E Commerce Advantages and Disadvantages

E Commerce Advantages and Disadvantages Electronic commerce comprises of the selling and buying of the items, products and services through internet or intranet medium. Internet is most helpful and reliable medium to generate revenue and to attract potential customers. E-Commerce is a greatest invention in the field of trade as it has made the trade easy and customer friendly. E-Commerce is mostly depends upon virtual items to access websites. A huge proportion of E-commerce is carry out totally automatically for virtual items such as admission to finest satisfied on a website, but the majority electronic commerce involves the carrying of substantial items in some means. Almost all large retailers have E-commerce occurrence on the website. Electronic business that is carried out among selling is referred to as business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be unlocked to all concerned parties (e.g. commodity exchange) or incomplete to exact, pre-determined contributors. Electronic trade that is conducted among trade and customers, on the other hand, is referred to as business-to-consumer or B2C. This kind of E-Commerce is carried out through internet and other electronic medium. Online shopping is a shape of electronic trade where the purchaser is straight online to the sellers computer usually via the internet. E-Commerce is providing the business and the owners more benefits because it is the easiest and cheaper way to promote and boost up the products. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE: ADVANTAGES OF E- COMMERCE: E-Commerce is the easiest and the quickest way to boost up the business. E-commerce is gratifying the just alternative and electronic mail is a computer application which transmits the messages to the email boxes of other people using data communication which is called as email. There are a lot of internet sites which provide free email services related to the E-Commerce and business to the internet users and the customers. Computer softwares are used to promote the Electronic business. The computer softwares refer to the collective set of instructions called programs that can be interpreted by the business computers and cannot be touched by the humanà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s The program causes the computer to perform desired functions such as flight simulation, the generation of business graphics or word processing. Following re the basic types of business software: System Software Application Software Utility Programs Whereas an operating system is an integrated set of programs that is used to manage the various resources and overall operations of a business. T s designed to support the activities of a computer installation. Its primary objective is to improve the performance and efficiency of a computer system and increase facility and ease with a system can be used. It also makes computer system user friendly. Business operating systems are used by many of business computers at this era. Operating systems include the disk operating system, windows, macintosh system from apple computer and Warp of IBM, and UNIX and Linux are using in the Electronic Business now a days. Business computer can only understand the machine or hardware language. It is necessary to convert the instructions of a program written in high level language to machine instructions before the program can be executed by the computer. A complier carries out this business job. Thus a complier is a translating program that translate s the instructions of a high level language into machine language. A complier is called as business complier because the complier a set of business activities for every program instruction of a high level instruction. Complier can translate only those sources program which have been written in the language for which the computer is meant. For example, FORTAN complier is only capable of translating source programs which have been written in FORTAN, and therefore each requires a separate complier for each high level language. While interpreter is another type of business high level languages into machine codes. It takes one statement of a high level language and translates it into a machine instruction which is a useful technique for the business. DISADVANTAGES: E-Business is only dependent to the internet based advertisement and business which is a big drawback for the specific company in those cities where the people are not too much educated and then those people cannot access the internet and computer media. This factor can be a big loss for the company and its business. Some of the internet sites are charging too much from the customers and therefore customers and clients feel hesitation to go and view for those sites and this creates a major hindrance to enhance and boost up the business and the trade of the company. E-Business s not too much useful for the illiterate people and thus those people remain unaware by the policies and strategies of the big and well named companies. No doubt, E-Business has many advantages for the company and the trade for the company but we cannot neglect the disadvantages of the E-Business. MEANING OF SOME E-BUSINESS TERMS AUTHENTICATION: Authentication is a phenomenon to declare the surety and validity of the things to be occurred. Authentication is occurred due to the logon of the password. While that Knowledge of the code word or password describes the validity and authentication of the user. Every user has its own and unique password. It is essential that the user must know the previous password to create the new password. The flaw in this system for transactions that are important (such as the swap of cash) is so as to passwords can often be stolen, by chance exposed, or elapsed. ACCESS CONTROL: It I the scheme or system through which one can control and access the specific and desired task. Admittance systematize system, inside the pasture of the code word, is more often than not seen as the subsequently coat in the sanctuary of a bodily arrangement. Access control is a real and daily process and phenomenon. A bolt on a car access is really a form of access control. A PIN on an ATM scheme at a bank is another means of access control. Bouncers standing in front of a night club is perhaps a more primitive mode of access control (given the evident lack of information technology involved). The control of access manage is of major significance when persons seek to secure significant, confidential, or responsive in sequence and gear. Item manage or electronic key management is an area inside (and possibly integrated with) an access manage system which concerns the managing of control and position of small assets or bodily (mechanical) keys. (Sometimes known as Conditional Access System) A safety system assuring that only those who have paid for the services will get those services. The scheme is often made up of 3 parts: (1) signal scrambling, (2) encryption of electronic keys which the viewer will need, and (3) the Subscriber Management System. DATA INTEGRITY: Integrity, in terms of data and network security, is the assurance that information can only be accessed or modified by those authorized to do so. Measures taken to ensure integrity include controlling the physical environment of networked terminals and servers, restricting access to data, and maintaining rigorous authentication practices. Data integrity can also be threatened by environmental hazards, such as heat, dust, and electrical surges. Practices followed to protect data integrity in the physical environment include: making servers accessible only to network administrators, keeping transmission media (such as cables and connectors) covered and protected to ensure that they cannot be tapped, and protecting hardware and storage media from power surges, electrostatic discharges, and magnetism. Network administration measures to ensure data integrity include: maintaining current authorization levels for all users, documenting system administration procedures, parameters, and main tenance activities, and creating disaster recovery plans for occurrences such as power outages, server failure, and virus attacks.