Computer-Based Office Automation essays

Computer-Based Office Automation essays Personal computer-based office automation software has become an indispensable part of election management in many business environments. Word processing programs have replaced typewriters; spreadsheet programs have replaced ledger books; database programs have replaced paper-based electoral rolls, inventories and staff lists; personal organizer programs have replaced paper diaries; and the list goes on. In the last thirty years technology has made it possible to minimize time wasted on redundant tasks. The paperless work environment has become the goal of many businesses. The overall effect this automation revolution has had on business is getting harder to measure by the day. Starting with the introduction of basic word processing and spreadsheet programs in the 1970s, by the 1990s office automation programs had become very sophisticated. These programs have served to empower ordinary office workers by enabling them to complete tasks in-house that had previously been sent off-site to be completed by specialists. In most cases the increased efficiency has equated to more production and new job opportunities. For example, desktop publishing programs allow relative novices to produce professional-quality publications, where once even the simplest of typesetting tasks had to be sent to professional typesetters and printers. Database and spreadsheet programs running on high-powered personal computers allow everyday users to input, store, process, and use data in ways that once would only have been possible on large main-frame computers operated by specialists. Telephone routing systems have made the workforce more efficient by eliminating unnecessary transfers and lowering hold times. The automated phone answering systems have also made the office more efficient by giving people access to information without having to speak with a real person. Voice mail offers the advantage of answering your calls while you're on the phon...

Major General Sir Isaac Brock in the War of 1812

Major General Sir Isaac Brock in the War of 1812 The eighth son of a middle class family, Isaac Brock was born in St. Peter Port, Guernsey on October 6, 1769 to John Brock, formerly of the Royal Navy, and Elizabeth de Lisle. Though a strong student, his formal education was brief and included schooling in Southampton and Rotterdam. Appreciative of education and learning, he spent much of his later life working to improve his knowledge. During his early years, Brock also became known as a strong athlete who was particularly gifted at boxer and swimming. Early Service At the age of fifteen, Brock decided to pursue a military career and on March 8, 1785 purchased a commission as an ensign in the 8th Regiment of Foot. Joining his brother in the regiment, he proved a capable soldier and in 1790 was able to purchase a promotion to lieutenant. In this role he worked hard to raise his own company of soldiers and was finally successful a year later. Promoted to captain on January 27, 1791, he received command of the independent company that he had created. Shortly thereafter, Brock and his men were transferred to the 49th Regiment of Foot. In his early days with the regiment, he earned the respect of his fellow officers when he stood up to another officer who was a bully and prone to challenging others to duels. After a sojourn with the regiment to the Caribbean during which he fell critically ill, Brock returned to Britain in 1793 and was assigned to recruiting duty. Two years later he purchased a commission as a major before rejoining the 49th in 1796. In October 1797, Brock benefited when his superior was compelled to leave the service or face a court-martial. As a result, Brock was able to purchase the lieutenant colonelcy of the regiment at a reduced price. Fighting in Europe In 1798, Brock became the effective commander of the regiment with the retirement of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Keppel. The following year, Brocks command received orders to join Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercrombys expedition against the Batavian Republic. Brock first saw combat at the Battle of Krabbendam on September 10, 1799, though the regiment was not heavily engaged in the fighting. A month later, he distinguished himself at the Battle of Egmont-op-Zee while fighting under Major General Sir John Moore.   Advancing over difficult terrain outside of the town, the 49th and British forces were under constant fire from French sharpshooters. In the course of the engagement, Brock was struck in the throat by a spent musket ball but quickly recovered to continue leading his men. Writing of the incident, commented, I got knocked down shortly after the enemy began to retreat, but never quitted the field, and returned to my duty in less than half an hour. Two years later, Brock and his men embarked aboard Captain Thomas Fremantles HMS Ganges (74 guns) for operations against the Danes and were present at the Battle of Copenhagen. Originally brought on board for use in assaulting the Danish forts around the city, Brocks men were not needed in the wake of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelsons victory. Assignment to Canada With fighting quieting in Europe, the 49th was transferred to Canada in 1802. Arriving, he was initially assigned to Montreal where he was forced to deal with problems of desertion. On one occasion, he violated the American border to recover a group of deserters. Brocks early days in Canada also saw him prevent a mutiny at Fort George. Having received word that members of the garrison intended to imprison their officers before fleeing to the United States, he made an immediate visit to the post and had the ringleaders arrested. Promoted to colonel in October 1805, he took a brief leave to Britain that winter. Preparing for War With tensions between the United States and Britain rising, Brock began efforts to improve Canadas defenses. To this end he oversaw improvements to the fortifications at Quebec and improved the Provincial Marine which was responsible for transporting troops and supplies on the Great Lakes. Though appointed brigadier general in 1807 by Governor General Sir James Henry Craig, Brock was frustrated by a lack of supplies and support. This feeling was compounded by a general unhappiness with being posted to Canada when his comrades in Europe were gaining glory by fighting Napoleon. Wishing to return to Europe, he sent several requests for reassignment. In 1810, Brock was given command of all British force in Upper Canada. The following June saw him promoted to major general and with the departure of Lieutenant Governor Francis Gore that October, he was made the administrator for Upper Canada giving him civil as well as military powers. In this role he worked to alter the militia act to expand his forces and began building relationships with Native American leaders such as the Shawnee chief Tecumseh. Finally granted permission to return to Europe in 1812, he declined as war was looming. The War of 1812 Begins With the outbreak of the War of 1812 that June, Brock felt that British military fortunes were bleak. In Upper Canada, he possessed only 1,200 regulars which were supported by around 11,000 militia. As he doubted the loyalty of many Canadians, he believed only around 4,000 of the latter group would be willing to fight. Despite this outlook, Brock quickly sent word to Captain Charles Roberts at St. John Island in Lake Huron to move against nearby Fort Mackinac at his discretion. Roberts succeeded in capturing the American fort which aided in gaining support from the Native Americans. Triumph at Detroit Wishing to build on this success, Brock was thwarted by Governor General George Prevost who desired a purely defensive approach. On July 12, an American force led by Major General William Hull moved from Detroit into Canada. Though the Americans quickly withdrew to Detroit, the incursion provided Brock with justification for going on the offensive. Moving with around 300 regulars and 400 militia, Brock reached Amherstburg on August 13 where he was joined by Tecumseh and approximately 600-800 Native Americans. As British forces had succeeded in capturing Hulls correspondence, Brock was aware that the Americans were short on supplies and scared of attacks by the Native Americans. Despite being badly outnumbered, Brock emplaced artillery on the Canadian side of the Detroit River and began bombarding Fort Detroit. He also employed a variety of tricks to convince Hull that his force was larger than it was, while also parading his Native American allies to induce terror. On August 15, Brock demanded that Hull surrender. This was initially refused and Brock prepared to lay siege to the fort. Continuing his various ruses, he was surprised the next day when the elderly Hull agreed to turn over the garrison. A stunning victory, the fall of Detroit secured that area of the frontier and saw the British capture a large supply of weapons which were needed for arming the Canadian militia. Death at Queenston Heights That fall Brock was forced to race east as an American army under Major General Stephen van Rensselaer threatened to invade across the Niagara River. On October 13, the Americans opened the Battle of Queenston Heights when they began shifting troops across the river. Fighting their way ashore they moved against a British artillery position on the heights. Arriving on the scene, Brock was forced to flee when American troops overran the position. Sending a message to Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe at Fort George to bring reinforcements, Brock began rallying British troops in the area to retake the heights. Leading forward two companies of the 49th and two companies of York militia, Brock charged up the heights assisted by aide-de-camp Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonell. In the attack, Brock was struck in the chest and killed. Sheaffe later arrived and fought the battle to a victorious conclusion. In the wake of his death, over 5,000 attended his funeral and his body was buried at Fort George. His remains were later moved in 1824 to a monument in his honor that was constructed on Queenston Heights. Following damage to the monument in 1840, they were shifted to a larger monument on the same site in the 1850s.

