Usability Study for Website Essay Example for Free

Usability Study for Website Essay The Princeton University Library is said to be the intellectual cross ¬roads of the campus. It holds many ancient and rare records of human experience; mil ¬lions of printed volumes; hundreds of recent and current bestsellers; terabytes of geospatial data; and thousands of online databases. The Library system comprises a dozen separate librar ¬ies. In the main library, the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, you will find the General and Humanities Reference Division; the Social Science Reference Center; galleries in which rare books, graphic art, and manuscripts are displayed; and a children’s library filled with books and games illumi ¬nating the history of education. In addition to printed books and scores, the Mendel Music Library holds a circulating collection of recordings of all kinds. The Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology houses a world-renowned collection of books and journals. The Public Policy Papers collection, with its focus on 20th-century American political and diplomatic history, shares Mudd Library with the University Archives, an ever-growing collection of artifacts from Princeton’s illus ¬trious history, including its original charter. Many of its science collections are now housed in the new Lewis Library, given by Peter B. Lewis of the Class of 1955, and designed by Frank Gehry. The goal of this usability testing was to determine how well Princeton University Library would meet the needs of its user population. Tasks were created based on the main goals users need to complete via the home page and the usability study participants were asked to try to complete these tasks using the current website of the Princeton University Library. This usability testing is basically focused on how quickly and easily users are able to complete pre-defined tasks using the current website of the Princeton University Library. Structured Tasks TASK 1 You are a student of Economics and your first reading assignment is to make an annotated bibliography of Adam Smith’s book on the Wealth of the Nations. Locate the book from the Library system. [Expect user to click on ‘Main Catalogue’ under ‘Books, Articles, More’, and proceed with searching for the book using Smith, Adam as author] TASK 2 You are working on a tough research project for your IT Management class. You have spent a lot of time in the library and on the Princeton University Library website, but you are not sure that you are finding all of the resources you need. You know that you can ask a librarian for help with research. Please show us how you would begin that process online. [Expect user to click on ‘Ask a Librarian’ links for chat/email/appointment] TASK 3 You are working from home and are having difficulty connecting to one of the databases you can access through the library. Where would you go to find out more information? [Expect user to find the ‘Connect from Off Campus’ link under ‘Research Help’] TASK 4 You want to browse through the Princeton University Library’s collection of books on Music at the Mendel Library. How late is the Mendel Library open today? What are its hours on Sunday? [Expect user to find ‘Hours Locations’ page and articulate the correct hours for the Mendel Library] TASK 5 How would you get a book that the PUL Libraries do not own? [Expect user to click on ‘Interlibrary Loan’]

Is Neoliberalism A Force For De Democratisation Politics Essay

Is Neoliberalism A Force For De Democratisation Politics Essay Critically discuss with reference to the writings of Wendy Brown and other theorists of your choice. I will be looking at whether this argument by Wendy Brown has any real foundation and what other theorists say about neoliberalism. Theorists that I have chosen to include in this discussion are: M. Foucault, D. Harvey and P. Bourdieu. I will venture arguments in favour and against. I shall start from providing a brief definition of neoliberalism. According to Brown: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Neoliberalism is equated with a radically free market: maximized competition and free trade achieved through economic deregulation, elimination of tariffs, and a range of monetary and social policies favourable to business and indifferent toward poverty, social deracination, cultural decimation, long term resource depletion, and environmental destruction. Neoliberalism is most often invoked in relation to the Third World, referring either to NAFTA-like schemes that increase the vulnerability of poor nations to the vicissitudes of globalization or to International Monetary Fund and World Bank policies that, through financing packages attached to restructuring requirements, yank the chains of every aspect of Third World existence, including political institutions and social formations. (Brown, 2006) The product of neoliberalisation is de-democratisation. It is a very interesting process, especially when many people are not even aware of its existence. It affects human rights and the rights of workers, freedom and equality, respect for law and legal process, and citizenship. North America is a good example. De-democratisation developed almost by stealth and they failed to recognize it until some of the effects became apparent their jobs, and job security began to disappear. De-democratisation is a process, which is a partial reversal of democratisation. An example of neoliberalism was witnessed in the years under M. Thatcher in England, or Regans, Clintons or Bushs administrations. I will be analysing Browns account of de-democratisation first. Wendy Brown is an author of: American Nightmare: Neoliberalism, Neoconservatism, and De-democratisation, and Edgework: critical essays on knowledge and politics. She presents a very descriptive account of how the ideology of neoliberalism exists alongside neoconservatism. According to her, those rationalities together and separately produce a process of de-democratisation. Brown suggested that Americans are under neoconservative influence which is strongly associated with fundamental Christianity. Interestingly, fundamental Christianity reflects a basically democratic system, with elections for its leadership roles deacons, elders, stewards, and vote selection for senior positions bishops, elders, ministers etc. Aligning with fundamental Christianity could be seen as preserving democratic integrity. Moreover, many states in the USA reflect fundamental religious values, like the Mid West Bible belt, Amish or Mormon regions, where they can express their beliefs because they participate in a free and democratic system. Therefore, it could be argued that Brown is incorrect, and Christian Fundamentalism is not necessarily an undemocratic movement. Drawing from this a political election candidate in these states would have to secure backing from these religious quarters. This is a tactic which President Bush and others successfully developed. Her argument that neoconservatism is inherently de-democratising is not as strong as first suggested. Brown is not trying to get us to understand whether the ideology of neoliberalism needed to occur in the USA, but she is sending a clear message of what damage