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions at Mammoth Mountain, California :: Nature Volcano Essays

Carbon Dioxide Emissions at Mammoth Mountain, California According to Dr. David P. Hill and Dr. Roy R. Bailey of the United States Geological Survey, the most common geological question in Mammoth, California is Where is the volcano? Although Mammoth Mountain does not resemble the classically recognized cone-shaped volcano, the mountain experienced significant volcanic and seismic activity in the past two decades, which have brought the mountain the recognition as a potentially hazardous volcano. A massive volcanic explosion 760,000 years ago created the Long Valley Caldera in California. A build up of magma beneath the earth's surface caused an uplift of the crust which led to the explosion. Afterwards, the crust sank over a mile, into a depression measuring 10 miles wide and 20 miles long. A magma chamber still exists beneath the caldera. The fumaroles and hot springs confirm the presence of a magma body. The underground magma heats groundwater which rises to the surface and releases in hot springs or steam vents (Hill et al. 2000). Recent uplifting caused the Resurgent Dome in the middle of the caldera to rise 2.5 feet over the past two decades. This volcanic unrest, on a previous stable volcanic system, prompted the USGS to put in place an Emergency Response plan and to closely monitor the region for further signs of unrest (Hill et al. 2000). The Mono-Inyo Crater volcanic chain lines the southwest side of the Long Valley Caldera. Mammoth Mountain, a volcano within the Mono-Inyo chain, formed 50,000 years ago from multiple dacite eruptions (Sorey et al. 1999) Dacite magma is an intermediate between rhyolite and andesite (Kearey 2001). Over the last 5,000 years, eruptions in the Mono-Inyo volcanic chain occurred periodically every 250-700 years. The active volcanic chain is being closely monitored for signs of future eruptions which include earthquakes, uplift of magma and gas emissions (Hill et al. 1998). Starting in the 1980's numerous earthquake swarms took place throughout the Long Valley Caldera concentrated in the southern section of the caldera. In May of 1989, seismic activity started in Mammoth Mountain, a volcano on the southwest edge of the Long Valley Caldera, with a period of earthquake swarms. Scientists collected data indicating that a dike was rising beneath the mountain and intruded 2 km below the surface of Mammoth Mountain (Sorey et al.

Methamphetamine as a Sleepless Dream or Addictive Nightmare Essay

Methamphetamine as a Sleepless Dream or Addictive Nightmare Methamphetamine has reclaimed a place in the lexicon of "party" drugs. Hailed by nocturnal adventurers, condemned by raver idealists, is speed a sleepless dream or an addictive nightmare? Here at the end of the millennium, the pace of modern life seems fleeting -- a whirl of minutes, hours and days. In dealing with the changes, humans have equipped themselves with the tools to move faster, more efficiently. At the same time a dependence for the marketing, high-speed transportation and pharmacology of this modern age has evolved. In a race to outdo ourselves, we have moved dangerously toward the fine line between extinction and evolution. Therefore, the human capacity to handle the velocity becomes a fragile balance. Our generation (see Gen X, 20-somethings) could be considered the sleepless generation. An age of society's children weaned on the ideals of high-speed communication and accelerated culture has prided itself in mastering many of the facets of human existence -- doing more, sleeping less. The machines of this age have in a way enabled us to create a 24-hour lifestyle. We have pushed the limits of the modern world further -- ATMs, high-speed modems, smart bombs and bullet trains. However, the limitations of human existence, like sleep, may still provide the stumbling block for infinite realization. That is, without chemical aid. In many ways, capitalism fuels the idea. Our society is based upon the mass consumption of these substances. Cultural ideals, while seemingly benevolent as "Have a Coke and a smile" have sold the link to chemical substances like caffeine and nicotine to "the good life." Today, stimulants are the bedrock for consumer culture. For our generation, this appeal was heightened by raising the stakes in the '80s on what it meant to have fun. Late night clubs, high speed music and 24-hour lifestyles brought the specter of drugs to the fold as a necessity for being able to attain more. Leaps away from the psychedelics of the '60s, in the '80s these stimulant drugs became tools -- utilitarian devices to gain wealth, intelligence and prestige. Sleep became a barrier for success. Dreams were the frivolous luxuries of childhood. Raves, founded equally in the post-conservative underground late-'80s and the chaotic early-'90s, are pa... ..., however, by methamphetamine's nature -- as a refined, concentrated addictive substance -- it only perpetuates the cycle for needing more. There is very little factual information about amphetamines and their dangers available to the lay person. Research on the subject, aside from medical journals, is virtually nill. There is however a great deal of dangerous propaganda -- hear-say, lies, rumors. Misinformation sometimes is more dangerous than no information and real answers are only found through communication. Many other drugs have been part of the rave community over the years -- nitrous oxide, Special K (ketamine) and especially ecstasy (MDMA) but none have exhibited the burn-out or addiction rate associated with methamphetamine. While meth (or any drug) is an inert substance that we cannot attribute blame to, by its nature it has raised the question "Are we really built for speed?" It seems that the human body, while naturally resilient to much self-inflicted abuse, may not be a reliable container for the soul at high speeds. Methamphetamine may have the ability to chemically fuel the ride, physically it may just prove the limitations for human society.

