The Convenience of Today’s Technology

Who would have ever thought that you will be able to communicate with a person, just by typing a letter push press and send all from one location. Today’s technology is more convient, faster, and cost effective. As one of the projects that I have worked with for years is preparing the church newsletter, programs, notes, and other resources. In the past we had the manual and then the electric typewriters. When typing and a mistake were made, before the correction ribbon on the electric typewriter, you had to continually hit the back button and retype the correct letter. Your choice of print was very limited with the typewriter. There was no way to do spell check. Every paper had to be carefully proof read by a department of peoples. If you were adding a picture to your paper, you had to find pictures out of books and they were limited. Once the picture was found it had to be cut out and paste or taped to the paper. In order for someone else to add an article to the paper they had to type their part, get it proofread and then transport it to the location of the paper being prepared. In today’s world we have the technology that allows us to do all printing while sitting in one location. There are different types of programs to choose from to publish the newsletter, program, and other resources You have many different fonts to choose from depending on the type of message you are sending. There are thousands of clipart from cartoon, silhouettes, to any thing you can name to add as an image to your project. After finding the set up that fits your needs you can start your project, you can begin to type in your message in the designated area. To insert an image, you can go to the clipart or internet to locate the desired image. The computer does the spell check and some grammar checking as well. Usually when a word is misspelled it is underline with a squiggly red or green line. Some proofreading is still required but it may not take a team of people as in the past. In order from some one else to add a message to the paper being prepared all you need to do is send it to them by email as an attachment. As a downfall to this technology, if everyone is in the same office working with the same programs all will work well. However, if I’m working from home on my personal computer and I send it to another person at home, we may be working with different programs. Some people may have older systems while others may be on a up to date system. In conclusion, the convience of today’s technology and printing is much easier and faster in this day and time. As the years go on we will be amazed at how technology will advance in the future.

The Compare and Contrast Microsoft DOS with UNIX

As is suggestive of its name, an operating system (OS) is a collection of programs that operate the personal computer (PC). Its primary purpose is to support programs that actually do the work one is interested in, and to allow competing programs to share the resources of the computer. However, the OS also controls the inner workings of the computer, acting as a traffic manager which controls the flow of data through the system and initiates the starting and stopping processes, and as a means through which software can access the hardware and system software. In addition, it provides routines for device control, provides for the management, scheduling and interaction of tasks, and maintains system integrity. It also provides a facility called the user interface which issues commands to the system software. Utilities are provided for managing files and documents created by users, development of programs and software, communicating between users with other computer systems and managing user requirements for programs, storage space and priority. There are a number of different types of operating systems with varying degrees of complexity. A system such as DOS can be relatively simple and minimalistic, while others, like UNIX, can be somewhat more complicated. Some systems run only a single process at a time (DOS), while other systems run multiple processes at once (UNIX). In reality, it is not possible for a single processor to run multiple processes simultaneously. The processor of the computer runs one process for a short period of time, then is switched to the next process and so on. As the processor executes millions of instructions per second, this gives the appearance of many processes running at once. User programs are usually stored on a hard disk and need to be loaded into memory before being executed. This presents the need for memory management, as the memory of the computer would need to be searched for a free area in which to load a users program. When the user was finished running the program, the memory consumed by it would need to be freed up and made available for another user when required (CIT). Process scheduling and management is also necessary, so that all programs can be executed and run without conflict. Some programs might need to be executed more frequently than others, for example, printing. Conversely, some programs may need to be temporarily halted, then restarted again, so this introduces the need for inter-program communication. In modern operating systems, we speak more of a process (a portion of a program in some stage of execution (CIT, 3)) than a program. This is because only a portion of the program is loaded at any one time. The rest of the program sits waiting on the disk until it is needed, thereby saving memory space. UNIX users speak of the operating system as having three main parts: the kernel, the shell and the file system. While DOS users tend not to use the term kernel and only sometimes use the term shell, the terms remain relevant. The kernel, also known as the â€Å"Real Time Executive†, is the low-level core of the OS and is loaded into memory right after the loading of the BIOS whenever the system is started. The kernel handles the transfer of data among the various parts of the system, such as from hard disk to RAM to CPU. It also assigns memory to the various system-level processes that occur whenever the computer does anything. The kernel is also responsible for scheduling the CPU†s operations and for letting the shell access the CPU (PC Mag, 1). The shell is the visible user interface to the OS and is a program that loads on top of the operating system and offers users commands that lets them access the OS. Strictly speaking, the shell is an input utility that offers access to the operating system. Technically speaking, the shell, being a separate program, is not a part of the OS at all. In the UNIX world a number of shells are available, among them the Korn shell, the C-shell, the Bourne shell and the Bourne Again shell (yes, really). In DOS, the standard shell is COMMAND. COM, again nothing more than a program. As different versions of command. com came with different versions of DOS, each added new commands and new things that could be done by the user. For example, DOS 4†³s COMMAND. COM added theP switch to DEL to verify each deletion, and DOS 5†³s COMMAND. COM provided the ability to sort the output of the DIR command. An acronym for disk operating system, the term DOS can refer to any operating system, but is most often used as shorthand for MS-DOS. Originally developed by Microsoft for IBM, MS-DOS was the standard operating system for IBM-compatible computers. The initial version of DOS was somewhat uncomplicated and resembled another operating system called CP/M. Subsequent versions have become increasingly sophisticated, however DOS remains a 16-bit operating system without support for multiple users or multitasking. The earliest forms of DOS were crude and utilized only a few commands, but as computers became more advanced, so did DOS. By keeping up with technology, DOS was implemented into more â€Å"user friendly† operating systems. However, as more sophisticated operating systems were released, DOS became less important. Today, cyberpunks involved with the latest OS trends joke that DOS stands for ‘Dad†s Operating System†Ã¢â‚¬  (Comerford, 23). In 1980, IBM asked the Microsoft Corporation to produce the operating system for its first personal computer, the IBM PC. Prior to this, a company called Seattle Computer Products had sold an operating system called 86-DOS to Microsoft. Microsoft hired the author of 86-DOS, Tim Paterson, in April of 1981 to modify the system, and renaming it MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), it was released with the IBM PC. Thereafter, most manufacturers of personal computers licensed MS-DOS as their operating system (Brittanica, 1). Limitations of the early PC†s hardware were a big influence on MS-DOS. Although the 8088 model computer had a 1Mb address space, IBM decided to allocate the first 640K of this to RAM, and the rest to ROMs, video boards and other things. Consequently, MS-DOS was set up to support programs whose maximum size was 640K. Version 1. 0 of DOS was released along with the IBM PC in August 1981. It occupied 12K of the systems 640K of memory, was somewhat compatible with CP/M and, much like CP/M, supported only a single directory. By contrast, even the first version of UNIX had a full hierarchical file system. In addition, Version 1. 0 supported only a 160K single sided 51/4-inch floppy diskette. Version 1. 1 was released by Microsoft in October 1982 and supported double sided 320K diskettes. Aside from fixing some bugs, this release was similar to Version 1. 0. Releases such as 1. 1, in which the number to the left of the decimal point is the same as the previous version depict relatively minor changes from the previous release. By contrast, Version 2. 0 was largely a new system. In March 1983, IBM introduced the PC/XT, its first personal computer with a hard disk. It came with a new variant of MS-DOS, Version 2. 0. In this version, Microsoft incorporated many ideas from the UNIX system for which it was also a vendor. For example, incorporating minor changes, the MS-DOS file system was taken largely from UNIX. In addition, the shell was improved, and Version 2. 0 supported a new floppy diskette format, the 360K as well as user installable device drivers, print spooling, system configuration and memory management. At this point, MS-DOS was established as the dominant operating system in PC market. In August 1984, IBM released its first 286 chip based PC, the PC/AT. The PC/AT supported memory up to 16 Mb and had the ability to run multiple programs at once. However, the version of MS-DOS that shipped with the PC/AT was 3. 0, which supported neither of these. Rather, it ran the PC/AT in a mode that simulated the 8088, only faster. Since the PC/AT came with a 1. 2Mb disk drive, battery backup clock, and configuration information in the CMOS, support for these devices was added. What's more, hard disks larger that 10Mb were now supported. In addition, the command processor (shell) was removed from the operating system and made into a separate program. In November 1984, 3. 0 was replace by 3. 1 which provided the first support for networking. In 1987, IBM came out with the PS/2 line of PC which shipped with MS-DOS 3. 3, providing support for both 720K and 1. 44Mb 31/3 floppy disk drives. With Version 4. 0, Microsoft added the DOS shell, a menu driven shell rather than the previous keyboard driven ones. In addition, it now provided support for hard drives larger than 32 Mb. A major new release, MS-DOS Version 5. 0 was shipped in April 1991. Although this was the first version that made any serious use of the extended memory, it still had the restrictions that programs could not exceed 640K. However, it had the ability to locate most of MS-DOS itself in extended memory, so about 600K of the lower 640K was now available for user programs. Version 5. 0 also came with a useful HELP utility, to aid new users. For the first time, MS-DOS was sold in stores to the public (previous versions were only sold to computer vendors who delivered them with their machines) (CIT, 1-3). The MS-DOS 6 family provided more memory management for applications such as Microsoft Windows. In addition, newer utilities were provided for disk-defragmentation, file compression, file backups and anti-virus checking. Other variations of MS-DOS exist, such as PC-DOS by IBM, DOS-V, Dr. DOS and others. There is even a FREE DOS available on the Internet as an MS-DOS clone. Although it can still be found on many computers, MS-DOS is technically an obsolete operating system, being replaced by Microsoft Windows. For personal computers, MS-DOS is a single user, single tasking operating system. Single user means only one person uses the computer at a time. Single tasking means that it essentially runs one application program at a time, and has no inherent support for running more than one application program simultaneously (CIT, 2). If we want to look at the basic DOS operating system itself, there is no need to look further than three system files, command. com, Io. sys and (in DOS6. x and earlier) Msdos. sys. These files are crucial in DOS versions up to 6. 22. Io. sys represents the lowest level of the interface and contains the routines necessary for interfacing the OS with the system†s BIOS. It implements MS-DOS as seen by the hardware and has default drivers for console display and keyboard, printer, serial communications, clock, and a boot disk drive. Msdos. sys handles the higher-level routines such as converting commands from applications into instructions for Io. sys. It implements MS-DOS as seen by application programs. It supports file and record management, memory management, character device input and output, execution of other programs, and access to a real-time clock (CIT, 3). Both of these files are in the root directory, and both are hidden from view by default. The idea is that you are not suppose to see them, so that you don†t do anything destructive to them (such as deleting them). They are also read-only so that they can†t be deleted accidentally. Command. com is the shell program which interprets user commands, presents the shell prompt, and contains a set of internal commands. The rest of MS-DOS consists of a number of utility programs. Although DOS had cornered the PC market, UNIX was still dominant on the larger workstations. The birth of UNIX in 1969 provided the world with its first modern operating system. An interactive multi-user operating system, UNIX was initially developed by programmers for their own use. Working for Bell Laboratories, Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie created UNIX as an operating system for the PDP-7 computer. Designed as a simplification of an operating system named Multics, UNIX was developed in Assembly language, a primitive computer language specific to one type of machine (Osiris, 1). However, Thompson developed a new programming language â€Å"B† which Ritchie enhanced to â€Å"C†, and in 1973 this was used to rewrite UNIX which lended the OS portability (Linux Intl. , 1). The original design philosophy for UNIX was to distribute functionality into small parts, the programs (Theochem, 1). In this way, functionality could be achieved by combining the small parts (programs) in new ways. Moreover, if a new program were to appear, it could be integrated into the system. UNIX was slow to catch on outside of academic institutions but soon was popular with businesses as well. The first five versions were part of an internal research effort of Bell Labs, and it was not until the sixth version, called UNIX Timesharing Sixth Edition V, that UNIX was widely distributed (Osiris, 1). Relatively recent developments are graphical interfaces (GUI) such as MOTIF, X Windows and Open View. UNIX has two major versions. One, jointly developed by UNIX Systems Laboratories (USL) and by AT&T researchers together with Bell Labs, generically known as System V, is the commercial version and is the most widely distributed by major manufacturers. The second, developed by the University of Berkley and Berkley Software Distribution (BSD), is the educational version and is completely focused on research. The USL version is now on its fourth release, or SVR4, while BSD†s latest version is 4. However, there are many different versions of UNIX besides these two. The operating system has been licensed to several manufacturers who in turn developed their own versions of UNIX, based on System V or BSD, but adding new characteristics. Most versions of UNIX developed by software companies are derived from one of the two groupings and, recent versions of UNIX actually incorporate features from both of them. However, UNIX has had an unregulated history with over 200 versions (Berson, 16) existing today. The UNIX system is made up of three primary components, the kernel, the shell, and the utilities (which includes the file system). The central part of the OS, the kernel is the first program to start when the system is turned on and the last program to do anything when the system is halted. In addition to scheduling tasks, it manages data/file access and storage, enforces security mechanisms and performs all hardware access. The name â€Å"KERNEL† represents the fact that it is a program designed as a central nucleus, around which other functions of the system were added. The heart of the operating system, it not only interacts directly with the system†s hardware, but presents each user with a prompt, interprets commands typed by a user, executes user commands and supports a custom environment for each user. The two most common shells are the Bourne shell, default for the System V, and the C-shell used mainly with the BSD version (Osiris, 1). The utilities consist of file management (rm, cat, ls, rmdir, mkdir), user management (passwd, chmod, chgrp), process management (kill, ps) and printing (lp, troff, pr).