THE APLOGY BY PLATO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

THE APLOGY BY PLATO - Essay Example â€Å"I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you† (Plato, 399 BCE) The continued vein of thought associates the idea of an easy death with the possibility of additional irritants. Clearly Socrates believes that while his existence is an irritant to the state it is an irritant that should be accepted as the alternatives are simply more of the same. The idea of freedom of speech can be equated to Socrates brilliance of approach. Though what is said by some may not be appreciated by all it is necessary to have the alternatives available. Unfortunately, in many cases the state will simply terminate the threat regardless of the potential and often assured possibility of another gadfly becoming a persistent irritant in speaking against the state. Of the passage another portion immediately becomes glaringly apparent. His use of God as a defense is admirable and show s a persistent desire to enlighten even the most hard headed of the state’s prosecution against him. If one believes in a God or Supreme Being then it stands to reason that his appearing as an irritant that can potentially cause many problems is given by God. â€Å"For if you kill me you will not easily find a successor to me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God† (Plato, 399 BCE) In addition to his appeal to a higher power is his appeal to singular ability with the line, â€Å"You will not easily find another like me, and therefore I would advise you to spare me† (Plato, 399 BCE). And he is right, for every human is irreplaceable as every human is singularly unique. Unfortunately, this argument goes against the other arguments regarding the likelihood of additional gadflies appearing and continuing the harassment of the state. For if he is truly unique then one can rightly assume that it is likely h e will not be replaced. More importantly is the thinly veiled message to the state, while it may feel good ridding itself of a stinging, biting nuisance for a while this is no long term solution to any problem. Easily equated to this are the modern movements speaking against state excess and immorality of conflicts and more; while the message is not easily accepted or acted upon by the state, it may become necessary to stop the problem of the gadfly by cleaning up the horse. Again using a modern approach, to stop the protests, articles and various messages against the state it would seem that the easiest course for long term comfort would be the reduction of immoral wars and greed. Plato uses the literal idea of death faced by Socrates both during and after his trial in order to develop the more philosophical concept of philosophy as a pursuit of death. For Plato, the melete thanatou involves the lack of a true fear of physical death but more a fear that the knowledge obtained and p assed on by himself will be lost. â€Å"I were to desert my post through fear of death, or any other fear; that would indeed be strange, and I might justly be arraigned in court for denying the existence of the gods, if I disobeyed the oracle because I was afraid of death, fancying that I was wise when I was not wise† (Plato, 399 BCE). He did not care so much for the minutia of theological argumentation but more the

Critically assess the claim that market research is essential to Essay

Critically assess the claim that market research is essential to small, family owned firms. Do you think that the research aims, methods, tools, outcomes, and e - Essay Example Family owned business market research is usually discussed by the family members who are member of the company. While in big organizations, market research is discussed by high ranking personnel and a team of marketing personnel. We will discuss the importance of market research in a small family owned business. Family businesses have their own special set of challenges. Not only are you in personal relationships with a number of the people you are working with, which can complicate those relationships and those with your other employees, but you also need to deal with leadership roles and how ownership is passed to future generations. (www.smallbusinessnotes.com). Market research deals with the gathering of information, analyzing data and recording. Its uses include helping create a business plan, launch a new product or service, fine tune existing products and services, and expand into new markets. Market research can be used to determine which portion of the population will purchase the product/service, based on variables like age, gender, location and income level. It can be found out what market characteristics a target market has. With market research, companies can learn more about current and potential customers. (www.wikipedia.org). Like any other business the small family owned business needs to have a market research to be able to ... Family members who are involved in the business usually have contradicting ideas and sometimes resulted in misunderstanding because emotions interfere. This is a market research should enters. The family members should put in mind that in market research the success and growth of the business is possible. Market research will also reduce the risk at the earliest stage. Small and big companies start the market research by gathering market information to ensure that they can serve their client by: remaining current with trends, keeping ahead of their competitors and seeking out new markets. Market Research There are several steps that need to be done in order to have a successful market research. The first thing that we need to identify is the problem involve in the company. A family owned company usually have problem in concluding in several things. One of the dimensions that need to be overcome by the family owned company is involvement of emotion during decision making. In a market research it is a waste if you proceed into something without identifying the problem first. Like any other business the family owned business should be able to identify the problem of their business correctly. Market research also helps companies develop information regarding new products or product lines and learn how well new items will be received. It can also help businesses learn how the public responds to a comparable product already on the market. In this way, business can stay in the loop, keeping in touch with the wants and needs of potential consumers. They can halt production of a product that the public shows little or no interest in, or change it, improve it, or