America’s Love for Marijuana Essay

In this paper I will be analyzing the various aspects of American culture in terms of drug use and abuse particularly marijuana, such as legislation, the media’s relationship to drug use, drug use and advertising. I have chosen to discuss the time period spanning from 1950-2000. According to the research, marijuana is the most used drug in the U.S. besides tobacco. Marijuana gives people the feeling they like and want but when it is used too much they have to use more of it to get the high in which they desire. It affects your brain by making the THC disrupt the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed. This makes it harder for the user to recall events and makes it harder to learn. Marijuana is addictive to some people. About 100,000 people seek treatment for marijuana use each year. Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint or a nail) or in a pipe or a bong. Teens are the reason that drugs are a problem in the U.S. about one in six 10th graders report that they are current marijuana users. Fewer than one in five high school seniors are current users. Some people who use this drug feel nothing but some feel relaxed and high. After smoking it users may get a sudden quenching for a drink and get very hungry. This is called the munchies. Short Term effects of marijuana include memory problems and learning problems, distorted perception, trouble when thinking and problem solving, loss of coordination, increased heart rate, anxiety, and panic attacks. THC can damage cell tissues in you immune system causing users to be more open to diseases. To be able to tell if someone is high they may be dizzy and have trouble walking, be silly and giggly for no reason, bloodshot eyes and have a hard time remembering things. These effects usually end in a few hours and the user gets very sleepy. According to a survey published in  2009 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there were 16.7 million Americans (or 6.6%) who used Marijuana in the past month. 7. The speed at which Marijuana leaves your body depends on several factors including the speed of your metabolism, the potency of the THC, and the amount of Marijuana you smoke. Most commonly, traces of Marijuana can stay in your saliva for up to 3 days, urine for up to 30 days, and your hair for up to 90 days. There are over 200 slang terms for Marijuana in the popular vernacular. Some of more popular names include: Pot, herb, weed, grass, widow, boom, ganja, hash, Mary Jane, Cannabis, bubble gum, northern lights, fruity juice, gangster, skunk and chronic. Marijuana can impair driving motor skills. The drug significantly affects judgment and concentration. It also affects perception and slower eye adjustment to change in light. MAJOR EVENTS AND REFORMS REGARDING DRUG POLICIES 1950-2000 July 18, 1956 – Narcotics Control Act of 1956: The acts made a first time cannabis possession offense a minimum of two to ten years with a fine up to $20,000; however, in 1970, the United States Congress repealed mandatory penalties for cannabis offenses. 1961 – Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs: The principal objectives of the Convention are to limit the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes and to address drug trafficking through international cooperation to deter and discourage drug traffickers. 1968 – Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs formed (BNDD): The BNDD was a predecessor agency of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It was formed as a subsidiary of the United States Department of Justice, combining the Bureau of Narcotics (from the United States Department of the Treasury) and Bureau of Drug Abuse Control (from the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s Food and Drug Administration) into one agency. By 1971 the BNDD was composed of 1,500 agents and had a budget of some $43 million (which was more than fourteen times the size of the budget of the former Bureau of Narcotics) 1970 – Controlled Substances Act: Law enacted that regulates the prescribing and dispensing of psychoactive drugs, including stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. The act lists five categories of restricted drugs, organized  by their medical acceptance, abuse potential, and ability to produce dependence. The law classified cannabis as having high potential for abuse, no medical use, and not safe to use under medical supervision. 1973 – Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is formed: The DEA is tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the U.S. Not only is the DEA the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the drug policy of the United States (sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation), it also has sole responsibility for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations abroad. November 5, 1996 – California Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, was passed. Act in California legalized the medicinal use of marijuana. May 14, 2001 – United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Coop: United States Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-drug laws do not permit an exception for medical cannabis and rejected the common-law medical necessity defense to crimes enacted under the Controlled Substances Act because Congress concluded cannabis has â€Å"no currently accepted medical use† when the act was passed in 1970. 2005 – Gonzales v. Raich (previously Ashcroft v. Raich), 545 U.S. 1: United States Supreme Court ruled that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution allowed the federal government to ban the use of cannabis, including medical use. The court found the federal law valid, although the cannabis in question had been grown and consumed within a single state, and had never entered interstate commerce. Congress may ban the use of cannabis even where states approve its use for medicinal purposes. MARIJUANA AS MEDIA’S DARLING The Chicago City Council approved a measure on Wednesday that would allow police officers to ticket people found with small amounts of marijuana instead of arresting them. Members voted 43 to 3 in favor of the ordinance, under which anyone possessing 15 grams of marijuana faces a fine of $250 to $500. