporting immigrants being the minority. -After the death of Gino, it is evident that the law system is corrupt and that racism is systemic. -Detective Lukie- Boss is looking to promote him if he successfully pins the fight on the dead Gino. Page 69 rank is Detective sergeant (high ranking). Corrupt- makes assumptions, takes one side of the story of the Australian, ââ¬Å"All I know are the facts,â⬠page 73. Biased and racist Witness girl saw it all unfold page 96 the girl Gino was meeting on Italians side: Lukie ââ¬Å"And we found a girl, too; arranged to meet him in the foyer. Saw most of it happen, she saysâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ - Police still confident Gino wasà to blame -Page 97 Clarry ââ¬Å"Why the change of face, eh? After promotion?â⬠Lukie: ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m happy. (Pause.) But i got a boss with ambitions.â⬠Clarry talking to Lukie about Momma going to inquest; ââ¬Å"She remembers, she forgets; what the hell difference will it make?â⬠Knows whatever happens Gino will be declared guilty of drunken violence 3. A societies attitudes towards a minority race can be changed when they gain a greater understanding of the people aligned with that race rather than basing their judgment on stereotypes ââ¬â Reflects upon the belief that racism is taught rather than inherited or ââ¬Ënaturalââ¬â¢ ââ¬â Clarry represents this thesis, connotations of the title refer to him -Represented as a typical Aussie bloke, ie ââ¬Å"could obviously manage without help in a fight,â⬠page 20. In reference to Barry, the scrap metal collector who pushes in line in front of Gino, Clarry reasons that ââ¬Å"Because heââ¬â¢s an older man, thatââ¬â¢s why. He was in this game before you were even in this country.â⬠ââ¬Å"Rugged man of 36,â⬠page 20 ââ¬â Start of the novel Clarry loves Maria but doesnââ¬â¢t want to be acknowledged as being related to Bianchiââ¬â¢s. Maria: ââ¬Ëâ⬠¦when heââ¬â¢s introduced Gino to people, but never once did he call him his brother-in-la wâ⬠page 77 He isnââ¬â¢t violent but he still has aspects of racism Refer to conversation with Lukie about Gino being guilty, he sticks up for them Challenges authority figures and calls their kid Gino ââ¬Å"But last night-it clicked for me. I dunnoâ⬠¦ I felt sort ofâ⬠¦ goodâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ stereotype emotion, shows side 4. Alcohol is needed to have a good time and celebrate (Clarry and Donny) and the violence etc from it (misusing alcohol) -Donny Pratt: Represents alcoholism in Australia. (Leila bursts from the house with a ottle of beer and glassesâ⬠¦) ââ¬Å"Here: quick, to wet its head. ââ¬Å"Clarry (And he wrenches the top from a bottle.) ââ¬Å"Here, Pop, grab yourself a lifeboat and hop inta that,â⬠page 48. Reference to getting drunk, part of Aussie lifestyle. He is working class. Expresses the overlooking of domestic violence at the time. ââ¬Å"How can I a hit you if I donââ¬â¢t remember?â⬠Page 88 ââ¬â Naturalised violence.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Mathematics for Early Childhood Education Coursework
Mathematics for Early Childhood Education - Coursework Example Consequently, it is the responsibility of the teachers and the parents to encourage and build the enthusiasm of children with regard to learning mathematics (California Department of Education, ââ¬Å"Preschool Curriculum Frameworkâ⬠). The study intends to provide a guideline for parents, which will assist them to maximize the development of the children related to mathematics. Furthermore, the study will also explain the application of mathematical foundations and frameworks for its development. It will further provide an insight to teachers regarding the principles on partnering with the parents for mathematical development of a child. Correspondingly, this study will provide a reflective understanding of my learning along with findings with regard to mathematical development and its application. Young children naturally possess an inborn sense related to informal mathematics. In recent years, with the increasing evidences related to the mathematics capabilities of the children, it can be ascertained that they tend to absorb mathematical concepts from the surroundings at a very small age. This segment will provide a vivid description of the guidelines that are mentioned and framed for the parents. In this regard, it can be said that these guidelines will assist the parents to maximize the development of their childrenââ¬â¢s knowledge related to mathematics. In terms of mathematical development of children, there lie certain imperative guiding principles for the parents to follow. These guiding principles have been explained in the subsequent discussion (California Department of Education, ââ¬Å"Preschool Curriculum Frameworkâ⬠). In recent surveys, it has been observed that young children are naturally competent, enthused and are interested in mathematics. They find it amusing to explore the mathematical concepts along with creative ideas. In this context, the parents must take initiatives to recognize the childrenââ¬â¢s
Friday, September 27, 2019
Inventory management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Inventory management - Term Paper Example The intention of this study is operations management is the oversight function for the process of production and distribution of goods and services. Operations management is mainly concerned with the organization of tasks in such a way as to attain specific predetermined goals. These involve the production of goods and services. The production of goods and services can be described as the passage of raw resources known as inputs through a process to get finished goods and services known as the outputs. Inputs include information, raw materials, labor, capital and fixed and variable assets. Outputs include products for other processes, final products or services to clients. Functions within operations management include planning, setting goals, staffing, directing, controlling and organizing. An operations strategy is a well laid out, consistent and achievable set of targets, and should be related to the market and overall organizational strategy. Inventory is associated with function s such as storage, which is related to the need to keep inventory items safe and cycle, which describes the amount of stock required to be maintained at a time. Other inventory functions include fluctuations which describe contingency stock required at any time to cover unexpected shortfalls. Transportation and service encompass the movement of stock items into and out of the organization and their required maintenance. Inventory can be categorized into raw materials, work in progress or finished goods. Raw material is stock intended for the production of goods and services. Work in progress is stock that is currently undergoing processing but which is yet to be fully processed. Finished stocks refer to goods ready for sale to the end consumer and include packaged goods. Other stock categories include consumables such as office stationery and machinery spare parts that are not directly attributable to the production process. Different organizations will hold different stock varieti es and quantities depending on the particular production and processes that they are involved in. While a manufacturing company for instance will hold both stocks of raw inputs and finished outputs, a supermarket will only hold stocks of finished goods and consumables (Donald & Waters, 2003). 2.2 Inventory supply management Inventory moves into and out of an organization frequently. All organizations at some point become customers, while at other times they are simply suppliers. As such, it is important to consider the handling of stock in transit. This effectively introduces the functions of the supplies department in stock management. The supply chain represents activities and organizations through which inventory passes as it heads towards its final destination. Supply chain management is an oversight function on the channels of inventory flow. Inventory supply chains can be described according to their length or breadth. Length of a supply chain is when a stock item has to pass through many suppliers before reaching the final consumer. One may for instance buy milk directly from the farmer or through a broker or from the supermarket. In the first example, the length is short as the milk does not have to pass through many people before reaching the final consumer. Breadth refers to the channels that an inventory item uses on its way to the consumer. A person can for instance get milk from the supermarket, shop, shopping mall or even from the farmer (Donald & Waters, 2003). A smooth supply chain function ensures that the business gets the right goods, in the right
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Cold Laser Therapy claims is to be critically evaluated Essay
Cold Laser Therapy claims is to be critically evaluated - Essay Example To approve any other claim or even similar claim for a particular device, the FDA requires adequate clinical data. Hawaii-based Quantum-Healing -Lasers.com, which sells many cold laser products online, claims that low-level laser therapy is effective for pain relief, anti-aging, weight-loss, smoking cessation, skin care, and treatment of broken bones and bullet wounds (Quantum-Heating-Lasers.com). This paper aims to evaluate some of the claims made by the organization. Quantum-Healing-Lasers.com says that smoking cessation studies in Canada and Europe have a purported success rate of 85%. According to the site, a high-wavelength, low-energy light, when applied to specific points in the body, blocks nicotine-receptors and simulates the release of endorphins. Nicotine is the addictive-factor in cigarette smoking. Nicotine gives smokers a "high" by releasing mood-enhancing chemicals called endorphins. The release of endorphins during laser therapy allegedly prevents any withdrawal symptoms that may occur because of smoking cessation. By curtailing the withdrawal symptoms, a long-time smoker is not tempted to smoke again. The site claims that the procedure is painless, easy, and takes only half-an-hour. The American Cancer Society (ACS) alleges that the currently available scientific evidence does not support claims of cold laser therapy as a smoking cessation aid. Another allegation made by ACS is that some television stations reported the cold laser therapy providers advertisements promising smoking cessation with laser treatment as news, making the therapy popular (ACS::Cold Laser Therapy, 2007). Public watchdog group Public Citizen also alleged that cold laser therapy providers are defrauding thousands of smokers with promise of cessation for hefty sums of up to $349 per session. According to the group reviews of medical literature shows few well-run trials that study the effectiveness of cold laser therapy for