Human Resource Management of organization in Commonwealth Bank of Assignment

Human Resource Management of organization in Commonwealth Bank of Australia - Assignment Example Hereby, the paper aims at studying the overall business strategies considered by CBA for its long run improvements in order to fulfill the vision to serve customers with the best service in banking and to be reputed as one of the finest banking organizations in the Australian history. Strategies From a generalized point of view, it can be noted that the considered strategies of CBA focus largely on the primary functioning departments such as ‘customer service department’, ‘business banking dimension’ and ‘technology & operational excellence department’ which in turn can be learnt to amplify trust as well as team spirit within the employees. The strategic planning for the customer service states that it is considered in order to build a good relationship with the customers by serving them with best facilities as compared to other banks. The strategies considered under customer service mostly concentrate on redecorating the existing sales and serv ices program with innovative benefits and features for the customers (Commonwealth Bank, 2006). CBA can also be identified to take certain measures to increase its customer base facilitating them with easy processing system. Under business banking, CBA also attempted to introduce CommSee and ComBiz to enhance its functioning with informational technology so that customers avail the services smoothly. CBA also introduced the business banking dimension in alliance with other institutions to facilitate the customers with tailored services. The strategies planned for developing the technology and operational excellence are by providing the virtues of Information Technology with group-wide leadership, applying smarter sourcing and simultaneously improving the lean process with innovative ideas. The organization also believes that to have an effective outcome from the strategies, employees need to have trust and team sprit among themselves for which CBA always considers new thoughts to bu ild good relationship and collaboration within the workforce as well as with the customers. Furthermore, CBA frequently focuses on the process and the methods to develop their employees’ productivity, customer base along with their functioning. CBA also took certain measures to involve with the community by considering the safety for the people (Commonwealth Bank, 2006). CBA consequently tends to consider innovative strategies in order to become the best banking organization in the Australian history. For its profitable growth, CBA also planned certain strategies maintaining a good relationship with others along with the growth of agenda, simultaneously developing its traditional market by investing or expanding its target market. CBA also introduced a new strategy of insurance policy as CommInsure which facilitated the customers with life insurance policies. This particular strategy can be further observed as the organizational measure taken towards developing the services a nd reform the process so as to obtain better efficiency (Commonwealth Bank, 2006). Illustrations It is worth mentioning in this context that incorporating the aforementioned a few innovative customer-centric strategies, CBA was able to achieve the second position in the national banking sector under Australian Security Exchange. Furthermore, the growth of CBA also indicates the level of services owing to which, the organization has been able to satisfy the customers’

Doctrine of Precedent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Doctrine of Precedent - Essay Example This is opposite to the European legal system as it is founded on legal examples and possibilities. The substance of precedent is known as "common law" and it bonds future determinations. When parties are in disagreement in the future and if the nature of the conflict is similar then the common law court bases its decision with the help of Presidential decisions of applicable courts2. The court is bound to follow the reasoning of a past similar disagreement in which the issue was resolved. This principle is called ‘stare decisis’. But if the present disagreement is different from all other previous cases then the judges have the right and responsibility to formulate new law which thus creates a precedent as in Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803); "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each". From then on, the new verdict became precedent, and is binding on future courts. The English legal system is based on the common law and the precedents. The doctrine of precedent is defined as ‘The common law principle which binds a judge or a magistrate to follow previous similar decision of higher courts in the same hierarchy; also known as stare decisis’ (Vickery & Pendleton 2006), which implies the decision stands. The doctrine of precedent derives from common law and law of equity, which is ‘English-made’ laws that aims to be fair and treat all equally, so that the decisions by the courts are predictable and consistent in resolving disputes. There are binding and persuasive precedents, of which binding precedents are known as ‘ratio decidendi’ when the final order or ‘res judicata’ by the

MGMT458 U5 IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MGMT458 U5 IP - Research Paper Example Leadership is defined broadly through a certain style, ability to influence others. Whether the leader is charismatic or transformational, he has power and uses it to affect the behavior and action of others. For years, leadership was studied as a mix of unique personality traits, such as intelligence and self- confidence. However, recently, the attention was turned to the styles of leadership behavior. They have been determined as democratic, authoritarian and laissez-faire. It is also essential that the companies were led by a polymath person, a person with an ability to cope with the complex tasks. History recognizes Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo as polymath leaders. Modern world polymaths are Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. The CEO of Amazon Company, Jeff Bezos, started his business with the creation of small enterprise that sold books. By sustaining growth and development of his organization, with time, Bezos has created his name as a leader, creating one of the biggest retail organizations in the world. Today it is the huge company with a smile from A to Z, the company’s logo, which shows its willing to deliver everything to everyone. The major purpose of the services he offered was and is care of customers as the greatest value for the company. That is why during his employees meetings, there is a tradition to leave an empty chair, as a reminder that this is a customer’s one, and all the decisions staff makes will influence their consumers finally. This prioritizing of customer service helps the CEO and his staff to understand the needs and wants of each consumer and put customer on the first place. The way Jeff Bezos runs his business, displays him as the democratic leader. He conside rs freedom is impossible without the freedom of disputes, which finally brings new ideas and innovation. That is why, he holds the responsibility of the actions made by his