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy support the measure, and a marked jump in Chicago’s homicide rate this year may have given the proposal more steam. Several aldermen said the new law would allow the police to spend more time on street patrols and less on processing people for the minor offense of possessing small amounts of marijuana. Alderman Danny Solis, who sponsored the measure, estimated the city would  receive $7 million a year in revenue. Commissioner Raymond Kelly of the New York Police Department issued a memorandum in September ordering officers to follow a 1977 state law that bars them from arresting people with small amounts of marijuana, unless the drug is publicly displayed. Yet a lawsuit filed in state court in late June charges that the police were still arresting people illegally in clear violation of both the law and the memo as recently as May. State data show that the number of marijuana arrests declined in the months after the directive was issued but began climbing again this spring. The Legislature passed the 1977 decriminalization law to allow prosecutors to focus on serious crime and to stop police from jailing young people for tiny amounts of marijuana. It made possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana a violation punishable by a $100 fine for the first offense. To discourage public smoking of the drug, lawmakers made public display a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine. The number of arrests in the city for minor possession declined after the law was passed but shot up from less than 1,000 in 1990 to 50,000 in 2011. And, of the nearly 12,000 16-to-19-year-olds arrested last year, almost 94 percent had no prior convictions and nearly half had never before been arrested. More than 80 percent of those arrested were black and Hispanic young people. EXPENSIVE DRUG WAR â€Å"LET’S LEGALIZE MARIJUANA† A few claims that by legalizing Marijuana mean we can treat the problem of drug abuse as a medical problem not a criminal one. It is estimated that the United States government spends $10 billion dollars a year in its attempts to keep Marijuana off the street, while the State of California has revenue of 14 billion annually for the production of its legalized medicinal Marijuana. If Marijuana is legalized The U.S. can tax the revenues and will have additional fund that can be used for awareness of the drugs affects and treatment. During the prohibition of alcohol during the 1920’s the Mafia could produce alcohol and had a considerable control over others who wanted it. The role that the Mafia played in the 1920’s has transformed into the corner drug dealers and drug cartel of the 1990’s. Legalization will result in a decrease in deaths and violence due to the unregulated black-market trade or Marijuana. 1 out of 6 people in jail are in for non-violent drug offens es. Prisons are overcrowded and it is very costly to keep people in  prison. Legalizing Marijuana would make room for more violent offenders. Marijuana is not more dangerous than alcohol Unlike Alcohol and prescription drugs; Marijuana is not lethal by overdosing. A study in 2009 by U.S. Department of Health and Human Studies published that 69.7 million Americans are current users of tobacco products, 15 million Americans abuse alcohol, and only 4.2 million Americans abuse Marijuana. Everyday 1,000 people die from smoking related illnesses, 550 die from alcohol related accidents and diseases, and less than 20 die of drug related causes. Legalization may not cause a spike in use as critics acclaim. American adolescents use Marijuana twice as much as their counter parts in Holland where Marijuana is legal. IMMEDIATE/PREGNENCY AND LONG TERM EFFECTS OF MARIJUANA Immediate Effects of Marijuana: The immediate effect of marijuana includes loss of restlessness, excitement, hallucinations, paranoia, psychotic episodes, impaired coordination, impaired motor ability, mood swing, and increased appetite impaired ability. Long Term Effects of Marijuana: It includes the loss of brain cells, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, energy loss, slow confused thinking apathy and blood vessel blockage. Use by adolescents can disrupt emotional development, delay puberty, and can delay the monthly cycle in females. Marijuana may produce a mild physical dependence that causes minor withdrawal symptoms when discontinued, including nausea, insomnia, irritability, and anxiety. Physical effects of marijuana include diarrhea, cramps, weight loss or gain, impaired sex drive, and it is a gateway drug. Marijuana can be a gateway drug, which means it can lead to the use of many other harmful drugs–Children ages 12-17 are 85 times more likely to use cocaine Marijuana has also been linked with teen violence, suicide, crime, and unsafe sex-HIV transmission. Legalization of marijuana would not cut down on all crime; alcohol still causes family disputes, rape, robbery, reckless driving, and murder. Effects during Pregnancy: Research has shown that babies born to women who used marijuana during their pregnancies display altered responses to visual stimuli and increased tremulousness which may indicate problems with neurological development. Marijuana exposed children have also been found to have more behavioral problems and to perform tasks of visual perception, language comprehension, sustained attention, and memory poorly. In school, these  children are more likely to exhibit deficits in decision-making skills, memory, and the ability to remain attentive. Drugs are a major debate it the world we live in today. Drugs are gaining more and more attention. More and more people are using drugs than ever before and there is no