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Working with Vulnerable Adults Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words
Working with Vulnerable Adults - Essay Example Then the study goes on to discuss the oppressive and the anti-oppressive situations that these venerable adults have to face. This is done with under the heading points of age, gender, sexuality and class. Afterwards, the essay discusses the role(s) of a social worker in helping senior people. At the end of the essay a brief conclusion is provided. Mr. Richards is 86 years old and has recently come back from the hospital after he suffered a massive stroke about a month ago. Home for him and his wife (84 years old) of 58 years is a nursing house in rural England. The nursing home is a government institution for the elderly and I happen to be a social worker in the facility. Mr. Richard grew up on a small farm and worked at the local post-office for a number of decades whereas Mrs. Richards worked as a primary school teacher. They had two children who grew-up and soon moved away to the city. However, Mr. and Mrs. Richards preferred to stay in the same town where they had worked and lived all their lives. But, due to Mr. Richards advance arthritis and heart problems and his wife's diabetic condition, they could no longer maintain and keep their home. Their children didn't have the resources or the time to take care of their elderly parents. With no other option in mind, their local social worker along with their children's help slowly convinced the Richards of the merits of staying at nursing facility. However, upon arriving at the facility after selling the house and most of their belongings, the Richards soon realized that there were a number of hurdles and obstacles to living in a nursing home that they had not anticipated. But, on the other hand, there is no question of going back and living an independent life. With the rapid speed with which the world is changing it is not possible to live in this world without updating one's education, knowledge and life-style on a daily basis. In other words even the young people of today constantly have to update almost every aspect of their daily lives. This automatically brings us to the point that if the youngsters of today have to update their lives at such a constant basis, what would the elderly do But, on the other hand life expectancy is rapidly increasing; therefore, we cannot simply expect our elderly to pass away. According to Than (2006), the increase in the life span of a person simply implies that the time of death has been m oved forward. This of course does not mean that the person will not die. He/She will, only it will take a few more years. Never in the history of mankind have we discussed ageing and old age processes as ardently as we have begun to do so now. This fact has been clearly mentioned in the direct citation, which is given as follows; "We clearly live in an era characterized by the aging of our population. Low birth rates and increasing life expectancy are leading to dramatic shifts in the age structure. By the year 2030, after most of the baby boomers have reached old age, it's projected that one out of every five Americans will be 65 years of age or older. And steady increases are expected in the numbers of persons at the more advanced ages-the "oldest-old" or those 85 years and older-who are most likely
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Peer review 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Peer review 1 - Essay Example The use of a journal to support the statement has demonstrated its credibility. In addition, the research processes have been listed to enhance clarity and ease of understanding. Consequently, one of the major strengths of the post is that the student has presented the preferred argument in a clear and convincing manner. Another impressive feature in the post involves the use of a specific example. Aviation maintenance officers carry out an important role in the aviation industry. The safety of passengers and the reputation of the airline depend on their ability to perform their roles effectively. The safety of passengers is an important concern in the aviation industry (Larsen, Sweeney & Gillick, 2012). In addition, the information provided influences key management decisions. As a result, the importance of research methods in this role is clear. However, the post also has a significant weakness. The post has failed to link the different personality qualities mentioned with research process and how their ability to enhance the quality of the research. In the opening paragraph, the student has stated that technical managers have six qualities that enable them to ensure the safety of the processes that they are involved in. According to Fruhen, Mearns, Flin, & Kirwan (2013), the six qualities are; interpersonal leadership skills, personality, problem solving, safety knowledge and motivation. Although this statement is actually correct and is relevant to an aviation maintenance officer, the student has failed to demonstrate its relationship with the rest of the article. The qualities have merely been mentioned before moving on to a personal experience. The anomaly could have been avoided by demonstrating the relationship between the six qualities and the research process. For instance, the personality of a manager may influence their approach to research problems. Different mangers have varying approaches to research processes (Gill & Johnson,
Monday, September 23, 2019
Hugo Grotius and International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Hugo Grotius and International Relations - Essay Example "There are, however, themes which arise from Grotius's work which give shape to the contemporary discussion of human rights and intervention."2 One of these themes that arises is the connection between peace and liberty. Grotius felt that peace was necessary and integral to the development of liberty. Peace and liberty, therefore, were tenets that Grotius thought went hand in hand. Grotius thought that overall, countries' sovereignty was directly interrelated with whether or not there was peace around. Peace and liberty were, ultimately, Grotius's capstones necessary for ensuring that a society was a safe and promising place to live. Obviously, with the example that will be shown later on with the Bosnian War, Bosnia was neither a peaceful place to live, nor was it a place in which there was much liberty for anyone, especially during wartime. International law is complicated in Grotius's view. "The contemporary problem of humanitarian intervention is another difficult aspect of the same matter. In the Grotian view, humanitarian intervention could be a just war."3 However, if war is the only way to propagate peace, perhaps it might be one of the avenues that is seriously considered. Just war theory posits that there are in fact circumstances in which war is warranted for achieving certain purposes. If one nation is, for example, oppressing another nation or not recognizing its sovereignty, this might be a reason a nation would decide to go to war. There may be other mitigating circumstances which would allow for people to go to war. Just war theory is difficult to defend and it is even harder to defend when one is the nation against whom war is being declared. However, people must understand that they cannot singlehandedly take over other peoples' countries. One example is the Bosnian War. For example, several Bosniaks were taken advantage of in the Bosnian War. The Serbs and the Croats were pitted against the Bosniaks. The Serbians were the ones who were against the Bosni
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Fashion Photography and it's affects on young women Research Paper
Fashion Photography and it's affects on young women - Research Paper Example The essay "Fashion Photography and it's affects on young women" focuses on the influence of fashion photography on the women. The manner in which fashion photography has begun to distract the attention of the young women from different priorities in their lives leaves a very bad taste in the mouth, especially when it is being debated upon. They often emphasize more on what the celebrities are doing and what kind of new photographs are coming out in the open for them. They are reliant on fashion for looking after their own requirements, which are insignificant if seen properly. They perceive true beauty to be hidden within fashion photography which is simply untrue. They would rather emphasize on how they could derive value from fashion than looking at the reality aspects. The negative effects of fashion photography are important to understand here. This is because the young women start believing that fashion photography is for real and that they must follow the celebrities and stars into becoming somewhat similar. They are of the view that the world of media and fashion is filled with glamour which is not anywhere close to reality. This element essentially makes them feel that they must do something collectively to welcome what is being shown to them through the different media outlets and domains. As far as their self image and self esteem issues are concerned, these young women need to understand where they are going wrong. Since self image is something that shapes up oneââ¬â¢s own thinking.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Hamburger and Perfect Party Food Essay Example for Free
Hamburger and Perfect Party Food Essay I hate when my stomach feels so empty. The growling and tightening of my insides drives me insane. The only thing on my mind at the time is food. Anything else doesnââ¬â¢t matter. My three favorite foods are chicken, burgers, and last pizza. You canââ¬â¢t go wrong with chicken. It goes with many sides such as corn, potatoes, or fries. Fried chicken is the best because it makes the skin so crisp and crunchy. If I had to choose out of my top three foods chicken would most likely be number one. Second choice that I have named is burgers. The best hamburgers are the ones that come straight off of the bar -b- que pit. Usually for summer we always have burgers because they are the easiest things to make and they also go well with birthdays or holidays. The lettuce, ketchup, mustard, tomatoes, etc. all make the hamburger so delicious. Last we have pizza. My favorite type of pizza is pepperoni because it is so good. If I have to choose any other toppings I would choose meat lovers because itââ¬â¢s all different types of meat on one pizza. They seem to be the perfect party food because I usually order them when I donââ¬â¢t feel like leaving the house or when my friends and I are having a small get together. What would we do without food? Having a nice full stomach makes you happy and it also gives you energy. Food will always be something that I will cherish in life, especially my favorite three that I mentioned earlier in my essay. Food is a very important thing and I have lots of other favorites.
