Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Plight Of Low Income Individuals And Their Families

Saul Alvarez English 101 The Plight of Low Income Individuals and Their Families According to the PRB article â€Å"U.S. Low-Income Working Families Increasing†, 42.7% of people live below the poverty line, with 32.1% of them living 200% below the poverty line; this group is categorized as the low-income group.(PRB) 59% of low income working families have one or more minority parents. Living in a low-income community limits one’s standard of living through academic gaps, the selection of food available, an ever-present fear of victimization , and a lack of resources available to both children and adults. The differences in academic gaps between children and teenagers from low-income neighborhoods and affluent neighborhoods present themselves in the schools the students attend. A study by the Department of Education showed that students in low-income areas did not have access to the same rigorous courses, and when they did, the resources available to the low-income students was lacking compared to the resources the students in high income neighborhoods had access to. In the low-income areas black and Hispanic students were twice as likely to have teachers with less experience, with one or two years in the profession, compared to schools in affluent neighborhoods with well-to-do white students. Another thing increasing the academic gap is that only 22 percent of local districts reported offering pre-kindergarten or other early learning programs for low-income children.Show MoreRelatedDescription Of The Business Opportunity836 Words   |  4 Pagesin 2012. Among the reasons identified by the large population of uninsured individuals is low income. The low income implies that they have little disposable income, and therefore they spend a little on food and other daily survival necessities (Bailey, 2012). Sixty one percent of the respondents stated that they would seek insurance services if a company offered them at affordable costs that are relative to their income. Only 1.5% of the uninsured population perceived that they did not require insuranceRead MoreThe Leader Of The Field Of Healthcare1271 Words   |  6 Pagescharacteristics of leaders have been endless over a period and around the world. Leaders are individuals with vision and he/her view the future different from the commonly accepted view. A leader can influence change and communicate his/her vision to other staff and gain the support, and acceptance in order to implementing the vision. Leaders have established values which offer a basis for vision and passion to attain individual and organizational g oals. Influence is vital to attaining change and to be groundedRead MoreA Study Of The Development, Structure, And Functioning Of Human Society909 Words   |  4 Pagestheories in sociology today, says that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures: family, education, politics, and the economy (social institutions). Fortunately, only with the use of two social institutions from this theory and through culture can we understand William Julius Wilson’s article the â€Å"Economic Plight of Inner-City Black Males† from More than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City where he addresses the question, why are soRead MoreMinimum Wage Does Not Impact The Poverty Rate600 Words   |  3 Pagesworkers below the poverty rate and reducing the opportunity for jobs. Protection Since the years after 1938, the Fair Labor Act has enabled workers to maintain a minimum level of income. The forty-hour workweek has provided a limit to employers but also in good economic times the ability to work multiple jobs to offset low-skilled workers living expenses. Today, single mothers, elderly and uneducated are the protected society. Consequently the protection comes at a cost, the minimum wage is also affectingRead MoreIdeal Healthcare System1680 Words   |  7 Pageshealthcare system, the number of persons who lack health insurance approaches 47 million. Lack of health insurance has been associated with limited or no access to comprehensive medical services, worse health outcomes, financial catastrophe for many families, and financial challenges for many service providers. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts an annual social and economic supplemental survey each March- the widely cited Current Population and economic survey (CPS) - that asks respondents about theirRead MoreWhat Does It Mean For A Minority?1584 Words   |  7 PagesWithin most societies there are divisions between the different groups that is composed of, but what is ironic about this is that a society essentially is a unit of individuals who coexist for mutual benefit. Within the constructs of these divisions there are many individuals who feel that they are inherently disadvantaged because they are a part of the minority of their respective society. In terms of their economic stature it can be easily argued that they are disadvantaged because; those of theRead MoreEconomic Inequality And Political Inequality1647 Words   |  7 PagesEconomic inequality, also known as income inequality, is the interval between the rich and the poor. Economic inequality refers to how the total wealth in the United States is distributed among people in a social class. It is needed and it is important but due to the major gap difference, it affects the Democratic Party and in addition, it also af fects Americans because they do not understand the actual wealth distribution. It is a major issue in the United States because it affects other economicRead MoreEconomic Poverty970 Words   |  4 Pagesattention to the plight of the poor when there isnt a natural disaster to put them in the headlines. Poor children in the United States are more likely to be White than Black or Latino and are more likely to live in a rural or suburban area than in an inner city (Poverty and Schooling in the U.S., 2004). There is also an economic case for reducing child poverty and any other form of it. When children grow up in poverty, they are somewhat more likely than non-poor children to have low earnings as adultsRead MoreAddressing the Challenges Faced by Young Parents1814 Words   |  7 PagesParents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦...2 1. Education†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦3 2. Stress†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...3 3. Finances†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 4. Health†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 IV. Addressing the Challenges faced by Young Parents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 1. Support from Family and Friends†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...5 2. Adequate Medical and Psychological Care†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 3. Role of the Government†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.6 V. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦6 VI. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....7 Introduction In addition to the challengesRead MoreEssay on Poverty and Personal Choice1378 Words   |  6 Pagesno simple solution to resolve the plight of these often forgotten citizens. Most of us associate poor as being in a class below the poverty line. In fact there are many levels of poverty ranging from those with nothing, to those with enough to survive but too little to move up. I believe many of our nation’s poor are so by their own doing. I will share observations and personal experiences to support the argument that being poor often is a result of individual choice. One needs merely inspiration