decrease in the amount of drug users. One of the most commonly used drugs is marijuana. In today’s world marijuana is growing and is looking to be legalized in California for medical uses only but that will lead to many other problems in the near future. MEDICINAL USE OF MARIJUANA A big issue being raised in California is the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes only. The old laws would still be in effect. If you were found using it you would have to have your medical doctor’s prescription for it to get free from jail or a fine. Still, a cop could bust you for growing it and cuff you because they don’t know that your doctor prescribed it for you. This law is a state law and is called Proposition 215. This law has been turned down for the last two years. This year all the old laws that have been turned down have been put together to make a great law. This law actually passed November 5, 1996. Marijuana aids in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. The American Cancer society says NO to marijuana because it is not a substitute for appropriate anti-nausea drugs for cancer chemotherapy and vomiting. We see no reason to support the legalization of marijuana for medical use. Smoking marijuana is also not approved by the FDA for any illness. These corporations both say that they what a different drug to do the same thing but developing it will take an estimated 4 billion dollars. People what to know why some other drugs can be used like morphine but marijuana can’t. In conclusion, I strongly oppose the illegal use of marijuana and I believe that it’s wrong to smoke it or use it in any way, shape, or form. We only have one body and we should make the most of it and not mess it up by infesting our bodies with impurities that will affect us as we aged. To me doing any kind of drugs is criminal and a waste of time. I want to live my life without any worries of medical problems. Any kind of drug that is illegal is bad for your health but if recommended by a doctor does it make them any better.  Drugs will always be around in my opinion. The government can’t demolish drugs or marijuana but they can try to educate children while they are younger to tell them that drugs are bad and should not be taken. With the passing of this law marijuana will become legal in California. Other states can adopt this law if they would like. Education is the key to the end of drugs and the beginning of a new era. Just say NO. RESOURCES Lynskey, M. T. (2003). â€Å"Escalation of Drug Use in Early-Onset Cannabis Users vs Co-twin Controls†. JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association 289 (4): 427–33. DOI:10.1001/jama.289.4.427. Lay summary – National Institute on Drug Abuse (November 2003). Lynskey, Michael T.; Vink, Jacqueline M.; Boomsma, Dorret I. (2006). â€Å"Early Onset Cannabis Use and Progression to other Drug Use in a Sample of Dutch Twins†. Behavior Genetics 36 (2): 195–200. DOI:10.1007/s10519-005-9023-x. PMID 16402286. Degenhardt, Louisa; Coffey, Carolyn; Carlin, John B.; Moran, Paul; Patton, George C. (2007). â€Å"Who are the new amphetamine users? A 10-year prospective study of young Australians†. Addiction 102 (8): 1269–79. DOI:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2007.01906.x. PMID 17624977. ABC News Australia: Cannabis linked to use of amphetamines, 2007-07-18 Agrawal, Arpana; Neale, Michael C.; Prescott, Carol A.; Kendler, Kenneth S. (2004). â€Å"A twin stu dy of early cannabis use and subsequent use and abuse/dependence of other illicit drugs†. Psychological Medicine 34 (7): 1227–37. DOI:10.1017/S0033291704002545. PMID 15697049. Ellgren, Maria: Neurobiological effects of early life cannabis exposure in relation to the gateway hypothesis. Ellgren, Maria; Spano, Sabrina M; Hurd, Yasmin L (2006). NYPD Organized Crime Control Bureau database manual. (marijuana statistics and current use).

Outsourcing in America

Outsourcing Is weakening the nation's Job-creation engine, and leaving thousands of newly unemployed workers here In the United States in search of work. With the number of companies outsourcing jobs continually Increasing, It becomes a much larger issue for the U. S. Workforce to find a job when so many are being outsourced overseas. Unfortunately this trend is likely to continue to cause serious harm in the United States if it continues to go unmonitored. Foreign and American governments have contributed to the problems caused by outsourcing in a number of ways.Some of the more visible ways are a lack of monitoring and data gathering, ceasing to enforce any pressure or penalties upon companies outsourcing Jobs, and U. S. Jobs being outsourced due to foreign Incentives. These three Issues are a large contributing factor to the current problem of outsourcing in the united States and its negative impact on the American workforce. The U. S. Federal and state governments are contributin g to the problems created by outsourcing due to their lack of monitoring and data gathering on the number of Jobs that are being exported.Without having the needed statistics on the number of Jobs that are being exported, the full Impact of Job loss cannot be properly quantified. The U. S. Commerce and Labor Departments claim that the lack of monitoring system to record the number of outsourced jobs in America is due to a lack of resources. This thought process seems contradictory as the federal government spends over $130 billion each year on research and development, and a fraction of this spending would be enough to grasp the full scale of this outsourcing issue (52). This prevents any meaningful understanding for the U. S. People on the scale of Jobs being outsourced, the business's and occupations being affected by outsourcing, and the economy potential responses to the negative impacts of outsourcing. With the absence of this data, corporations are able to continue concealing the number of Jobs that are actually being outsourced. In chapter four, Hair and Hair express that federal, state