How to Grow Bismuth Crystals

Bismuth is one of the easiest and prettiest metal crystals that you can grow yourself. The crystals have a complex and fascinating geometric hopper form and are rainbow-colored from the oxide layer that quickly forms on them. Follow these step-by-step instructions to grow your own bismuth crystals. Bismuth Crystal Materials Bismuth2 Stainless steel measuring cups or aluminum cans that you have cut in half to make shallow bowlsStove, hot plate, or propane torch You have a few options for obtaining bismuth. You can use non-lead fishing sinkers (for example, Eagle Claw makes non-lead sinkers using bismuth), you can use non-lead ammunition (the shot will say it is made from bismuth on the label), or you can buy bismuth metal. Bismuth is readily available from online retailers, such as Amazon. Although bismuth is much less toxic than other heavy metals, its not exactly something you want to eat. If you use steel measuring cups, it would be best if you only used them for the bismuth project and not for food. If you dont have aluminum cans or are concerned about the plastic coating often found on cans, you can fashion a bowl from aluminum foil. The quality of crystals you obtain depends in part on the purity of the metal, so make sure you are using bismuth and not an alloy. One way to be certain of the purity is to remelt a crystal of bismuth. It can be used over and over again. Otherwise, youd do well to read product reviews from a supplier to learn whether or not the product is pure enough for crystallization. Growing Bismuth Crystal Materials: Bismuth element (metal) and a heat-safe metal containerConcepts Illustrated: Crystallization from a melt; Metal hopper crystal structureTime Required: Less than an hourLevel: Beginner Grow Bismuth Crystals Bismuth has a low melting point (271 °C or 520 °F), so it is easy to melt over high cooking heating. You are going to grow the crystals by melting the bismuth in a metal dish (which will have a higher melting point than the bismuth), separate the pure bismuth from its impurities, allow the bismuth to crystallize, and pour away the remaining liquid bismuth from the crystals before it freezes around the crystals. None of this is difficult, but it takes some practice to get the cooling time just right. Dont worry—if your bismuth freezes you can remelt it and try again. Here are the steps in detail: Place the bismuth in one of your metal dishes and heat it over high heat until it melts. Its a good idea to wear gloves since you are producing a molten metal, which is not going to do you any favors if it splashes onto your skin. Youll see a skin on the surface of the bismuth, which is normal.Preheat the other metal container. Carefully pour the melted bismuth into the heated clean container. You want to pour the clean bismuth out from under the gray skin, which contains impurities which would negatively affect your crystals.Set the clean bismuth in its new container on a heat-insulated surface (e.g., set the container back on the burner, but turn the power off). The cooling rate of the bismuth affects the size and structure of the resulting crystals, so you can play with this factor. Generally, slower cooling produces larger crystals. You do not want to cool the bismuth until it is solid!When the bismuth has started to solidify, you want to pour the remaining liquid bismuth away fr om the solid crystals. This happens after about 30 seconds of cooling. You can tell it is about the right time to pour the liquid away from your crystals when the bismuth is set, but has just a little jiggle to it when jarred. Sounds scientific, right?Once the crystals have cooled, you can snap them out of the metal container. If you are not satisfied with the appearance of your crystals, remelt and cool the metal until it is just right. If you have trouble getting the bismuth crystal out of the container, you might try remelting the meta and pouring it into a flexible silicone rubber container. Be aware silicone is only good up to 300  Ã‚ °C, which is just barely above the melting point of bismuth. You need to melt the metal in one container and be sure it has cooled enough to start solidifying before transferring it to the silicone. Why Bismuth Is Rainbow-Colored In pure form, bismuth is a silver-pink metal. When it is exposed to oxygen (as in air), the resulting oxide layer ranges in colors from yellow to blue. Tiny variations in the thickness of the oxide layer cause wavelengths of reflected light to interfere with one another, producing the whole rainbow.