its presence can do. The first point of her argument is contrasted with Halls theory referring to Freuds dreams, which suggest that neoliberalism is an accident rather than a conscious and deliberate choice. She feels that neoliberalism is not an unconscious movement and therefore dismisses Halls account, which others would not necessary agree with, as it could be seen that neoliberalism is a choice driven by greed, need, power and capitalism. She examines dreamwork in perspective of suitability of political analysis, which by the end she dismisses because is not coherent. She tries to understand the implications of neoliberalism from a political perspective not economic, and she briefly describes economic issues in a differently to the way that Harvey analyzed them. It should not be suggested that neoliberalism is limited to those two perspectives, as is it not. Another perspective which goes with this is environmental or political identity, which Brown does not really discuss. In her writings she refers to Regan, Clinton and Bush as those who are responsible for neoliberalism in the USA and abroad. In American Nightmare she asks whether democracy itself still has meaning in the modern world. She focuses on differences between neoliberalism and neoconservatism rather than trying to combine them and defining what works well and should be kept and what does not work and therefore should be challenged. There is a lack of deep economic and historical explanation, which we can see in Harveys account: A brief history of neoliberalism and Neoliberalism and the restoration of class power, although she touches on this in a limited manner. There is an immediate argument against Bushs administration, which delivers a one-sided view, effectively influencing the view rather then presenting positive and negative points in a balanced way so the reader can have an independent opinion. She seems to not see that neoliberalism could be seen as something which is already present in human nature. I would like to contrast her work with a quote from G. Becker, whose words were used by Foucault: Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as relationships between ends and scarce means which have alternate uses. Therefore: Everything for which human beings attempt to realize their ends, from marriage, to crime, to expenditures on children, can be understood economically according to a particular calculation of cost for benefit. This entails a massive redefinition of labour and the worker. The worker has become human capital. Salary or wages become the revenue that is earned on an initial investment, an investment in ones skills or abilities. Any activity that increases the capacity to earn income, to achieve satisfaction, even migration, the crossing of borders from one country to another, is an investment in human capital ( Foucault 2008).Because of this contra st it could be said that she might have ignored the effect on human nature or just simply omitted it in order to sustain her argument. Foucault sees a difference between liberalism and neoliberalism in the way that each of them focuses on economy. Classical liberalism focused on an exchange but neoliberalism focuses on competition. However, they share the general idea of homo economicus the consequence here is the shift between the exchange and competition, which has its own effects. Moreover, neoliberalism is not only a set of economic policies. Neoliberalism does bring some benefits, which are visible through privatized companies, especially if they are a manufacturer of similar goods. It offers consumers price competition. Businesses have to compete in order to survive, which results in a lowering of market prices. We are a consumer society. Brown(2006) says: But here it is important to remember that neoconservatism is also born in part as a response to capitalisms erosion of meaning and morality, and that the founding neoconservatives, while opposed to communism as a political and social form, were rarely ardent free marketeers According to Brown neoliberalism and neoconservatism go together. She suggested that Bushs administration, which originates in the Republican Party tries to be both the Party of Moral Values and Party of Big Business (Brown, 2006). She also says that imposing a moral order is undemocratic. Surely though, it could be argued that a moral order, imposed by a democratically elected government, for the overall good of the populace could be deemed as democratic. Surely, neoliberalism is only going to align with certain political persuasions not all are suitable such as extreme socialism, even if it is imposed by the IMF or World Bank or other external forces. In her opinion this does not work. Neoconservatism and neoliberalism fight against each other openly and ostentatiously. Big business comes before human beings. There also tensions in this relationship: about the sustainable level of federal debt generated by military expenditures: while neither rationality hews to the fiscal austerity and balanced federal checkbook promulgated by classic conservatives, neoliberals are more than a little unhappy about the military tab run up the neocons.(Brown, 2006) Another point that she touches on is that neoliberalism is reducing freedom of speech. Media sources such as newspapers and TV have come into the ownership of private individuals who have neoliberal persuasions. These individuals can influence media content to their own benefit. There is also a risk of media monopolisation. If we have corporate interest and free trade on one side and moral values on the other, this can create a dangerous mix which she describes as threats. There are different types of threats identified by her, such as threats to security for example seen in Irans nuclear program. Neoliberalism reduces human rights. She suggested China and Cuba as examples of countries who are violators of human rights. Of course, that is obvious, but it could be argued that human rights are being violated by the governing regime rather than neoliberalist rationality. Those countries do not value democratic ideals. The nature of the governance within those countries dictates how individuals are treated in society as a whole. In this sense her argument misses out depth of analysis within her examples, which can be contrasted with Harveys account on China. Harvey promulgates China as a strange case of neoliberalism. Firstly, the country is run under communist rules. However, the leadership of Deng Xiaoping brought significant changes to Chinas economy. Harvey (2009) says: This coincided and it is very hard to consider it as anything other than a conjunctural accident of world-historical significance with the turn to neoliberal solutions in Britain and the United States. The outcome has been a particular kind of neoliberalism interdigitated with authoritarian centralized control. As the formative case of Chile had early on demonstrated, dictatorship and neoliberalism were in no way incompatible with each other. Deng used a slogan: the concept of an ideal society that provides well for all its citizens in order to achieve his goal. He focused on specific areas to improve: industry, education, science, defense and agriculture. Harvey argues