and local government Jobs are also being outsourced. They further discuss that almost every state government has relocated some form of business abroad through entrants with companies that commonly outsource the work for cheaper labor.For example, Washington State estimated that there were around 1 50 contracts that had contained at least $50 million worth of offshore outsourcing (50). Since there is no government or Labor Department monitoring, companies continue having no legal obligation to inform state governments of the contracted work that is being done offshore. The government Jobs that are being outsourced could have these needed services performed In the U. S. By the American workforce In order to help spur economic development and growth. Instead, American unemployment rates will continue to rise and further the negative impacts upon the U.S. Economy. As the U. S. Federal government ceases to enforce any penalties to protect the number of jobs companies outsource, they also fail to exert any pressure to slow down the outsourcing process. In chapter five, Hair and Hair point out that discipline or cost in doing so (76). With that in mind, companies will continue moving jobs offshore, and will have their lobbyists persuade U. S. Congress to have them lower their tax rates, and as well as defer taxes on future income indefinitely. The company's lobbyists succeeded in convincing Congress to allow them to pay the states no more than a mere 5. 5% tax rate, for which the funds would be used as investment towards Jobs creation (81). However, as the federal government continues allowing companies to extradite their money, there has been no evidence of any Job creation being done with those funds. Rather the U. S. Economy has been missing out on over 29. 75% of corporate tax rates, and the American workforce will continue to suffer. As companies co ntinue making cut-backs, this will impact both the assurance of the American workforces financial security, and also the finances used to maintain their communities.This happens as a result of the increasing number of people that are losing their Jobs, which leads to having fewer numbers of taxpayers to contribute to tax revenue and the funding of social programs. In order to make sure that there are enough taxpayers to maintain funding, more Jobs will have to be created. When Elaine Chaos, George W. Bush's Secretary of Labor, was asked for a statement on the failure of Job creation in America, she merely dismissed the question and concluded that the stock market was to blame for it (79).This response is troublesome in that the country's Secretary of Labor had exhibited what little knowledge or concern she had for creating Job opportunities. This statement portrays her failure in helping protect the future of the American workforce and highlights the failure to exert any pressure to reduce outsourcing. Lastly, foreign governments are actively pursuing offshore outsourcing of U. S. Jobs by offering an array of incentives as part of their national industrial strategy. Such incentives granted by foreign governments include tax breaks and leniency to operate without serious government control.In chapter nine, major policy changes were put into effect by the Indian governments in order to free up the markets in the software industry. The policy changes went through so long as it was maintained that there would be full cooperation with all levels of the Indian governments. Indian IT corporations receive tax rates that, when in comparison, are less than half to that of what the state and local governments are providing the American corporations. For instance, the Indian IT company, Astray Computer, has a tax rate of 14. 2%, as to the American IT company, Electronic Data Systems, with a tax rate of 35. 87% (179). The lower tax rates in India make it quite enticing for American corporations to outsource their work, and then utilize Indian IT companies to acquire the tax rate benefits. The Indian federal government key government actor in the growth of software has been the local Software Technology Parks. This allows companies to rely on the local STEP as it provides no restrictions on equity and has various benefits such as duty-free import, duty-free indigenous procurement, and deemed exports (178).Further proactive policies by the Indian government included offers to companies to set up a satellite-based communications infrastructure. Thus, this led the Indian IT sector to increase from $2 billion in 1994-95 to $40 billion in 2003 and employs over 1. 6 million people and will continue to increase (173-174). While the numbers of Jobs that are promote economic growth, they are doing so at the expense of the American workforce. The implementation of this proactive strategy in India has left a large chunk of the U. S. Record unemployed, and contin ues to contribute to a larger pool of Americans living off unemployment. As companies continue to outsource Jobs, the U. S. Will find it more and more difficult to reverse the trend. This will continue to leave fewer tax dollars in the U. S. System and leave more of the American workforce unemployed. This also will impact the amount of tax revenues required to fund education, health, infrastructure, and social security systems. There is no question that the American people would like their government to take a stand against companies that send Jobs overseas.The U. S. Governments, and citizens, should feel obliged to discover new ways of creating more opportunities and Jobs by regulating the amount of outsourced Jobs allowed in the United States. The issues caused by lack of monitoring and data gathering, the need to enforce pressure or penalties on companies that outsource Jobs, and regulation on the number of U. S. Jobs being outsourced due to foreign incentives must be addressed. This issue can't be addressed until the foreign and American governments take action on the contributing factors to the current problem of outsourcing in the U. S.