Industrial Revolution and the Crime Conundrum Essay

Industrial Revolution and the Crime Conundrum The Industrial Revolution was a period of great change; all through out the world people were flocking in hundreds upon thousands out of the villages and into the city. In Britain the population shot up from â€Å"10 million in 1750 to 42 million in 1900† (Crime and Punishment, par 1). Life in these cities was not only new, but also down right difficult to adjust to, people lived in overcrowded housing, disease was everywhere, and working conditions were unsafe. The people who moved into London, and other industrial cities, during the second Industrial Revolution were poor and desperate. As more and more people moved into the already packed and overcrowded cities did the crime rate rise? If it†¦show more content†¦For the context of this paper one must assume that Philips was correct in that, there was in fact a rapid rise in crime rates. Scholars and inhabitants of the time alike tended to pin the reason for the increase on a variety of specific factors. However it is more plausible that the various factors they presented—be it increased alcoholism, a weak police force, overcrowding, and others—are all have one thing in common; they can be attributed to the vast socio-economic changes happening in London during the time period of the second industrial revolution. Overcrowding and its Consequences It was suspected during the time period that overcrowding was the cause of the increased crime rate. People saw that the population growth—must like the popularity of gin—coincided with the rise crime. As London became an industrial city it needed a more unskilled workers to power its â€Å"textile, iron, metal goods, and pottery production† factories (â€Å"Crime and Punishment† par 2). This caused unskilled workers from â€Å"small rural towns† and â€Å"villages† into the city in hopes of finding work (Crime and Punishment, par 1). This may seem like a good idea, but unfortunately the population of the city rose quicker than expected and thus hadn’t had an adequate amount of time to adjust to the booming population growth—over 400 percent in just 50 years (Crime and Punishment, par 1). One of the most obvious shortcomings was London’s policeShow MoreRelatedBenefits And Drawbacks Of Outsourcing962 Words   |  4 Pagesin the developing countries (Carmel, et.al 277). Outsourcing leads to an equitable distribution of industries in regions that have not been developed, and hence the economy of the host countries increases. Despite each struggling to increase the industrial efficiency, the U.S companies have reacted to outsourcing in order to utilize the low cost of labor from the developing countries. This implies more output per unit work leading to decrease in the amount of labor need for specific output levelsRead More Justice and Love in Hugos Les Misà ©rables1971 Words   |  8 Pagesadvances in science and exploration propelled new discoveries. Significant movements, such as Romanticism and the Industrial Revolution, stemmed in Europe and swept the masses, spreading widely across nations. The rapid growth of the British Empire, alongside the calamitous fall of the French Empire, marked the beginning of the eventful nineteenth century. Years after the French Revolution, the French Empire was defeated in the Napoleonic wars, resulting in a broken union full of social and politicalRead More Americas Juvenile Justice System Essay3756 Words   |  16 Pagesjuvenile justice system has come almost full circle from being treated as an adult, then as an unaccountable child, now almost as an adult once more. Studies and anecdotes have shown that our modern approach, however, is ill-equipped to reduce crime or deal with chronic delinquents while at the same time protecting their due liberties. We now stand on the precipice of decision: How can we strike an appropriate balance in the juvenile justice system? Should we even retain a separate system forRead MoreEssay on Romanticism4035 Words   |  17 Pagesalso worth remembering that what is conveniently termed the Romantic period was one of great social and political division. Britain itself was undergoing a societal crisis of identity catalysed by the industrial revolution, increased literacy and the noble beginnings of the French Revolution. As a result the literature of the age reflected this on a number of levels both overt and covert; tangible and spiritual. In the Scotland of Confessions almost everything is at odds with everything elseRead MoreAn Analysis of Terrorism Essay9824 Words   |  40 Pagesterrorism commits acts which do apply to common law. Some of the acts that a terrorist commits are murder, bombing, kidnapping, hi-jacking, hostage taking and theft. All these acts have a law in the civil penal code that makes a terrorists activity a crime against society. Terrorism is also viewed as a political act against a government and it’s citizenry, secondly, it is viewed as a coercive means to change some policy through the application of violence upon society . Finally terrorism adheres Read MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 PagesBusiness morality b. Charities as businesses 12. Democracy a. Good vs. Bad 13. Social Issues (only stats provided) a. Gender b. Family c. Equality 14. Governance a. World Governance 15. Others a. Cooperation b. Education c. Crime d. Liberty or Security e. Consumerism 1. Media 1a. New vs. Traditional GENERAL Intro: †¢ The first quarter of 2043 will be when the last newspapers land on front process all over America. This is the prediction the author of ‘The VanishingRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesorganization theory Introduction Conceptualizing management The historical origins and development of management 382 382 384 385 . xii Contents Technological change and the factory system The impact of scientific management The managerial revolution and the origins of managerialism Redefining managerialism Leadership and managerialism Diffusion between institutions: the case of the UK public sector New public management Diffusion within organizations: the infiltration of the rank and file OrganizationalRead MoreStrategy Safari by Mintzberg71628 Words   |  287 Pagesrelevance for our understanding of strategy as position (niche). What historians conclude about peri- 8 STRATEGY SAFARI ods in the development of societies (such as revolution) can help explain different stages in the development of organizational strategies (for example, turnaround as a form of cultural revolution). Physicists descriptions of quantum mechanics and mathematicians theories of chaos may provide insights into how organizations change. And so on. Add to this all the otherRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesindustry. Wimm-Bill-Dann – where from here for a high growth diversified Russian conglomerate? Alliance Boots – a major merger in the pharmaceutical distribution and retailing sector. Police Mergers – are mergers the best way forward in tackling major crime? Ericsson – innovation from the periphery: the development of mobile telephone systems. Direct Care – strategy development in the multistakeholder context of public sector services. BBC – structural changes to deliver a better service. Sony (B) â€⠀œRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesStanley  M. Howe Professor in Leadership, Henry B. Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa; Associate Professor (with tenure), Department of Human Resource Studies, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University; Lecturer, Charles University, Czech Republic, and Comenius University, Slovakia; Instructor, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Research: Dr. Judge’s primary research interests are in (1) personality, moods