Contact Zones in Chicano Culture Essay Example for Free

Contact Zones in Chicano Culture Essay Meeting someone from another culture expands your knowledge of the world. As you receive new information, you are giving some of your own. The experience of two different people meeting is far less than the experience of two different cultures of people meeting. The most common outcome of these meeting is one culture dominates over the other. This domination eventually leads to hatred towards the oppressors, until the dominated are free. Over many years, the dominated population has integrated their culture with the dominant one but there is still conflict. In â€Å"Arts of a Contact Zone† Mary Louise Pratt writes about the effects of a contact zone, when two different cultures meet and interact, and why it is good. Contact zones bring people together to share ideas and cultures but it can also lead to slavery and conquest . We will focus on one effect: literate arts. Some of the literate arts are autoethnography, transculturation, bilingualism, critique, and denunciation. These literate arts are ways people use language to express a clash of two cultures. An â€Å"autoethnographic text†, a text that a writer uses to respond to the way other people sees their ethnic group, uses things familiar with a dominant race to make a point. Pratt gave us an example of â€Å"autoethnographic text† called New Chronicle and Good Government by Guaman Poma. The title New Chronicle comes from the name of the apparatus used by the Spanish to present their American Conquests to themselves. Poma uses this to create a new picture of the world by rewriting the Christian history with the Andeans at the center of the religion. The new â€Å"Christian-Inca† history resembled European manners and custom descriptions but included the meticulous details of information stored in the Inca societies. Poma used this manner to write his letter to make a parody the Europeans could understand. Glorias Anzaldua essays â€Å"Entering into the Serpent† and â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue† are examples of an â€Å"autoethnographic text. † She uses her essays to destroy some of the stereotypes readers have before they read her essays. Some of the stereotypes of Chicano are they are hated by the US and Latinos and have a conflicted identity. The idea that Americans and Latinos hate Chicanos comes from the belief that they cannot identify with Standard English or Standard Spanish cultures. Since the Chicanos are born in the United States but are ethnically Mexican, they do not â€Å"belong† in the United States or Mexico. The hatred of Americans and Latinos caused the unknown identity of Chicanos. Transculturation occurs when two groups of people integrate different aspects of a culture with each other. An example of transculturation is Poma’s illustrations in New Chronicle and Good Government. The pictures had a European genre but they used Andean systems of spatial symbolism to express values and aspirations. In Anzaldua’s essays, we see transculturation in the religion. â€Å"My family, like most Chicanos, did not practice Roman Catholicism but a folk Catholicism with many pagan elements† (Anzaldua 73). The Roman Catholicism that was the religion of the Spaniards intermingled with Anzaldua’s â€Å"snake religion† to form the folk Catholicism version of la Virgen Guadalupe as Coatlalopeuh. Transculturation and autoethnography both manipulate language. Anzaldua wrote the essays in English and Spanish to identify herself with the Chicano and show us her experience with English speaking people. Poma’s wrote his letter in Quechua and Spanish so both cultures could understand the main points of the letter. In childhood we were told that our language is wrong. Repeated attacks at our native tongue diminish our sense of self. The attacks continue throughout our lives. Chicanas feel uncomfortable talking in Spanish to Latinas, afraid of their censure. Their language was not outlawed in their countries. But for a language to remain alive, it must be used. By the end of this century English, and not Spanish, will be the mother tongue of most Chicanos and Latinos (Anzaldua 89) The language of a culture identifies a person. If someone’s language is banned it makes the person feel unwelcome so to fit in they speak the main language but wonder what is wrong with their own language. When Chicanos speak Spanish they â€Å"spoil† the language and when they speak English they are traitors. This idea of having a wrong language causes confusion and shame, which will lead to not a Chicano identity but an American identity. By identifying with her culture, she creates a known identity for her people. Chicano Spanish is unlike English or Spanish but a combination of both, which results in bilingualism. Anzaldua’s first essay shows us what her religion meant to her, and she blames and criticizes the Catholics for taking away her sexual identity. Before the Spaniards conquest, the male dominated Azteca-Mexica culture had replaced all the female deities with male ones. This replacement split the female deities and the female self. If there were no female (spirit) deities then there was no female identity, according to Anzaldua. After the Conquest, Guadalupe became a virgin and all the other female deities (snake goddesses) were whores. The change in identity of these female deities encourages the virgin/whore dichotomy. This separation of mind and body made it hard for her to find her sexual identity. Pratt’s definition of a contact zone makes it a wonderful and horrible place to be but Anzaldua seems to disagree. Anzaldua’s experience with Catholic people seemed to be the worst thing that happened to her. These chapters from her book Borderlands/La frontera only show one type of opinion with no other positive outlooks. Her dislike of the Catholics inspires her to write these chapters to show us how her life was like and to â€Å"blame† everyone who reads her book. She was not able to have a true contact zone through her experience so she is unwilling to understand the Catholic religion. Anzaldua’s essays are another example for Pratt to use in her essay. The concept of literate arts is present throughout. The essays mainly show the bad parts of Anzaldu’s contact zones but that is the main result of contact zones with a dominant culture. Even though Anzaldua may not agree this is a contact zone. Her bias shows the readers the horrors of her cultures past to encourage a response.

Does Concentrated Acid or Diluted Acid React Faster? :: Science Experiments Reaction Rates Essays

Does Concentrated Acid or Diluted Acid React Faster? Plan I am going to carry out a reaction between Magnesium ribbon and Hydrochloric acid. The aim of this investigation is to work out which reacts faster, concentrated acid or diluted acid. I will judge if the reaction is fast or slow by observing the bubbles which occur during the reaction and also observe if the Magnesium has disappeared. Only the concentration of the acid will be changed - the Magnesium is a solid. Magnesium + Hydrochloric Acid Magnesium Chloride + Hydrogen Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) MgCl(aq) + H2 (g) There are four main factors which may affect rate of reaction. These are: - 1. Concentration 2. Temperature 3. Catalyst 4. Surface area CONCENTRATION- if the concentration of the acid is increased, the rate goes faster. In a concentrated acid there are more particles in it this means that there is a more chance of successful collisions occurring. If the acid was diluted, there are not many acid particles, which means that there is not much chance of an acid particle hitting a magnesium atom. At the start, there are plenty of Magnesium atoms and acid particles but they get used up during successful collisions. After, a time there a fewer Magnesium atoms and the acid is less concentrated so the reaction slows down. This graph shows this: - volume of hydrogen Time Diluted Acid Concentrated Acid = Acid particle = water molecule = Magnesiumatom TEMPERATURE - at low temperatures the particles of reacting substances don't have enough energy. So if the substances were heated this would mean the particles take in energy. This causes them to move faster and collide vigorously very often. Also making more successful collisions. Therefore the rate of reaction increases. CATALYST - using a catalyst can speed up reactions. If there is a catalyst in the reaction then the collision needs less energy in order to be successful. This results into more collisions becoming successful, so the reaction goes faster, catalysts are very important in industry. Reactions are speeded up at low temperatures, which means less fuel is needed so money is saved. SURFACE AREA - if the Magnesium had a large surface area the atoms in the outer layer will only collide with the acid particles but if the metal was powdered, many more atoms are exposed, so there is a greater chance of successful collisions. Concentrated Acid = Acid particle = water molecule = Magnesium atom COLLISION THEORY The Collision Theory is used to predict the rate of reaction. The Theory is based on the fact that for a reaction to take place, it is