Friday, September 20, 2019
Web Catalog Revenue Models Media Essay
Web Catalog Revenue Models Media Essay The web catalog revenue model is essentially an electronic version of the traditional catalog-based retail revenue model. This traditional model has been in existence for over one hundred years when catalogs of goods for sale were mailed to prospective buyers. Creating familiarity with a name or branding the goods has been an important factor in establishing reputation and creating strength in the name to attract potential customers. The web catalog model was formed through the evolution of the information era. With the advent of the internet and its increased availability, printed catalogs have been either completely replaced or supplemented by a digital online catalog reaching a wider audience in a shorter space of time. Just as the traditional catalog-based model, also known as the mail order or catalog model, allows buyers to order via mail or telephone, the web catalog model allows buyers to place their orders through online forms on the website or by telephone. Computers, electronics and household appliances capture a large part of online sales through web catalogs. There are many businesses that operate solely on the internet which use the web catalog model. Amazon.com is one such business that started off as an online book retailer but has since expanded into other markets such as music, clothing, toys, tools and much more. The web catalog model meets its challenges with customers who are not willing to send their personal information across the internet. Many internet users are fearful of their information, particularly credit card information, ending up in the wrong hands. How safe is their information in the hands of an online business? Although this fear has decreased considerably in the past ten years, this will always be a concern because as security improves, so does fraud and hacking. Digital Content Revenue Models Online businesses that use the digital content model either own or have the rights to this digital content, whether it is words, numbers, pictures or videos. Generally they offer some sort of subscription that allows a customer to access the content along with additional services such as full-text searching of various types of information. Digital copies of published newspapers, journals and magazines are sold or subscribed to and are sent to customers in various ways. The daily newspaper may be sent directly to a subscribers email address. An additional service may be applied where only topics that the subscriber is interested in are received. Legal, financial, corporate or government information may be periodically downloaded or mailed on a compact disc to subscribing businesses that need to update their records for their own reference and research. This revenue model allows companies to save time and money because digital information does not need to be printed or delivered. Advertising-Supported Revenue Models This revenue model generally offers free information or entertainment along with advertising messages which has been most apparent in television, radio and newspapers. Through the generation of revenue from advertising, such organizations are able to continue their existence. Advertising on the internet has its ups and downs and confidence in this model has not been very high in recent years. There was a lapse in this market between 2000 and 2002 and companies are only now beginning to show a increased interest in advertising online. One major problem with advertising on the internet is the fact that there are no specific measurements for charging for the service. How would a company know if they are charging too much or too little to run an advertisement on their website? Another problem is that not many websites have a wide enough viewer base that would encourage advertisers to place advertisements. How would an advertiser know that their message is reaching their target market? The website would have to collect demographic information from visitors in order to prove this. Visitors of websites are not always willing to provide such information due to concerns about their privacy. Web portals, Web directories and search engines make use of this model by taking advantage of the information they receive from visitors. Because visitors use these types of sites as a means of accessing other resources on the internet, information on what they are interested in is captured and advertisements of a similar nature can be displayed alongside the resources they are accessing. Newspapers have expanded into an online existence where they either offer all of their printed content on their website or just parts of it. There are concerns that the online version may reduce sales of the printed newspaper but the fact is, the advertising reaches a larger audience and there is greater exposure of the newspapers name. Advertising-Subscription Mixed Revenue Models Magazines publishers have been making the most use of this revenue model for many years now. They generate revenue through a paid subscription service that periodically delivers magazines to viewers and through some advertising. This model uses a lot less advertising than the advertising-supported revenue model. With the concerns of the online newspapers reducing the sales of printed newspapers, some newspaper publishers have found that adopting this model on their websites can help in making more use of their online resources, earning more revenue. They would generally offer some parts of the newspaper for free while other parts and features are only available to subscribed customers. For example, a non-paying viewer may be able to read todays news but cannot access articles prior to today. A subscriber can make use of all the content and may be able to use a search feature that would allow them to find archived articles of interest. It is common for magazines and newspapers to use different revenue models for their websites and their printed content. This helps maximise the generation of revenue for these companies. Fee-for-Transaction Revenue Models Businesses that use this revenue model offer services which they charge for based on the size of the transaction. This model has shown much success on the internet through travel agents, vehicle sales, ticket sales, financial services and others. By providing these services online, companies are able to remove the human agent as the intermediary (known as deintermediation) and introduce a website as the new intermediary (known as reintermediation). Fee-for-transaction revenue models generally generate revenue through the earning of commissions. The larger the transactions, the more they earn. Using this model on the internet offers some flexibility that businesses can take advantage of such as lower overhead costs and the ability to earn some extra revenue through some level of advertising. Fee-for-Service Revenue Model This revenue model is also service-based but instead of charging based on the size of a transaction, companies charge based on the value of the service. Some examples that make use of this model are professional services such as accounting and legal consultancy, streaming video services and online gaming. All of these examples charge a fee based on the service that the customer accesses. Recommendation for Cricket E-Zine The most suitable revenue model for the Cricket E-Zine would be the advertising-subscription mixed revenue models. By utilizing the flexibility of this model, the E-Zine can generate its main income through subscriptions without having to rely on financial support through heavy advertising. It is more desirable to have a magazine that offers more useful content with less advertising. A virtual community, or online community, is quite simply a method of meeting and interacting with people through the internet. The internet facilitates communication among its users where they talk about topics that interest them where they may share and receive information. By communicating and building acquaintances, interests are maintained and as users keep this alive an online community is established. There are several forms of virtual communities. Chat rooms, email lists, social networking, forums and blogging are some of the more popular forms. In defining the different forms of communities, we can identify possible options for use with the E-Zine and select a suitable combination that would add value, promote and attract subscribers. A chat room is a website that allows people to send and receive messages in text in real-time. Usually a chat room is based around a particular topic that multiple people can participate in. Plain text chat rooms now incorporate voice and video that help enhance the experience. Getting people from different parts of the world to meet online and collaborate at the same time can be a major problem because of the different time zones. Email lists overcome this problem since it allows a person to receive and respond to a message at a time convenient to them. Although emails can go back and forth within minutes, this method of communication is probably not best for a conversation. Emails are suitable for getting large amounts of text, files and other information to lists of people. A social networking site allows members to create a profile that shares information about themselves. Each member can connect with their friends, family and acquaintances and keep them in a friend list. Connected members can then see each others profile. As members reconnect with past friends and family, their social network becomes larger as they bring together contacts from the past and present while connecting with new people. Social networking sites are useful for word-of-mouth promotion. Businesses use this type of networking because the connections between members are so intertwined that information reaches a large audience without great effort. An online forum is a site where people discuss topics of interest through consecutive text-based messages that are posted by forum members for forum members. These messages can stay posted for many years as the site owner sees fit. Forums are widely used for receiving feedback, solutions and opinions from users who have experience, skills or knowledge on the relevant topic. They are usually monitored by forum administrators who keep messages from going off topic by either removing irrelevant messages or offering guidance to forum members. Forums are a great way of creating a large archive of information from people all over the world. Because of their longevity they become an excellent source for primary research. A blog, like a diary, is a journal of events, experiences or opinions except it is written online for others to read. Businesses may use a blog to keep their customers informed on what they have been up to, current activities and what they can look forward to. Although blogging is one way communication, there is usually an area for readers to make their comments. These comments are essentially a forum for discussing the particular blog. A blog must be properly maintained because once it is read, interest starts to diminish. Effective blogging is a great way to spark interest in new readers and attract a sort of fan-base, which is a good marketing technique. All of these virtual communities can be useful in different ways to add value to the E-Zine but the effects versus the efforts are variable. Conversations that can develop in a chat room may not be relevant to cricket or the E-Zine and could become useless to the magazine. One way a chat room could be used in this application is to provide assistance to subscribers or to encourage a potential subscriber to take the final step in signing up. The chat should generally be lead by staff of the E-Zine to ensure the chat rooms are made useful and not abused. Email lists are an excellent way of reaching out to people who have an interest in cricket. Recipients of these emails have signed themselves up to receive cricket information. This offers a direct tap into a group of people who are definitely interested in the sport. Certain types of information and promotions can then be sent with confidence knowing that people would be more receptive to the messages. Social networking sites are useful for boosting online presence and getting traffic to flow to the E-Zine website. It is easier to direct traffic than to create traffic. Because social networking sites are generally high traffic sites and information flows far and wide, it is easy to tap into this network and spread messages that bring attention to the E-Zine. It is positive promotion that has no geographical boundaries. Including a forum within the E-Zine website helps create its own online community The E-Zine Community. Subscribers and forum members can communicate with each other about the sport and similar topics while forum administrators maintain the relevance of comments. A forum is an excellent place to gather informal feedback that would help the E-Zine improve its operations and create special offers that would attract subscribers. Blogging may be most useful to the E-Zine during important times within the cricket world. For example, having a blog during the Cricket World Cup would spark interest for site visitors who come across these posts that may lead to an interest in the E-Zine. The best combination of communities that should be used for the E-Zine is the email lists, social networking sites and a forum. The chat room and the blogs could be used as secondary options but they would not play a major role in the promotion of the E-Zine.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Nature of Logic Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Logic Thinking Essay
Nature of Logic à à à à à The nature of logic and critical thinking go hand in hand. A person must use logic during the critical thinking process. However, each personââ¬â¢s logic may depend on his/her perceptual process or their perceptual barriers. No person can ever fully understand their own perceptual process in its entirety. The reason being is that no person knows all of their perceptual barriers. Without knowing all of the barriers, how is a person able to determine the process in which they perceive things? While a person may know or assume some of their perceptual barriers, some of their perceptual barriers will never be uncovered because they may not know they even exist. They may not even know that they exist because the perceptual barrier is so strong that it will never be known to them, that it, in fact, is a barrier at all. This alone could be a potential barrier. à à à à à Aside from not being able to identify all of a personââ¬â¢s perceptual barriers, each situation that comes about where a critical thinking process may be utilized can call for a different process. For example, a person may use an entirely different perceptual process while at their place of employment than they would in their home. Even then a person may utilize a different process depending on the situations that occur on any given day. However, the way we think can be determined by the way we were raised and the way we currently are living. Many factors come into play that can cause percept...