Stragegic Plan Free Essays

string(124) " would suggest having a backup strategy which will be handling the management and opting for the alternative opportunities\." A Strategic Plan And It’s Impact on the Rise and Downfall Of Netflix, Inc. [pic] MBA 517 Fall 2012 (Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis) 14th Dec, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS †¢ Executive Summary †¢ Strategic Vision †¢ Business Objectives †¢ Environmental Analysis †¢ Industry Competitive Analysis †¢ SWOT Analysis †¢ Business Strategy †¢ Implementation Plan †¢ Monitoring Adjustment- A Dynamic Process Executive Summary Netflix, Inc. , the world’s largest and leading online DVD rental company; was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in the year 1999 and operated from Los Gatos, California. We will write a custom essay sample on Stragegic Plan or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the very initial days Netflix started its business through online DVD rental using web media which is called as www. netflix. com through internet. The business was operated by delivering DVDs through postal mail and then charged the customers and this was called as Pay per DVD rental services. Gradually with this the company revenues increased and in a span of two years Netflix gone for an expansion and the Pay per DVD revenue model was replaced with a â€Å"fixed  monthly fee system†, the monthly fee was about $ 15. 95 per month. This was a major breakthrough for Netflix which has allowed all its customers wherein they can rent up to 4  DVDs per month without any due dates or late fees. After initializing the fixed monthly fee system, later in the year 2000, Netflix has launched one more strategy which was like customers can have up to four DVDs with in their possession one time for a fee of $19. 95 per month. Netflix’s decided to split the business into two separate companies, one for the streaming and one for the â€Å"legacy† DVD business which is called as Qwikster. And then Netflix started charging the subscribers two separate bills every month which made Netflix to face the unexpected downfall. Netflix’s website for the subscribers www. netflix. com , which helped in prioritizing the category and the choice of movies based on the customer’s preferences. By doing so, Netflix tracks the wish lists or queues of movies listed so that subscribers can browse movies of similar category and choose to watch. Then Netflix used to ship movies which are on the top of the wish list or queues of  subscribers through mail. Netflix has designed their website as per the requirements in which way it has all the ability and the facility of tracking the subscribers with individualized ratings based on all movies that customers had previously rated after viewing them. Netflix as a company enjoyed  tremendous success with all these success formulae, so it has decided to submit for an initial public offering. And later there was a huge drop in the stock market prices which dropped and due o the downfall in the stock the company position became little difficult for a company’s IPO to succeed with  uncertainty in the financial markets. In July 2000, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, needed to decide whether the company should proceed with  the IPO or withdraw. During the current scenarios, Investment banks predicted that the IPO  of  Netflix would succeed only if it’s  showing positive cash flows within a twelve-month horizon. In 2005, Netflix has grown to a position where the company has 35,000 different film titles available and also shipped one million DVDs out on daily basis. Netflix developed and maintained an extensive personalized video-recommendation system based on ratings and reviews by its customers. In 2006, Netflix offered a  $ 100,000  to the first developer of a video-recommendation program that could beat its existing algorithm. And later in the year  2007, the company delivered its billionth DVD. In 2007, the company began to move away from its original core business model of mailing DVDs and introduced video-on-demand via the Internet. Netflix business has grown but while DVD sales fell from 2006 to 2011. September 18, 2011, Netflix announced its intentions to rebrand and structure its DVD home media rental service as an independent subsidiary company called  Qwikster, totally separating DVD rentals and streaming. Netflix’s decided to split the business into two separate companies, one for the streaming and one for the â€Å"legacy† DVD business which is called as Qwikster. While splitting the business into two, however the businesses are going to run separately and they are going to operate on different websites. Subscribers of both the businesses got two separate billing statements (Probably it might have made sense in the long-term). It poses serious and immediate risks to Netflix’s streaming business as the strategy to split the business into two did not took the turn as it was expected, and as the subscribers are the people who are all sitting at home and trying to rent DVDs, watch videos probably aren’t thinking much about disruptive technologies and innovators’ dilemmas. Subscribers just want to watch a movie as cheaply and as conveniently as possible. There was a loud backslash  that ensued after Netflix split its pricing plan in two is being turned several notches and as subscribers wondered how this latest business plit will affect them. The reason for the CEO to make this strategy is for the long-term betterment and also will be more profitable to have fewer subscribers paying more for month than continuously adding customers that only sign up for the cheapest plans and then withdraw soon. But the decision to raise prices so drastically $15. 98 a month to rent DVDs and for streaming is a 60% jump which caused customers rage and due to this Netflix has lost about 8,000,000 subscribers in one quarter of a year and investors had been buying on the hope that subscriber growth would continue for a long time. When Netflix gone ahead and planned to separate the organization into two as the strategy, the reaction of the subscribers is unpredictable and there was a huge reaction from the subscribers and within a span of six months the company lost most of the customers and the organization has incurred huge loss which made the company cancel the separation plan. To implement the above strategy, the management instead of bouncing back, I would suggest having a backup strategy which will be handling the management and opting for the alternative opportunities. You read "Stragegic Plan" in category "Papers" If once we understand that the strategy of separating the business is failed then first thing is we should identify the impact of the decision ,on all parameters like lost market share, customer base, on revenues and profit gained by the competitors etc. and estimate where the organization is positioning . Then I would be going ahead and performing a gap analysis and identifying the current position of the organization and the most possible alternative strategies so that the organization will come back to its previous market. Apparently SWOT analysis also helps in identifying the areas which we need to work up on the organizations strengths and opportunities and ways to overcome the weakness and Threats which can cause hindrances. Reevaluating the proposed strategy is also one of the ways of implementing an effective strategic plan and a quick feedback of the implemented strategy will give any organization to control the impact before everything goes uncontrollable. In this case, Instead of applying the new strategy right away on the existing customers, what I suggest describes strategy to rebrand Netflix by applying the separation plans to new customers and allowing the old customers to enjoy the previous benefits and slowly make them adapt to the new product through proper promotional benefits. If any organization decided to launch a new product the best strategy would be introduce with the existing product so that the customers will be adapted to the new product and the existing customers will adapt to the new product by promoting with existing market. Hence the following plan describes a strategy to rebrand Netflix and successfully separate its business into Netflix and Qwikster based on the surveys and feedback collected from both existing and new customers. In-order to achieve this by holding the existing customers and attracting new customers, Netflix has to market the new product (both streaming and DVDs rental) by providing the new customers a free month trial (30 days) and also by giving the new product for the existing customers without any change in the fee. This would actually hold the existing customers and attract the new customers. Based on the response from the feedback and surveys, CEO will decide whether to continue providing the new product or move back to the previous existing product (which was already proved as a successful product). After the free trial (30 days) completes the new customers have a choice to be with either the new product â€Å"Qwikster† or just stay with Netflix. Strategic Vision According to (CEO) Reed Hastings, â€Å"Our vision is to change the way people access and view the movies they love†. Reed Hastings (CEO) strongly believed in delivering the product at an affordable price and conveniently . These are the success factors of Netflix. And also strongly believed that there are no replacements for the movies and the mission of Netflix can be considered as delivering the product in a desired way and make it attractive to the customers. Customer focus and understanding the preferences of the subscribers which helped in customer satisfaction . The goals of the Netflix also played a major role in achieving the desired revenues. Business Objectives Through these objectives Netflix will come out of the chaotic situation . These objectives can be measured through all the functions of the business mostly of financial and the objectives can be achieved and monitored at all the levels in the business. Financial objectives and Strategic objectives: The prime combined objective in this scenario would be to get back the lost customer base which was due to change in strategy and to gain them back is the prime objective. The second objective should be to expand the Qwikster business by launching the product and to attain a market share for