Monday, December 16, 2019

Development of a Clinical Practice guideline for Acute Care Nursing Free Essays

Clinical practice guidelines are formulated as a necessity to provide uniformity in the nursing field, cut down costs involved and improve the quality of care offered to patients. One of the most important ways of developing a practical and effective guideline is the systematic review of literature on this area since extensive and credible research has been carried out and documented by qualified professionals. It is important to examine whether the formulation of such guidelines has helped influence the conduct of nurses and by extension to evaluate the extent, if any that the provision of health care has benefited from such guidelines. We will write a custom essay sample on Development of a Clinical Practice guideline for Acute Care Nursing or any similar topic only for you Order Now It becomes essential to consider specifically the various areas of intensive medicine since the importance of the department makes it a necessity to have clear, uniform and sustainable practices that fosters discipline, acquisition of new knowledge and a diligence in ensuring that exact and prompt care is administered to save lives. Introduction Nursing is a vital part of our society due to the mortal nature of humanity. The average human person cannot live his whole life without need to acquire some medical attention due to either ailment or injury. Nurses therefore provide the necessary care in ensuring that people receive treatment of their various ailments and injuries and hence the role of the nurse is to foster good health and maintain good quality of life. Nurses work under all kinds of environment depending on the nature of ailment, preferences of the patients, personal choices that are influenced by various social and economic factors and in accordance to the laws and guidelines of the various institutions that have jurisdiction over the conduct of nurses under their authorities. These institutions might range from federal and state governments, registration and oversight bodies and specific hospitals in which individual nurses are attached. There are many fields in medicine and nurses work in all these departments depending on the specificity of the fields they have received training in. This paper will dwell on the area of acute care provision since as a student specializing in this field; it is common logic that my review should rotate within the educational confines of this field. The area of acute care nursing usually involves attending to patients within the intensive unit set up and is mainly patients whose lives are in danger due to fatal ailments and serious injuries. The history of the development of intensive unit care can be traced to Florence Nightingale and the contribution it has brought to the field of medicine is monumental if the great number of lives saved can be a testimony of its importance and success. It is important that nurses receive sufficient training since their occupation involves saving lives or restoring health regardless of whether assisting medics or administering such services independently. Education then becomes a vital part in the development of the nursing profession and hospitals have recognized the importance of education and by extension, hospitals are mandating that their nurses update their training annually (Kurjak Chervenak, 2006). There is a lot of prudence and common sense behind such directives, most of which are due to the increasing innovations in technology, medicines and methodologies in the field of medicine and nursing. Nurses, especially acute care nurses are required to have accurate knowledge in operating various machines employed in treating patients and since many improvements and new inventions are a daily occurrence, failure to have current knowledge might be a cause for catastrophe and civil liability thereafter. Guidelines are used to ensure that new findings in nursing are used to ensure that gains are felt in the nursing sector to ensure that all stake holders benefit. Good guidelines should be based on evidence and the best way to collect such evidence is through systematic reviews of the existing literature (Silagy, 2001). However, since several literatures exists on this field and the nature of the many changes in technology and technique that have occurred through the ages, it is necessary to limit your review to materials produced in the near past. The actual period one chooses to examine might be determined by several factors but among them might be the length of the systematic review with a small review like this one going back 5 to 10 years. This means that knowledge contained in these primary documents is current and a reflection of the present condition of nursing sector and guidelines based on such materials will act as an improving factor in the current health service provision. How to cite Development of a Clinical Practice guideline for Acute Care Nursing, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Characteristics of Effective Direct Vocabulary Instruction free essay sample