that the events which took place in China under Dengs rule were in their own way related to the rise of neoliberalism. But, in an interview he adds: Whether it was by an accident or design, I dont really know, but it certainly has made a huge difference to how the global economy is working today. (an interview with Harvey 2006). Another significant matter to be noticed here is that there was no involvement by the IMF, as was the case in Mexico, Chile and Bolivia. Harvey discussed many countries but for the sake of this argument I shall present the case of Mexico, as this illustrates a different type of neoliberalism to that of China. Moreover, the case of Mexico, Chile and Bolivia backs up the argument of Wendy Brown, who uses examples on how the powerful presidents of America influence other countries politics and economy in order to extract profit from them. And actually, the case of Mexico is important as it is the time when neoliberalism became a practical tool for Americas economy. The economy in 1974/75 was not doing well. Because of this economic depression a solution had to be found. So, the head of Citibank at the time; W. Wriston suggested that monies should be invested in countries, for a simple reason they cannot vanish. This seemed to be working for a time until fiscal crisis arrived. Subsequently, Volker increased interest rates. This was not everything, as the IMF was also imposing conditions which were in favour of the USA, on the countries which had taken loans. The agreement was that they will be helped out if they adopted neoliberal systems, which meant privatization and opening their markets to foreign investors. Initially, Mexicos interest rate was set at 5% but after the Volker changes, it rose to 17%. Mexico could not afford to service debts at this level. The country approached bankruptcy in 1982. Paradoxically, Mexico was suddenly on the Forbes list of countries with a significant number of personal billionaires. Neoliberalisation helps the rich increase their personal wealth, but at the expense of the poorer in society. Harvey is not saying that the USA forced neoliberalism on Mexico, but he says that the USA put pressure on Mexico and its elite classes, and they agreed that this is what they wanted to do. Therefore, this was a relationship between Mexicos elite and the IMF, and for this reason they both are responsible for the neoliberalisation of Mexico. Many years later, citizens in the Mexican city of Cochabamba faced a dilemma. In 1999 the Bolivian government was put under heavy pressure from the World Bank. As a result a water supply system was been privatised and placed under the control of a British company, owned by the US multinational Betchel. In this case there was no competition. A monopoly came into existence and prices were set at an exorbitantly high rate. The Director of the World Bank; Wolfensohn had the view that if public services were made free of charge to consumers, it would lead to considerable waste. Bolivians needed to pay a proper unsubsidised charge. He maintained that this was not designed to make poor people even poorer. People had different opinions about it, and protests ensued. Protest leader Oscar Olivera responded, In Mr. Wolfensohns view, requiring families who earn $100 per month to pay $20 for water may be a proper system of charging, but the thousands of people who filled the streets and shut down Cochabamba last week apparently felt otherwise. (Schultz, 2010) The World Bank again put profit before peoples welfare. This reflection of neoliberalist political economics proved once again that human beings have little value. After, this incident the Bolivian government was forced to reverse the privatization. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the democratic process must be allowed to take decisions on vital issues of service delivery, especially if the service is essential to the poor. (Coates, 2001) This message is being repeated on an ever more regular basis when people feel strongly enough, the democratic voice is powerful enough to overturn unpopular local decisions. This was also witnessed during the Thatcher years with the hugely unpopular riots against the Poll Tax in 1990. An additional account of neoliberalism could be illustrated by Bourdieus: Utopia of endless exploitation; the essence of neoliberalism In Bourdieus view he presents an abstract and ideological view which contradicts itself. If social welfare and workers rights are protected, neoliberalism by its definition can never succeed in its purest sense. For him (1998) neoliberalism is: A program for destroying collective structures which may impede the pure market logic. In neoliberalism rich people, whose political and economic needs are expressed, are able to exercise power within society. Moreover, those people have the knowledge that they would not face any consequences in the event that something went wrong. Thus, they also have a threat of losing their place in the market and the support of their stockholders, and because of this financial directives are needed in order to create rules in their favour. Flexibility is a keyword for them. Employees can be taken on with different types of contracts, specifically to fit in with a business need at time. Another condition is competition. It is not only on the business level but individual too. Competition also produces job insecurity in the work-place, which then produces the threat of unemployment. This is even more relevant at managerial level than at a basic job level. Bourdieu backs this up by saying: Organisational discourse has never talked as much of trust, co-operation, loyalty, and organisat ional culture as in an era when adherence to the organisation is obtained at each moment by eliminating all temporal guarantees of employment (three-quarters of hires are for fixed duration, the proportion of temporary employees keeps rising, employment at will and the right to fire an individual tend to be freed from any restriction). (Bourdieu,1998) Bourdieus (1998) words on the effects of neoliberalism: And yet the world is there, with the immediately visible effects of the implementation of the great neoliberal utopia: not only the poverty of an increasingly large segment of the most economically advanced societies, the extraordinary growth in income differences, the progressive disappearance of autonomous universes of cultural production, such as film, publishing, etc. through the intrusive imposition of commercial values, but also and above all two major trends. First is the destruction of all the collective institutions capable of counteracting the effects of the infernal machine, primarily those of the state, repository of all of the universal values associated with the idea of the public realm. Second is the imposition everywhere, in the upper spheres of the economy and the state as at the heart of corporations, of that sort of moral Darwinism that, with the cult of the winner, schooled in higher mathematics and bungee ju mping, institutes the struggle of all against all and cynicism as the norm of all action and behaviour. His account broadly goes with Browns. Harvey analyzed particular countries in depth and gives an explanation for their move to