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
The Lost Inca Indian Culture Essay example -- Pre-Columbian History Cu
The Lost Inca Indian Culture Most historians recognize the fact that the empire of the Incas in Peru was one of the great civilizations that was lost due to the expansion of the Europeans into the New World. The Incas were once an empire boasting with riches and controlling a large portion of the west coast of South America. Until the arrival of the Spanish, the Incas did their own thing within their culture, with few outside sources affecting them. This paper focuses mainly on the role that the Spanish played in changing and eventually eliminating the culture that was the Incas. Facts drawn from outside sources will illustrate the changes the Incas made from the pre-Columbian age to their unfortunate downfall. Also mentioned will be the actual invasions by the Spanish and the cultural change in the Spanish after the conquests. The Europeans at the time of Columbus' first voyage probably did not expect to find such a large array of civilizations when they landed five centuries ago. Not only was the vast number of tribes awesome, but the technology that some had was much more than anticipated. The Incas, like many other tribes, built great structures mostly as religious shrines or temples. Some well known areas are especially laden with these structures: Machu Picchu, Cuzco, and Lima. The religion of the Incas is may seem familiar to anyone who has heard of any indian religion, but it does contain a flavor that separates it from other religions. The Incas were a polytheistic culture, believing in one supreme god, and a few lesser gods. When referring to the Supreme Being, the Incas called him Viracocha. That name had been passed down over centuries, used for worship of the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. The Incas were ... ...ves any longer. They were allowed to go about their business after the conquest for the most part. Spanish men married Inca women, and the two cultures began to become interracial. Spanish ministers set up communities to help the indians learn the religion and give the sacraments. Had the Spanish not conquered these indians, another nation probably would have. The money-complex was too strong in Europe to worry about the misfortunes of other people. As long as the people of Europe were satisfied, that was all that mattered. Bibliography Means, Philip A., Fall of the Inca Empire. Gordan Press Inc., New York, 1964. Lockhart, James, Spanish Peru, 1532-1560. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1968. Baudin, Louis, Daily Life in Peru. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1962. Markham, Sir Clements, The Incas of Peru. AMS Press Inc., New York, 1969.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Abortion and Ethics Essay -- Life Pregnancy Fetus Papers
Abortion and Ethics According to the Websterà ¢s New World Dictionary, the first definition of abortion is the spontaneous act in which the body expels an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive, miscarriage (Neufeldt & Guralnik, 4). Yet others define abortion as à £the termination of a pregnancy with resulting death of the human fetus,à ¤ relating more to the planned procedures to produce this specific response (Ashley & Oà ¢Rourke, 141). In our society we have taken on this second view of the meaning, rather than abortion being a spontaneous act, it is a deliberate procedure sought by the mother that removes an embryo or fetus. This deliberate act has arisen throughout a controversial history. Before the procedures were made legal, women used many primitive methods. Some of these methods include jumping from great heights, having others jump on the pregnant womanà ¢s abdomen, ingestion of toxic substances, and the use of invasive probes such as sticks, knitting needles, or wire hangers (Callahan, 252). Although these primitive procedures might result in an abortion, they were unsafe for the women who endured them. Abortion in the United States was illegal until the early 1970s. Once legalized, abortions were localized to the coastal densely populated cities, such as in the states California and New York. Abortion was legalized nation wide on January 22, 1973 due to the efforts the key court cases of Roe v. Wade, and Doe v. Botton. Roe was an unmarried woman from Texas that wanted to challenge the abortion laws because she herself wanted to have the procedure to relieve the unborn child she carried. The second case, Doe v. Botton had a different outlook on the justification for abortion. Doe, a married... ...cities.com/ourlady_dal/abortion2.htm Knight, James, Joan Callahan. Preventing Birth: Contemporary Methods and Related Moral Controversies. University of Utah Press: Salt Lake City, 1989. Kushner, Thomasine, David C. Thomasma. Birth to Death. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of Health. 26 Nov. 2002. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/taysachs_doc.htm Neufeldt, Victoria, David B. Guralnik. Webster's New World Dictionary 3rd ed. Prentice Hall/Macmillan Company: New York, 1994. Robinson. 26 Nov. 2002. http://www.religioustolerance.org/abortion.htm Shannon, Thomas. Bioethics, 3rd edition. Paulist Press: Mahwah, 1987. The Abortion Law Homepage. 26 Nov. 2002. http://members.aol.com/abtrbng/pbal.htm
Monday, September 16, 2019
Powerful Presentation Skill Essay
In almost all the business roles today, presentation skill has become a core competency and an inevitable prerequisite for any reasonable job. One of the popular fears among the people, after dogs, snakes heights, water, is public speaking. This category of people usually experience abnormal heartbeats, cold sweats, shivering and the worst, low or high blood pressures. Contrary to this, presentation skill can be developed and achieved through practice and observation. Itââ¬â¢s exactly like learning to ride the bike. Here are some quick, tried and tested tips, if followed carefully they will make you a powerful presenter as well as an influential public speaker. Why do we give the presentations? Basically, there are four purposes of giving a presentation. Firstly, to inform your audience about what you know. In other words, it is called informative presentation. Secondly, to train, all the effectiveness of teaching and training activities for students and staff solely depend on the presentation skill of the teacher or trainer. The third purpose of giving a presentation is to persuade the public, our politicians are a very good example of that. During the election campaign, the politicians give persuasive presentations to convince the public to give them the vote. Lastly, sales people give presentations about their products to the customer and clients for the marketing. Pre-presentation Tips â⬠¢Objective Before preparing any presentation one must be clear about the purpose of giving the presentation. Because, if you know clearly what you have to deliver it will help you find how to do it. â⬠¢Content Once the objective is clearly defined, now you should focus the contents of your presentation. It means what is the scope of your talk. What is included and excluded. The contents must be according to the objective and the need of the audience. Through brainstorming, keeping in view your knowledge, audience and the topic, the parameters can be defined to cover the topic extensively. â⬠¢Audience Jim Rohn, the American motivational speaker and writer, says, ââ¬Å"Consider your audienceâ⬠. It means who they are, what they already know about the topic, how old they are and what language and style they prefer etc. Once you are fully aware of all the facts it will help you tailor your presentation according to the needs of your audience. â⬠¢Time and length People have their peak and low time according to the time of the day. Some people tend to be more active and alert in the morning. Therefore, if you present in the morning you might get positive feedback from your audience. On the other hand after lunch and in the evening people are likely to be drowsy and may not focus on what the presenter says. There, audience should be energized through activities and questions to keep them awake. Whereas, length means the time you are allotted to present. If it exceeds the timeline, you will lose the interest of the audience and the required purposes may not be achieved. â⬠¢Structure One of the important components of success of any presentation is its structure. About the structure of the presentation, Jim Rohn says ââ¬Å"Tell your audience what you are going to say, then say it all and at the end tell them again what you have just told them. In other words, it means introduction, body of the presentation and summary. â⬠¢Take care of yourself The presenterââ¬â¢s health, mood, feelings and emotions matter a lot because if you are suffering from cough, sore throat or otherwise sad and sleepy you can not give a good first impression. So itââ¬â¢s a good idea to take care of your health to avoid any physical or mental distraction. â⬠¢Practice makes perfect Mock presentations given to a group of friends, family members, colleagues or in front of a mirror, will help you grasp the subject and learn the content. As it is said, practice makes perfect. Rehearsal of your presentation will also increase your confidence. Verbal Communication Tips â⬠¢Volume The first and the foremost phenomena in verbal communication is the voice of the presenter. If the presenter has a loud audible voice the message will get across clearly and completely to the audience. Usually, low pitched voices result in the failure of the presentation and the audience loses the interest in that presenter. Try to speak loud and clear but, not so loud that you cause your audience a headache due to your thundering voice. â⬠¢Pace Pace means the speed of your lecture, speech or presentation. As a matter of fact, the listeners have their listening and understanding speed and the speakers have their speaking pace. Both the speeds must align with each other. Therefore, speak in a variety of paces if something is really important or serious, slow down to make your audience understand it. If you are repeating a point or giving a summary of your presentation then you might go with a faster pace. Use a variety of paces but make sure what you are delivering your audience is receiving it in the same way. â⬠¢Pauses Pause is a short period in which something such as a sound or an activity is stopped before starting again. Pauses are like the punctuation marks in the written language. We use pauses or break the sequence of talk so that we might separate the most important to the least important. Besides, pauses create an impact of your words on the minds of the listeners. If you are describing a difficult point or delivering an informative presentation which is complex too, then you must stop briefly at certain points. Pauses give time to the audience to think, realize and absorb the information you are showering upon them. â⬠¢Intonation Intonation is the change of voice as per the nature of the message you want to deliver. Communication experts believe words are lifeless unless we add our vocal variety in it. It is your voice that mixes up your words with feelings and emotions. This mixed voice is called intonation. The pitch and tone of your voice help you make the right intonation according to the message you deliver. For example, if you pass any test or exam you say loudly; Yaaahhhoooo! Now this interjection is expressed through your emotional voice which is intonation. Someone rightly said the voice that comes from heart has a deep impact on the listeners; this voice of the heart is in fact your intonation. As a powerful communicator express your feelings and emotions through your voice and give the heart touching presentations. â⬠¢Avoid Artificial Fillers Artificial filler is either the repetition of a word or a sentence for example, ok, you know, fine etc or uttering some meaningless words like errrrr, aaaah, ehhh etc. Artificial fillers are a must-avoid during the presentation because they make your presentation funny or boring for the audience. A presenter must not repeat a word or a sentence time and again habitually. â⬠¢Humour During Presentaion Well, it depends on the audience and the presentation environment because some presentations are delivered in a strict and serious environment where it is not appropriate at all to use humour or make the audience laugh. On the other hand, if itââ¬â¢s a friendly environment or training then a presenter