Mobile Food Ordering App

INOORERO UNIVERSITY PROJECT REPORT ON: MOBILE FOOD ORDERING APPLICATION NAME: BORU PHILIP JOSHUA ADMN NO: IU/11/05211 UNIT TITLE: PROJECT PLANNING A Project submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Regulations Governing The Award of a Diploma in Information communication and Technology ? Table of ContentsDECLARATION4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT5 DEDICATION6 ABSTRACT7 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION8 Background8 Problem Statement9 Project’s Objective9 Mission9 Vision10 Justification10 Project Scope10 Gantt chart10 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW11 Introduction11 Mobile and Handheld Device11 Review of Food Ordering System12 i. Manual Food Ordering System12 ii. Mobile Food Ordering System12 Benefits of Mobile Food Ordering System13 Limitation of Mobile Food Ordering System13 Feasibility Study14 Operational Feasibility14 Economic Feasibility14Technical Feasibility14 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLGY15 Introduction15 Data collection methods15 I. Questionnaires15 II. Interviews15 III. Observation15 D ata analysis15 CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM ANALYSIS TOOLS17 Flow chart of Mobile Food Ordering Application17 Context diagram of Mobile Food Ordering Application18 Data flow Diagrams19 Level 1 DFD19 Entity Relationship Diagram20 CHAPTER FIVE: SYSTEM DESIGN21 INTRODUCTION21 Splash form21 Customer details21 Menu21 Bill21 Option form122 Option form222 Report22 Error / Confirmation Message22CONCLUSION23 Recommendation and Suggestion for Future Research23 REFERENCES24 ? DECLARATION This research project is my original work and has not been presented for assessment by any other person in any institution. Student Name: BORU PHILIP JOSHUA Signature†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Approved†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Supervisor Name: Signature†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Approved†¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ? ACKNOWLEDGEMENTFirstly, I praise GOD for guiding and blessing me with perseverance and strength to complete the project. Apart from the efforts of me, the success of the project depends largely on the encouragement and guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project. The special thank goes to my helpful supervisor Pius Walela. I can’t say thank you enough for his tremendous support and help. Without his encouragement and guidance this project would not have materialized.My grateful thanks also go to my parents and siblings, who held faith in me and pushed me to succeed. A big contribution and support from you is very great indeed. Special thanks also go to my friends those who supported and motivated me during the project completion was v ital for the success of the project. May GOD bless you all. ? DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my mum, siblings, classmates, my lecturers and myself for the love and moral support without which it would not have been possible to complete the project. ? ABSTRACTMobile devices and wireless technologies are making a large impact on our lives. Companies that develop mobile applications are continuously evolving their products, aiming at satisfying the customers’ needs even more comprehensively and at higher levels of quality. The Mobile Food Ordering Application proposed in this paper is one of the tools that intend to provide a food ordering application on mobile devices for ordering food from a restaurant with the option of both delivery and pickup within the central business district of Nairobi.With the rapid growth of mobile technology, nowadays people are looking forward for an application that makes life easier and faster. While in restaurants industries, most businesses people look for any mobile application that improve their business functions for the customers as well as increased the profit. Normally in manual system, human error, waiting time, wasting foods, wrong menu preparation, ordering management and menu selection are the main issues in any restaurants.This paper presents the integration of mobile technology for small medium restaurants mobile food ordering application. This application offers many useful features to customers, including the detailed menus, and previous order lookup. By using this application, the users do not have to wait in a queue at the restaurants. This study also presents the background in terms of new technologies in handheld devices, and current research in human-computer interaction for mobile applications.It also surveys several applications of handheld devices and discusses their characteristics. This thesis also explains the main functions, key usability aspects, intended users of Mobile Food Ordering Applica tion. ? CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Technology is making a large impact on the human life. It feels so strange when we hear that it is only 25 years since the first commercial cellular call was made in the United States, and today there are more than 17 million wireless subscribers in Kenya alone.With the increasing number of cellular subscribers, cellular technology is also becoming more advanced. With increasing popularity and capability of mobile devices, new applications are being launched every day. Today, many things that can be done using computers can also be done with mobile devices. But simply copying computer applications to mobile devices does not work, as user characteristics of computers and mobiles are quite different. Even hough mobility and compactness are major advantages for mobile applications, the small screen, and the small and few buttons of mobile devices are among limitations that make it necessary for mobile application developers to study human computer inte raction for mobile devices and develop their applications accordingly. Mobile shopping or ordering is one of the most popular areas now-a-days. One can buy songs or any applications right from one’s mobile. One can also bid or buy items from the internet straight away using one’s mobile. Similarly, food ordering is also one of the major areas of mobile application development.Some companies have already launched their food ordering products in the market. But these applications haven’t fully exploited the current capabilities of mobiles and missed on some of the required features which would benefit the end users. Thus, I have decided to design and develop a mobile application, Mobile Food Ordering Application, using human-computer interaction principles for mobile devices. As they say, time is money! This application will greatly benefit customers as they don’t have to waste time going to the store and waiting in the queue.They will able to place food or ders using their mobile device from anywhere. By using the proposed application, users can have updated menus on their mobile devices and they do not need to go for the inconvenient ways of listening to the options on phone, or finding a newspaper flyer. Background Before developing a mobile application, a thorough research needs to be done on which mobile device(s) one wants to target. As there are so many different mobile devices currently available in the market, each device may differ in screen size, operating system, and/or supported programming language.So studying the currently available handheld devices and their technologies is a must for a developer for figuring out his or her target audience and selecting the appropriate development tool(s). The modern mobile phone market offers different devices for a wide variety of customer tastes and lifestyles. Some phones are small and sleek, and are popular for their ease of carrying, while some are chosen for their appearance so t hey can become a form of fashion symbols. Mobile manufactures are still developing new devices to attract different age groups and cultural groups.These devices will not only look different but also possess capabilities to attract specific groups of people, for example, phone manufactures are trying to portray their phone as a game console to attract the youngsters. They attract business users by providing productivity tools such as Word, Excel, E mail, Organizer and they also include a virtual pop-up QWERTY keyboard for easy typing. They also attract general mobile users with their still camera, video camera, music player, radio, voice recording, games and internet browsing features.Hence, considering the promising future of the mobile phone market, it is beneficial to write applications for this devices that target large groups of people. Research has shown that simply transferring a regular computer application into a mobile application almost always leads to a suboptimal mobile experience. Hence before starting the development of applications for handheld devices, a developer should consider the mobile device user’s characteristics as well as the limitations of mobile interfaces. Problem StatementThe rapid growths of mobile computing in the business area make customers intend to demand for applications that able to reduce their waiting time for the waiters or waitresses to take an order. Using manual system, it was less economical because it involved the cost of preparing note pads, blank papers, and custom made papers including menu and pens which were used for taking order and may cause error by the waiters or waitresses. Furthermore taking order manually by the waiters or waitresses also will increase human errors where there are possibilities of typing errors by the waiters or waitresses.They also have hard time to remember each price of menu when calculating customer’s food, cook misread to the handwritten orders written by waiters or wa itresses and missed communication between waiters and customers when customers repeat order if they do not get the foods but waiters assume that customers added the foods in the order. When customers intend to select the menu before make an order, they have to refer to the many menu list options which sometimes do not attract them, fulfill their choice and make them difficult to choose.So this application will reduced the selection options from the list on the menu by categorizing it to standard list and special list by packaging the menu into certain types. This option will provide an easier selection and give such a pleasure to the customers in enjoying their meals. Furthermore, the manager also has to request and track the order record and order report from administrator at a certain time but sometimes mistakes always happened where the ordering record hard to track due to the missing of the ordering cart or misplaced the printed record but using computerized system they can acce ss it anytime they want.Project’s Objective The main objective of this study is to propose a