Mystery stories Essay

I studied three short stories, â€Å"the Red Room, â€Å"the Signalman† and â€Å"the Speckled Band†. The stories are all linked together as they all have a sense of mystery, however they all have a different emphasis. â€Å"The Speckled Band† is a detective, murder mystery story yet the other two are ghost stories. All of the stories were written before 1914. It was around this time that people had gained a fascination with the criminal mind; they liked the idea of the clumsy criminal being outsmarted and captured by the genius detective. The Victorians also had a liking for the workings of the mind/psychoanalysis â€Å"set against the interest in the spirit world and the supernatural†. When they were first used, the railways represented glamour and mystique, and were the most advanced mode of transport. At the time of the Victorians they had an interest in scientific advances, so you had the conflict between this interest and the interest in the spiritual world, for example, in â€Å"the Red Room† – the old people believed in ghosts, however the man did not, the author did this in a way to provide conflict, as arguments could be brought up from both sides. In general, all mystery stories have a feeling of â€Å"safe fear†, meaning we can relate to the characters and the feeling of tension, this is created as the author involves the reader in the story by including questions or puzzles for them to solve, making them feel as though they are involved in the story. However, the readers feel safe in the knowledge that this is just a story, if they at any time feel threatened they can put the book down and return to reality. â€Å"The Speckled Band† is a story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and was first published (along with the other eleven books out of the first collection) in 1892. It is a murder mystery story and the plot line, to me, is simple – someone dies, Holmes is called in, he notices clues that the reader reads but doesn’t notice the significance until the end of the story (when all is explained), eventually Holmes reveals who the criminal is and how exactly he solved the mystery before the police (Scotland yard) solved it and therefore once again made himself to look like a genius detective. The theme of mystery starts at the beginning of the story, when a miss Helen Stoner reveals her problem and how she believed it happened. Holmes makes sure the reader knows he is a genius detective by pointing out little insignificant things that nobody else would look for. Such as, how Miss Helen Stoner arrived to his office that day (he noticed the return train ticket in the left hand palm of her glove, and noticed that the left arm of her jacket was â€Å"splattered in no less than seven places with mud† and there was â€Å"no vehicle, save the dog-cart which throws up mud in that way†). From this, the reader puts their faith in Holmes and recognise the skill he has, from this they’ll just know he’s the one who will figure out the mystery behind the complex problem he ids faced with. This could ruin the story, depending on your view of what a good mystery story is, as there’s no open ending. Once you have read the story once you will never be able to read it in the same way again, the mystery disappears. However, it is for this reason that people also like reading these stories. They can admire Holmes’ brilliance and enjoy having the story explained to them. Tension is built up in the story as Helen Stoner explains her suspicions that her stepfather â€Å"who is known to have a violent streak† is the killer and his motive for the attack means that she herself could be in danger. The reader can distinguish this and fear for her safety. The narrator in the story is Watson, Holmes’ sidekick. When the reader compares him to Holmes he seems â€Å"dull-witted†, he makes Holmes look good, and is often in the same mental state of confusion as the reader when the clues are there in front of us, waiting to be pieced together like a jigsaw. It is for this reason the reader feels that they can relate to Watson and â€Å"accept Holmes’ superiority†. The reader can see the two (Holmes and Watson) have a close relationship as Holmes felt the need to â€Å"knock Watson up† especially to see the new client (miss Helen Stoner), he knew Watson wouldn’t want to miss out on this opportunity â€Å"should it prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to follow it from the outset†. The setting for this particular story is very detailed, as I would have to be to describe the significant clues, for example, the ventilator, the (dummy) bell rope, the whistle, the saucer of milk, and the metallic â€Å"clanging† of the safe. Despite all the clues there were only two main settings, the Manor house in which Miss Helen Stoner lived and the crime took place, and Holmes’ house, which is famously known as 221B Baker Street. â€Å"The Signalman† is a ghost story. Its author is Charles Dickens and the date it was written is unknown to me. There’s no one technique, which Dickens uses to create tension. It is created from the beginning with the mere settings of the story producing a feeling of unease. The signalman lives in isolation at the tunnel entrance to a railway cutting. The was in which the narrator (who is nameless) has to call â€Å"Is there any path by which I can come down to you? † shows the reader just how isolated he is, as there is no obvious way of getting down, so there mustn’t be any necessity to make a path way. His surprise at receiving this visitor is one of suspicion and generates more tension, â€Å"his attitude was one of such expectation and watchfulness† that explains to the reader he is ready for something to happen, he is ready to run away, and this is causing the reader to think that something is going to happen and the build up to that causes anxiety. The way in which the signalman â€Å"directs a cautious look to the light† forms apprehension as the reader is still expecting something to happen. This is completely the opposite to the Sherlock Holmes story (â€Å"the Speckled Band†) as in that the author wanted to be relaxed and comfortable with the story so far before he described the mystery through Miss Helen Stoner. He produced this feeling of comfort by having a nice room with comfortable chairs, food and a nice warm fire. Also Holmes and Watson didn’t give the impression that they were scared of their visitor, which is what is happening in â€Å"the Signalman†. As the storyline deepens the reader is still told little about the signalman’s background to the reader, this helped form a more satisfactory atmosphere, as they all knew about her). The story does have its similarities to â€Å"the Speckled Band† however, as they give their explanations for what happened using a more scientific mind than a spiritual one. The narrator in â€Å"the Signalman† tries to show the signalman that the â€Å"someone else†, who he has seen before him, was nothing but a figment of his imagination – he looks for rational explanations as he is sceptical about the idea of ghosts, and the reader can identify with this, just as the reader could identify with the narrator in the Sherlock Holmes stories (Watson). The difference in â€Å"the Signalman† being that the reader is unsure of this narrator, they don’t know why he’s there or why he’s taking such an interest in the