must entertain the audience through some relevant jokes or funny stories. As it is said ââ¬Å"Laughter is the best medicineâ⬠and if a presenter makes the audience smile and laugh they will remain active, energetic and will not feel bored. Do not criticize anyone or make fun of anyone of your audience. This might worsen the situation as most of the people never like to be laughed at. Nonverbal Communication Strategies â⬠¢Body Positioning Nonverbal communication is the communication through body language which is in deed more powerful than the verbal type of communication. As a presenter, you are under the spot light. Every one looks at you during the session thatââ¬â¢s why a presenter should stand at a place where he is visible to each and every individual sitting in front of him. During the presentation you must not stand still at one place and deliver the whole presentation there, rather you should change the position according to the situation but at every position your audience must be able to see you clearly. Never turn your back towards your audience. â⬠¢Posture Posture means position of body or the way in which someone usually holds his shoulders, neck and back, or a particular position in which someone stands or sits etc. As you present you must mind your posture, it should be active and energetic. Lazy and inactive postures result in the concentration loss of the audience. Not only this, but the speaker becomes less reliable and unauthentic. Stand straight and confidently, put your shoulders at a relaxed but active positive. Positive postures give a very strong nonverbal message to your audience. â⬠¢Movement The basic difference between speech and presentation is that during the speech the speaker stays at one place and talks but in the presentation the presenter is animated. The presenter moves around in the room purposefully, walks and talks with the audience. Therefore, a presenter must move but the movement has to be purposeful not a continuous movements or the nervous movements. While moving do not lose the eye contact with the audience. Move around but keep looking at the audience. â⬠¢Hands During the presentation, your hands communicate effectively as well. In fact, your hands give meanings to your words and create an impact on the audience. There is a complete language known as Sign Language which is mostly based on hands signals. Do not cross your hands or rest them at the back just leave your arms loose by your sides and as you talk according to the words, sentence or message use your hands and fingers to make your message more meaningful and impressive. â⬠¢Facial Expressions It is said, ââ¬Å"Face is the index of mindâ⬠. Whatever we think it comes on the face through these facial expressions we communicate the deepest thoughts of our mind and feelings of our hearts. If you look at someone and smile, the other person will also smile in response and if you look at a child angrily, the child will be afraid of you. Our facial muscles make our face expressions and the facial muscles get activated when either we arouse our feelings and emotions in a certain way. Express yourself through your facial muscles and connect with your audience deeply and give a memorable presentation. â⬠¢Eye Contact Your eyes are your lighthouse. As you talk do not look at the walls, fans or tube lights but the people sitting in front of you. When you look in to the eyes of the people it shows that you are giving them your attention and in response your audience also looks at you. Moreover, eye contact works like an infrared channel that transfers data from your mind to the minds of the listeners. But do not look at one person for more than 5 seconds because it might make him/her uneasy and it will also turn your eye contact to staring. Finally, be confident and practice all the points carefully. Fake it, until you make it and then it will become your natural presentation style.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Communication and Different Reasons
SHC21 Introduction to communication in health, social care or childrenââ¬â¢s and young peopleââ¬â¢s settings. Outcome 1: 1. Identify different reasons why people communicate. People communicate for lots of different reasons some of these are these are to build and maintain relationships i. e family, parenting and community relationships. Communication is used by people to conduct business and commerce, people also communicate to learn and educate. Communication is also used for pleasure for e. . story telling, film, music and theatre it is also necessary for emotional intimacy. 2. Explain how effective communication affects all aspects of own work Effective communication helps us to exchange all information within the working environment, it helps us express are feelings/emotions and how we feel when working in certain situations. Using effective communication can help you get positive messages across when needed and can also help create a good atmosphere. 3. Similar article: Show How and When to Seek Advice About CommunicationExplain why it is important to observe an individualââ¬â¢s reactions when communicating It is important to observe individuals reactions when communicating as it helps give you feedback on how they are reacting to the information being giving to them it can also help you get a clearer understanding of what communication skill they are comfortable using and what communication skills they understand. Outcome 2: 1. Find out an individualââ¬â¢s communication and language needs, wishes, and preferences 2. Show how and when to seek advice about communicationWhile working at the nursery if I came across a situation with one of the children, e. g. they speak a different language, I would ask a higher member of staff what communication skills I could use that would help the child understand or if there are any key words in his/hers language I could use when communicating with them. I would also approach the parents and ask if there are any words they would like me to learn to help make the child more comfortable when communicating with me. Outcome 3: 1. Identify barriers to communicationThere are many different barriers that you can come across when communicating here are a few examples: Language: English may not be someoneââ¬â¢s first language so you must take into consideration other ways of communicating with this individual. Noise: various things can stop a message from getting heard e. g. background noise, distraction or too many people talking. Distracting gestures: Fidgeting with pens, fingers or making inappropriate gestures can help create a barrier in communication as it can be distracting to the individual you are communicating with.Eye contact: Lack of eye contact can make an individual feel as if your not interested or not paying attention, it could make them feel awkward and not want to continue the conversation. 2. Identify sources of information and support or services to enabl e more effective communication Outcome 4: 1. Explain the term confidentiality There are different types of confidentiality and different examples but the main definition of confidentiality is: Confidentiality is a set of rules or a promise that limits access or places restrictions on certain types of information. . Describe situations where information normally considered to be confidential might need to be passed on If a child in the care of the nursery shows signs of any kind of abuse this could be sexually, physically or mentally, as carers of these children we have the right to pass this information on to higher members of staff or to possibly notify social services therefore we would need to pass on the childââ¬â¢s personal information if it is requested in this type of situation. 3. Explain how and when to seek advice about confidentialityA care worker should get advice about confidentiality when a situation arises and they feel it may need to be broken as keeping such info rmation to yourself causes you concern as it could result in harm to the person you are supporting or to someone else. To get further information refer to your organisations policy on confidentiality and the disclosure of such information and if in any doubt ask your manager for further assistance. The only time you seek advice when a child has spoken to you in confidentiality is when that person is in danger for e. g. if the child is being sexually abused, physically abused etc.
What Is the Relationship of the Four Noble Truths to the Eightfold Path?
What is the relationship of the Four Noble truths to the Eightfold path? The heart of Buddhist teaching is found in the Four Noble Truths. These truths are what Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened about when he became the ââ¬Å"buddhaâ⬠or ââ¬Å"enlightened one. â⬠These truths are shared by all the different groups, schools of thought and divisions within Buddhism. The Four Noble Truths are: 1. the truth of suffering ââ¬â life involves suffering or dissatisfaction. Even the most privileged lives involve suffering or dissatisfaction of some sort. 2. he truth of desire ââ¬â suffering is caused by desire, specifically unenlightened desire 3. the truth of the cessation of desire ââ¬â when unenlightened desire is ceased or eliminated from life, suffering ceases as well 4. the truth of the 8-fold path ââ¬â desire is enlightened through right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right understanding and r ight resolve The Four Noble Truths support the common characterization of the Buddha as a doctor or healer. He assesses the life's condition, makes a diagnosis, and provides a prescription for the cure. Life involves suffering, even for those who lead privileged lives. Bad things happen, people get sick, loved ones die, things don't go as planned, and so on. How does Buddhism explain karma and reincarnation without a soul? Karma is the concept that the individual's actions determine his fate, whether in this or in a future life, and that every action has to be balanced in some way. By doing certain actions, certain energies are set in motion, which bring certain effects. It is a way to restore balance in the Universe, and is not punishment for one's actins. Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul in a new body, while Karma affects the new body and determines the circumstances into which it is born. Both of them can explain a lot of things in each one's life. A life of comfort and success means that the person performed good deeds in a previous life, and a life of difficulties, failure and adversities is a retribution for negative past actions. It is said that it is the soul that reincarnates, but what is the soul? This is an ambiguous term. If someone says, ââ¬Å"my soul reincarnatesâ⬠or ââ¬Å"my soul is eternalâ⬠, he is actually saying that there are two ifferent entities. There is he, and there is his soul, which means that he is not the soul. Forgive me for the comparison, but it is like saying, ââ¬Å"I have a pair of shoesâ⬠, ââ¬Å"I have a carâ⬠and ââ¬Å"I have a soulâ⬠. It is regarded as a possession. This means that it is possible to be ââ¬Å"with a soulâ⬠and ââ¬Å"without a soulâ⬠. D oes this sound reasonable to you? If a soul is a ââ¬Å"possessionâ⬠, then who is the owner? This owner must be more important then the soul! people encounter different situations and live in different circumstances, deep within all are indivisible part of the same One Spirit. This Spirit is not touched or affected by situations or circumstances. It means that from the viewpoint of the Spirit, karma and reincarnation are illusory. When one is able to realize this understanding on a deep level, one goes beyond karma and reincarnation. When the Consciousness of the Spirit is ââ¬Å"awakenedâ⬠, through concentration and meditation, one realizes that he is an integral part of the eternal and undivided Spirit. He experiences a Spiritual Awakening, and then both reincarnation and karma lose their meaning, power and reality. What is a Bodhisattva? The word bodhisattva means ââ¬Å"enlightenment being. â⬠Very simply, bodhisattvas are beings who work for the enlightenment of all beings, not just themselves. They vow not to enter Nirvana until all beings enter Nirvana together. A BODHISATTVA IS an ordinary person who takes up a course in his or her life that moves in the direction of buddha. You're a bodhisattva, I'm a bodhisattva; actually, anyone who directs their attention, their life, to practicing the way of life of a buddha is a bodhisattva View one of the following videos and give a succinct report on its content in relationship to Buddhism: Enlightenment Guaranteed (German film), Babette's Feast, the Matrix, The Little Buddha, What the bleep do we know, Groundhog Day, or the Zen film, Woman of the Dunes. The Little Buddha Little Buddha is an enjoyable, at times powerful, and ultimately highly entertaining movie. Of course, there are quite a few movies today that can also be called entertaining, but they often achieve this with a combination of sex, violence and (admittedly) amazing special effects. It is rare to see a movie essentially devoid of such things that not only does entertain you, but also uplifts your spirit and leaves you with a positive feeling. For me, Little Buddha is also such a movie. However, as I reflect on the powerful depiction in this movie of Siddartha's transformation into the Buddha under the bodhi tree, it seems clear that the powerful force responsible for shaking Siddhartha up and humbling him was none other than the unforgiving truth of impermanence. Every living thing must change and ultimately perish. This of course is a disturbing and negative truth. However, this powerful negative truth was transformed into an equally powerful positive one when he realized that not just he, but that also all living things, even plants and insects, were all suffering from and bound by this same truth. Ultimately, he saw that all life is one. I believe the Buddha's great compassion developed out of this awareness of universal suffering. In Little Buddha, this truth, though perhaps somewhat obscured by the search for the reincarnated teacher, is nonetheless powerfully and unforgettably portrayed. I highly recommend that you see this movie.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Report Restaurants Essay