The Gap (Gap Inc.), an international retailer company Essay

The Gap (Gap Inc.), an international retailer company - Essay Example Local Network with certain recommendations that may help other companies and organizations to achieve better compliance with the following important principles of the Global Compact: Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights (UN Global Compact 2011). Principle 2: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility (UN Global Compact 2011). We believe our experience designing and implementing numerous CSR programs can be considered reliable, because Gap Inc. owns more than 3,100 stores worldwide and employs more than 150,000 people from all over the world, all of which are actively engaged in the Gap’s efforts to support human rights and environmental protection (Wright 2007). Having tries many approaches to supporting human rights and protecting the environment, we have come up with several strategies that help us to be a sustainable and responsible company, whose operations benefit all of the stakeholders. Lessons Learnt Gap Inc. has been continuously devoting much time and attention to promoting human rights protection programs. In particular, we are promoting diversity in every sphere of our operations. â€Å"Diversity is the rich variety reflected in our work environment and marketplace – including ethnicity, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, faith, culture and global experiences†.... Human Rights Policy 2010). Nevertheless, we have had some negative experience. Workers of our supplier factory made claims of labor abuses and offensive attitudes from the side of their management (Smith, Ansett, and Erez 2011). For that reason we had to invest millions of dollars into making sure that employees of our supply chain were treated with respect and dignity (Amazeen, Michelle 2011). As for protecting the natural environment of our planet, we are members of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) (Environment 2011). As the members of BICEP we take a great care of design and development policies, strategies and procedures related to protecting our world in terms of working with clean energy and approaching the climate change challenges (Environment – Public Policy 2011) At the same time, we have watched the negative experience of one of our suppliers, the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. In 2009 this company was reported to pour unused and toxic mat erials into local rivers (Smith, Ansett, and Erez 2011). This shows that the organization does not give much care to the environmental constraints facing the global society. Recommendations On the basis of both positive and negative lessons learnt from past experience, Gap Inc. would like to draw the attention of the Local Networks to the outlined below recommendations. We believe the presented here measures will significantly improve positions of companies both financially, though increased customer loyalty, and socially, through improved corporate image and identity. Develop a standardized set of guidelines for business and organizations to follow in order to

Environmental Law Problem Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Environmental Law Problem - Research Paper Example On the first question raised by the plaintiffs, whether navigable waters of the United States include only naturally occurring bodies of water, so that man made improvements to rivers are not considered navigable water, this court denies certiorari, therefore the opinion of the ninth circuit court of appeals, rendered on October 11, 2011, stands. Facts of the Case The County of Los Angeles (hereinafter â€Å"The District†) operates a series of MS4s. An explanation of MS4s is as follows. The cities that comprise the County of Los Angeles all operate a series of storm drains which catches the runoff from rainwater. This is distinguishable from a drain which catches sewer water for treatment at a sewage treatment plant. In this case, what is captured is untreated storm water. That said, this untreated stormwater typically also has a variety of pollutants, such as heavy metals, bacteria, and the like. Also, trash also gets washed into these MS4s. Moreover, the individual MS4s are interconnected. This is because all the municipalities in the Los Angeles County system are able to connect to a centralized system run by the District, which is their flood control and storm-sewer infrastructure. This is comprised of some 2,800 miles of storm drains and some 500 miles of open channels. This stormwater is collected and is channeled into various waterways, including the waterways which are the subject of this litigation – the Los Angeles River, the Santa Clara River, the San Gabriel River and the Malibu Creek. The river waters, in turn, channel into the Pacific Ocean by way of the Santa Monica Bay, the Los Angeles Harbor and the Long Beach Harbor. Statement of the Case The procedural history for this case is as follows. In December 2001, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the region of Los Angeles, issued a NPDES Permit to 84 cities, in an effort to regulate stormwater and urban runoff discharges. This permit recognized that there could be extraneous sources for the pollutants in waters, and that these extraneous sources would be sources over which the Permittees had no jurisdiction. Each of the permittees were responsible only for its own discharge. The Permit also had monitoring and reporting programs. On March 3, 2008, the respondents, Natural Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper filed a complaint against the City of Los Angeles and others, on the basis that the water quality standards has exceedances of pollutants, which would constitute a violation of the Permit standards. Part of the Respondents argument was that the District was responsible for pollutant exceedances because the monitoring stations were within the channelized portions of the rivers operated by the District as a part of its flood control system, therefore the District was responsible for any exceedances measured there. This argument was rejected by the District Court, who stated that, due to the decision in South Florida Water Ma nagement District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, 541 U.S. 95, 105 (2004), that a discharge does not result from moving waters from one portion of a body of water to another. The District Court went on to state that, because of the decision rendered in South Florida, a discharge can only be from a point source. Since the District was not discharging pollutants from a point sourc

Falls Prevention in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Falls Prevention in Australia - Essay Example Unintentional falls are common risks mostly among elderly individuals who may experience non-fatal injuries from these falls. Fall-related injuries are common among these older adults, hip fractures being one of them. Mortality rates in relation to falls are also high in this age group, and death is even a major possibility among those 85 years and above (Currie, 2007). This is also the case in Australia where the common sufferers of falls belong to the above 65 age group (Department of Health and Ageing, 2012). Fall-related injuries mostly include hip fractures and wrist fractures. Some patients have also been known to suffer head injuries from their falls. The older the patient, the risk of death is also higher, especially among the above 85 years old age group (Department of Health and Ageing, 2012). The cost and health impact of these falls are also significant, sometimes leading to other health problems and issues (Currie, 2007). For the elderly individuals, the recovery period from their falls is usually longer. Due to prolonged healing, they may also develop pressure ulcers which can further delay the healing process (Currie, 2007). Falls management cost the government millions of dollars, with costs amounting to 170 million dollars for fall-related injuries. Moreover, the risk of re-injury or future falls is also an ever-persistent risk for patients (Currie, 2007). In effect, falls are a significant public health issue which needs to be addressed by health authorities. Throughout the years, various studies have been undertaken on the problem of falls and related injuries, including interventions to prevent and manage their occurrence. This study seeks to evaluate the clinical question: How significant is lighting in the prevention of falls among the elderly? This study shall first evaluate the literature on falls prevention, critically evaluating such literature and assessing their formal and structural validity and reliability. This review shall also d iscuss the search strategy applied in order to establish studies to be reviewed. Then, it will identify the critical assessment tool to be used to evaluate the data. A critical review of the validity of the study findings will also be discussed. Potential barriers and facilitators to the implementation and/or maintenance of the strategy shall then follow. This paper shall end with a conclusion which is based on the quality of the studies and relevance of the findings. Body There were six studies retrieved for this study, and most of them were quantitative studies. Five of the studies had a prospective experimental design. One study had a correlational design. All of the studies were quantitative studies, in other words, they are an empirical assessment of phenomena using numerical and statistical analysis and frameworks (Bruce, Pope, and Sanistreet, 2008). Five of the studies were prospective studies as they were carried out on respondents who would be recruited and who were to be s ubjected to various procedures and processes. Experimental studies are those which evaluate cause and effect relations among respondents which are studied under controlled settings (Bruce, et.al., 2008).

Geography And The Study Of The Environment But Mainly The Scientific Essay - 1

Geography And The Study Of The Environment But Mainly The Scientific Revolution - Essay Example Geography And The Study Of The Environment But Mainly The Scientific Revolution Geography is the branch of science that uses the same elements as the other sciences but in a different way. It uses data by elaborating maps as its tool.. The methodical approach organizes geographical knowledge into different divisions. Study of Geography is as old as human history. It was systematically studied by the ancient Greeks, who also developed a philosophy of geography. Many Greek philosopher made great contribution to the foundation of Geography. The most prominent of them were Thales, Eratosthenes, Aristotle, Strabo, and Ptolemy. The Romans also made contributions to geography by mapping of previously unknown lands. The Arabs also bequeathed in the progress of Geography during the Middle Ages. As stated in beginning intellectual curiosity is the essence of human nature that led to all the achievements mankind. Human beings were involved in pondering over nature since prehistoric period. The real initial recorded achievements were of Greeks. Thales was the first recorded Greek philosopher. He was first person whose mythology was used to explain the nature of the physical world. He introduced geometry and was a prominent astronomer of those days. He was the first man who started the real process of pondering and predicting. Although chronologically mentioning Raphael Sanzio is not correct but it will give us a continuation. Raphael Sanzio, was the great painter and philosopher with whose name Raphaels ‘s School of Athens is famous.