neoliberalism at the time. We know that neoliberalism works for a while, and it also works for some societies, and not all necessarily democratic. However, having said this we are living in a consumer society, which frequently places need before values. This is where Brown sees this contradiction of neoliberalism working with neoconservatism. Her example of Pfizers producing Viagra for its sex obsessed young society and yet at the same time dictating moral values emphasizes the dichotomy between neoliberalism and neoconservatism. Another issue that she raises involves political ethical scandals, such as that of Jack Abramoff. He was a former Republican lobbyist who was sentenced after pleading guilty to fraud, tax evasion and malfeasance. And the examples of corporate scandals such as Enron and World Com, where the banks made considerable loans, only to find that loose accounting procedures masked the real value of the businesses. The fact they were not discovered before is due to the effects of neoliberalism, which reduces the amount control and regulation of business. The banks lent them money until an error in accounting was discovered, which revealed a consider imbalance in stock value. However, since then, many more scandals have come to light. Browns account is very descriptive but seemed to look only from one perspective, which only underlined negative issues. She described very well how neoliberalism combines with neoconservatism. Moreover, it shows us how this duality is destroying the meaning of democracy. Decades of human history built a chain of separate events which when driven upon those economical, political, socio-psychological changes will develop a new form of governance. And this will fit in those strict contexts of that event and purpose of it. In her understanding democracy is endangered by neoliberalism and can be rebuilt by going back to values of classical liberalism. As we are now a consumer society the question here would be: Do all of people are happy to go back to classical liberalism? Classical liberalism is viewed in a positive light. However, the long and frequently unhappy history of liberal democracy in the USA has been littered with skeletons which seem to have been put firmly back in the cupboa rd. Or maybe people want something new? The majority of people still are happy to get cheaper and cheaper products and services. They do not necessary think that someone in a sweat shop in a developing country is competing with them. I can agree with Brown that because of neoliberal lack of regulation, financial scandals will frequently occur. My final point of this paper gives a recent example of the effect of neoliberalism in a democratic country but contrary to the perceived norm, democratic rule prevailed. Iceland is in financial crisis mainly because of a lack of regulation. The main bank operated a very competitive savings account, which took in billions of pounds from savers and investors. However, when the recent economic recession took hold, the bank failed. The Icelandic government were unable to assist the bank, so the governments of Britain and Holland provided financial assistance. The IMF also loaned them $10 billion. Moreover, they loaned monies under different conditions than they used to do in the past. The arrangement was that the Icelandic government would repay this loan at a later date. However, the people of Iceland felt that they should not be held responsible for the collapse of the bank, and objected to repaying the loans, which would amount to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬12,000 per head of population. In a way this is also reflecting the de-democratisating process, as certain groups of people benefited from neoliberal rationality, which resulted in losing jobs, reduced significance of union workers, and generally creating poverty. Citizens in a democratic manner protested, and their powerful voice was heard. Therefore, the Prime Minister, who was about to sign the repayment agreement, then refused ratification, and instead decided to put the issue to a public vote. At the end we can see that this is an exceptional example, which leads to the conclusion that neoliberalism is not always fully de-democratising. Icelandic Politician ValgarÃÆ' °sson said: Right now we have a chance to build a truly revolutionary society, which aims to benefit the whole of it, not just a privileged few, (Chataigne, 2009) He pointed out that the situation in his country is the beginning what will happen around the world in the near future. I think that he is indeed right. Another politician added:I hope this is the end of pure capitalism and we will see the rise of more humane policies. (Chataigne, 2009) In summary, it is clear that all presented accounts are emphasising consequences of neoliberalism. Harveys writings are more about connections between the power of specific classes, imperialism and capitalism, which concludes that this only benefits the minority at the expense of the majority. He analyses the theory and practice of neoliberalism purely on historical grounds. In Volkers and Wristons ideas, they were looking for a solution to political economics at the time. It cannot be argued that their intentions were to de-democratize societies. It is quite common in the history of humanity that society develops ideas which then turn into something very different than initially planned. Bourdieu is strong in his attack on neoliberalism. Bourdieu encouraged the emergence of some of the social movements in France, not only by writing but by action too. Finally, Brown strongly emphasises the negative issues associated with neoliberalism, without looking for any explanation of why this has occurred. I agree that neoliberalism is certainly de-democratizing. Media ownership, job security, worker and human rights, abrogation of the law are all de-democratising effects. However I feel that neoconservatism, which was born in part as a response to capitalisms erosion of meaning and morality. (Brown, 2006) has proven to be balancing and ameliorating force, even though not all of its effects can be seen as positive. Neoliberalism is a rolling bandwagon upon which many countries are jumping whether by intention or force protection of market share and jobs, or being pushed by external entities such IMF or World Bank. As neoliberalism gains strength, the danger is that the influence of neoconservatism will wane, leaving us open to the juggernaut of globalization and further devaluation of democratic influence. Eventually, as we have seen elsewhere, there must be a backlash against neoliberalism; an element of restraint must be introduced. Timing is crucial as neoliberalism eats away at the very fabric of democracy, the chances of a right and democratic change are reduced. Which neoliberal country would want to be the first to change direction? To deliberately put markets and trade at risk? To bring upon itself the spectre of unemployment, reduction of living standards, backlash from all classes of society against the medium-term austerity resultant on a conscious painful decision? What government would even survive? The change away from neoliberalism must surely be as gradual as the change to it. By stealth, and over time.