In the past 10 years, the term ââ¬Å¾Going Greenâ⬠gains not only public and media attention but also encourages companies and business to change their ways of running. The question you would probably ask now is why? Lets first concentrate on this simple question, what is going green? Going green is the idea of change which would influence in decreasing pollution saving animals and overall our planet. The environment awareness keeps on growing and growing every single year. Now lets concentrate on ââ¬Å¾why? â⬠. An ordinary person, lets say his name is Ben, heard about the concept of going green, he liked the idea and he tries to change a little bit his daily routine. Ben doesnââ¬â¢t want to flip his life around a idea, but he tries to save energy, water maybe recycle from time to time. It makes him feel good about himself. What he doesnââ¬â¢t realise is that by changing his way of thinking and acting he just became a part of one of the highest growing markets. Over 80% of people go green each year. Not everyone will keep on doing it. Lets take a random European country, Poland. Poland has over 40 million citizenââ¬â¢s, 32 million decide on going green, more than half of it drops down and doesnââ¬â¢t continue, we are left with 12-16 million, 22% of these people can afford a stay in a 4-5 star hotel, resort, now we are left with 3,3 million. Now answer yourself a question, when Ben goes on holidays with his withe to another city in Poland, which Hotel would he chose? The one that didnââ¬â¢t turn green, but still is a really good hotel with a nice view at the city or a hotel that supports his way of life and will make him feel better about himself. Its 3,3 million individuals which would probably pick the hotel that decided to change a little bit the ways of running. Going green is not only an advertised way of helping mother earth but can also can become a competitive advantage. Advantages Can become a money saving opportunity. Microsoft proved that turning off a computer or putting it into sleep mode after its been used can help the company in saving up to $90 per computer, within a range of a whole year. Imagining how many computers there are in a large corporation or a hotel. Lets say there are 250-300 computers in a hotel that is owned by a hotel branch, a single hotel saves up to $22,000 per year. Hilton right now owns 530 hotels. If they decided to implement such a small change they could save up to 11,6 million dollars. Going green can become a competitive advantage. Customers seem to chose products or services of the companies that tend to care about the environment over the same quality product or service from a different company. A company That decides to go green can count on so called tax benefits. Government tends to support companies which show evidence of implementing methods that would be beneficial to environment. Cutting Tax costs is one of the ways the government can support companies. This only happens when a company can cut their energy costs by 50%. Employee motivation. Employes tend to be more loyal to the companies which tend to care about the environment. Workers can also be more committed by participating in the activities which could help in maintaining sustainability. A repetition of that kind of activities can help the companies in recruiting better quality employes. The fact of implementing extra tasks to daily operation of a business can be a factor that will motivate employees and can make their work more efficient. Disadvantages The initial cost of going green can be very high. usually smaller businesses cannot afford to turn to go green. Solar panels for example are very expensive. We can notice the brake even after 3 years or more. Going green is more of a long term investment. In some cases switching to green methods can raise the value and the prices of services or products. Because of relatively high costs of implementing green methods some companies may be forced to higher the prices of products or cut costs in any other way to brake even quickly. In some cases customers can notice that a company is going only green to increase the good image of the company. Or says that they are green and at the end they sell unfriendly products to the environment. This is called ââ¬Å¾Green Washingâ⬠.à If a consumer notice that the company is green washing than they can suffer really bad publicity. Conclusion Many famous companies are deciding to go green. Companies such as Mc Donaldââ¬â¢s, Starbucks, or Coca-Cola decided on going green. Hotel wise it is also a good idea. This action can bring new customers and can also make consumers loyal. it means that customers would be likely to come back to our hotels. It could help in building up a wide customer base which could help our company in raising advantage over our competitors. A company that decides to implement the whole concept of going green, has to be careful and maintain this way. Because if the public finds out that a company is saying that they went green, and doesnââ¬â¢t actually change anything, it can bring a lot of trouble to the company. It can build a bad image that is hard to erase. I am for going green. As it is becoming more and more popular sooner or later companies will have to go green.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Managing Design and Sustainability Innovation Essay
Managing Design and Sustainability Innovation - Essay Example It is true that Design Thinking is more than the article has highlighted but it has tried to capture the fundamentals that entail the concept: Question, Care, Connect and Commit (Berger 2010). I believe that Warren Berger captured these sentiments from real interaction with designers so as to develop a comprehensive and simple approach to Design Thinking. The study spans 10 years with at least 100 designers reviewed. It is however true that Design Thinking is more than meets the eye in the actual world of business. When taking the four fundamentals as stated by Berger, it is easy for it to be inapplicable in a real business scenario. The basic reason for this is that the area looked into was the design industry which varies hugely with other industries e.g. entertainment or manufacturing. The basic idea here is customization of Design Thinking to fit the respective context of its application. One example is the critical aspect of trying to uncover end usersââ¬â¢ opinions. In some industries which have less contact with end users it would be hard to track significant information unlike in others for example, the service industry. Design in some way focuses on product creation. This is backed by the fact that in Design Thinking the aim is to ensure that what is to get to the end users is of the expected, if not a higher than expected, value. In this endeavor it is overly clear to deduce that one major force behind Design Thinking is product creation. Apple and P&G have been offered as examples of this scenario meaning that it is true in many recent successful companies. These companies have concentrated in designing products that surpass market expectations thereby creating a level of curiosity that has inevitably made competitors think in the same direction. To these companies huge profits have been in the offing. Tracking designersââ¬â¢ work to get an overview of what Design Thinking is all about is a good approach. This is because it
Thursday, September 12, 2019
How does the use of the Life of Hadrian for historical reconstruction Essay
How does the use of the Life of Hadrian for historical reconstruction support or problematize Hayden White's argument on the c - Essay Example The global nature of the world today necessitates scrutinizing of oneââ¬â¢s views because there are so many historical points of view. The development of historiography means that the practitioner must develop his/her practice and conscience. Thus, Hayden Whiteââ¬â¢s concept of narrative history is representative of constructivism in historiography. History is a difficult and ambiguous issue and may seem unreachable. However, it can be apprehended by structural thought. A historian should possess an array of skills, as well as the ability to utilize them in concert. For this reason, using the life of Hadrian to reconstruct history supports Haydenââ¬â¢s argument as it uses literature from other writers, some born a long time after his death, to reconstruct his story and that of the era he lived in. This is because little information about Hadrian exists with only snippets of information in historical texts. The 2nd century AD has numerous literary and documentary sources cove ring numerous issues. However, it is ironical that that little if any reliable historical narrative on the Roman emperors of this time exists. For this reason, Hadrianââ¬â¢s life can only be reconstructed using abbreviated accounts in Historia Augusta. Senator Marius Maximus, for example, proves to be a major contributor to the reconstruction of this period as he is quoted in the narrative. This is despite the fact that he lived two centuries after Emperor Hadrianââ¬â¢s death. For example, when reconstructing Hadrianââ¬â¢s interactions with the Spaniards after they refused to pay their levies, the text contends that ââ¬Å"â⬠¦to use the very words of Marius Maximus, and the others very vigorously, he took measures characterized by skill and discretionâ⬠(HA, Hadrian 39). Marius Maximusââ¬â¢ writings and works are used as the main basis for the Historia Augusta. The HA does seem to be based on hearsay and rumors and has signs of abbreviation and fabrication. For example, the author contends that ââ¬Å"Even without the aid of a nomenclator he could call by name a great many people, whose names he had heard but once and then all in a crowdâ⬠(HA, Hadrian 65). For this reason, this historical narrative should be cautiously treated. However, seeing, as this is one of the only remaining sources still in existence about Hadrian and this era of emperors, it cannot be discarded. In fact, it becomes vital in filling in the gaps in the historical narrative of this period. Cassius Dio was a Roman Senator of Greek origin, and he lived in the third century. However, this does not stop the author of Historia Augusta from using him as a source to recreate this historical narrative. Again, this is because his writings deal directly with Hadrian and shed light on his life. Different from Marius Maximus, who has an unfavorable view of Hadrian, Dio is more favorable and so offers a different opinion of Hadrian that allows the writer to reconstruct Hadri anââ¬â¢s life. It is Dio who tells of Hadrianââ¬â¢s biography, which has since been lost by saying that, ââ¬Å"So desirous of a wide-spread reputation was Hadrian that he even wrote his own biographyâ⬠(HA, Hadrian 51). While the fact that Hadrian was known to love Greek culture, for example, the fact that he always reclined at table dressed either in a Greek cloak or a toga (HA, Hadrian 69), it offers