them. The third objective should be increasing the new subscribers for the Netflix, Inc. o that the growth of the company would be prospering. The fourth objective should be to increase the revenues of the company by controlling the costs . The fifth objective should be to add value for business and pay the dividends to the shareholders. The above stated objectives are measured in monetary terms and other than the financial objectives Netflix should also focus on being a suc cessful launcher for the new product Qwikster and also ensure that the quality is maintained without compromising and deliver the best customer service for its subscribers as it always did . These are the objectives which are more operational in nature. To add on to the Operational objectives improvising on new technology, by improving the current process and optimum utilization of resources by maintaining employee relations and abiding with statutory rules and running the business on social and ethical behaviors are also considered as the operational objectives which can be key to the success for any organization. The time frame to achieve all the above listed objectives should be on quarterly basis. This could be achieved by doing a trend analysis on a monthly basis and reviewing how it can be achieved over a span of one year. Environmental Analysis The drastic growth of technology is one of the major successes for the Netflix and it is driven on technology based. Though it was started with delivering DVDs through postal services, gradually it started capturing the preferences of the customers by creating a wish list and based on their choices it has gained the customer satisfaction. Then on using the current technology Netflix has developed streaming videos and later it was heading into developing the apps for usage on mobile devices also. When we discuss about the financial aspect due to the increase in prices there was a downfall in the shares of the company. Immediately after the decision was announced the share prices dropped drastically and there are many cancelations from the subscribers. Netflix faced a major downfall at the time of recession in 2000 and after the price hike strategy in 2011. These two years are the challenging years for the company however Netflix has overcome these with its current strategies. [pic] Industry Competitive Analysis Netflix major competitors are Hulu and blockbuster and Netflix share is also disturbed other than the major players among you tube and also effected due to piracy. However Netflix success factor has created a brand image for streaming movies and DVD rentals. Netflix also faced competition from Redbox (movie rentals). SWOT Analysis Netflix’s strengths: Netflix is strong in marketing their business. The main marketing strategy which attracts the customer is one month free trail and which helps the customers to get used to the product and continues with Netflix account. †¢ The other major strength for the Netflix is that they are flexible in delivering the DVDs to home every time subscribes are willing to watch a movie. The Netflix process that customers can create a recommendation based on their interest and those DVD s will be delivered very fast. Netflix is one of the pioneers in using the technology as Netflix streaming method helps the customers to watch instantly and they use the internet as the medium and Netflix is available on all electronic gadgets currently. †¢ Netflix strength is that they are patent protected recommendation service. †¢ Competitive prices are also which made the Netflix on of the niche in rental movie services. Netflix’s weakness: †¢ The fall in the Netflix demand is due to the price strategy when the company decided to split the business which resulted in the downfall of Netflix. The other weakness is the dependency on the associates which has increased in the costs of Netflix. †¢ The disputes with major partners have resulted in limiting the streaming content. †¢ The rules of the movie content are also available with the competitors due to weak agreement. Netflix’s opportunities: †¢ Netflix is like a brand when it comes to watching movies it is the first to create. Though there are many competitors it was like a brand for watching movies online. †¢ One more opportunity is to focus on the international market as these are pioneers they can capture the world market spread. The other opportunity is as they are big players in this market segment they have the privilege of getting associated with big movie companies for a better price. †¢ Netflix can grab the opportunity using it on the mobile devices. †¢ Netflix can focus on streaming Games also. Netflix’s threats: †¢ The major threats for the Netflix are from the few competitors like hulu and blockbuster. †¢ The threat could be availability of pirated sites online and YouTube could also be a possible threat in near future as there are lots of channels spread throughout uploading movies. There is tremendous growth in technology and this company should be thinking on improving delivery methods. †¢ The threat is on incre asing shipping costs which is giving an impact on the profits of the company. Conclusion: To summarize on the SWOT analysis is work on getting back the subscribers and find the ways on overcoming the weakness and threats and utilizing the opportunities and concentrate on building a strong market so that the company can run in a profit mode and can give a tough competition to the competitors. Business Strategy The objective is achieved through the success of the company, while capturing the customer base by spreading the product with marketing their product at one month free trail offer. Due to this they have captured the new subscribers and also focused on the internet users who will be shopping DVDs or games online. The main objective for last year was to get back the customers and the CEO was successful by writing an apology mail to existing customers and apologizing over media about the decision he made about splitting the business. The CEO’s letter includes â€Å"I want to acknowledge and thank our many members that stuck with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly. Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions†. The apology reached most of the customers and many are back to the Netflix as it is one of the most compatible sources we have today. Implementation Plan Implementation plan is the process where any organization should plan how they are going to achieve the suggested strategy. Netflix main focus should be on holding existing subscribers and also Netflix should attract new subscribers by marketing the new product appropriately. Marketing also plays a crucial role in implementing phase. Netflix should focus more on building a successful organization and the policies of the company should be formed in such a way that the strategies are supporting them. The company should also set best practices so that the various problems like customer complaints or technical issues can be addressed more effectively and immediately. Below is the Gantt chart view of the parameters and time frame. Also we can notice the time line displaying the tasks and the time frame. [pic] [pic] In my opinion if we follow these steps before implementing any product, it can yield best results. These are considered as the best practices for any implementation plan as implementation is the key for success for any product before it’s launched. Monitoring Adjustment- A Dynamic Process The monitoring plan would be to gain the control of the company so that the shareholders will invest in the company by winning the confidence of both subscribers and stakeholders where in the Netflix will not opt for any merger or opt for any business combination and the monitoring plan for the streaming company would be to target about 30 million customers across the world and be the world’s leading internet subscribing company where in providing movies for an affordable price and adapt to the technology where in the services can be streamed through various mediums like computers, televisions phones etc. Monitoring Elements | |Price Control | |Quality Assurance | |Customer Service and satisfaction | |Profitability | |Financial Elements | | | The monitoring plan for Netflix, according to my opinion should be that the company should concentrate more on main Netflix Company as it’s a parent company and then study the market trends for the streaming company by reaching the subscribers and getting them adapted to the new streaming company. However, for the second company to get adjusted with the market is a long term process. Netflix would have promoted the streaming DVDs with the original company over time and then it should have merged the process with renaming instead of doing it at the initial stage. Below attached is the survey and the result is that subscribers dilemma regarding the product itself and why Qwikster did not reach customers as they are unaware what it does really. [pic] It would have be great success if the name would have rhymed with Netflix so that the subscribers would have thought these two companies are related and as Netflix is most popular for movies and among customers. Here the monitoring of the entire implementation plan are done by taking surveys and one on one feedback from supervisors, managers and vertical management heads and based on those reviews and suggestions change can be done and also time frame is limited or expanded. Overall with all these steps implemented and thereby Netflix when follows the suggested strategy then can overcome the current situation and also hold the existing customers while acquiring new customers. This will make Netflix, Inc. successfully launch its new product and remain world’s largest and leading online DVD rental company. References Websites: †¢ Netflix, Inc. www. netflix. com †¢ http://ir. netflix. com/downloads †¢ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Netflix †¢ http://www. bizjournals. com/sanjose/news/2011/09/19/complete-text-of-netflix-ceos-apology. html? page=all †¢ www. google. com †¢ http://www. cbsnews. com/8301-505124_162-43452943/turns-out-netflix-blew-the-qwikster-name-pick—-out-of-fear/ †¢ www. yahoo. com Thompson, A. A. , Peteraf, M. A. , Gamble, J. E. Strickland III, A. J. Crafting and Executing Strategy: Concepts and Readings (18th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. How to cite Stragegic Plan, Papers