Shakespeares Hamlet - Claudius Essay -- GCSE English Literature Cours

Claudius of Shakespeare's Hamlet’s G. Wilson Knight in "The Embassy of Death" interprets the character of Claudius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Claudius, as he appears in the play, is not a criminal. He is - strange as it may seem - a good and gentle king, enmeshed by the chain of causality linking him with his crime. And this chain he might, perhaps, have broken except for Hamlet, and all would have been well. But, granted the presence of Hamlet - which Claudius at first genuinely desired, persuading him not to return to Wittenberg as he wished - and granted the fact of his original crime which cannot now be altered, Claudius cannot now be blamed for his later actions. They are forced on him. As King, he could scarcely be expected to do otherwise. (n. pag.) This essay, with the involvement of various literary critics, will consider Knight’s evaluation in light of others’, and will thoroughly delineate the character of King Claudius, show his place in the drama, and interpret his character. The drama opens after Hamlet has just returned from Wittenberg, England, where he has been a student. What brought him home was the news of his father’s death and his father’s brother’s quick accession to the throne of Denmark. Philip Burton in â€Å"Hamlet† discusses Claudius’ sudden rise to the Danish throne upon the death of King Hamlet I: The fact that Claudius has become king is not really surprising. Only late in the play does Hamlet complain that his uncle had "popped in between the election and my hopes." The country had been in a nervous state expecting an invasion by young Fortinbras, at the head of a lawless band of adventurers, in revenge for his father’s death at the hands of King Hamlet. A strong new king was immediat... ...Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Excerpted from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html West, Rebecca. â€Å"A Court and World Infected by the Disease of Corruption.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Court and the Castle. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1957. Wilkie, Brian and James Hurt. â€Å"Shakespeare.† Literature of the Western World. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992.

Piracy In The 21st Century :: essays research papers fc

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines piracy as, â€Å"an act of robbery on the high seas or an act resembling such robbery† (885). From this we can define software piracy as an act of robbery on the information superhighway. Many people do not see it as such. Even though the average person would never consider going into a convenience store and stealing a stick of gum, many have no qualms about stealing thousands of dollars worth of software. In a study done by the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft, 43 percent of adult Canadians who were asked thought that pirating software for personal use was OK. This feeling has come about in several ways. Older computer users, with Unix backgrounds, remember many of the applications they used as freeware. Software pirating also results from users having access to freely downloadable applications, evaluation copies, and public betas. This leads users to believe that all software is free. While many downloadable app lications carry expiration dates, many companies rely on â€Å"nag messages† rather then a disabling mechanism. These messages are easily ignored and allow the user to continue use of the product (Stevenson 18). Despite these factors global software piracy rates are on the decline. However, the number of illegal applications installed continues to grow, according to the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). In 1998, 38 percent of applications in use globally were pirated, down from 49 percent in 1994. Yet, 231 million business software applications installed were pirated, 2.5 million more than in 1997. This led to an eleven billion dollar loss in revenue by software companies (Paquet). Jason Penchoff, a BSA spokesperson, states, â€Å"Software piracy affects company productivity and jobs. For every free package or unlicensed package of software, companies are losing money. If an automaker lost 38 percent of its revenue, there would be a huge outcry† (qtd. in). So how are users obtaining all this illegal software? Consumers now have the ability to purchase goods from their computer. Generally when we think of electronic commerce, we mostly think of business to consumer transactions. But one of the most rapidly growing developments in electronic commerce is the consumer-to-consumer market. The rapid growth of Internet auction sites has created shopping opportunities for online consumers that were never before available. According to SIIA’s Piracy on Internet Auction Sites, â€Å"consumer-to-consumer online auction revenue will climb from $4 billion in 1999 to more than $15 billion in 2004† (3).