signalman himself. He’s therefore a mystery figure himself. As the plot thickens the reader is told the signalman has seen the â€Å"spectre† twice before, and each time there was a disaster that followed it. Therefore the â€Å"pattern of three† suggests that the third time the ghost appears there will be a disaster. It is this that keeps the reader interested; it makes the reader want to keep reading on the find out why the â€Å"spectre† appears. Dicken’s deliberately leaves unanswered questions until the end to maintain the readers curiosity. However the story has a twist at the end of it, the ghost is warning the signalman of his own death. The two stories are also similar in the way that they both have all questions answered fully at the end, so again, as with â€Å"the Speckled Band† the readers of â€Å"the Signalman† will not be able to read the story in the same way again, they know the outcome, there’s no mystery. â€Å"The Red Room† was written by H. G Wells and the date it was written, like â€Å"the Signalman†, is unknown to me. The story is like â€Å"the Signalman† meaning, it is another ghost story, and it is similar to â€Å"the Speckled Band† as it has a simple plot – a man (narrator) sets out to prove there is nothing superstitious about a â€Å"forbidden† room, in which a young Duke died, whilst in the room he suffers from several superstitious events and ends up being knocked out, he still refuses to believe in ghosts though. It is set in a castle, a very stereotypical setting to host a ghost story. Fear and suspicion about the room is created by descriptions (which are very important in mystery stories) of the surrounding and the other characters. In this case it’s the three old people who believe in a ghost occupies the â€Å"red room†, claiming, â€Å"There’s many a thing to see, and sorrow for†. The oddity of these old people itself causes some sense of abnormality, with such descriptions as â€Å"the man with the withered arm†, â€Å"the old woman sat staring into the fire, her pale eyes wide open† and â€Å"the man with the eye-shade (who couldn’t cease to cough and splutter)†. To have these three characters in a castle with descriptions including â€Å"oak-panelling† (old, dark, heavy), â€Å"alcoves†, â€Å"candles† (dim lighting, shadows), and â€Å"statues and heavy furniture† (in stereotypical ghost stories the statues come â€Å"alive† and join in the chase for the victim). â€Å"The Red Room† is now similar to â€Å"the Speckled Band† in the sense that the surroundings of suspicious events are in an enclosed space, as it’s inside, there’s less likely chance of escape if being chased, if this happens the reader will feel more on edge. The reader shares their views with the narrator in the beginning. The narrator is down-to-earth and doesn’t believe in a supernatural force occupying the room; he argues â€Å"eight-and-twenty years I have lived, and never a ghost I have seen, as yet† this story is similar to â€Å"the Signalman† as the story focuses on the narrator trying to show the other characters that ghosts aren’t real, and then in the end, in both stories, the narrator is proven wrong. â€Å"The Red Room† is the complete opposite to â€Å"the Speckled Band† and â€Å"the Signalman† in the way that it doesn’t answer all the questions at the end of the story, the narrator from â€Å"the Red Room† doesn’t want to accept that he did infact fall victim to supernatural forces, he claimed he â€Å"witnessed something worse than a ghost – experienced the worst of all things to haunt poor mortal man†¦ fear†. All of these stories have similarities and differences; they also fit the pattern of mystery stories. All the stories â€Å"plunge into action† very early on into the story, and are focused, mainly, on one or two of the key points with very few characters over a relatively short space of time. The description is vital on building tension in the story; all of the stories I studied described the surroundings well enough to form this feeling. I like â€Å"The Red Room† out of the three I chose to read, I liked it primarily due to the fact that it wasn’t answered fully, the story was left open for my mind to come up with possible solutions. I would be able to read it again, and not have the main essence of a mystery story, mystery, taken out of it, like I believe happened in â€Å"The Speckled Band† and â€Å"The Signalman† and â€Å"The Red Room† you are unknown†¦ anonymous. You can find it easier to put the story down and walk away, but in â€Å"The Speckled Band† Watson (the narrator) is needed, you feel the need to continue reading because Sherlock Homes himself asked you to be with him on the investigation (â€Å"your presence might be invaluable†) you feel as though you have betrayed him if you walk away from the story. And though I don’t like detective stories, I found this one the most fascinating out of the ones I studied for that reason.

Becoming an Optimist

I woke up early, finished the reports I was supposed to submit during the day drove to the office and I was not late. Then, my boss hands me the memo and says that I am given until tomorrow to submit a written explanation. I mumble incoherently but feel crushed and almost in tears and angry at my boss. Belief I am not a good worker, I am always tardy and hence I have become a liability to my department. I do not have any place in this office anymore. I have no choice but to resign.Consequence I am depressed and angry and hurt. Disputation I am not a bad worker, I have met deadlines, I have been innovative at my work and I give my best in every task I am assigned to. I have had high performance evaluation ratings for the last 4 years in this job. My reaction to the memo was overreacting; of course it is company policy to call the attention of employees who had been late for work a number of times to make sure that they can do something about it.I was late a couple of times but that di d not mean I am a lousy employee, even my boss comes to the office late at times. I had been working two jobs and going to school at the same time and it means that I am tired and exhausted thus if I wake up late in some mornings it is understandable because my body has to rest at some point. Thinking that I am a bad employee and that I have to resign is not really doing me anything good, instead of checking my behavior; I felt utterly depressed and had to miss work in the afternoon.It does not do anything good to think these thoughts. Energization I decided that I can prove to myself that I can be punctual everyday, thus I have made a contract with myself saying that I will never be late for work anymore, starting today! Being optimistic is related to motivation because it gives that extra boost to the person who is faced with challenges and difficulties (Seligman, 1991). Optimism is a state of mind and heart, that is, to think positively about the outcome of the situation or event .When a person thinks that a problem is a challenge, and then he/she would face it head on and believe that he/she can overcome it, if a person thinks that a problem is a punishment, then he/she would not do anything at all since he/she has already accepted defeat. References Kady, L. (2006). Being an optimist. Retrieved December 11, 2006, from http://www. articlejuice. com/Article/Being-an-Optimist—Part-1/200 Seligman, M. E. (1991). Learned Optimism. Alfred A. Knopf Inc.