Acid Rain Essay In Bengali Example For Students

Acid Rain Essay In Bengali Acid Rain The damaging effects of acid rain on society is becoming overwhelmed with great amounts of pollution from cars, factories and an large amounts of garbage. The immense amounts of sulphur dioxide put into the air causes high levels of acid in the atmosphere. When this sulphuric acid is absorbed into moisture in the air, then rain can be harmful to the environment. Acid rain is destroying lots of things in our environment. It is hurting lakes, air and thew rest of our ecosystem. Acid rain is killing lakes and decreasing the number of animals in these lakes. Acid rain greatly lowers the amounts of pH in the water. Each decade the pH levels of lakes around Ontario have become ten times more acidic. The high acid levels contained in lakes also causes a decrease in the number of fish living in these lakes. Also the high amounts of acid in the water can lead to fish being deformed. They have messed up and out of shape backbones, flattened heads and strangely curved tails. When ther e gets to be a lot of acid in the water, then there is barely anything left besides rock bass, pumpkinseed and lake herring. As with sulphur dioxide in rain, mercury is also discharged into the water. There is a direct connection between the mercury rich lakes as there is with those with high acidic levels. This metal becomes concentrated in the blood and tissues of fish. Acid rain causes traumatic effects in natural lakes and rivers. Acid rain causes air quality to deteriorate. As in water, acid rain causes the pH levels in the air to decrease. The sulphur dioxide, which diffuses into the air, mixes with moisture causing the pH levels to drop from the normal level. Again, the normal level is somewhere around seven, yet in some acidic air masses the levels can be as low as three. These lowered pH levels form a photochemical smog in the atmosphere. In the air Anitrogen oxides react with ozone and some hydrocarbons in the presence of sunlight to form photochemical smog, the kind of ye llow-grey haze which it literally alive and growing in stagnant air emailprotected (Howard Perley, 1980, p. 44). This smog carries serious risk for respiratory disease and crop damage. The photochemical smog is also causing the ozone layer to disintegrate. The ozone layer is becoming a part of this smog, which is causing holes in it. An inordinate amount of sulphur dioxide is let into the air, more than can be neutralized by nutrients in the air. Decrease in pH levels, photochemical smog and depletion of the ozone layer are some effects of acid rain in the air. The ecosystem is slowly eroding due to the increased amounts of acid in the soil. Acid in the soil in causing the carbon dioxide respiration process to decelerate. In order for plants to go through photosynthesis, they need carbon dioxide. When acid in the soil causing this soil respiration to slow down, in turn it causes the photosynthesis process to slow down. The soil also erodes when the pH levels drop. The acidic levels of the soil cause nutrients in the soils such as aluminum to break apart and the soil to erode. Soil erosion also causes a lower production of plants in the ecosystem. In the soil a process of decay Acalled oligotrophication, means that fewer of the ions of acid are neutralized by the depleted biological community so the acid can cause further degeneration of natural processes, which in turn are less capable of combating the acid, and so on, in an accelerating emailprotected (Howard Perley, 1980, p. 32). Disruption in the life span of trees and plants is also another effect of acid rain. The acid rain corrodes the thin, waxy layer, which coats and protects the leaves letting the acid suffocate the leaves. This can cause an interference in the plants metabolism and photosynthesis may be altered meaning the leaves cannot produce and efficient amount of food which may result in death of the plant. Acid may obtrude fertilization , stunt or kill the growth of seeds and make them steril e. A second generation would be .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 , .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .postImageUrl , .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 , .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9:hover , .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9:visited , .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9:active { border:0!important; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9:active , .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9 .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf1919a8e918aafdd763d28c0ca0e8ce9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Statistics Essay

Hitler and the Failed Beer putches Essay Example

Hitler and the Failed Beer putches Essay With the failure of the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler quickly realized, that in order to obtain complete political power, he needed to work peacefully within the Weimar Republic. The Sturmabteilung was a critical part of his path towards power, but once Hitler became dictator with German support, the S.A. was no longer served any purpose in the new fascist government.The success of the revolution, domestic control, and the one political party policy in Hitlers Fascist dictatorship, were all factors that lead to the elimination of the Sturmabteilung. The soldiers of the S.A. were a major factor in the success of the National Socialist Revolution. Despite Hitlers assurance that the S.A. would not compete with the Reichswehr Army of the Weimar Republic in Document A1, the rapid rise in Brownshirts and the enormous size of the S.A. Army compared to the Reichswehr Army, displayed in Document A2, signified the strength of the National Socialist Revolution. In Document A4 Hitler assured that th e single task of the S.A. was to assure the victory of the National Socialist Revolution within Germany. However, Hitlers gratitude towards Roehm is a result of Roehms ability to increase Hitlers power. Once Hitler became Chancellor, the importance of the S.A. diminished. In Document B4, General von Blomberg assured that the Reichswehr Army would back the new national socialists state. With the support of the Reichswehr Army, it was no longer necessary to have a separated S.A. Army. As Chancellor, Hitler slowly integrated the two armies by stressing the importance of loyalty by placing the swastika on the uniforms of the Reichwehr Army, and allowing the minister of war to call upon the S.A., as shown in Documents B1 and B2. Hitler, realizing he was close to obtaining absolute power, began to consolidate various opposing parties, such as Bolshevik Communists and Liberal Capitalists. Although the S.A. was in no way an opposition to Hitler, it was

The Accounting Scandal at WorldCom Essays

The Accounting Scandal at WorldCom Essays The Accounting Scandal at WorldCom Paper The Accounting Scandal at WorldCom Paper WorldCom is a telecommunication company that evolves from a merger between Long Distance Discount Services, Inc (LDDS) and Advantage Companies in August 1989. Eight years later in 1997, WorldCom announced another multi-billion merger with MCI Communications that was worth US$37 billion. The mega merger became the largest merger in terms of value in the 20th century. Unfortunately, after the acquisition of MCI, telecommunication industry experienced a downturn that forced telecommunication companies to restructure their finance. The situation also occurred at WorldCom in which in 2000, the company’s stock was plummeting and Ebbers as the corporate CEO had responsibility to cover this WorldCom stock margin calls that used to finance other’s Ebbers business. To overcome this problem, Ebbers forced WorldCom’s Board of Directors to give corporate loans that accounted for $400 millions to cover the margin calls that emerge, but this effort has failed. To hide this failed financial condition, Buford Yates as Director of General Accounting under direction of Scott Sullivan as CFO used insincere accounting method by create bogus financial records and profitability to increase the value of WorldCom’s stock. This evil action commenced in 1999 and run until May 2002. Scandal at WorldCom 2. 1. Facts According to several articles discussing the WorldCom scandal, we find that this fraudulent happened due to support from the corporate managements. There are many underlying facts behind the scandals as following (‘How Did’, 2002): WorldCom executives committed accounting fraud that pushed the company to be the largest bankruptcy in the US. The insincerity was hidden from stakeholders and public but disclosed in 2002 Several employments show evidences like hiding bad debt and understating costs that proven the insincerity discovered as early as 2001; however, WorldCom’s Board of Directors did not pay attention to this claim. In June 2001, there were stakeholders that do prosecution against WorldCom but it was elapsing due to lack of evidences. II. 2. Ethical Guidelines WorldCom scandal represents the biggest mistake in American business. WorldCom was proven to violate many ethical guidelines by committing insincerity in providing financial figures to stakeholders and public; some of the violation are as following: Customer commitment Ought to be a big company, WorldCom must hold the trust given by customers by delivering good services. However, customers’ trusts were violated for personal business. Stakeholders’ commitment Public commitment As a public company, WorldCom have responsibility to public to provide true corporate figures. After WorldCom Bankruptcy, stakeholders and investors had low confidence towards financial statement of corporations that caused the slow growth of stock markets. II. 3. Who Was Affected? The bankruptcy of WorldCom presents a domino effect in all of sector, especially at stocks market and telecommunication services. When WorldCom announced their bankruptcy, share price of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, Alcatel and other telecommunication companies experienced a significant downturn. For example, share price of Nokia experienced five-percent decline, Sony Ericsson descended nine percent, and Vodafone descended 17 percent. Meanwhile, Alcatel experienced heaviest blow by descending 17 percent momentary gratuities after announcing of expense amputation meaning employees reduction . II. 4. Avoidance and Preventions in Future Most of accounting scandals involve insiders (85% of scandals). Another 55% of accounting scandals also involve high-level managements and company’s executives. All insincerity will generate bad impact for company and company stakeholders. Therefore, it requires some prevention action so that a coming fraudulent can be avoided. There are some ways to avoid the fraud in a company: (Waymark, 2006) Observe the financial accounting One of important matters is to give more attention to company financial reports. A research finds that companies focus more on asset misappropriations and computer crimes (63%) while deception of financial accounting only 21%. Observing the executives Second way is to observe all company’s executive in the moment of company merger, after promotion, and new market extension. This is because all executives have work and serve company in a long time. However, if we consider facts and results of fraud, we find that executives conduct a lot of fraud in a company. Reference: ‘How Did WorldCom Go Bankrupt? ’ 2002. Retrieved June 19, 2007 from www. securitiesfraudfyi. com/ ‘Is the backbone broken? ’ 2002. Retrieved June 19, 2007 from http://money. cnn. com/ Midleton, James. 2002. ‘WorldCom domino effect begins’ Retrieved June 19, 2007 from vnunet. com/vnunet/news/2119227/worldcom-domino-effect-begins Waymark, Stuart. 2006. ‘Preventing Corporate Fraud: Know and avoid the myths’. Retrieved June 19, 2007 from http://int. sitestat. com/ernst-and-young/south-africa/s? South_Africa_Home. Media. 2006_Press_Releases. 14_Aug_06_Preventing_Corporate_Fraud