Realistic Writing Cormier :: Essays Paper

Realistic Writing Cormier Realistic Writing Every day across the world people are put in situations where their morals are questioned. It isn’t easy for one to say no to something when there is peer pressure or a reward coming, even if what they are going to do is against their morals. I have been in situations where I had to choose to either go along with my friends, in an illegal act, or try to talk them out of it. I chose to try to talk with them and it worked, but this won’t always be the case. When I read novels by Robert Cormier they talk about the society we live in. Most of the topics Cormier writes about deal with what my friends and I are going through. These topics or problems deal with a wide range of subjects, the most common are sibling’s death or illness, teen drinking, and parental divorce. When Robert Cormier writes a novel he doesn’t pretend that humans are perfect. Instead Cormier confronts the evil in our society and world. He shows this style of writing in most of his books. Throughout Cormier’s novels he writes with a very strong sense of realism. Cormier’s realistic style of writing ranges from evil events to family problems. The following four novels by Robert Cormier show this realistic style of writing best: The Chocolate War, We all Fall Down, and Tunes for Bears to Dance to. The Chocolate War is full of evil actions that occur in our world. In this novel there is a gang that bosses other students around. Although our school might not have a gang with a lot of control we do have clicks that perform some of the same acts. Archie’s gang, the Vigils, singles people out just because they aren’t cool enough or because they aren’t in the gang and don’t have high status among the students. One of Archie’s members had a notebook full of everyone who attended Trinity; it contained information on their parents, birth dates, and other personal information that the Vigils use to single out who they want. After some of the members of the gang looked at Jerry’s file Archie said, â€Å"He’s just a skinny kid†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (16). Some don’t want to pick on him because he is skinny and others just want to more.

Education and Martin Luther King

Education is a fundamental way of life. A means to learn something new, the intention is to mentally, physically, and emotionally benefit the person by putting them in a better place than they were previously in before. This is an example of what my dad said â€Å"If could, if I had the power to change something. It would be education, the fundamental base in everyone’s life. † Education is something that leads us to reach our goals and to be successful in life. So primary, we need education to be successful. Education includes moral values, and much more.But nowadays the meaning of education is misunderstood by people. Without education nothing is Achieve. Education is very important in every human life. Some people are not to be educated but they intense is too reached their goals, in my view education means which lead us to our destiny. If you think about Education, it gives us a basic knowledge about our surroundings. It is the first step that helps begin our journe y to reach success. We can reach success without education but we have to work hard or try till we reach our goal or success.Education is not only the way for us to reach our success, but it's just a step to reach knowledge. Education is must for every person on today's life education has become a basic need of every one's life it is a key to success. Education is the key to all we need in life without education and knowledge no one can be successful. Education is necessary for success. Martin Luther King Jr, wrote that‘’ Education should equip them with the proper instruments of exploitation so they can forever trample over the masses’’, meaning that education will give us the things necessary to overcome all obstacles in our life.The need for Education encourages us to be successful. Educations are what leads a human to being successful, and make an improvement in life. Malcolm X provides an argument which states that education is important no matter whe re it is received. Education helps us to understand ourselves better also it helps us to learn about our strengths and weaknesses. Omar Bradley wrote that â€Å"education makes people easy to lead but difficult to drive, easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.’’How can it that someone can be taught something and they grasp the whole concept of it, they understand it fully and still they don’t use it in their life as if the things they were taught meant nothing to them† A fundamental desire of parents is for their children to have a better education. Every parent dreams for their children to be successful in life and that all starts with education, our parents know the true meaning of work, they don’t want us to go through the struggles they went through to be where they are now.They instruct us to do the best in school from pre-k to college because they know it will help us in the long run. They inspire us to do better not only for our futures b ut also our kid’s future. Education gives us a lot of opportunities, not only for us but people around me and our futures children. Education is something that we need in life, something that we need to do so we can become successful in life, education gives us opportunities like jobs, and it gives us a better life. Without education our world would not continue to expand and evolve. Education and Martin Luther King Education is a fundamental way of life. A means to learn something new, the intention is to mentally, physically, and emotionally benefit the person by putting them in a better place than they were previously in before. This is an example of what my dad said â€Å"If could, if I had the power to change something. It would be education, the fundamental base in everyone’s life. † Education is something that leads us to reach our goals and to be successful in life. So primary, we need education to be successful. Education includes moral values, and much more.But nowadays the meaning of education is misunderstood by people. Without education nothing is Achieve. Education is very important in every human life. Some people are not to be educated but they intense is too reached their goals, in my view education means which lead us to our destiny. If you think about Education, it gives us a basic knowledge about our surroundings. It is the first step that helps begin our journe y to reach success. We can reach success without education but we have to work hard or try till we reach our goal or success.Education is not only the way for us to reach our success, but it's just a step to reach knowledge. Education is must for every person on today's life education has become a basic need of every one's life it is a key to success. Education is the key to all we need in life without education and knowledge no one can be successful. Education is necessary for success. Martin Luther King Jr, wrote that‘’ Education should equip them with the proper instruments of exploitation so they can forever trample over the masses’’, meaning that education will give us the things necessary to overcome all obstacles in our life.The need for Education encourages us to be successful. Educations are what leads a human to being successful, and make an improvement in life. Malcolm X provides an argument which states that education is important no matter whe re it is received. Education helps us to understand ourselves better also it helps us to learn about our strengths and weaknesses. Omar Bradley wrote that â€Å"education makes people easy to lead but difficult to drive, easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.’’How can it that someone can be taught something and they grasp the whole concept of it, they understand it fully and still they don’t use it in their life as if the things they were taught meant nothing to them† A fundamental desire of parents is for their children to have a better education. Every parent dreams for their children to be successful in life and that all starts with education, our parents know the true meaning of work, they don’t want us to go through the struggles they went through to be where they are now.They instruct us to do the best in school from pre-k to college because they know it will help us in the long run. They inspire us to do better not only for our futures b ut also our kid’s future. Education gives us a lot of opportunities, not only for us but people around me and our futures children. Education is something that we need in life, something that we need to do so we can become successful in life, education gives us opportunities like jobs, and it gives us a better life. Without education our world would not continue to expand and evolve.