Students are quite capable to obtaining an idea of a words meaning with minimal (e. G. One) exposure to a word. This is called fast mapping. To understand the word at deeper levels, however, students require repeated and varied exposure to words, during which they revise their initial understandings. Such exposure is referred to as extended mapping. Without experiences that allow for extended mapping, word knowledge remains superficial but useful. Recommendation: Teachers should vary the type of interactions students have with vocabulary terms.One technique is to use both linguistic and nonlinguistic representations. Some activities should involve writing; some should involve constructing orphic representations, others should involve drawing pictures. A second way to vary how students interact with vocabulary words is to use the various forms of identifying similarities and differences. Four types of instructional activities that require students to identify similarities and differences: comparing classifying, creating metaphors, and creating analogies. We will write a custom essay sample on Characteristics of Effective Direct Vocabulary Instruction or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Comparing = the process of identifying similarities and differences among or between things or ideas.Technically, comparing refers to identifying similarities, and contrasting refers to identifying differences. Classifying = the recess of grouping things that are alike into categories based on their characteristics. Creating metaphors = the process of identifying a general or basic pattern that connects information that is not related at a surface or literal level. Creating analogies = the process of identifying the relationship between two sets of items?in other words, identifying relationships between relationships.Characteristic 4: Teaching word parts enhances students understanding of terms. Teaching of roots and affixes has traditionally been a part of regular vocabulary instruction. Teaching older readers about roots suffixes of rhapsodically complex words may be a worthwhile challenge, teaching beginning or less skilled readers about them may be a mistake. Affixes include prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes commonly augment the meaning of the words to which they are attached. Suffixes commonly change the part of speech of the words to which they are attached. Recommendation: A sequence of six lessons.In the first lesson, the teacher explicitly defines and teaches the concept of a prefix by presenting examples and unexampled. The goal of this first lesson is for students to understand the difference twine genuine prefixed words like unkind and refill as opposed to tricksters like uncle and reason. In the second lesson, the teacher explains and exemplifies the negative meaning of the prefixes UN- and ids-. The third lesson addresses the negative meanings of in-, IM-, IR-, and non-. In the fourth lesson, the teacher explains and exemplifies the two meanings of re (again and back).The fifth lesson addresses the less common meaning of UN- and ids- (do the opposite) and the less common meanings of in- and IM- (in or into). Finally, in the sixth lesson the teacher explains and exemplifies he meanings of en-, me-, over-, and MIS-. Len the first lesson on suffixes, the teacher explains and exemplifies the concept of a suffix using examples and unexampled. The next two lessons present suffixed words that show no spelling change from the base words: blows, boxes, talking faster, lasted, sweetly, comical, rainy.Next, the teacher presents one or more lessons illustrating each of the three major kinds of spelling changes that occur with suffixes: (1) consonant blending (thinner, swimming begged, funny); (2) y to I (worried, flies, busily, reliable, loneliness); and (3)deleted silent e (baking, evaded, rider, believable, refusal, breezy). Finally, a number of lessons provide examples of three inflectional endings (-SSL-SE, -deed,-inning), and the following derivation suffixes: -lay, -err -ion, -able, -al, -y, -news. Characteristic 5: Different types of words require different types of instruction.Four categories: object terms, action terms, event terms, and state terms. Recommendation: Teachers can use the Categories and Semantic Features of Words Figure 4. 8 to help them determine which characteristics they might emphasize in an initial d escription of the word presented to students. Characteristic 6: Students should discuss the terms they are learning. Discussion helps students encode information in their own words, helps them view things from different perspectives, and allows for self-expression. Characteristic 7: Students should play with words. Games.Games have at least three distinguishing characteristics. First, they present manageable challenges for students. Games provide tasks that challenge the individuals present capacity, yet permit some control over the level of challenge faced. Second, games arouse curiosity by providing sufficient complexity so that outcomes are not always certain. Finally, games involve some degree of fantasy arousal. Characteristic 8: Instruction should focus on terms that have a high probability of enhancing academic success. CHAPTER 2 SUMMARY Six research-based principles underlie many of the recommendations made in this book.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