American History 1584-1783 #3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American History 1584-1783 #3 - Essay Example They shared their goods like clothes, food and other equipments with them. The natives, in return showered them with expensive gifts like gold etc. Later the Spanish, in their quest for wealth and precious metals like gold and silver, tried to isolate the Native Americans from the other European invaders’ influence. In the early 17th century (1607) the British came to North America to have a strong foothold in the region. Jamestown in Virginia became the first place for British settlement followed by colonies in Massachusetts and eastern seaboard in the later part of the century. The initial friendly relationship with the native Indians turned hostile when the settlers started exploiting natives with respect to labor and sea faring activities. Diseases like tuberculosis, diphtheria were brought by the settlers who passed them on to the natives. The natives then refused to work for them. The settlers then brought Africans to work as bonded labors in the plantations and elsewhere, whom, they were freed after several years. Turn of the century saw the raced based slavery becoming a full fledged tradition with Africans and non whites becoming slaves for life. Control over the blacks became the main concern of the white because of the rebellion from the natives. The British Crown delegated the power to the companies who administered in their behalf with rules and regulations. The natives, on the other hand, did not believe in subjugation and rebelled against any revenue imposed by the settlers. French came to America in search of trading avenues and in 1599 the first serious fur trading was established as Tadaussac that grew into the city of Quebec. They had no desire for colonization. They did their trading with the Native Americans as equal. Though French claimed large area in Canada and north America by coming first to Quebec and later expanding from Louisiana in the south to great lakes in the North which included Montreal, Detroit, New Orleans and

Stock Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Stock Analysis - Research Paper Example Furthermore, advanced approaches include open transaction values or volume in the analysis (Timo, 2009). This approach supports that a commodity’s present price exhibits all related information regarding the commodity comprehensively. Thus, the price stands for the good’s fair worth, and, as a result, is capable of acting as the foundation for analysis and study. This approach exploits all information contained in the price to exhibit market forecasts of its subsequent fluctuation. The Fundamental Evaluation approach This approach refers to a tactic of analyzing securities and commodities with the purpose of trying to determine their intrinsic worth. In doing this, it heavily depends on the thorough scrutiny of inter-related fiscal, economic, and other various quantitative and qualitative aspects (Timo, 2009). This approach supports comprehensive analysis of all features that possess the potential to influence the final commodity’s worth. These aspects include ma croeconomic effects that include the overall fiscal situation of the market, and company-based aspects that include management systems and the company’s present fiscal standing. The main purpose of embarking on this kind of analysis is to offer a certain value to investors, which they can then rely on when comparing the commodity with market climates, and thus determine the move to make. Numerous investors utilize this method, either alone or in combination with other evaluation equipment when analyzing stocks. In this approach, the chief factor is the final earnings from investments. This directly refers to the net profits that a company is raking in, both currently and in the future. When a venture’s profits decrease, the market worth of its stocks tends... This research paper seeks to analyze the stock price fluctuations of a given venture in the previous sixty months in order to find out its actual stock trend from accumulated data. In addition, it concludes the venture’s market breadth for the last year, its 200-day moving average for its stock, index, and all trends of its stock. This is in pursuit of determining its relative strength for the last sixty months, and thus advise on the right move to make regarding the selling or the buying of its stock. The technical evaluation approach comprises of the prospecting of the future fiscal price fluctuations of a business. This approach bases on a comprehensive study of its previous price motions. The Fundamental Evaluation approach refers to a tactic of analyzing securities and commodities with the purpose of trying to determine their intrinsic worth. In doing this, it heavily depends on the thorough scrutiny of inter-related fiscal, economic, and other various aspects. Market Bre adth describes a technical analysis skill that helps in predicting the future course of the general market. It is summed up, that the company’s relative strength is obviously high and very healthy. In addition, its market breadth has managed an upward improvement for the previous sixty months. Technical evaluation exhibits that the company is healthy and market-relevant. To investors, it would be a good idea to buy more stakes in the company as research has concluded that its stocks will continue to gain overall worth.

People Resourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

People Resourcing - Essay Example Planning and better management of human resources is an issue that cannot be ignored in a country’s development strategies. Human resource planning is the critical evaluation as well as identification of labor requirements for planed projects to meet the social and economic targets in the society. The most efficient approach to good human resource planning starts with attaining information on a particular human resource function, the selection or recruitment of workers, training, motivations, work place diversity, and compensations when need rise. Human resource planning is indicated by sufficient man power, comprising of all categories of workers and diverse skill and talents. The workers should be available in specific locations and perform their duties when required. This discourse is about the importance of attaining labor market prevailing conditions before human resource planning. There is need to observe the labor market trends to correct the in balance between its dema nd and supply. Labor market can be categorized as either internal or external. Internal labor market refers to a pool of workers within a certain organization. It could also mean a mechanism through which employees are assigned to certain roles within the organization. The number of employees is determined by the human resource policy put in place like job security, investment levels, sophistication levels in the organization departments, and the business approach adopted. Available internal labor market information can assist the human resource planning team in greater ways (Pilbeam, 2010). Prior to annual recruitments, the company may decide to retain the existing workers and offer trainings to meet the current demands. The retained employees can be motivated further by developments, creation of better employment terms, and salary reviews. This would increase their productivity hence increase turn over to the company. This would be cheaper than hiring new employees who may require time to adjust to the company’s environment and working policies. Classical model of internal labor market is associated with sophisticated and structured pool of workers. Such employees have established experiences and complex technological skills that are ideal to the daily operations of a certain organizations’ department. Such pool of workers have limited interactions with the out side stake holders due to fears that they could be lured to join other organizations at higher salary hence they are motivated by annual incentives, job promotions, and securities so that they stick to their companies. Having full knowledge of such workers is a great deal to the human resource planning team to assist in their retention within the company. Having full knowledge of existing employees may determine who to be out sourced to external companies and generate more income to the company. A company may cut the annual expenses by reducing the existing labor. It will be wise for the human resource planning team to evaluate the existing employees before the retrenchment operations. It would be a great loss to the company to lose a vital team member due lack of internal labor market information. Internal labor market information is much easier and cheaper to be obtained than the external labor pool. External labor market represents the pool of workers available outside (externally) a certain organizations. The type of workers required by a firm is determined by