Mobile Food Ordering Application for small medium and micro enterprises (SMME) restaurants. This objective is supported by the following sub objectives: †¢To design the navigation model for easier mobile food ordering Application with a minimum errors in the small medium and micro enterprises (SMME) restaurants. †¢To develop an application which demonstrate the navigation of the mobile food ordering application in a small medium and micro enterprises (SMME) restaurants. To produce an effective accessed to schedule reports for administration staffs. Mission To eradicate order placement related time wastage in restaurants and offer improved service to the customers Vision To be a leading food ordering service within the CBD of Nairobi with the provision of Quality service and secure orders Justification The project will benefit target group living in and adjacent areas of Nair obi Central business District.Faster delivery of service as you pre-order your food so you can grab your food as soon as you set your foot in the restaurant, be it take away or, thus reducing the risks of time wastage and queuing. Project Scope This project will be focusing on developing and implementing mobile food ordering app for the small and medium restaurants which will be developed using J2ME programming language connected to MySql database server. The cashier will be responsible to view the confirmed order and prepare a bill and receipt. The kitchen Staff will be responsible to view the order for menu preparation.The administrator will be responsible to monitor overall application, add, update or delete the user, menu, order, and report for the system. Gantt chart TIME IN WEEKS ACTIVITY123456789101112 Introduction of the project Problem Statement Objectives & Justification Scope Gantt Chart Literature review Feasibility study Research Methodology Data diagrams(Analysis tools ) Design Conclusion ? CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction This chapter presents an overview of the previous works on the related topic for providing the background of this study.The discussion starts with the review of mobile and handheld device and history of mobile food ordering application for the restaurants. Discussion on the operation of manual food ordering system is continuing with the architecture of the application through wireless mobile and the limitations of system. Discussion also covers the advantages and disadvantages of mobile ordering application. Mobile and Handheld Device According to Lee, Sceinder & Schell (2004) Mobile is defined as: â€Å"The capability of being able to move or moved easily.Whereas in context of mobile computing, mobile pertains to people’s use of portable and functionally powerful mobile devices that offer the ability to perform a set of application functions untethered, while also being able to connect to, obtain data from, a nd provide data to users, applications and system. † Whereas Ballard (Ballard, 2007) outlined that mobile is a device or service used by a user who has the potential to move to a new location, even a new building or city, during use which includes both automobile and phones.Hudson told HumanIPO: â€Å"although takeaway is popular in Nairobi, the restaurant delivery space is incredibly underdeveloped. Given the city’s general chaos and traffic problems, this is surprising. We aim to connect the dots, allowing busy, hungry people to eat in the comfort of their homes, hassle-free and also while the firms are doing a great work, nobody offers a delivery option that takes full advantage of the internet’s capabilities. The current options put a great deal of responsibility on the customer, requiring the use of email or phone to place orders, and sometimes only offering cash on delivery. Originally, the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) was intended to be an earlier ele ctronic version of a handheld â€Å"personal organizer†; however, with the introduction of more powerful central processing units, operating systems and memory, today's the most popular personal organizer is smart phone which are being customized for great variety of applications for the users (Dejin et al. 2006). According to Kulkarni (Kulkarni, 2009) outlined that Smart phones attract both business and general users by providing productivity tools such as Word, Excel, E-mail, Organizer and include a virtual pop-up QWERTY keyboard for easy typing.They also attract general mobile users with still camera, video camera, music player, radio, voice recording, games and internet browsing features. The discussion also expanded with the characteristics of mobile user as outlined by Ballard (Ballard, 2007) as follow: †¢Mobile users are mobile, as they users are not sitting attentively at a desk, like desktop or laptop users do. †¢Mobile users are interruptible and easily di stracted. Mobile users use mobile devices while they are mobile hence they easily can get distracted by the physical world.Sometimes mobile applications can be self distracted by the mobile device itself (e. g. phone) for instance when receiving a call or message. †¢Mobile users are always available. Unlike the desktop or laptop computer, the mobile phone is always with the user and always ON (sometimes users can set it on silent mode, but still most of the time the user has it ready to ring loudly). †¢Mobile phones are identifiable. Unlike the desktop computer, the mobile phone is a personal device, with unique identification features. As discussed by Wendeson (Wendeson et al. 010), the advantages of Windows mobile applications are as follows: †¢ Powered devices contain mobile versions of consistent. †¢ Easy to use †¢ To demonstrate the capabilities of the particular platforms. †¢ Everyday tools such as Microsoft Office Outlook, Office Word, Office Exc el, and Office power point are supported †¢ Currently this platform is familiar. †¢ If application is written once, . NET framework has the potential to generate different languages. Review of Food Ordering System Basically food ordering system in the restaurants industry can be classified into several types: i.Manual Food Ordering System Zhangyuang and Weibing (2010) outlined that the traditional restaurant service mode relies on a lot of manpower to handle customer reservation, inquiry, ordering food, placing order, reminding dishes, and chefs are usually not clear because of the writing and the attendant distress. It is supported by Yong (Yong et al. 2010) where Manual Food Ordering System uses waiter to take order from customers. During peak hour, customers may be too many to be served by waiters. The quality of the service may drop thus causing dissatisfactory of customers.However, if there are too many waiters are hired, it may be a waste of resources during non-peak hour. ii. Mobile Food Ordering System As discussed by Zhou (Zhou, 2010), utilizing information technology to upgrade the service quality and management efficiency has always been received great concern in information development of catering industry. This is supported by Khairunnisa (Khairunnisa et al. 2009) where a number of personal digital assistant based mobile applications have been designed, implemented and developed for commercial use in a restaurant environment.So the mobile food ordering system is the best mobile application that can help catering enterprises reduce the costs of human resources, improve work efficiency and leap forward from the external image to the internal service quality. Hence for mobile food ordering system, according to Sun (Sun et al. 2009) the information technology developing constantly gives an impulse to industrial expansion such as in the restaurants, the method of electronic ordering dish is adopted widely. Using the high technology method can improve the profit of economy and achieve an efficient management technique.Besides that, smart phone and other handheld devices are being preferred as device for business applications because they are highly portable, have the ability to communicate with personal computers accessed information from remote locations. Additionally, food ordering system using latest handheld devices is the latest trend in helping customers to order their foods, beverages, dessert and etc. (Patel et al. 2007). Furthermore by using handheld technology it is able to increase the speed of restaurant services dramatically (Lim et al. 009). This supported by Mahmoud (Mahmoud et al. 2009) where an integrated mobile ordering system is expected to enable faster and more efficient order processing, efficient and easy orders editing and reviewing with the customer, minimizing human and billing errors, reduction in the number of staff required and easier communication between the users of the system. Such system s increase the number of customers that are satisfied with the service. Benefits of Mobile Food Ordering SystemKulkarni (2010) addressed that the major benefit of mobile food ordering system are mobility and compactness to the users itself. With the development of this system, the enterprise will not only save labor costs, more the management will be towards information, intelligence and it will bring long-term economic benefits as highlighted by Yu and Zhu (Yu & Zhu, 2010). In the other hand, Sun and Zhou (Sun & Zhou, 2009) also agreed that using the high tech method in the ordering system can improve the profit of economy and achieve efficient management technique.As discussed by Stanford (Stanford, 2003), the current ordering system can be categorized into four groups of users; customers, owner, staffs and architect. With the development of the system, it benefits the customers in providing the faster services, reduces the errors and offered a calm technology. While for the owner , the system can reduce the management cost and provide a better inventory management. Process of taking order, sending order to the kitchen, serving the foods, preparing a bill and managing the order changed made by the customers easier with the system.The system is also able to reduce the problems amongst the staffs in attending the customers and can contribute the income to the restaurants by attracting the customers to visit the restaurants with their services. It will be a challenge for the developer to develop the system successfully. Hence the system also is working in a pervasive computing. It will update the status of menu items if the ingredients running out for the menu ordered by the customers. Limitation of Mobile Food Ordering SystemThe limitations in implementation of the system to be considered as the following: †¢Wireless Network: even if we have seen great advancements in wireless networks and technologies. Still there is a limited bandwidth problem. †¢Is sues with mobile phones: there are thousands of different brands mobile phones with different capabilities and constraints, like