The Triumph of Science Over Religion In the West Essay Example for Free

The Triumph of Science Over Religion In the West Essay By the sixteenth century, the Western experience with religion had turned bitter. The Catholic Reformation, also referred to as a Counter Reformation, was a response to the great Protestant Reformation in Europe during this period of time. There were two elements of the Catholic Reformation. First of all, Catholics were being called for a renewal of piety and of virtue in the form of renewed commitments to prayer as well as mysticism. This component of the Reformation was particularly evident in the clerical orders. The ordinary folks had nothing whatsoever to do with this component of the Reformation, seeing that even the clerical orders were not looked upon as worthy guides. Secondly, the Church was being asked to reform in order to deal with unparalleled as well as swift changes in society, and abuses that accompanied those changes. There was turbulence witnessed in the societal structure, and one of the reasons why it was necessary to initiate the Catholic Reformation was that the humanists had revived classical pagan philosophy in the fifteenth century, using the new miracle of printing to shift the attention of society from the after life to the present. At the same time as the classical pagan philosophy was being circulated, the Church was going through a period of decline with a desiccation of scholastic thinking. Internal abuses at the Church were also well-known, and these involved simony, the sale of indulges, multiple benefices, and much more. The Church could not be trusted as much as it was meant to be. As a matter of fact, the condition of religion in the sixteenth century was characterized by turmoil. King Henry VIII of England created the Church of England in the year 1533 A.D. by splitting from the Roman Catholic Church. Around the same time, the French Wars of Religion were waged between the Catholics and the Huguenots in France. How much confusion such chaos would have given birth to in the minds of Western Christians with respect to their religion could only be imagined. Christianity was, after all, supposed to be a religion of peace and unconditional love. The Western religion around 1500 A.D. was chiefly Christian, and the sixteenth century has been described as â€Å"probably the most intolerant period in Christian history.† It was not the scientists that were killed during this time because they came up with new ideas. Rather, in the sixteenth century, there were thousands of people that were killed because they were called heretics. Michael Servetus was only one such individual. He was burned in 1553 A.D., alive, on the order of John Calvin in addition to the city authorities, because he had made theological speculations that Calvin was sure were falsehoods. To put it another way, the religious authorities of the time would not allow people even to deviate in their thinking with respect to religion. Christians of the West were required to think of Christianity in the way that the religious authorities felt was appropriate. Critical thinking or questioning was not allowed by any means. What is more, the religious authorities themselves were known to be corrupt enough for places of worship to be closed down. Lindsay Clarke reports: In January, 1535, the newly appointed Vicar-General of the English Church, Thomas Cromwell, sent out his agents to conduct a commission of enquiry into the character and value of all ecclesiastical property in the kingdom. Overtly, they were reformers, exercising the new powers accorded to the Crown by the Act of Supremacy: from time to time to visit, repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, offences, contempts and enormities . . . which ought or may be lawfully reformed. But Dr. Richard Layton, Dr. Thomas Legh, Dr. John London, and the other tough-minded and venal officials chosen for the job had no doubt what the Crown expected of them. It took them only six months to submit for Cromwells scrutiny an accurate and detailed tax-book, the Valor Ecclesiasticus. Along with it came evidence of corruption and scandalous immorality in Englands monasteries. Such evidence was not hard to find, for by the 16th century many of the religious houses had long since lost their sense of purpose. The religious turbulence of the sixteenth century was continued into the seventeenth century. The government of England had become known for its harassment of Catholics as well as Jesuits. On 20 May 1604, certain religious men began to plot the destruction of the government after having heard Mass. A priest knew of this plotting, and was made to pay the price of this knowledge later on. And yet, the religious authorities of the Near and Far East were not facing religious turmoil around this time. Nor were the people of the advanced civilizations of the Near and Far East being confronted with religious confusion. Furthermore, scientists of the Near East were especially involved with their work during the sixteenth century, as for a number of centuries before. The Ottoman astronomer, Taqi al-Din, created astronomical tables in the sixteenth century. These tables were considered as accurate as the ones made by Tycho Brahe in Denmark during the same period of time. All the same, the Ottomans are known to have ceased their support for scientific innovations and research a century later, as their priorities took a shift. The West, however, continued scientific explorations even after the sixteenth century. The East had maintained its religions. It was only the West that had showed immense intolerance toward different religious beliefs and practices, even with respect to its own faith. Whereas religious authorities stopped Westerners from thinking and reasoning, science opened up a new world to the ordinary people. They were not called heretics because of their new scientific ideas. Rather, people who came up with new scientific ideas were in the company of many others who came up with great new ideas in the scientific arena. Giordano Bruno, Girolamo Cardano, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, William Gilbert, Johannes Kepler, Paracelsus, John Napier, and Andreas Vesalius are only few of the important Western scientists of the sixteenth century. Besides, this century saw the birthing of Copernicus’ theory, the import of new plant species from the Americas into Europe, and new inventions that revolutionized manufacturing and other features of living. The wheel-lock musket, the helicopter, the spinning wheel, the pocket watch, the diving bell, the seed drill, the camera obscura, the knitting machine, the compound microscope, the Gregorian Calendar, and the enameling of pottery were all brought into the world in the sixteenth century. So, while religion disappointed people, science brought renewed hope of existence through new products and discoveries. No scientist could be killed in the name of science. Hence, science was safely meant to stay on in the West despite the good or bad luck of religion. Bibliography 1. Clark, Lindsay. â€Å"The Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th Century.† Available from http://www.historynet.com/. Internet; accessed 31 March 2007. 2. Hogge, Alice. God’s Secret Agents: Queen Elizabeth’s Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the Gunpowder Plot. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005. 3. MacroHistory. â€Å"How the Idea of Religious Tolerance Came to the West.† Available from http://www.fsmitha.com/review/index.html. Internet; accessed 31 March 2007. 4. Lewis, Jone Johnson. Women Saints: Doctors of the Church. London: Penguin, 1998. 5. Magic Dragon Multimedia. â€Å"Timeline 16th Century.† Available from http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/timeline16.html. Internet; accessed 31 March 2007. 6. Olin, John. Catholic Reformation: From Cardinal Ximenes to the Council of Trent, 1495-1563. New York: Fordham University Press, 1990. 7. Pollen, J. H. â€Å"The Counter Reformation.† The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: K. Knight, 2004.

Trifles By Susan Glaspell | Analysis

Trifles By Susan Glaspell | Analysis The play Trifles by Susan Glaspell is one of the shortest plays that I have read. It is also one of the least dramatic and extremely difficult to interpret plays. To understand the significance in this play the viewer or reader should have a better understanding of the cultural context in which this play was written. To do this it is beneficial to know what events were happening in the authors, Glaspell, life at the time she wrote this, the role of women in everyday life back then, and how the suppression of women males affected their social recognition now and then. The play Trifles was written in 1916 (McMahan, 1099). In the early 1900s, up until 1920, the womens suffrage movement was still working to guarantee all women in the United States equal civilian privileges beside men. Susan Glaspell wrote many of her plays on the social issues of feminism, socialism, Darwinism, and legal reform (Beatty, unpaginated). Along with her husband they, founded the Provincetown Players, a theater group committed to transforming American theaterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ into an artistic medium in which serious social issues could be treated realistically (Beatty, unpaginated).This is important to understanding the play because it brings up the important theme of the play of male dominance over the women. Trifles shows the audience first hand a case in where male dominance and ignorance of the womens observations actually hinders their abilities to solve the case of the murdered husband, Mr. Wright. To get a further insight into how she was able to portray such a realistic incident, it is important to know that this play was written based on a real incident that she, as a reported, covered. As a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News, she was assigned to cover the murder story of Mr. Hossack. The kitchen at the crime scene of the Hossack farmhouse played a huge role in the depiction of the kitchen in Trifles (Midnight Assassin, unpaginated). She was not an investigator, just like women in the play, but solely an observer, just like the women as well. She viewed the world and the crime scene the same way that women in the play did. Unlike the men, who were looking for large key pieces of evidence, the women noticed small, seemingly unimportant, out of place kitchen items and connected that with the emotions and feelings of the deceased husbands wife, Mrs. Wright. After the women notice a view of these minor clues, Mr. Hale says to one of the other men, , well, women are used to w orrying over trifles (McMahan, 1093). This line is the basis for the entire play. Trifles not only refers to the out of place items but also the women themselves. By them worrying about such miniscule occurrences they are, as the men see, not capable of doing a mans business. This leads into the next aspect of the play which is male dominance and ignorance. When this play was written it was the womans job in society to be around the house to raise the children, mend cloths, cook dinner, clean the houseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. They were not able to get jobs or live out on their own. In the husbands eyes they did not have significant roles in society, only in the house. Many men at this time did not show the appreciation, love, attention, and affection that most women should always be shown. Their role was to be the head of the house and provide their family with the necessities to live, nothing more. Glaspell does an excellent job of showing this by describing the kitchen setting in the play. The men overlook details about the house and Mrs. Wright that women notice almost immediately. As Jenny Cromie put it, They notice Minnies desolate, isolated existence, her broken furniture, the run-down kitchen where she had to cook, and the ragged cloth-ing she was to we ar because of her husbands mi-serly insensitivity. (Jury, 277) These clues, which could ultimately decide the guilt or innocence of Mrs. Wright, are completely overlooked as dumb or unintelligent, solely because the women found them. Also, at a point in the play Mrs. Hale describes Mr. Wright as, Yes-good; he didnt drink, and kept his word as well as most, I guess, and paid his debts. But he was a hard man, Mrs. Peters. Just to pass the time of day with him. Like a raw wind that gets to the bone (McMahan, 1097). She acknowledges that he was a decent man but, by the more she looks into the life of Mrs. Wright, she notices that he was not a decent husband, as were many of the men at that time. Greg Beatty found an important part of the play in which male dominance is showed at its finest. Glaspell shows their dominance, not by words or actions but, through dramatic devices. The play follows, strictly, the outline for a tragedy. However, Glaspell leaves out the closing of the curtain to show a different or a switch of scene in the play. Instead, this brought about through the absence of the men. Beatty stats, Each time the men leave, the women exchange private information; each time they enter, the men force or prevent crucial decisions. (Beatty, unpaginated) This suppression of information was not fully by the choice of the women. Even if they did speak up and tell them about the so called evidence that they had found, the fact that they were women trying to do a mans job, would hinder the ability for the men to take them serious in their findings. The men would not be able to see how the trifles could be linked to the murder because that is not the way that they think. Beatty also made a connection between the names that the women and the men had in the play. The last names of men were befitting for them because of their position in society. Mr. Hale is hale and hearty, and, Mr. Peters, whose name means rock, is a sheriff, or a foundation of society (Beatty, unpaginated). These titles are relevant to the women because that is the only name they are referred to by throughout entirety the play. They are referred to by society through the legal connection of their husbands and not by the independence of their first names. Even though they are individuals that take care of the house and family, they do not have enough freedom from their husbands to be called anything but their husbands names. Mrs. Peters admits her duty to her husband and the law when she says, But, Mrs. Hale, the law is the law (McMahan, 1095). Here she clearly states that she is loyal to her husband and the laws. Also the County Attorney says, a sheriffs wife is married to the law (M cMahan, 1099). Contradicting what she had say earlier she agrees with him even though she is hiding key pieces of evidence from the law. She has chosen to break her obligation to her husband and law in order to stick up for her fellow woman. Sticking along the arguments of being legally bound, Bailey McDaniel claims that Mrs. Wright would not have had the right to a proper jury in todays terms. It would have more than likely consisted of just men. Bailey says, A certain irony underscoring the legislated inequality toward women is established before the play even begins (McDaniel, unpaginated). The women in the play and the people in the audience at the time knew this little fact. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters did not share the trifles with the other men because they were rebelling against the social norms. They knew she was guilty but had compassion for her after Mrs. Hale tells her story of when she was a child. She said, When I was a girlmy kittenthere was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyesand before I could get there. If they hadnt held me back I would havehurt him (McMahan, 1098). Here she states that she would have hurt the boy because he killed her cat. Mr. Wright not only killed his wifes bird, but also her., me taphorically. Beatty compares the similarities of the two by saying, The bird symbolizes Mrs. Wright, a beautiful creature who loved to sing. When her husband killed to, it was as if she had been killed, and she killed him in turn. Mrs. Wright had to put up with all of her husbands troubles but he would not put up with hers. She was lonely and only had him for company. When she got the bird she was finally a little happier. However, Mr. Wright did not like that so he killed her bird. McDaniel says that back then though, women did not have as many, if any, options after they were married. If they got married and were unhappy they were stuck and did not have the option for a divorce like current women do (McDaniel, Unpaginated). For this reason of unhappiness they are willing to show compassion for Mrs. Wright. Even though the 19th amendment gives women the same rights as men and dissuades for the domination of men over women, it is still a large part in our society today. In 2001, the film Legally Blonde came out to theaters. This movie gives a modern twist on the inequality, and the dominance and ignorance of men that was found in the play Trifles. Elle, the main character, has a hard time in her job because of her gender, a woman. She is not given the same opportunities that men of her same career are given. She, however, just like the women in the play, can see the littlest Trifles in a crime scene and solve the case. The men push her off but she is persistent in proving her evidence. The women in the play had all of the right evidence but due to society at their time could not, and would not, release it to the sheriff. Kelly Marsh describes this situation perfectly in her article Dead Husbands and Other Girls Stuff: The Trifles in Legally Blonde when she says that Trifles is about, the destructive potential of the objectification and devaluation of women by men (Marsh, 201). This problem has still not been resolved and is, in many eyes, still a very large problem in todays societies. The only difference is women have more resources and more social support to get help this devaluation occurs to them not only in the house but also in the career fields. To sum this everything up, Trifles is not just a play, but a tool. A tool used to convey, to every person that watches, the suppression and hardships that some women had and still have to go through because of devaluation in a male dominance oriented society. When reading the play it is short, unelaborated, and un-dramatic. But by now knowing the actual murder story that this play was based off of, by knowing a little more about the personality and the early life of Susan Glaspell (the author) and finally understanding the strong male domination in this play, back then, and now, it makes the play that much clearer.