Oedipus Reader’s Log

World Literature – Reader Response Log – Oedipus Rex Section|Line(s) |Questions|Reader’s Commentary|| Prologue|1-150|1. Describe the dramatic purpose of the Prologue. |The prologue sets the atmosphere of Oedipus Rex, and gets the reader interested. || |8|2. How does Oedipus characterize himself in line 8? |He sees himself as famous to all men. || |25-30|3. Describe the conditions in Thebes as depicted by the Priest in lines 25-30. |There is disease infecting the fruit and cattle of their land, and women in labor are losing their children. || |40-46|4. How do the suppliants view Oedipus in lines 31-34, 40, and 46? They are thankful of him because he freed them from the tribute they were paying|| ||5. What is a Sphinx? What is the answer to the riddle, â€Å"What has one voice and four feet, two feet and three feet? † Who answers the riddle? |A winged monster of Thebes, having a woman's head and a lion's body. Man as an infant, he crawls on all fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs and; in old age, he uses a ‘walking' stick. Oedipus answers the riddle. || |41-4253|6. What request does the Priest make of Oedipus in lines 41-42 and 53? |They beg Oedipus for help, to help their state. So now, you best of men, raise up our state. †|| |60-61|7. Define dramatic irony. Then, explain its function in lines 60-61. |Irony that is understood by the audience/readers but not by the characters in the story. The audience would have already known Oedipus’ fate when hearing those lines, while the priest/Oedipus had no idea of what really happened. || |95-107|8. Review lines 95-107 once more. What does Apollo say must be done to rid Thebes of its pollution? |â€Å"Lord Phoebus clearly orders us to drive away the polluting stain this land has harboured† they have to find who killed Laius. || |114-123125|9.What were the circumstances surrounding Laius’s death (refer to lines 114-123)? Furthermore, what motive does Oedipu s assign the murderer (lines 124-125)? |All of the messengers died that went with Laius except for one man. Oedipus says that the men are robbers. || |137-141|10. Explain the irony present in Oedipus’s resolution (lines 137-141). |Oedipus is talking about what the killer might do; while unbeknownst to him he’s actually the killer. || Section|Line(s) |Questions|Reader’s Commentary|| Parados|151-215|11. Discuss the Chorus’ reaction to Apollo’s advice to the city of Thebes (lines 154-157). The chorus is frightened, and is asking what they have to do for Zeus. â€Å"What obligation will you demand from me, a thing unknown†. || |170-182|12. Describe the conditions in the city as recounted by the Chorus (lines 170-182). |Everyone is unhappy, and many of the townspeople have died or are dying. || First Episode|216-462|13. Why does Oedipus seek the counsel of Teiresias (lines 278-287)? |He can see into things like Lord Apollo. || 316-344|316-344|14. What is Teiresias reaction to Oedipus’s request (lines 316-344)? |He doesn’t want to tell Oedipus anything. || 353-371|353-371|15.How does Oedipus view Teiresias? What ironies exist in their conversation? Refer to lines 353-371. |Oedipus views Teiresias as a liar, he thinks what he’s saying is wrong. Oedipus calls Teiresias blind, and eventually Oedipus will be blind. || |385-389|16. In lines 385-389, Oedipus begins to harbor a suspicion about Creon. What is this suspicion? Why is this important? |He thinks Creon has betrayed him. However, Oedipus is wrong, and won’t see the important truth that is in front of him. || |390-398|17. What superior trait does Oedipus claim over Teiresias in lines 390-398? Oedipus claims he has wit, while Teiresias only has â€Å"the birds†. || |413-425|18. In lines 413-425, Teiresias reveals the truth to Oedipus about his lineage. What does Teiresias predict will be Oedipus’s fate? Refer to lines 417-423; 452-4 60. |Teiresias says that Oedipus will go blind, and that his cries will not be heard. Also, he says he will be poor. || First Stasimon |463-512|19. Discuss the Chorus' view of Teiresias's accusations against Oedipus. Refer to lines 483-495; 504-511. |They cannot confirm or deny them, the chorus is very confused. || Section|Line(s) |Questions|Reader’s Commentary||Second Episode|513-862|20. How does Creon defend himself against Oedipus’s accusation of conspiracy (lines 583-604)? |Creon says he’s much happier not being king and that when you’re king you have to live in fear. || |639-697|21. What does Jocasta do in lines 639-697? |Jocasta learns of what Oedipus wants to do to Creon and she stops him. || |707-722|22. How does Jocasta assure Oedipus that is not guilty of the king’s death, lines 707-722? |She tells him what the gods said. That it would be Laius’ son who killed him and that Laius’ sent his son away. || |726-745|23.Why is Oedi pus disturbed and frightened by Jocasta’s comments in lines 726-745? |He realizes that he is the person who murdered Laius’, meaning he is Laius’ son, and has an incest