The Minor Post Exilic Prophets Essay Example For Students

The Minor Post Exilic Prophets Essay Before the Babylonian exile, Biblical prophesy reached its highest point. Prophets such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel changed and molded the scope of Israelite religion. Their writings were intelligent, insightful, well developed, and contained a great spiritual meaning. Following the Babylonian exile, however, prophesy took a depressing downward turn. There are many post exilic prophets, yet their writings are usually short, mostly irrelevant, repetitive, and, for the most part, anonymous. Though this is the case for many of these prophets, their works cannot be overlooked. Haggai and Zechariah were leaders in the cultic reform of the Israelite people. Malachai calmed their fears, and assured them of Gods love. Still other prophets told of a new, Messianic time when the word of the Lord would be held in its former glory. These were the most important works, as post exilic Israel needed not only protection, but spiritual guidance to sustain their society. We will write a custom essay on The Minor Post Exilic Prophets specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The prophet Haggai was in integral figure in uniting the Israelite people. Upon return to their homeland, the Israelites found most of the infrastructure in a state of disrepair, with the people uncaring for their moral and social responsibilities, to say nothing for their religious practices. (OVC) Even the temple of the Lord had been destroyed. Haggai emphasized the return to a more cultic society. Through Haggai, God explained the plight of the Israelite people, as in Haggai 1:6: You have sown much, but harvested little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enoughWhy? Because of My house which lies desolate while each of you runs to his own house. (Haggai 1:9) The word of Haggai is accepted as the word of God, and the temple is rebuilt in less than four years. I am with you, said the Lord,in Haggai 1:13 when the temple was finally built. (EIB)The prophesy of Haggai did not end with the building of the Lords temple. He offered a message of hope to the people of Israel. Haggai said that the promises made by God would be kept, now that He had a dwelling place within the city. God inspired the people of the newly reformed city, saying: Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory?Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison? The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, and in this place I shall give peace. (Haggai 2:3,9) He also talks of a time of political upheaval and reform, when he promises to overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms and nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, every one by the sword of another. (Haggai 2:22)The latter glory foretold in Haggais prophesy is emphasized in the book of Zechariah. Zechariah prophesied in the shadow of Haggai, but gave his words a slightly different spin. He emphasizes, like the pre-exilic prophets, the importance of a moral reform among the Israelites. Zechariahs way of recieving the word of God is very unique among the prophets. The word comes to him in the form of eight visions. These colorful and strange visions make up most of his book. (OVC) The visions are so bizarre that the Lord sends an angel as in interpreter, so that Zeccariah can derive meaning from them. (I have taken descriptions of these visions, from the OVC and other texts, and combined them with actual verses from the bible in order to create these descriptions.)The first of thsese eight visions is that of four angels, whose amazing speed is symbolized by horses. These four angels report that all is at peace with the nation, because the opponents to the nation have been silenced. This is called a time of universal peace (Carstensen, OVC). Even though the land is peaceful, the Lord is not, and he expresses his hatred toward those who have been allied against the Israelites. .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 , .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .postImageUrl , .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 , .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8:hover , .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8:visited , .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8:active { border:0!important; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8:active , .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8 .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue1c2943ff4973e8fa8e257c7c5cd81d8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Deer EssayThe second vision is of four horns and four smiths. This vision fortells the complete destruction of the enemies of God. The horns may be the four most powerful armies allied against the nation, and the smiths could be the angels send by got to protect the inhabitants of the nation. The third vision begins with a man marking off the city boundaries with a plumb line. Again, and angel interpreter tells Zechariah to inform the man that there need be no boundary lines, because the city shall have no walls. It goes on to say that if there is true faith and belief in the Lord, a city without any defenses will be safer than the most heavily armored city. The second part of this vision is an invitation to the Israelite armies to share in the destruction of their enemies. This vision is significant because it describes the Lord dwelling with his people, an event which creates happiness in and of itself, not only because people are pleased that the Lord is with them, but because the Lord does not choose to surround Himself with depressed people. The fourth vision is very significant, in that the character of Satan is reintroduced as the adversary. Joshua, the high priest, is brought on trial, with an angel as judge. Satan brings these charges to the court, and accuses Joshua. The angel of the Lord removes Joshuas clothes, and replaces them with a white robe, symbolizing the absolution of sin from the Israelite population. Joshua is given the responsiblity of being a moral and spiritual leader in society. In the fifth vision, there is a golden lampstand, adorned by seven lamps. These lamps smbolize the light of the Lord, and His vision, which not only gives light to the people, but oversees the actions of the people, both on and off of holy ground. On either side of the lampstand are two olive trees, representative of Joshua and Zerubbabel. In the sixth vision, God uses a