Consequences of Celebrity Obsession

Consequences of Celebrity Obsession Sewon Chu Celebrity/Media Addiction In this world we live in, there are over seven billion people with many different dreams and ambitions. Some are satisfied with living in a small village with close relationship with just about everyone living in that village. Some are content to live the fast-paced life of the metropolis, where millions of people carry on their daily lives. Then there are some people who seek fame through acting, singing, beauty or their hard work and have their faces all over the media: celebrities. Celebrity is defined as not only those who sing, dance, and act but just famous or well-known person according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary.[1] Celebrities exist in all parts of the globe because they are essential needs to human life called entertainment. Entertainment is a necessity to human life because it brings joy, happiness and different sorts of positive feelings. However, it has expanded from just pure entertainment into something more serious recently. Now, the public is starting to become he avily interested in the daily personal lives of these celebrities because of the media, which has led to many people becoming obsessed with the lives of celebrities. People are obsessed with celebrities now more than ever because the obsession has become an integral part of our daily lives that results from psychological and social reasons. According to the Daily Banter, one of the reasons why people are obsessed with celebrities is because our brains think that the leaders or creative innovators should be respected.[2] Celebrities can become inspirations to the future generations who aim to become acknowledged for their hard work one day in fields that may be very difficult to become successful in. People are able to form a bond in their minds with their favorite public figure through the assimilation of the celebrity’s characteristics and have positive emotions when they think about that celebrity.[3] Granted, some of the actions by celebrities are not the actions leaders or innovators should be doing, such as drug usage, but the public is interested in all aspects of a celebrity’s life because of the media coverage. When a celebrity couple like for an example artists Beyoncà © Knowles and Jay-Z has a child, the news of the birth was all over social networks, newspapers, T.V., and internet news. However , if someone who was just an ordinary couple were to give birth to a child, only their friends and families will know about the good news. As a result, because the celebrity couple will have media exposure of their child’s birth, they are considered â€Å"more special† than the ordinary couple even though they are doing the same thing: giving birth to a child, which leads to other ordinary people to pay attention to the news of the celebrity couple. The fact that media is exposing these news about celebrities makes ordinary people have this notion that the celebrity is special which leads to the feeling of envy and the need to make those celebrities their personal role models. Also, when the media shows the celebrities, the celebrity tends to live the luxurious life. They wear nice and fashionable clothes that are sometimes custom-made, wear exquisite jewelry, drive or hire a driver that drives their exotic cars, drink expensive alcohol. This result in people wanting c elebrities as their role models because with their talent and fortune they were able to make these purchases. Having a celebrity for a role model can be positive because role models help people aspire to become better and grow as a human being. Celebrity admiration can have an influence on other people. For an example, when celebrities donate money to charity and be philanthropic to others or win awards for their hard work, it aspire people to become the same better person. One good example was how many well-known people such as Bill Gates, Whoopi Goldberg, Matt Damon, Will Smith, Kevin Hart, Anne Hathaway and Benedict Cumberbatch took part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which served as a cause to raise awareness of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Consequently, this led to many people to participate as well. But certainly celebrity influence can’t only be positive. While the ALS Bucket Challenge may have succeeded in raising awareness to people and it was for a good cause, many people did it without knowing what ALS even is, also they forget the fact that there are parts of the world th at has little to no access to fresh/clean water. So while the ALS Bucket Challenge has raised awareness for a disease, in a sense, it has left people less aware of the water shortage issue in other countries. Also, this shows just how much celebrities can influence ordinary people in a negative way. They forget that they’re wasting water because famous people were doing it which means that in some cases people will be blinded and wouldn’t be able to differentiate whether what their role model celebrity is doing is the right thing or not. For an example, celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus both have a massive fan base. When they were younger than they were now, they had an innocent image as well as their talent that attracted so many fans. However, now that some years have passed since they debuted, it seems as though their image has become rather negative. There are YouTube videos that show Justin Bieber trying to fight a reporter and also he was charged with DUI (driving under the influence) in Florida, and Miley Cyrus has made some controversial music videos and statements. The reason why this is a major problem is that media exposure to these negative characteristics mixed with obsession about these celebrities will make people think that what they are doing is reasonable and in turn, result in people imitating those celebrities. Celebrities have so much influence now that even the governor of California from 2003 to 2011 was none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger[4], who is an immigrant from Austria. Before Schwarzenegger, Ronald Reagan was also a celebrity turned governor, and he went further as to become a U.S. president. The point is not if these two men were the right choice but the point is that it seems as though celebrity influence has a greater power than people realize. Psychologist James Houran has conducted a survey of more than 600 people and has discovered a psychiatric condition: celebrity worship syndrome.[5] According to the survey, one out of three Americans and British has it to a certain degree that the groups were divided into three different categories: entertainment social, casual stargazing; intense personal, feeling a connection with a celebrity; borderline pathological, similar to a stalker. He believes that the numbers will intensify with the advancement of technology such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media which allows easier access to information worldwide. People will â€Å"share†, â€Å"like†, â€Å"tag†, â€Å"retweet† videos or articles about celebrities and whoever is their social network friend or follower will have access to that celebrity news. Technology has indeed become an important factor as to why people are becoming more and more obsessed with celebrities. Today, the ac cess to media is easier than ever before; there are magazines solely dedicated to stories about the latest celebrity gossip, known as tabloids. Other than that, there are various social network sources as mentioned before such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media that can provide the latest update on celebrity news. Also, TV news channels cover celebrity gossip when there are other important news stories to be discussed. It has become a trend nowadays to know the basic knowledge of celebrity gossip as Daniel Kruger, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Michigan points out, â€Å"Knowing what is going on with high-status individuals, you’d be better able to navigate the social scene.†[6] If a person does not know the latest news of a certain celebrity, that person can possibly be socially excluded from a conversation or a group because they lack the information. They do not want to feel like an outcast from their group of people so even if they do not care about celebrity gossip, some are forced to know all of the juicy gossip. Socially, people want to be fit in and have a sense of belonging in a community. As a result, people will spend more time watching the latest celebrity gossip instead of learning something new or better their lives in some way because they might believe that knowing the latest gossip is in fact bettering them because of the social benefits of fitting in. Today’s social standards of beauty has also become a poisonous because every year it seems as though those standards are becoming higher as more and more beautiful and handsome models become the faces of the entertainment industry. This leads to many young people to resort to plastic surgery because they believe that their natural face is unfit for the standard of society as Anisha Abraham and Diana Zuckerman points out in their article, Adolescents, Celebrity Worship, and Cosmetic Surgery: â€Å"Cosmetic procedures have become pervasive, advertised in the mass media, and the subject of countless TV programs, such as Dr. 90210 (created in the United States but internationally known). The American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery estimates that the number of children less than 18 years of age undergoing cosmetic surgery procedures by their members has ranged from 33,000 to 65,000 annually in the past 10 years, with nonsurgical cosmetic procedures ranging from 91,000 to 190,000 per year[7]† As bad as celebrity obsession might sound, it can actually be helpful for people with social difficulties. Celebrities now can interact with their fans via social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and have a one-sided relationship with them. While it does sound like an unhealthy relationship, studies show that it is quite the opposite. There was a study conducted in 2008 by University of Buffalo researchers who discovered that â€Å"celebrity worship† helps people with self-esteem issues or fears or rejections by allowing them to have one-sided bond with a celebrity. Another study involved 348 undergraduate students completing a self-esteem questionnaire, writing an open-ended essay about their favorite celebrity, and then completing the questionnaire again. The results showed that people who initially scored low on the self-esteem, after completing the essay scored much higher the second time.[8] This shows that one-sided relationships with these celebrities fi ll the void of loneliness to those who have low self-esteem, and to those who do not have many real friends. These one-sided relationships can possibly help them become more social to other people as well. Celebrity obsession should not be dismissed completely because the celebrities can become positive role models for the growth of people and the obsession can also assist people with social difficulties. However, it is evident that people are becoming more and more obsessed with media now than ever before and it is becoming a major problem. With the advancement of media technology, the accessibility of celebrity news is easier than ever before. Psychologically, our brains are programmed to instinctively respect or idolize someone who seems to be of a higher class and since celebrities attract attention we unconsciously believe they are of a higher class, which leads to celebrities having a major influence in people as well as people following the way celebrities act in their personal life. The fact that nowadays celebrity gossip is a necessity to be fit in is also another negative aspect of celebrity obsession, which leads to using cosmetic surgeries as an option. Bibliography Abraham, Anisha and Diana Zuckerman, â€Å"Adolescents, Celebrity Worship, and Cosmetic Surgery† Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2011,  www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X11003028 Furst, Jessica. â€Å"Why Are We Obsessed With Celebrities? Our DNA Provides a Clue.† Daily Banter, June 27th 2013,  http://thedailybanter.com/2013/06/why-are-we-obsessed-with-celebrities-our-dna-provides-a-clue/ Gray, Keturah. â€Å"Celebrity Worship Syndrome Abounds.† ABC News, September 23rd, http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101029 Park, Alice. â€Å"Celebrity Worship: Good for Your Health?† TIME Health Family, September 15th 2008, http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1841093,00.html Sifferlin, Alexandra. â€Å"Oscar Fixation: Why Are We Obsessed With Celebrities?† TIME Health Family, February 27th 2012, http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/27/oscar-fixation-why-are-we-obsessed-with-celebrities/ Wikipedia Contributors, â€Å"List of Governors of California.† Wikipedia, November 6th 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_California [1] Merriam-webster.com. Celebrity Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. N. p., 2014 [2] Jessica Furst, â€Å"Why Are We Obsessed With Celebrities? Our DNA Provides a Clue,† Daily Banter, June 27th 2013 [3] Alexandra Sifferlin, â€Å"Oscar Fixation: Why Are We Obsessed With Celebrities?,† TIME Health Family, February 27th 2012 [4] Wikipedia Contributors, â€Å"List of Governors of California.† Wikipedia, November 6th 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_California [5] Keturah Gray, â€Å"Celebrity Worship Syndrome Abounds†, ABC News, September 23rd, http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101029 [6] Alexandra Sifferlin, â€Å"Oscar Fixation: Why Are We Obsessed With Celebrities?† TIME Health Family, February 27th 2012, http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/27/oscar-fixation-why-are-we-obsessed-with-celebrities/ [7] Anisha Abraham and Diana Zuckerman, â€Å"Adolescents, Celebrity Worship, and Cosmetic Surgery† Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2011, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X11003028 [8] Alice Park, â€Å"Celebrity Worship: Good for Your Health?† TIME Health Family, September 15th 2008, http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1841093,00.html