hardware constraints are, such as memory, screen size, processing power, battery consumption, resolution and display color. †¢Content creations: as we know the term mobile phones refers to any portable device including smart phones, PDAs, mobile phones, tablet PCs, and laptop.Technically, creating materials which can be rendered in all of these devices is a big challenge. (Niazi, 2007). To address this problems, extended-life battery cradle that supporting a full shift with intensive backlighting, networking and a strong tether to secure the PDA or cell phone (Stanford, 2003). According to Kulkarni (Kulkarni, 2010) the small screen, and the small and few buttons of mobile devices are among limitations that make it necessary for mobile application developers to study human computer interaction for mobile application.In conclusion, this chapter provided the background information about the mobile and handheld devices, manual system for food ordering, mobile food ordering system, the limitation of the manual system and the benefits of the mobile food ordering system. Feasibility Study Feasibility studies aim to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing or a proposed system, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success.It is usually carried out by a small number of people who are familiar with the information system techniques, understand the part of the business or organization that will be involved or effected by the project and are skilled in the system analysis and design process. It is intended to be a preliminary review of the facts to see if it is worthy of proceeding to the analysis phase. From the systems analyst perspective, the feasibility analysis is the primary tool for recommending whethe r to proceed to the next phase or to discontinue the project.Operational Feasibility Operational feasibility is a measure of how well a proposed system solves the problems, and takes advantage of the opportunities identified during scope definition and how it satisfies the requirements identified in the requirements analysis phase of system development. This is dependent on available human resources for the project. It reviews the willingness of the organization to support the proposed system. The proposed system will first and foremost solve the problem of speed at which the current manual system is upon.A bigger variety of Transactions will be performed in real time using live data and at the same time providing high levels of security. Economic Feasibility This is a cost/benefit analysis. It is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness of a new system. The procedure is to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from a candidate system and compa re it with the costs. If a benefit outweighs cost, then the decision is made to design and implement the system. Otherwise further alterations are made in the proposed system.Technical Feasibility A large part of determining resources has to do with assessing technical feasibility. The system will require input from the users. This data will be used in analysis and the analyst must find out whether current technical resources can be upgraded or added to in a manner that fulfills the request under consideration. ? CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLGY Introduction This chapter will explain the methodology that was used in this project to develop Mobile Food Ordering application. Data collection methodsThese are tools that were used in the analysis, design, development and implementation of the system. I. Questionnaires These are facts gathered about the activities taking place in the restaurant. This type of investigation is done by use of well organized and simple questions which needs short answers. Some of the questions asked include; a. How many customers do you handle at once during peak hours of business? b. Have you ever placed a wrong order? Why? c. What are the Drawbacks of this manual system in your own opinion? d. Would you like if the ordering system is automated? II.Interviews It’s a conversation in which the researcher tries to get information from the interviewer. The method assumes that the respondents to be interviewed have the information required; they understand questions, which are put to them and will be able to give answers face-to-face. III. Observation This involved observing the old system at work. The way staffs attended to the customers by taking order, sending order to the kitchen, serving the menu, handle the changed order by the customers, waiting time for the orders and handle payment from the customer was observed and evaluated.The following was observed of the manual system: †¢Serving a customer could take up to about 20-30 minutes. †¢The waiter had to go from where the customers are placed to the kitchen to place orders, hence overcrowding at times. †¢During peak hours of business the waiters are overloaded with orders leading to placement of wrong orders. †¢During off peak the restaurant has many idle waiters. Data analysis This stage discussed the requirements analysis for the data collection as the user’s requirements. The purpose of the requirements analysis is to identify what are the user’s needs for mobile food ordering application.From the managers and staffs view, they found that when many customers came at one time their quality of services quite reduced and they also admitted that when they faced with this situation, it made them feel unsatisfied with their services when there are a lot of complaints from the customers. ? CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM ANALYSIS TOOLS Flow chart of Mobile Food Ordering Application No yesyes yes No Context diagram of Mobile Food Order ing Application ororderrequest orderDelivery/ Bill Processed OrderData flow Diagrams Level 1 DFD order Details Entity Relationship Diagram ? CHAPTER FIVE: SYSTEM DESIGN INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses the details of the Mobile Food Ordering Application. The discussion contains the platform for the application and the description of the modules in application. Splash form This form is shown when the customers open’s the application. The customer press’ next/enter to continue. WELCOME TO APEX BISTRO PRESS NEXT TO CONTINUE NEXT CLOSE Customer detailsIn this page customer will enter his/her details in the Enter your Details First name——- Last name ——– Cell no. ——— Address——– Menu This page contains the menu that is available in the restaurants. The customer selects the menu, places an order and Submits. MENU Chips70 Sausages25 Samosa30 Buns20 Cake Black forest100 Press Submit to continue Bill This page contains the information about the order placed by a customer, it contains the bill report. Bill Report Your Bill is Kshs. 560 PRESS SUBMIT TO CONTINUE Option form1This form contains the option that asks the user, the preference of delivery or dine-in. Option form1 Do you prefer:-(check the radio button) oDelivery oDine-in oTake away NEXT BACK Option form2 This form contains the option that asks the user, the payment mode of choice. Option form2 Do you prefer to pay by:-(check the radio button) oCash-on delivery oM-pesa (pay bill number 11888) NEXT BACK Report This form displays the order placed, total bill and choice of opotion1 and option2 and the time the order will be ready. ReportYOU ORDERED:- CHIPS Samosa Soda. Your bill is:- Kshs. 130/= You order will be ready for take away in 30mins Cash on delivery Error / Confirmation Message The Application provides error message and confirmation message so that it can guide the users to enter all the mandatory information and a lert them. ? CONCLUSION The mobile ordering application has emerged increasingly and expected brought a big change in a businesses as well as other fields because users rely on it too much. Mobile applications also will be demanded by the users for its convenience and ease of functioning.It also will improve the employee’s works performance as well as user’s satisfaction. The main contributions of this study include; †¢ Exploration of current technologies for designing and developing software applications for mobile devices (Java 2 Micro Edition, MYSQL database and Php). †¢ Mobile Food Ordering Application also addressed major problems in ordering process and restaurants management by reducing the customer’s time and the management’s time for food ordering process, reduce the cost of food preparation, reduce wasted foods, reduce cost for the pen and papers. Customers can give special order on the menu with preferred ingredients. †¢ Helps th e customers and management so that customers can have their pleasure for making order and management can improve their management . Recommendation and Suggestion for Future Research Based on the achievement of this study, the future research that may conduct for Mobile Food Ordering Application are: †¢ To enable Mobile Food Ordering Application to interact with the mobile customers by replying the feedback for the customer’s requests such as confirm the customer’s order by sending a message to the mobile. To allow customer registration to Mobile Food Ordering Application and application can save customer’s details for future order. †¢ To enable Mobile Food Ordering Application to function in a real mobile environment with the interaction between the App and users. †¢ To enable Mobile Food Ordering Application to display a feedback for the running out ingredients when customers make an order. ? REFERENCES A food delivery app wants to ease Nairobiâ €™s traffic(2012) Retrieved 12 July 2012 from http://www. humanipo. com Barbara, B. (2007). Designing the mobile user experience.England:John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Chien, N. L, Daniel, J. H. , Hsio, Yi H. H. , & Chan, Y. Y (2010). IEEE, 39-43. A Mobile Meal-Ordering System on the Bus, IEEE, 39-43. Gu, H. , Shan, M. L. , Deng, J. X. , Wang, Y. & Zhu, C. P. (2010). Design of touching wireless ordering dishes system based on WinCE. Information Science & Engineering, 2010. ICISE 2010: Proceeding of 2010 International Conference held on 4 – 6 December 2010 at Hangzhou, China (pp. 203-2016). China:Hangzhou. Khairunnisa, K. , Ayob, J. , Mohd. Helmy A. Wahab, M. Erdi Ayob, A. Izwan Ayob and A. Afif Ayob. (2009).The application of wireless food ordering system. MASAUM Journal of Computing, 1(2), 178-184. XU. H, Tang B. & Song W. (2009). Wireless Food Ordering System Based on Web Services. IEEE Computer Society, 475-478. Yu, Z. & Zhu, W. (2010). The Research and Realization of Wireless Ordering System Based on Embedded Technology. Computer Application and System Modeling, 2010. ICCASM 2010: Proceeding of 2010 International Conference held on 22 October – 24 October 2010 at the School of Mechanical Engineering & Automation, Xihua University, China (pp. v8-443). China:Chengdu. ?