How Rabbits Changed My Life :: Personal Narrative, essay about myself

I was never liked much when I was younger. I was constantly made fun of and teased unmercifully. I was looked down upon when I was in school. It was as if everything I did wasn't good enough. I didn't succeed in anything. I made bad grades in school, I was worse in sports, and as the result of that my self esteem was zero. That all began to change the day I bought my first rabbit. Raising rabbits has improved my self esteem tremendously. Having a high self esteem is one of the most important assets a person can have. Â   When I was in the second grade, we had a rabbit as a classroom pet. Fudge was a small, brown, lop-eared rabbit. He was my best friend in the school. He would never judge me by what I did, wore or said, and he loved me without condition. I was extremely sad when summertime came around that year because I was going to lose my friend. So, with a lot of begging and promises, I talked my parents into letting me get a rabbit of my own. I worked hard doing extra chores around the house to earn money to buy my rabbit. When the big day came, almost a year later, I was elated. My mom took me to go and visit a local rabbit breeder to see what animals she had for sale. Â   I immediately fell in love with a little female rabbit. Bunnita was a purebred Holland Lop, which was the same breed Fudge was. She was white with brownish-gray spots and her ears didn't really lop, but stuck out to the side of her head at a funny angle. I guess she was what most people would describe as ugly, but to me she was adorable. After getting Bunnita my mom decided to get me involved in a 4-H rabbit project and so she started a 4-H rabbit club. My brother, five other kids and myself were the first members. Â   The time came when I realized I would need to get another rabbit if I ever wanted to show. Bunnita was a wonderful pet, and I loved her, but I was beginning to learn that she left much to be desired in the showing field. My mom bought my brother and I another rabbit for Easter. April was an American Fuzzy Lop, a breed similar to a Holland Lop except it has wool instead of normal fur.

Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve neither libe

Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve neither liberty nor security National Identification Card (NID) is not a new idea to the American Public or its politicians. The NID has been up and down the political stream as a means of fighting terrorism, welfare fraud, illegal immigration, crime, census â€Å"error†, and a vast variety of other so called crimes that you can think of. The NID once again rising up-stream after the terrible attack on the American soil as (again) the means to protect the American Public but is it capable of doing all it claims to or as a matter of facts it will make us more vulnerable to identity theft and more chaos? Now with the public still shaken after the Sept-11 attack and spooked by a growing number of anthrax cases, the clamor for tighter security is growing. Proven of ID is required at almost everywhere, closed streets, cop on every corner of the street, citizens keeping their door locked and watching out for suspicious act of potential terrorist. So we look for ways to reassure ourselves and to soothe complicated new fears. Once again, the idea of national ID card is floating upstream and presumably would separate or point out law-abiding citizens from potential terrorist. But NO, the national ID card would rob us off our constitutional freedoms. It will not protect us from terrorist. It would bring us into a deep dream of being secured. It will not stop the stream of illegal immigration. It would widen the door to the invasive thugs. â€Å"Law enforcement would be allowed to stop anyone who was being suspicious and this is where Mandana says there could be a problem. This is where har assment and discrimination could come to place† [1]. It would cost us the tax payers billions of... ...question that can you deal with all the problem and false hope that nID will bring to you and the public. National ID is not the answer or solution to our national security, illegal immigration, anti-terrorist, and protection for our citizens. There are other solutions to these problems that would go beyond the scope of my paper here but national ID is absolutely not the one. REFERENCES: [1] Donna J Groff – post on Discussion 3/4/02 http://anegada.cudenver.edu/csc4735/discuss/msgReader$369 [2] Clair Wolfe http://www.backwoodshome.com/columns/wolfe0111.html [3] William Safire http://nytimes.com/2001/12/24/opinion/24SAFI.html [4] Peter G Neumann and Lauren Weinstein http://www.csl.sri.com/users/neumann/insiderisks.html [5] Phuong Kieu – my posting on Discussion 2/20/02 http://anegada.cudenver.edu/csc4735/discuss/msgReader$294

GIBSON’S PASSION? :: Essays Papers

GIBSON’S PASSION? I grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago where there were lots of Jewish people and Jewish students that I went to school with. There wasn’t any religious discrimination at all between Christians, Catholics or Jews. Mel Gibson's new controversial movie, â€Å"The Passion of the Christ† portrayed the Jews in a negative way and not only stereotypes them again, as being mainly liable for the death of Christ, but even causes violence and breeds disgust towards them. This film will cause and outline how millions of Christian movie-goers should look upon Jews in the future, and this may destroy an important Jewish-Christian union that’s developed over the years, that bond of brotherhood and understanding. Historically, the beating and death of Jesus has been known by Christians as his â€Å"passion.† However, Mel Gibson’s movie â€Å"The Passion† is based on the Passion Plays during the Roman Empire, that were written specifically back then to incite and anger people against the Jews. Jews have been the victims of hatred by many groups over many generations. Persecution has been a way of life for the Jewish people since in every generation there have been those who felt that the Jews just â€Å"don’t fit it.† Cecil B. Demille, the famous director of â€Å"The Ten Commandments,† first directed the film â€Å"The King of Kings,† which was the first anti-Semitic movie that offended Jews, seemingly making them responsible for the death of Christ, rather than the Romans. Whether or not Demille meant harm to the Jews is unknown, but the film launched a wave of anti-Semitism. Historical movies such as â€Å"Schindler’s List† and â€Å"Gettysburg† are accurate interpretations of what really happened in history. Even biblical epics such as Franco Zeffirelli's â€Å"Jesus of Nazareth† and the hit Broadway musical â€Å"Jesus Christ Superstar† avoided anti-Semitism. A recent 2001 movie drama about Adolf Hitler as a young child called â€Å"Max† starring John Cusack, responded to the criticism the movie got and accepted input and changes from critics. With the good suggestions they received, it made for an even better film, and the public voice was heard. A year before â€Å"The Passion† was due to open in theatres, Jewish officials offered changes to the film, but these were rejected by Mel Gibson. â€Å"The Passion† isn’t the real story of Jesus Christ’s death, but rather Mel Gibson’s own interpretation of it. People, nevertheless, will watch â€Å"The Passion† and believe that it is the truth.