relationship with his wife/mother. || |758-764|24. Return to lines 758-764. What happened to the one witness to the king’s death? |The witness begged to be sent off to where the animals graze. || |774-775779-793|25. Whom does Oedipus believe are his true parents, lines 774-775? Why does he visit the Delphic Circle? What is he told? Refer to lines 779-793. |He thinks Polybus of Corinth is his father.Oedipus goes to Delphic Circle to seek answers about his parents; he’s told that his fate was to defile his mother’s bed. || |813-822|26. Describe what Oedipus fears most in lines 813-822. |He says he won’t be welcomed by anyone. || |842-858|27. How does Jocasta reassure Oedipus in lines 842-858? |She says that Laius was killed by a group of men, and that her son died long a go so the sayings could not be true. || |858-860|28. What request does Oedipus make in lines 858-860? |He requests to see the peasant/witness. || Section|Line(s) |Questions|Reader’s Commentary||Second Stasimon|863-910|29. What wish does the Chorus express in the first stanza, lines 863-872? |They pray that â€Å"fate still finds me worthy†. || |897-910|What concern does the Chorus express in the fourth stanza, lines 897-910? |They worry that the prophecies will fail to be fulfilled. || Third Episode|911-1085|30. Whom is Jocasta praying to in lines 911-923? |She is praying to Apollo. || |924-963|31. What news is delivered to Oedipus in lines 924-963? What is his reaction to the Messenger’s news? (964-972)? What is Jocasta’s reaction (977-983)? The messenger tells them Oedipus’ father has died. Jocasta says not to worship Apollo because he was wrong about the prophecies. Jocasta says that she already foretold of this. || |1008-1046|32. What additiona l information does the Messenger provide, lines 1008-1046? |The messenger tells him that Polybus is not his real father, and that Oedipus was found with his ankles tied together. || |1056-1075 1076-1079|33. Why does Jocasta ask Oedipus to refrain from seeking out the Herdsman then leave, lines 1056-1075? How does Oedipus view Jocasta’s erratic behavior?Refer to lines 1076-1079. |Jocasta knows that Oedipus is her son, and she doesn’t want him to find out. Oedipus makes his own decision, making Jocasta vow to never speak again. Oedipus thinks Jocasta is ashamed of him. || ||34. Discuss the irony surrounding the Messenger’s arrival immediately after Jocasta’s prayer. Is he truly delivering good news? |The messenger is not truly delivering good news; it’s actually news that will hurt both Jocasta and Oedipus. Also, the irony is she her prayer is immediately answered by the messenger’s arrival. | Third Stasimon|1086-1109|35. Whom does the Chorus identify as parents to Oedipus? Refer to lines 1098-1101. |The chorus identifies immortal gods as Oedipus’ parents. || Fourth Episode|1110-1185|36. Whom was the Herdsman employed with? Why is he reluctant to answer questions from Oedipus, lines 1117-1181? |The herdsman was employed with Laius. He’s doesn’t want to answer because he knows he and Oedipus will suffer. || Section|Line(s) |Questions|Reader’s Commentary|| Fourth Stasimon|1186-1222|37. What general comment does the Chorus offer based on Oedipus’s plight?Refer to lines 1186-1196. |They say that â€Å"no mortal man is ever blessed†. They pity Oedipus. || |1214-1215|38. What horrific fact concerning Oedipus’s marriage to Jocasta does the Chorus identify in lines 1214 and 1215? |It says that Oedipus and Jocasta are in fact mother and son. || Exodos|1223 to the end|39. What news does the second Messenger announce in lines 1235-1279? |They say that Jocasta killed herself. || |1290 -1291|40. Discuss the symbolism of Oedipus’s self-blinding. What does Oedipus intend to do, lines 1290-1291? What prompts these actions? Oedipus has put a curse on himself, he wishes to be banished to sat he doesn’t bare the curse on to the house. || |1329-1331|41. In the next section of the Exodos, Oedipus joins the Chorus in lamenting his fate. Whom does Oedipus blame in lines 1329-1331? |He blames Apollo. || |1369-1385|42. What reasons does Oedipus provide for his self-blinding in lines 1369-1385? |He couldn’t bear to see his father and mother in Hades, or look at his children. || |1436-1467|43. What requests does Oedipus make of Creon? Refer to lines 1436-1467. |He wants Creon to cast him out where no other person will see him. | |1489-1502|44. Describe the vision Oedipus has for his daughters’ future in lines 1489-1502. |Oedipus thinks his children will be unmarried, and barren for the rest of their lives. || |1524-1530|45. What moral lesson does the Chorus derive from Oedipus’s life? Refer to lines 1524-1530. |â€Å"We cannot call a mortal being happy before he’s passed beyond life free from pain. † You can’t call a person happy until they’ve died. || *Adapted from The Classical Origins of Western Culture Study Guide, Copyright  © 1986 by Brooklyn College, The City University of New York All rights reserved. Published 1986.