“I know why the caged bird sings” Essay

After a childhood full of cruelties, disappointments, and being raped at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, Maya Angelou survived and became the most important civil, human, and Women’s Rights Activist. After her rape she was silent for 5 years, and only through the encouragement of her grandmother did she start to write and act. Her writings won her world acclaim and she was nominated for the National Book Award, a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. She is indisputably one of the most influential women in history. Her poem â€Å"I know why the caged bird sings† shows her grace and skill as a poet, and a humanitarian. â€Å"I know why the caged bird sings† is a six stanza poem. The poem has a very traditional structure. The first two stanzas are triplets, followed by a quatrain, then another triplet, and ends with a quatrain. It has a very simple but effective rhyme scheme. The triplet stanza has a AAB rhyme, and the quatrain stanzas have a AAAB rhyme. This poem is lyrical and intense. The themes presented in this poem are of a freedom and â€Å"triumph over adversity (Arensberg 273)†. In stanza one Angelou describes how birds in the wild have unbound freedom. She writes â€Å"leaps on the back of the wind†¦ dips his wings in the orange sunrays, (lines 1-3)† about the free birds activities. Her words affect the senses, and the reader feels the freedom the birds experience in flight. She brings nature and the outdoor elements to life and the audience is right there at play with the birds. Freedom abounds! In stark contrast, the next stanza snaps the reader back from their dreamlike state. There are a series of very strong words that create a feeling of depression, and claustrophobia. Angelou explains the life of a caged bird. â€Å"narrow cage, bars of rage, and wings clipped. (lines 3-6)† These phrases create a sense of dread and imprisonment. This evokes sympathy for the bird, and thoughts about if we were also imprisoned (Arensberg 280). The reader begins to think what is life unfair and, why that bird? and further, why me? â€Å"But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams, (line 14)† the poem continues and yet the bird still sings. Angelou comments â€Å" The caged bird still sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still (lines 17-18)† about the bird who displays the only freedom he has at present, his voice. Pierre Walker, in his 1995 article, comments â€Å"that the bird still dreams,â€Å" and he has the determination to overcome and make the best of his situation. There is a single focus for Angelou use of alliteration in this poem. She uses the â€Å"s† sound over and over again – â€Å"his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream† (line 15). The â€Å"s† sound creates the feeling of wind, the whispering of tree leaves, the bird is scared but he sings because he can. He cannot fight his nature. He will find freedom anyway he can, and for that bird it is his singing. The use of the rhyme scheme in the quatrain portion of the poem is AAAB. The inflexibility of the first three lines in stanza 3 â€Å"thrill†¦hill†¦shrill† create the perfect path to the true theme of this poem. When the reader expects another word to rhyme it doesn’t, and the quatrain ends with â€Å"freedom. † The same is true for the last stanza, which is a repeat of the first. Liliane Arensberg explains that the rhyme reminds the reader that â€Å"there is always hope, there is always the will to survive and the promise at the end of the tunnel of light (Arensberg 289)† – of freedom. â€Å"I know why the cage bird sings† by Maya Angelou is a very popular poem. Many people find inspiration in her words, and find solace in the hope and determination that bird has. If he can sing, so can the reader. If he can survive so can you. We cannot always choose our lot in life, but we can make the best of it. We can reflect, find out talents, and give those to the world. Maya Angelou presents a very important message to the reader in the form of a very lyrical almost song like poem by using strong imagery of a bird and it’s cage, the pursuit of freedom as a theme, a strong rhyme scheme, and alliteration. Angelou skill as an author cannot easily be missed and neither can her message that we must overcome misfortune and strife to become what we were always meant to be. Works Cited Angelou, Maya. The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 1994. 101. Arensberg, Liliane K. â€Å"Death as Metaphor of Self in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. † College Language Association Journal 20 (1976): 273-91. Walker, Pierre A. â€Å"Racial protest, identity, words and form in Maya Angelou’s ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. ‘. † College Literature 1 Oct 1995. 23 Nov 2005 .