Gatsby Automobile Essay Essay

There are many different themes, images, and symbols in Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby that render great importance to the development of the story. One particular image and symbol seen throughout Fitzgerald’s novel that acts as a major contributor to the plot is the automobile. The image of the automobile can be seen in relation with any of the characters in the novel who involve themselves in with driving an automobile or even simply talking about an automobile. Two characters in the novel that Fitzgerald uses to portray the images and symbols of the automobile are Tom Buchannan and Jay Gatsby. These two automobile owners are created into the strongest conductors of Fitzgerald’s imagery and symbolism throughout the novel. The automobile can be seen as representing a few different types of images and symbols. A possible symbol of the automobile may stand for the respective automobile owner’s status in society. Almost all automobiles in the nineteen-twenties were black and just about as plain as could be. These black automobiles were owned by all those who could just barely afford an automobile, to those who were average, middle class people, to the extremely wealthy who could easily afford three or four automobiles. What makes this piece of history so important is the fact that Fitzgerald gives both Tom and Gatsby brightly colored automobiles. The personalities of these two characters effortlessly magnifies the showiness and in Gatsby’s case, gaudiness. Gatsby’s absolutely obnoxious Rolls Royce is â€Å"a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that mirrored a dozen suns. † No one in the nineteen-twenties had such an untasteful looking automobile that Gatsby. One obvious and straightforward possible explanation for Gatsby’s hideous automobile is that he wants to show off his wealth, status, and â€Å"success† in his many trades. Another not so obvious reason for this hideous yellow automobile could be an image produced by Fitzgerald to try to illustrate Gatsby’s need to reach out and grasp Daisy’s attention. Unfortunately, because Gatsby was formerly a much lower class man, living on a farm out west with his family, his wealth and riches cannot buy him any class or style. A very similar situation can be seen with Tom Buchannan and his automobiles. He too, is very showy and flashy in his actions to show the world his possessions. Tom, like Gatsby, has an unusual colored car. This blue automobile is a symbol of wealth, status, and riches, just like Gatsby, but it can represent another image. Every single time Tom heads over to Wilson’s Garage for some gas or to see Myrtle, Wilson asks Tom about purchasing his old automobile. Tom plainly and seemingly without thinking puts the topic off to the side as if it wasn’t important and he didn’t want to talk about it. Sadly for Wilson, the automobile in a sense symbolizes Myrtle. Tom pushes the car aside as if it didn’t matter much at all to him, just like he uses Myrtle and makes all those empty promises to her about trying to divorce Daisy and being together forever. The images and symbols throughout The Great Gatsby create many dimensions to such a superb plot and character development. These amazing images set up by Fitzgerald give the novel a complete feel of full development. Fitzgerald ties in all the different elements of the story by using the one simple entity of the automobile.

Country lovers Essay

copy and paste method Screen-reader users, click here to turn off Google Instant. About 2,640,000 results (0. 56 seconds) Search Results country lovers Web definitions The Country Lovers is a 1911 short silent comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Blanche Sweet. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Country_Lovers Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer, an Analysis – lee custodio leecustodio. hubpages. com †º Books, Literature, and Writing? Mar 5, 2012 – Country Lovers (1975) is a story of forbidden love between a black woman—Thebedi and Paulus, the son of her white masters. It was a story of †¦ Country Lovers – College Essays – StudyMode. com www. studymode. com †º Home †º Literature? †¦ above being a line of strung together sentences and give the story meaning. †¦ Recently I have had the pleasure of reading the short story â€Å"Country Lovers†, †¦ Country Lovers Meaning Free Essays 1 – 20 – StudyMode. com www. studymode. com/subjects/country-lovers-meaning-page1. html? 20+ items – Free Essays on Country Lovers Meaning for students. Use our †¦ Country Lovers 737 Words 3 Pages. Country Lovers 980 Words 4 Pages. Response to Country Lovers – Research Paper – Hamdez8 www. studymode. com †º Home †º Linguistics & Human Languages? The first thing that captured my interest about the story â€Å"Country Lovers†, by Nadine †¦ Literature exists only when it is read; meaning is an event (versus the New †¦ Reading Reflection on the short story by Nadine Gordimer, â€Å"Country †¦ www. scribd. com/†¦ /Reading-Reflection-on-the-short-story-by-Nadine-G†¦? Jun 29, 2013 – Finally, I had to evaluate the meaning of the selected literary work, which in this case is â€Å"Country Lovers†, by Nadine Gordimer, once again †¦ Country Lovers flashcards | Quizlet quizlet. com/5228536/country-lovers-flash-cards/? Vocabulary words for Quotes and Meanings. Includes studying games and tools such as flashcards. Country Lovers – Essays – Justew53 – PaperCamp. com www. papercamp. com †º Literature? Jun 18, 2012 – In Nadine Gordimers story, Country Lovers she uses many different methods to describe the meaning behind this story;; An Analysis Of Country †¦ Free Country Lovers Vs The Welcome Table Essays 1 – 30 Anti Essays www. antiessays. com/topics/country-lovers-vs-the-welcome-table/0? Get access to Country Lovers Vs The Welcome Table Essays only from Anti †¦ The Welcome Table: discover different human experiences and the meanings. Essay | Analysis of â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer †¦ www. bookrags. com/essay-2003/3/6/115012/5149/? Mar 6, 2003 – Essays from BookRags provide great ideas for essays and paper topics like Analysis of â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer. View this student †¦ Patriotism – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster †¦ www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/patriotism? pa ·tri ·ot ·ism. noun ? pa-tre-? -? ti-z? m, chiefly British ? pa-. : love that people feel for their country. Full Definition of PATRIOTISM. : love for or devotion to one’s †¦

Assignment Poetry

He uses punctuation, enjambment (13) metaphors to his choice of imagery in this sonnet. He is very strict in structuring his creative imagination and deep emotions in this sonnet. This sonnet deals with Skate's concern of his own mortality as well as his concerns for the longevity and appreciation of his work. â€Å"What I have fears† covers many points on the poets fears of dying young in this poem. John Keats fear of dying and is inability to write down all the rich poems he as In Nils nana applets Itself In ten TLS quatrain AT ten poem.He wants to write as many books as possible giving people his knowledge and ideas. In his poem there is the use of metaphors and structures depicting his fear and losses. He also wants to love and give love to someone. His dreams of fulfilling his ambitions will be cut short because of the reality he will die soon. This poem has a rhyme scheme of Shakespearean. It consists of 3 quatrains and a couplet. In line 4 he compares himself to nature the field of grain. Just as seeds are sown and grain is ready to be harvested. His growth of life at his mature age will be cut down like that of the grain.He will die soon. He wants to experience life through other people's experiences. He compares himself to a star in the night. A star symbolizes the end of a day and darkness. His life is compared to that darkness. The star shines bright and he thinks he has hope but behind that the star he knows that he doesn't have hope at all. A dark cloud hangs over his life by sadness, of his death soon. He wants to love someone and to receive love back and he knows that this is unreachable to him Just as the clouds and shadows are. He hopes for â€Å"A magic hand of chance â€Å"(8) a miracle waiting to happen to him.He will never get that chance. He also wants to meet his ultimate love interest and his love of poems until he writes that one ultimate poem before he dies. In line (10) he will never see love again. His love of writing his po ems and the fact that he would never get the time, to complete all of this. He would love to meet someone where two worlds could become one. He is scarified in fulfilling that need as there is not enough time for him to love someone and share his life with. In the last two lines of his poem you SE there is an enjambment (13).The whole sonnet changes completely in these lines. There is hard hitting reality revealed by the poet. He stands alone in this â€Å"wide world† because he will die alone and no body will be with him. In the end romance and his fame mean nothing anymore because he is going to die anyway. â€Å"Nothingness† means he is deprived of his life at a young prime age and of love, and his passion to write books and poetry has taken away. There is no resolution for him in this sonnet, because he is at the end of line in his life, he will â€Å"sink†. He will die soon.

A poem about a house on a windy day Essay

When you start to read wind you get the impression that it is going to be a poem about a house on a windy day. However this is not the case. The author is trying to illustrate how fierce Mother Nature’s army can be. He is making it seem as though the wind is fighting the house and it’s human inhabitants. The wind is trying to scare the people, by isolating it, from the rest of civilisation, for the night. â€Å"The house has been far out to sea all night†. As the wind travels across the countryside it’s destructive qualities become apparent, scaring the people almost to death. † The woods crashing through the darkness†. The wind is using the surrounding hills to its advantage by making impacting noise that seems to echo across the valley. â€Å"The booming hills†. As well as all this the wind continues it terrorising by stamping like a herd of elephants under the windowsills in the flowerbeds. â€Å"Winds stampeding the fields under the window†. The poet tries to illustrate the winds power and strength by saying that the house had become adrift overnight and the wind had carried it to a new location. â€Å"The hills had new places†. As the wind moved ad danced in the air it gave off colours that surrounded the little house, making it difficult to see past the garden. â€Å"Luminous black and emerald, flexing like the lens of a mad eye.† At midday one of the inhabitants bravely went outside to investigate the extent of the damage, caused by the overnight wind. As the person looked up in to the wind they had to turn away quickly, because of the shear force acting on their eyes. â€Å"Once I looked up through the brunt of the wind that dented the balls of my eyes†. The strength of the wind overpowered the hills; they could not endure any more beatings from the wind. They could no longer protect the house from the full force of the wind. â€Å"The tent of the hills drummed and strained on its guy rope†. Fearing the return of the wind overnight the whole of the scenery began to change and prepare for the onslaught before them. â€Å"The fields quivering, the skyline a grimace, at any second to bang and vanish with a flap†. Even the birds cannot understand the force of the wind. â€Å"The wind flung a magpie away and a black- back gull bent like an iron bar slowly†. I know that the people are because the poet has written about the house being as fragile as a great green goblet, ringing † in the note that at any second would shatter it â€Å". The people try to shut out the wind by sitting together in the living room and ignoring it. â€Å"Now deep in chairs, in front of the great fire†. Although they are trying to shut out the wind it is not working because they cannot concentrate on anything except the wind. â€Å"We grip our hearts and cannot entertain book, thought, or each other†. As the wind continues its attack the inhabitants learn to except it and ignore it, if slowly. â€Å"We watch the fire blazing, and feel the roots of the house move, but sit on, seeing the window tremble to come in, hearing the stones cry out under the horizons†. The poet does an outstanding job of promoting the winds excellence at its job, to terrorise the inhabitants of the house. He creates the impression by using metaphors, similes and adjectives, that make you feel as though you are really there, experiencing it for yourself. He has constructed the poem well because the sentences run into the next verse. This is effective because it is not used in many other poems. This intrigues the reader into continuing and reading right to the end. The writer uses a lot of hyperbole to exercise his points, such as â€Å"the hills drummed and strained on its guy rope†. He has created the impression well and I have enjoyed the poem, although I needed to read it through a few times to fully understand it.

CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS - Assignment Example It affects the smooth lining in the joints leading to pain and notable stiffness. The cartilage of the joints thins and tissues become less active, leading to swelling (Crisp, Taylor & Douglas, 2013). The case also results in body spurs due to eroding of the bones at the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is common in women and is thrice more likely to affect women than men. The condition develops when the immune system of the body targets affected joints leading to pain and swelling. It affects the outer covering of the joints first and the spreads across the joint hence pain. People with the rheumatoid can also develop problems with other tissues and other body organs (Crisp, Taylor & Douglas, 2013). The common clinical manifestations of the arthritis condition include long-term inflammation of the joint areas, affecting the bones and muscles in that joint. The patient also depicts aspects of stiffness in movement, swelling of the tendons and eyes. It can also reflect in swelling of the neck and in cases where it affects other tissues or organs, it can reflect as pain in those organs. Mr. Elliot is 70 years of age and suffers from chronic arthritis. In the interview, he says he began developing symptoms of pain and swelling of the ankle joints at the age of 52 years. However, at this time, he sought treatment for pains thinking it was a normal joint defect resulting from his past career. Mr. Elliot was a professional footballer and at his formative years, he spend alit of time exercising, and in the process suffered multiple joint injuries. Therefore, when the condition started developing, he thought it was from the injuries he suffered at his young age playing football. However, he condition worsened, persisting for over 8 years, before he sought professional care. He learnt it was osteoarthritis at age of 60 years. Currently, he understands the cause of the condition and its impact to his health and lives positively, while undertaking

Employment training part 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Employment training part 1 - Essay Example In this study the focus is on formal and informal training in the organization, their strengths and weaknesses and why are they required in an organization. Training Training is associated with the work related computing that comes in variety of forms staring from â€Å"formal, scheduled classroom instruction to spur-of-the-moment sessions with a co-worker to self-based trial and error efforts† (Danziger and Dunkle, 2005, p. 1). Both individuals as well as the organization have their own choices regarding the training method. The training can be characterized in several dimensions. The two most important dimensions that are considered while selecting a training method are the degree of interaction that takes place between one another during the training and the degree of formality involved in training. Based on this, there are two types of training formal and informal. Figure 1 Source: (Danziger and Dunkle, 2005) Formal Learning Formal learning is the learning that takes place in a structured and organised environment and is explicitly in terms of resources, time and objectives. From the learners’ point of view, it is intentional and leads to certification and validation. It aims towards achievement of competencies, skill and knowledge (Patrick, 2010). Formal training leads to formal learning amongst the individuals. Formal training is the professionally developed training program or session that has a fixed agenda to be offered or discussed either on or off site during the compensated working hours of the employees. Formal training includes professional conferences, seminars, employee skills and development programs, apprenticeship training, certification training and technical trainings (Crotty, 2004). The learning is evolved from certain organized program of instructions. Formal learning is achieved by the learners, when they undergo some well designed training programs in their workplace. Formal leaning displays certain specific essential feat ures that are: This have a specific curriculum The trainer is responsible for delivering its teaching strictly in accordance with the curriculum. There is a certain assessment system that assesses the achievement of leaning objectives of the learner and certifies it (Jarvis and Watts, 2012). Informal Learning Informal learning is signified as the learning process that takes place from the daily activities of an individual related to leisure, family and work. It is not structured or organised in terms of learning support, time and objectives. From the perspective of the learner, it is unintentional and is often referred to as â€Å"learning from experience† or simply experience. The main idea behind informal learning is that people by their virtue of existence are exposed to various learning situations continuously (Patrick, 2010). However, informal learning has gained increased attention as a significant part of management and leadership development. Some of the research scho lars have signified informal learning as lesson of experience that has helped many mangers in reaching to the top of the organization (Halliday-Wynnes and Beddie, 2009). Learning from the experience is a continuous process that often entails in dealing with failure or hardship. For instance, in cases where the business leaders learn from

Disclosure of fair value information in the corporate annual report Essay

Disclosure of fair value information in the corporate annual report - Essay Example The manner in which businesses are run in the UK markets is monitored and controlled through policies that touch on ethical business relationships, fair representation of financial statements, and fair valuation of company’s worth. While corporate operations are regulated in order to attain an ethical business environment, various other regulations are conducted to ensure that financial and accounting approaches of the business are transparent to attract genuine interest from investors and other stakeholders (Martinià ¨re, 2007). Within the UK marketplace, IFRS 13 is considered the law governing fair value information which is a vital set if information required to value a business entity. The IFRS 13 is responsible for fair value measurement and provided guidelines on how companies should measure their fair value (Deloitte UK, 2013). However, since the financial and accounting field has various approaches to valuing assets and business’s net worth, the IFRS 13 conside rs fair value at the exit price and makes use of fair value hierarchy to value an entity. Valuation using the fair value hierarchy is market-based and is not entity-specific (Demski, Lin, & Sappington, 2008). Entity specific measures tend to consider the type of business and the owner of the business. However, fair value hierarchy makes use of market-based approach to value assets and business’s worth. Additionally, the approach of considering the exit price aims at showing how much the business entity or company would be worth in its current market if were to close at the moment of valuation (Song, Thomas, & Yi, 2010). Under the UK regulations, fair value is defined as the prices acquired from an asset sale or in transfer of liability in a systematic transaction among market participants at the date of measurement. Based on the market value, fair value considers active markets which are defines as

Drug abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drug abuse - Essay Example Drugs do come in various forms such as pills, powder or in crystals. Individuals who abuse these drugs do it in several ways and it does depend on the nature of the drug. A victim can consume the drug by swallowing if in pill form, snorted if it is in the form of powder as well as injection buy use of a needle or a syringe. Furthermore, those drugs that are in crystal form can be smoked or in haled by the victims. Using of drugs such as stimulants do aid in boosting an individuals moods, alertness, self esteem as well as energy with increased heart beats. However, I will not recommend its use since as they increased an individual’s rate of heart beats it leads to the blood pressure being elevated, which may cause long term sickness on increased blood pressure. As a result of the negative effects in our bodies in spite of the short term positive effect, considering the long term as the way then it is absurd to the victim. Such problems do lead to early deaths and the society is bound to loose most of it productive individuals. On the other hand stimulants are used to suppress appetite for a short period for individuals who are obese. Drugs such as Amphetamines is a stimulant that are mostly prescribed by doctors but if abused they affect the brain. The body and the brain can be affected by Dexedrine and Ritalin. These drugs have a chemical structure which is similar to the neurotransmitters referred to as monoamines including nor epinephrine and dopamine. Stimulants do increase chemical amounts in the brain as a result of this pressure of blood is increased as well as the rate at which the heart is beating. There is constricts blood vessels, the level of glucose in blood is increased as the path of the respiratory system is opened.... As a result of this, there is constricts blood vessels, the level of glucose in blood is increased as the path of the respiratory system is opened. In addition, it causes increase in dopamine which is related to the sense of euphoria that can be used with Nicotine which are stimulants as well that may lead to the storage of neurotransmitter dopamine in the victims brain. As a result of the dopamine concentration creates a stimulating feeling of euphoria that the victim experiences (Gitlin, 197-199). It is dangerous to use the stimulant sometimes. In spite of their use not leading to dependency which is physical and facing withdrawal risks. They are very addictive leading to the victim to use the stimulant compulsively. As a result of use which is continuous cause the individual not only affecting their bodies with the drug but also they never think of development since the little they earn is spend on drugs leading to a vicious circle in the society. Furthermore, when high doses are taken by an individual over a short time can lead to one feeling hostile. In addition, when high doses are taken body an individual it leads to high temperature for a body which is dangerous as well as heart beats which are irregular. It also leads to cardiovascular failure or what is referred to as lethal seizures. Most stimulants are very addictive such as cocaine, amphetamines as well as methamphetamine. It is tough for an individual to even try to use the stimulants after trying them because the victim will not be able to predict the extent of at which they will be under the influence. Depressants are drugs that are also abuse by human being across the globe. The central nervous system is usually affected by the depressant

A Summary of District-Level Downsizing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Summary of District-Level Downsizing - Essay Example Schachter goes on to add that, the state legislators or the democratic and republican governors are on a process to balance their budgets and the bad economic times have forced them to implement a huge cut in the public services arena, where the education sector is the target. The director of the AASA (American Association of School Administrators) confirmed this by saying that addition of the cuts to the end of the stimulus year would see the districts come to a cliff. While reacting to the survey that was conducted by the AASA concerning the school superintendents, the director Domenech indicated that the budget cut value of 5%, which was targeting the administrators, was bound to accelerate. The whole district school administrator spectrum has become the target and vulnerable. The cuts in the education sector that are happening currently in the United States cities are a unique event that has never happened. As the number of the students rises, other educational leaders are guttin g departments such as operations and assessments at the district level to turn the assistant principal position into a species that is endangered. The executive director of the IASA (Illinois Association of School Administrators) attributed the current events to the administrators being a microcosm of the recess in America. According to Schachter, different states have reacted to these events in different ways in as much as the cuts or the layoffs are common in all the involved districts. In California for example the layoffs or down sizing have considerably narrowed down the administrative corridor. Approximately 3,000 administrative posts an equivalent of 17% reduction has been implemented in California. This hardest part of this is that the state of California over the same period managed to loose a total of 20,000 teacher’s equivalent of 6%. Despite of all these downsizing attempts a $4billion cut in California state education aid is looming and if the Gov.Brown’s plan of temporarily raising the taxes of some states is not approved, and then as many as 2000 administrators are going out of their jobs next year. The administrators were targeted first to try and salvage the classroom since the instruction of the students was a priority hence the teachers were spared in California. The Charleston (S.C.) to mention as one of the schools froze the salaries of 3400 teachers and lay off a few. The board of this school is planning to cut between 70 and 60 positions in non-classrooms in the following year. This is according to Bobby Michael, who is the chief operations and financial officer for the county school Charleston. (Schachter, 1) In the state of Texas, the idea of raising the property taxes is not being considered despite the amount accounting for 37% of Texas school budget. The superintendent of Irving (Texas) Independent School District Bedden Dana managed to tap $6.5 million, and another $7million to $10 million of the district’s res erve fund will be taken in the following year to cover the deficit. The Irving district is facing a huge deficit of between $21 million to $31 million and, therefore, the reserves will not be enough to offset the deficits. Schachter is of the opinion that, the district has adopted another method of increasing the size of the class by adding three students at the elementary averaging