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Using virtual worlds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Using virtual worlds - Essay Example The sign up process is one which is rather easy and one which a person can easily comprehend. This is because the things which are demanded are within reach of the person who is interested. For starters, a person has to come up with an avatar, which is the equivalent of a photo. The user then has to choose a preferable username and check whether it is available for use or whether it has been taken by another user. After this, the user has to give some personal information such as the date of birth and the email. After this is done, the account can be activated. Some of the issues which were encountered in the course of this is the fact that it may be difficult for an individual to set up an avatar because some people may not prefer to use their own photos. Coming up with a username may also be a difficult affair because identity is something which people may want to safeguard. In as much as there are good things associated with the site, especially on the side of an individualââ¬â¢s social life, there are some security concerns which may come up in the course of using the site. The first one in this case is when an individual gives out too much information to an extent that another party may use this information to bring harm to the person. The second one is that there may be unscrupulous individuals who may pose as authentic users when in actual sense they may be having ill intentions and in the end up causing harm to the user. There are limited privacy settings which may still be surpassed by people who may want to cause online harm. For example, the passwords of the users may be hacked. This online interaction platform is one of the many internet platforms which are being developed for the purpose of boosting the way people relate with each other. There are those people who prefer to interact over the internet as opposed to doing so in private. This is where the
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Vietnam and the Twentieth Century Experience Essay
Vietnam and the Twentieth Century Experience - Essay Example The proponent also discusses the resources that could be helpful to students of history particularly in understanding Vietnamââ¬â¢s culture and history. In particular, the proponent discusses the case of Vietnamese students in France during and after the colonial role of the French government in Vietnam, and their specific stand on nationalism that could mirror the Vietnamese culture or entire history. Student migration in France during and after the colonial role of the French government in Vietnam was a significant source of information that could elaborately discuss the issue regarding Vietnamese nationalism (McConnell 1989). Vietnamese students at this very moment in time had learned to communicate using French into newspapers, leaflets and even to letters they sent at home. Most of these students learned to express themselves in the French language, especially on various political ideas. Significantly, a historian having no sufficient background on Vietnamese culture or history would be able to document some substantial information that could elaborately discuss the political stand of Vietnamese students using some sources that could evidently express an essential link with the actual event in Vietnam and its culture and history. In this manner, even though the ideas had not been directly gathered in Vietnam, but the Vietnamese students in France and their specific political stand on some certain issues would specifically pave the way for understanding the actual event happening in their country and their political stand. Furthermore, their specific opinion or stand on the certain issue could be actually gathered through understanding their experiences which could be collected from existing articles or communication they had written.Ã
Monday, September 9, 2019
Democracy and Commodification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Democracy and Commodification - Essay Example In the context of commodification, services that would be normally under the control of the state came under the control of the private sector, a fact that leads to the increase of cost involved (Giddens and Griffiths 367). Thus, the access to these services becomes more difficult and even, impossible, for a high majority of the population. From this point of view, commodification leads to the limitation of democracy, a political system that is based on equality and fairness in terms of law (Giddens and Griffiths 367). The potential limitation of democracy through commodification can be made understood by referring primarily to the cases of welfare regimes that are based on commodification and those that are not commodified. These cases would show how modern political systems could be related to commodification. Then examples could be provided for showing the relationship between democracy and commodification in practice. Giddens and Griffiths (2006) explain how political systems can be related to commodification: a) the social democratic regime promotes the provision of welfare services for all citizens with no exception, at a universal level (Giddens and Griffiths 367). Scandinavian states, that have this type of regime, are examples of states supporting the non-commodified political system; b) in ââ¬Ëconservative/ corporatist states, such as France and Germanyââ¬â¢ (Giddens and Griffiths 367), welfare services are non-commodified but they are not fully independent from the capital. Indeed, in the above states, the potential of each citizen to access the welfare services is differentiated according to his social status (Giddens and Griffiths 367); c) there is also the case of the liberal states, like United States, where ââ¬Ëwelfare services are fully commodifiedââ¬â¢ (Giddens and Griffith 367). It should be noted that the use of specific practices, in regard to the management of an economy, does not, necessarily, indicate the commodification of t he local political system (Williams 157). In democracy also, a similar issue would exist. At this point the potential influence of commodification on democracy should be explained using relevant examples. In all states where democratic regimes exist media is commonly used for the promotion of specific political messages. Reference can be made, as an example, to the use of media for supporting a particular legislative text or for persuading the public that a specific political decision, for example the establishment of an area of entertainment, is fully justified in terms of public interest. In regard to this issue, emphasis should be given to the following fact: in most states, media is used for influencing public opinion
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Fire Resistant Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Fire Resistant Design - Essay Example Fires are arguably the biggest hazard in terms of engineering difficulty. With winds, earthquakes and storms, the change is only in terms of the loads upon a structure. The behavior of the structure and the materials in it is mostly the same, thus precautionary measures are easier to engineer and hazard predictions can be made. In case of fires, the material properties themselves change. The major structural materials ââ¬â steel, concrete, wood and masonry ââ¬â all lose their structural integrity and strength as temperatures are raised higher and higher and beyond a certain limit, each of these materials is no longer able to sustain the loads that they need to bear. Another important feature that needs to be focused on is that these materials are usually not used by themselves; rather they work in conjunction with each other, e.g. steel reinforcement of concrete pillars. When such a structure is subjected to higher temperatures, the steel and the concrete might be, by themselves, within their usable limit, but the bonding interface between the two materials may cause failure. As more and more complex designs are being made, joining of varied materials is becoming a very important field in itself. Although the joining materials might be stronger than the materials joined at room temperatures, yet th ey might lose their joining ability at lower temperatures than the temperature at which the joined materials lose their integrity. With higher and higher focus on cost reduction, designers and engineers are being pushed to replace fire emergency equipment and repair costs with nothing i.e. they are being asked to use materials which can resist fires without damages. Thus fire resistant design is very important. This paper focuses on the different methods of assessing the high temperature properties of a certain structure, setting up experiments for the assessment, and it also focuses on different case studies shedding light on the properties of
Saturday, September 7, 2019
A commentary on the potentials of social media applications Essay
A commentary on the potentials of social media applications - Essay Example 11 Supporting of experimentation and take up 12 Creation of synergies: 13 Bibliography 19 Introduction The previous five years have resulted to a growing excitement within the community of education about web2.0 technologies. The technology is an umbrella term used to refer to numerous internet applications including wikis, social networking, virtual societies, folksonomies and blogging among others. Even though these applications differ in function and form, all of them share a characteristic that is common. That is, the supporting of interaction that is internet based within and between groups. Web 2.0 technology marks a different isolation from the 1900s internet applications and also the early 2000s internet applications, allowing forms of exchange that are ââ¬Å"interactiveâ⬠rather than broadcastâ⬠whereby information sharing is ââ¬Å"many-to-manyâ⬠as compared to one to many. Web 2.0 applications focus around sharing and appropriation of content between commun ity users whose outcome is multiple dimensions of user-driven communication, content recreation and creation and collaboration. Commentators are now talking of a write/read web where individuals can generate easily their own content and also utilize content generated by others. For instance, Wikipedia is unique from the online Encyclopaedia Britanica. This is because, Wikipedia is a document that is open thus being updated, created, refereed and edited by its readers. This has made it derive authority and accuracy from the ever ongoing consensus and discussions rather than depending on a single expert word. Given the significance of collaboration, creation and communication to using of the above named technologies, educationalist have been on the forefront pointing out the web 2.0 potential for enhancing and supporting learning. The education agendas have focused on social software emerging practices. Social software is categorized broadly as software that enables interaction betwee n groups. The most common among individuals are discussion forums that are internet based, dating sites and social networking. From the studies carried out by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), it was concluded that, new opportunities for modernising and innovating training and education institutions and for purposes of preparing the 21st century learners, could only be achieved through the uptake of social media applications outside settings of formal education (Alan-Mutka 2009, 2010). The increased rates of internet use for mail sending and receiving are a good indicator of the conceived significance of the internet for knowledge and communication. In addition to that, the internet is crucial for information exchange. With the innovation and introduction of multiple applications in social media, interactive and active internet usage has been encouraged and the trend is further developing. The social media applications provide its users with communities and online networks for knowledge exchange and multi-directional communication (Fry 2004, p.305). Moreover, this application allows individuals to share and publish digital content like videos, photos and music. In the current world, the educational use of social software is not well incorporated. As such multiple actions are needed across practice, policy and developer communities prior to it becoming effective and widespread.