Absence Of Malice Essays - Absence Of Malice, Films, Malice

Absence Of Malice Essays - Absence Of Malice, Films, Malice Absence Of Malice ABSENCE OF MALICE By : xxxxxxxx An interesting study of how a well placed newspaper article can affect a persons life and how it can ruin a persons life. Newman is the son of a mobster, but runs a legal business. However, he is in business with his uncle who is still connected to the mob. When a labor leader comes up missing, a federal investigator, thinking Newman is involved, leaks the info to news reporter, Fields. Giving Fields credit, she did attempt to contact Newman before the news release, but sent the story through without confirmation of details. In effect, this ruins Newmans' life and business. He brings a suit against the paper and Fields, which is mediated by Brimley, a no nonsense judge. Absence of Malice is a film that is several years old now, but it still play a big role in our society, as all we know the media has the ability to influence the way that people view the world, as well as their opinion of what they see and read. Like in the movie Paul Newman reputation was damage by reporter that in my opinion represented most of the media in our world when the ambition to be a super star and have the satisfaction of being the first to tell the story without verifying the source. Even to use information when a person asks no to be identified like in the case of the woman who kill herself after she read in the newspaper what she asked Field no to mention. And to support my point of view there is another moment of the movie when all the character involve in this case was in a meting with the assistant of the general attorney and he asked Sally Field if she was involved with suspect Newman she answered that no it was not true but yes it was accurate. They had been lovers but her trust was in something professional. Or was it ambition? I think that the ambition that she pursued to be the person with the big news makes her careless about the feelings of others and that problem is our daily problem. In conclusion I say that the media uses the true as a weapon to get what they want; usually means business, power, money and they will use what ever is necessary to get the prime time and so on. They are so smart to get the true twisted according to them, to get the people a very different view of the real true. And as a result of all this the person involved on good or bad suffers the consequences of this news, even if this was true, half true or not true at all. The damage is done and the public already makes their opinions about it.

The 7 Personality Traits that Can Destroy Your Career

The 7 Personality Traits that Can Destroy Your Career Of all the things you think may destroy your career, you probably didn’t expect your own personality to be one of them. But while some character traits are innate, others are under your control. It’s up to you to tend your own garden- rip out the weeds and plant seeds for stronger, better plants. Whatever you do, make sure to keep an eye out for these 7 traits, which can really put a damper on your career.1. NarcissismMost people you work with are going to be able to tell if you’re an insufferable narcissist. You have an aversion to teamwork? Your colleagues can tell. Remember: your pain, your annoyance, your moods, and your bad day are no worse or more important than anybody else’s. Try to think about others every now and then. Your career will thank you.2. Complaining After the FactYou’ve had a meeting and things have been debated and discussed thoroughly. If you didn’t speak up then, you’ve forfeited your right to speak after. If yo u don’t have the guts to voice your opinions or contribute in the meeting, then keep your complaints to yourself.3.  Ignoring Your TeamDon’t pretend that you’ve done everything yourself with each small victory. Most workplace accomplishments are not solo ventures. Thank the people that helped you score those victories. Don’t ever be the guy who says â€Å"that’s not my job.† Pitch in! And never never throw anyone under the bus.4. GossipingNobody loves a gossip. You might make a few shallow friends fairly quickly at the water cooler, but you won’t keep them, and you could get yourself in real social and professional trouble.5.  Constant ComplainingNobody likes a pessimist. Start counting the number of times you complain or say something negative in a day. If it’s more than 3, you have a problem. If it’s more than 30, you’re well on track to being the most hated dude in the office.6. CrudenessYou don’t ha ve to be Suzy Perfect, but you should try to keep a little decorum. Try not to be flatulent or curse so much that no one wants to be around you. Be a force for good in your office!7.  Excessive SarcasmBe generous and nice. If you feel the urge to be sarcastic or snide, hold it back. There is a way to be a good person and make people laugh. Try not to get your way or get a laugh at anybody else’s expense.If you have any one (or more) of these traits, it might be time to start thinking about how to prune your bad angels and start watering your good ones.

Is Capital Punishment Effective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is Capital Punishment Effective - Essay Example 2). However, sound policy should not be based on what is popular. Rather, the best indicator that capital punishment makes sense from a public policy perspective is arguably its success as a deterrent of crime. The deterrent effect of capital punishment has been debated for some time. Studies on the extent to which the death penalty actually causes a decrease in the incidents of murder and other violent crime have produced mixed results. Nevertheless, recent moves by several states to impose moratoria on capital punishment have offered a novel opportunity to assess the impact of a suspension of the death penalty. For the first time, it has been possible to directly compare and contrast violent crime statistics in several jurisdictions both pre- and post-moratorium. This has shown a clear and substantial correlation between elimination of capital punishment and increase in incidents of murder. This paper discusses the evolution and current state of capital punishment in the United States. It will survey the seminal Supreme Court cases on the topic; and will consider empirical evidence that substantiates the effect of the death penalty as a deterrent. Not only is the death penalty appropriate within a democratic society in which the overwhelming majority of people support it; but it is also a reasonable public policy choice given the evidence substantiating its deterrent effect. The 20th Century was a very active period for application o... unishment declined somewhat in the 1940s and 1950s, executions were still much more frequent than today: approximately 130 a year in the 1940s and 75 a year during the 1950s, compared to an average of 48 per year in the 1990s. Over 65% of the American public approved of the death penalty during these decades" (Dezhbakhsh & Shepherd, par.10). The 1950s and 1960s witnessed a decline in support for the death penalty, with its lowest point coming in at 42% in 1966. "Opposition to the death penalty increased because of growing doubts about the morality of the death penalty, awareness of Western Europe's abandonment of capital punishment, abatement of the 1930s crime wave, lack of deterrence evidence, widespread belief in the racially discriminatory use of the death penalty, and increasing concern about the arbitrariness of death penalty sentences" (par. 11). The number of executions began to decline, reflecting the drop in public support. The movement of states away from mandatory death sentence statutes and toward discretionary statutes whereby juries had the power to decide whether or not a particular case warranted the death penalty led to an arbitrary application of capital punishment that raised questions about its constitutionality. This period culminated in the Supreme Court's Furman decision, 408 U.S. 238, in which the Court held that "the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in these cases constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments" (Furman v. Georgia, 1972). The holding in Furman essentially found "that discretionary capital statutes resulted in arbitrary sentencing, violating the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause. This decision effectively voided the death penalty statutes of all