Is Rim Destined to eventually Fail Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Is Rim Destined to eventually Fail - Essay Example The growth is witnessed in terms of output, staffing and the manufacturing infrastructure. The consistent increase in volume of the company’s products ensures its competitiveness in the marketplace by confirming that the products it supplies are market-friendly and adequate to the ever-increasing number of customers. The increase in production is fueled by the adequacy of staff. Adequate staff ensure that work is concluded on time hence meeting the company deadlines. Manufacturing infrastructure on the other hand facilitates invention and innovation resulting in originality of the company products (Palmatier & Crum, 2003). Externally, there is the ever-rising pressure from the rapidly expanding consumer base; RIM products experience a short lifecycle. Therefore, they have extended manufacturing contracts to likeminded firms to help them in production to meet the ever-rising customer demands. This has extended the decision making chain resulting in complexity when it comes to market efficiency and decision-making in terms of enhancing supply chains. The software makeup of the organization is also not up to the task prompting the implementation of a decision support system for the company to ensure it continues its operations successfully (Chopra & Meindl, 2001). In the recent past RIM has been quite successful and because of this success a crop of challenges have come up threatening the success of the corporation. The company introduced seven new models of their products within the last 18 months. The challenge with these products is their shortened lifecycle that has reduced further from 2 years to a mere 1 year. Reports show that the company’s product portfolio has become very complex ranging from 18 to 100 possible end combinations of the models with only seven lines of products. This has the challenge of easily creating what we call an

Journalling Personal Experiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Journalling Personal Experiences - Essay Example Yet, it’s is more fun for me to personally see the facial expression and body language of the person I am talking to. And hence suddenly not being able to see who I am talking to particularly when I am chatting with a group that I am not acquainted with can be quite perplexing. Yet, the whole endeavor is engaging and interesting especially when I am trying to keep the conversation going, choose carefully my statements, and sustain the interest of the person or group I am conversing with. In the chat room, these are more quite difficult to attain than in face-to-face interaction. Eventually, when I learned my way through the online environment, my opinion on this new approach of learning and teaching started to change. I guess†¦ I discerned many advantages and conveniences of online classes, especially if these are performed appropriately. So far all my online classes have been very successful because our professors used different means such as chat rooms, video conferenci ng, e-mail, etc. Even though the whole experience is far from being ‘real’, it really kept me motivated and involved. Entry # Time Task Behavior 2 12:00 pm- 1:00 pm Consulting a friend regarding whether to take an online course or a face-to-face class. If I had to choose between taking a course face-to-face and online, I would choose the latter. However if I discovered that the instructor did not know how to take advantage of or make the online learning setting efficient, if they are actually familiar with the online environment and know how to use it correctly, if they are then I would take a class online, otherwise, I would prefer face-to-face. Yet again I have to really be sure if the lecturer, professor, or instructor, whatever designation the person whose supervising the course has, has a proficient knowledge of the purpose, use, and importance of the online learning environment. It is an issue of convenience and practicality but also value and success of the learn ing experience. Thus I think I have to be prepared. I think I have to be dedicated to this endeavor because it is more demanding and challenging in a distinct manner. I think I have to be conscientious and professors should be always available online to address students’ concerns; if not, it is not successful†¦ and teachers cannot lead an online course and keep in touch with their students on a regular basis. It would be equivalent to not attending your classes. But I still believe that there should be face-to-face meetings as well, a substantial portion of the learning environment should be this way. It cannot be entirely online. That won’t work. I experienced taking an online course which does not meet face-to-face, even once. When I had things to clarify with the instructor, for instance, through the chat room, our streams of conversation were usually interrupted or, worst, lost in a barrage of questions, issues, and concerns popping out of the chat room all at the same time. Entry # Time Task Behavior 3 1:00 pm- 3:00 pm Meeting with a computer instructor to discuss about my problems with WebCT One of the things that take place in the online environment is the formation of peer groups, and I suppose I would not encourage any person from taking part in an online course that was merely random. I believe we have to develop that learning environment and have the help and advocacy of a peer to carry out a higher course online. I would suggest to all my pupils in

Top 10 Apps of 2007 Essay Example for Free

Top 10 Apps of 2007 Essay It is a matter of fact that technologies, especially computer and Internet technologies, are swiftly developing offering us more and more opportunities to become professionals in computer sphere or, at least, to make our communication with computer and Internet easier. The year of 2007 is marked by a number of significant improvements in computer interfaces and applications as new social features are added to prepare for the next great year. Actually, the top 10 apps of 2007 are the following: Google Maps are among the first improvements as they added new street views for more than 20 cities in the United States, as well as specified public transit directions for smaller areas, changing routes. Google Maps used embedded maps and drag-and-drop maps. As a result, we are allowed to create personalized maps, to edit maps and to collaborate with friends and relatives. Further, Google Maps included geographic content from the web when searching for information. Maps launched a new feature which detected your location and this function is available for iPhones and Windows Mobile devices. It is possible to access local search simply by voice. However, the most interesting updating is opportunity to explore the sky and to predict weather conditions. Mint (Online money manager) is an effective way to organize your finances as it is a teeth-clenching and hair-pulling task when you have to enter data, provide balance and perform accounting operations. As a result, you are left with 20 cent balance after a day of data entry. Mint has changed the way of organizing finances as instead of spending hours on data entry and spending money on expensive desktop app, which will organize your finances, it is better to use free and easy Mint. All you need is to register, to enter bank details and the service will automatically download your credit information, transactions and operations. Mint is able to generate graphs and charts, as well as to warn about low balances and high charges. Mint is effective way to save money and to manage spending. Gmail has also improved offering us to sign up for an account. Gmail allows to store data up to 6Gb and to increase the attachment size of 20Mb. Moreover, it is possible to pay for more storage option. Presentation viewer and IMAP are added as one of the most popular Internet features of 2007. A new version is launched and AJAX backend is fully re-written offering new features as, for example, new contact managers, colored cables and groups chat. Despite the fact that Gmail had certain performance problems, they were removed within the first month. Microsoft Office 2007 has significantly improved Desktop office suite which is claimed to be a bumpy launch of 2007. newly improved office suite aims at replacing familiar menus with new ‘ribbon’ interface. However, from the first glance improvement may seem unnecessary and inconvenient as you are forced to hunt for necessary buttons without looking. But the chance was given and Microsoft launched venerable WSJ-reviewer – Walt Mossberg. The new office is provided with fabulous keyboard interface. YouTube has improved interface and ahs launched a mobile version, bulk uploader, customizable players and Google Data API. In other words, new feeds are available as iPhone application. Shares revenue and overlay days are introduced as well. New video identification technology aims at solving copyright infringement problems. YouTube has improved Google Video having added third-party sites. It means that YouTube is a video search engine nowadays. Actually, Google Video allows searching for new films and clips in the whole world offering such features as uploading videos online, popular videos, comments, ratings and labels. Google Docs are selected for their successful efforts to become integrated with Gmail and they added improved interface of document list and mobile version. Google Docs launched Google Presentations with basic features and in alpha version. Other small updates are conditional formatting, providing docs with an URL, and autofill. Finally, Google Docs are able to import online data and to store API. Google Reader offers support for embedded content and has added new trends: YouTube videos, recommendations, offline version, shared items from relatives and friends, feed management, search opportunities, etc. Google Reader has also updated feeds faster and launched ping mechanism from Blog Search. Google Notebook has integrated with Google Bookmarks becoming more accessible for users and professionals. Today Google Notebook is a part of Google Toolbar 5. Newly improve notes include clips from different web pages and users are allowed to share them with others. Finally, Google Notebook has allowed exporting notes to Google docs and has added mobile version. Picasa Web Albums are characterized by free storage opportunities, new labels, option of geotag photos and mobile version. All users are allowed to search for public photos which are a part of Google Image Search. Grand Central is virtual telephone line PBX and it has improved significantly. Millions of people have home phones, office phones and personal cell phones and they realize that sometimes it is a head pain to keep track of who calls, when and why. Grand Central allows you to call to a single GC-issued number, to forward voicemail, to filter calls and to screen calls. Grand Central offers customization of handling incoming calls. Service allows keeping voicemail online and user is notified of receiving new message. It is necessary to underline that Grand Central has launched messaging system, reminder and has improved interface offering various webapps as, for example, Blogger, Twitter and Google Calendar. References Broida, Rick. (2008.) Top Apps of 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008, from http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=1018 Top Ten Google Apps in 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008, from http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/top-google-apps-in-2007.html Top 10 New and Improved Apps of 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008, from http://lifehacker.com/software/lifehacker-top-10/top-10-new-and-improved-apps-of-2007-332617.php