Friday, September 6, 2019
The Unexpected Essay Example for Free
The Unexpected Essay She opened the mail box, as she expected there is a letter lying in there waiting for her to pick it up. She walked into the house, trying to find the paper knife to unseal the letter. You can obviously see the letter itââ¬â¢s been carefully wrapped by the back of a poster, and you can clearly see the picture on the back side. Finally Julia saw the paper knife is hidden under Lydiaââ¬â¢s little ââ¬Å"babyâ⬠, itââ¬â¢s a teddy bear stuffy, but in Lydiaââ¬â¢s mind, thatââ¬â¢s her little girl. Julia yelled:â⬠Lydia, why is the paper knife is under the teddy? What did you do with that? Didnââ¬â¢t I tell that knifes are dangerous?â⬠â⬠But mommy, my baby is sick, she needs a surgery, and you werenââ¬â¢t home, so I just did it by myself. â⬠Lydia murmured, thatââ¬â¢s what she always does when she realize if something seems not quite right. Julia picked the paper knife up and sat down, cut the envelope open, and the neat writing reminds her 3 years ago, when she just got divorced with Joe, her ex-husband. Joe and Julia met when they were so young, and at the moment they met they knew each other was the one, soon after 5 years of relationships; they got engaged on Juliaââ¬â¢s 26th birthday. And after 51 weeks little Julia was born. Everything seems so perfect until Julia found out sometimes when Joe had couple of beers he will be so rude to them, he would even swear to littlie Lydia, she finally had enough and signed the divorce paper, she asked for nothing but Julia. Because after she became a mother, she became more sensitive, she will do anything to protect her, thatââ¬â¢s her job and also her mother of nature. Joe is so mad at Julia; he thinks he loves little Lydia just as much as Julia does, even more than her. But apparently as mom Julia doesnââ¬â¢t think so, she forced Joe to live, she reported the local child protective service, and the local newspaper had Joe on their headline. Because itââ¬â¢s a small town and Joe is someone in this town, so he was so humiliated. He couldnââ¬â¢t help the anger on him:â⬠hey Julia, what goes around comes around, what you have done to me someday you will get to pay for this! Julia and Lydia finally got some peace ful at home, in a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Julia and Lydia cuddling in the couch watching the new:â⬠Sichuan earthquake or had a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0-7.9 at .1:09; 56-6:28 0n Monday. Killing an estimated 68,000 people.â⬠Then the news switches to a video of how people are doing in Sichuan, theà remains of the building, the searching team searching for survivors. Julia looks so sad; her tears are trembling in her eyes. She cried:â⬠oh my god, weââ¬â¢ve got save these kids. Come on, letââ¬â¢s go online and find out if there is any way we can help them!â⬠so they went on the internet found a list of children with names, address, pictures and about their situations. They saw a young boy is about 16; his name is Qiuqiu, his dad passed away when he was 5 because of kidney cancer, his mom raised him by herself, and it was a tough life. His mom died during the earthquake, when the earthquake happens, and they were having a nap. And as soon as the earthquake happens, his mom ran into his room, woke him up, and dragged him into a corner where there is a closet so it keeps a Seismic safety triangle. But they waited too long until the rescue team comes, and so his mom couldnââ¬â¢t holding it up, finally she left before he does. And there is another girl who is a friend of Qiuqiu, she is one year older than Qiuqiu, her name is fang, and she is an orphan, she was in a orphanage, but because she is quite old for someone to adopt her, because people usually likes the little one, so they will only remember their foster parents instead of birth parents. So she before the earthquake she was living with one of the nurse in the orphanage. But unfortunately she died in the debris flow that was caused by the earthquake. Julia chose them immediately, and then she decided to invite them to stay with them for a week. Julia wrote a long letter to them, she wrote down how sorry she is about Qiuqiuââ¬â¢s mom, and she understands that how hard it must to being a single mom. And also she wrote to fang, that if she wants to stay in Beijing for good, she is always welcome to stay in her house, if she wants it, Julia can help her to find a perfect job for her. And Lydia drew a picture of their beautiful condo in with lots of high buildings around. Julia is back with her flashback, and she gingerliness unfolds the letter:â⬠Dear Julia and little Lydia, this is Qiuqiu and fang. Right now we are living together with all the children that lost their families in the earthquake. Lots of people came to visit us, and they were so nice. They brought us foods and daily necessities. Some couples came here adopted some younger kids. We are living like a big family, and we are enjoying this. Just yesterday, Papa Jingtao came to visit us, we called him papa Jingtao, because he doesnââ¬â¢t look that serious when we saw him on TV, not at all. He sang with us, he told us fun stories about when he was young. And we decidedà not to go to Beijing yet, we thought it might be fun if we work and finish school at the same time, we will go to universities in Beijing, and then we can meet up what do you think? Please say hi to little Lydia, we really love her drawings! â⬠¦..â⬠and they talked so much about the local government built a temporary school for them so they can study while everything is on construction. So they kept writing to each other on and on, and Lydia is the one always wanted to contact with them, she said:â⬠they are like my big brother and sister, and I just canââ¬â¢t wait to meet them.â⬠Then Julia would send them checks as well, so Qiuqiu and fang will finish their school by that. They always talk about the cities are getting back together, and there is a new restaurant just opened, and there is a big shopping mall just opened. But they always just looked inside behind the door, because they donââ¬â¢t have money to afford anything. They are still kids, they are easy to satisfy. It was like the blink of an eye, suddenly two years has past, and Lydia just turned her 7th birthday, Julia decided to make a birthday cake for Lydia, they got all the ingredients ready, and Julia suggested:â⬠do you want to go to the mail box check if there is a letter from your brother and sister? â⬠So little Lydia went to the mail box, and what she brought back was a let ter from Juliaââ¬â¢s boss. ââ¬Å"Dear Julia, Iââ¬â¢m sorry to tell you this, but we already found a girl that will fit right in your position, she just graduated from a famous medical school. And I believe she will do a better job than you, after I talked to Joe last night, I realized maybe you should fins somewhere to continue your jobâ⬠¦..â⬠Julia got angered, and she couldnââ¬â¢t finish reading the letter, she cannot believe her boss fired her through email. But she couldnââ¬â¢t show it that how angry she is, she just acted normal, because she doesnââ¬â¢t want to ruin her little girlââ¬â¢s birthday. At night, after she put Lydia to bed, she called Joe immediately, ââ¬Å"what did you say to my boss exactly?â⬠Joe giggle on the other side of the phone: ââ¬Å"I didnââ¬â¢t say anything other than how you feel about your boss, and how you canââ¬â¢t wait to leave there for good. Hey donââ¬â¢t be mad, I was just helping you out. Oh forgot to tell you, Iââ¬â¢m taking the house back tomorrow. So you better start packing up now, in case you wonââ¬â¢t get any time for tomorrow!â⬠Then he hanged up the phone before Julia was going to say something. And there is only one sentence in her headâ⬠what am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do? She is so perplexed; sheà lost her job and her house just like that, through a letter and a phone call. After she finished worrying about all of those furniture and clothes, she started worrying about Qiuqiu and Fang, now she doesnââ¬â¢t has any incomes, and she is never that kind of person would have money in the saving account for the future uses. She used to have like the best job in the world except a noisy boss, but with high pay thatââ¬â¢s fine, with that she can afford Qiuqiu and fangââ¬â¢s school fees and herself with Lydiaââ¬â¢s cost of livings. But now what is she supposed to do. She has to find a job that gets quick money, also she has to find a place to live thatââ¬â¢s the most important thing. And she couldnââ¬â¢t fall asleep at night. She keeps thinking about Qiuqiu and fang, can they still go to school without her financial supports? Then she decided to keep supporting them with money, she tried to find a job that is as good as the one she had before, but it wasnââ¬â¢t easy. So she can only find some waiters job and babysitting. Lydia couldnââ¬â¢t understand the change in a sudden, she just keeps asking Julia what is going wrong, Julia just said:â⬠oh donââ¬â¢t worry honey, itââ¬â¢s just a life experiencing.â⬠And Lydia thought her mommy is still working as a dentist thatââ¬â¢s been respected by lots of people, actually right now Julia is working as a waitress where she meets lots of drunk and rude people, but she doesnââ¬â¢t want to tell her little girl, She wants Lydia still lives in the fairy tale. In the main time, she still keeps sending checks to Qiuqiu and fang, she use those inspiring words to encourage them, herself as well. She is so appreciated that Qiuqiu and fang didnââ¬â¢t complain the money is less than before, they are still grateful about how much Julia did to her. And finally Qiuqiu and fang are coming to visit them, they came to Beijing a year ago, but Qiuqiu thinks itââ¬â¢s better If they start their career first, and when they go visit Julia. They donââ¬â¢t want let Julia down, both of them are so good at art. When they first came here, they found some agencies to sell their work. People were so touched by their completely fresh and clean painting, they were so popular. People would spend so much money for their work, so they soon became rich. But they are still receiving money from Julia, they donââ¬â¢t use it, they use that to help other kids that couldnââ¬â¢t afford the school fees. And finally they decided to go visit Julia and Lydia. So they sent a letter to Julia, they asked for Lydiaââ¬â¢s address, but they didnââ¬â¢t say when they are coming. It still made little Lydia jumped, she finally get to meet her ââ¬Å"brother and sisterâ⬠. On aà beautiful Sunday with sunshine, and gentle breeze, Qiuqiu and Fang ran g the door bell of Juliaââ¬â¢s house. Julia didnââ¬â¢t know who that is, but her heart started beating so fast, she got so excited suddenly, ââ¬Å"coming!â⬠she looked through the peep hole, she see two young people standing outside, with lots of shopping bags on their hands. She suddenly has this weird feelings, she can feel that they are Qiuqiu and Fang. She opened the door, and yelled:â⬠Lydia! Come come! Look whoââ¬â¢s here!â⬠and then she asked gently:â⬠you are Qiuqiu and Fang right? â⬠they smiled happily and nodded, both of them canââ¬â¢t believe their life saver and their ââ¬Å"familyâ⬠is standing right in front of them, and here comes a young girl with beautiful long dark silky hair, she is so pretty, she is blinking those two bambi eyes at these strangers. But she doesnââ¬â¢t feel nervous at all, she feels like she knew them long time ago. And then Lydia said:â⬠hey honey, come meet Qiuqiu and Fangâ⬠Lydia jumped onto Fang, and Fang held her then she circled around. Lydia couldnââ¬â¢t help, she cried so much, and Qiuqiu came and hugged her, they look so happy and they are a family. Julia invited them in, Qiuqiu and Fang told Julia about the gallery, and Lydia told her situation of how she was struggling about the finance problem, but she doesnââ¬â¢t want Qiuqiu and Fangââ¬â ¢s dream, so she just worked even harder. During the talk they laughed, cried, they donââ¬â¢t feel strange to each other at all. And Fang asked:â⬠after how much weââ¬â¢ve been through, I and Qiuqiu are getting married, because we were always there for each other, and we decided to be together. We bought a house with 3 bedrooms, we really want you to come live with us, youââ¬â¢ve done so much for us and right now itââ¬â¢s about time for us to return the favor. Please please say yes!â⬠Julia couldnââ¬â¢t believe they are getting married and she cried because of the happiness, the little Lydia couldnââ¬â¢t wait, she jumped and yellingâ⬠Yes! Yes!â⬠so Julia said:â⬠we are going home, honey!â⬠and so then, they lived happily ever after.
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