On Euthyphro: Notes by Sidney Fein :: Euthyphro

On Euthyphro: Notes by Sidney Fein They say that, in his youth, Rabbi Israel studied eight hundred books of the Kabbalah. But the first time he saw the maggid of Mezritch face to face, he instantly knew that he knew nothing at all. I have on my desk one of my daughter's college textbooks, the Mentor edition of Great Dialogues of Plato as translated by W. H. D. Rouse. It cost $4.95. It is a good book with helpful footnotes and a minimum of scholarly obstruction. The editor has included half a dozen dialogues: Ion, Meno, Symposium, Republic, Apology, Crito, and Phaedo. With a little bit of searching I've dug out my old high school text of Plato, a $.35 Pocket Library edition of the Jowett translation, its edges yellow as the molars of a lifelong Latakia smoker, its brittle pages as loose as if he never brushed. It includes Symposium, ample selections from Republic, and of course the indispensable threeact tragedy of Socrates' trial and death. Plato, however, left us a fouract play, or at least three acts with a very curious prelude. The dialogue that both textbooks leave out is the short, hilarious, perplexing Euthyphro. In the edition I have in front of me this work is described as "a conversation on the nature of piety," myopically in my opinion. Euthyphro is seldom included in introductory texts and so only rarely taught to undergraduates. When it is included in the curriculum Euthyphro is usually assigned in upperlevel courses where it is not discussed in connection with Socrates' trial. It's easy to see why Euthyphro gets dumped. Who wants to read a conversation on the definition of piety, especially one that fails to tell you what the definition of piety is? For that matter, who would want to teach such a thing? While Euthyphro has the pedagogical virtue of brevity (under 20 pages complete) it appears to be little more than a circular argument that ends in bafflement. Worse, though Socrates and his young interlocutor are both facing capital cases and speak on the very porch of the King Archon, and though their topic is an undeniably lofty one, the tone of the dialogue is barely serious. Here Socrates' irony is transparently sarcastic and even the most sympathetic reader is bound to feel that he ought to pick on somebody his own size. There is no obvious connection between tying Euthyphro up in dialectic knots and the solemn proceedings to follow.