large, flying scroll to symbolize a curse on evildoers, mostly thieves and liars. The curse gives an ominous vision of death to those who disobey the word of God. Though theft and perjury are the only two sins mentioned here, they are probably just symbols of a longer list of greater sins which would fall under this curse. The seventh vision speaks of a woman trapped in a wine cask. The angel lifts the lead cover to show Zechariah the woman, who is called Wickedness. The angel talks of building a temple in the land of Shinar, where she will be sent so that the Israelite land will be absolved of sin. The eighth is a wrap-up, in the tradition of the first vision. Four horsemen bring news that the land is calm, and now that His people are reformed, God is also calm. Later in this chapter, there is also talk of the coronation of Joshua, the son of the high priest. It is told that later, Joshua would build the temple of the Lord, uniting the people and nations of the Middle East. Zechariah and Haggai both told of the rebuilding of the temple and the return to the cultic society by the Israelites. Haggai focused more on the cultic activities than Zechariah. This is not to say that Haggai ignored the moral aspects of society. He believed, through the building of the temple, the Lord would reside in the city, and the community would come together. Zechariah prophesied to the same ends, in that by unifying the people, the Lord would be with them, and further, by rebuilding His temple, the people would return to their former religious ways. God would see this, and want to reside with His people. Through both of these books, there are undertones of a future society, where the power of God would be realized. .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f , .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .postImageUrl , .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f , .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f:hover , .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f:visited , .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f:active { border:0!important; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f:active , .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u02d2970e4940907ce56b4cff56563e9f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Creative writing: "A flower" EssayThe future society is the focus of the books of Malachai and Obadiah. The prophet known as Malachai could have been anyone. The word Malachai, in Hebrew, means messenger. The author of the book of Malachai told of another prophet who would be born to the earth to prepare the people for the return of their God. The later editors assumed that the prophet was referring to himself, which was not necessarily the case. He brought a word of warning to the Israelites, warning them that their half hearted attempts at sacrifice would not be sufficient. He said, A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My hon or? And if I am a master, where is My respect? (Malachi 1:6) He goes on to tell the priests how they have upset him so: You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, how have we defiled Thee?But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? (Malachai 1:7,8) The Lord then goes on to invite the Israelites to offer such inferior animals to their governor, and see if their community leader is as forgiving. Much of the post-exilic prophesy is warning, with undertones of a glorious future. Through these prophets, we see a sence of rebuilding, of picking up the nation where it left off. Much of the ceremonial history of the Israelites is shaped in this time period, mostly by Haggai, who believed that a strong sense of ceremony must accompany a strong moral belief to satisfy the Lord. Furthermore, to receive the Lords residence with the people as well as his blessing, there must be a suitable house in which he can dwell. Palaces, beliefs, and the restructuring and rebuilding of society all played a major role in the healing of the Israelite population following the Babylonian exile. These prophets played an important part in leading the people to social stability. Their words are a minor portion of the bible, but the implications of their words drastically shaped the israelite society. Notes:It amazed me that such a minor spot in such a huge book could have such great implications on a society. Had these prophets not interceded in the affairs of the Israelites, the entire Jewish religion would have been on the verge of collapse. Many of the practices and beliefs set during the post-exilic period have lasted in Israel for hundreds of years. I found it ironic, however, that after the nation healed itself, it immediatly began to discuss plans for war with other nations. Throughout the Bible, there are discussions of prosperity and pease, but does it have to come at the expense of other nations? It would have been more economical for the Israelites to at least establish a solid medium for trade, and a constant source of manpower and funds before they began to wage war on other cities. In researching this paper, I found the OVC to be especially helpful. It contained a verse by verse breakdown of the entire book, as well as historical backgrounds. Scripture quotations ar e from my New American Standard Bible. Works CitedCarstensen, Roger N. The Book of Zechariah. From The Interpreters One Volume Commentary on the Bible. Abingdon Press, 1971. Achtemeier, Paul J. Harpers Bible Dictionary. Harper and Row, 1985. Carey, Gary.Cliffs Notes on Old Testament. Cliffs Notes, Inc, 1995. Barker, William P. Everyone in the Bible. Fleming H. Revell, 1966. Brownrigg, Ronald and Comay, Joan. Whos Who in the Bible. CrownPublishers, Inc, 1946 and 1952.Words/ Pages : 2,090 / 24

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Lateral and Vertical Thinking Essays

Lateral and Vertical Thinking Essays Lateral and Vertical Thinking Paper Lateral and Vertical Thinking Paper Lateral and Vertical Thinking De Bono (2010) in ‘Lateral and Vertical Thinking’ explains the positive and negative features of the two ways of people’s thinking, and he tries to clarify it by giving examples. The core advantage of the lateral thinking is the overcoming styptic assumptions and understanding the problem in an completely different way (De Bono,2010). On the other part, vertical thinking is the way of thinking by exact and logical reasoning of the situation. So, the vertical thinkers do not try to see at the problem from different viewpoints, it is easier for them to see straight to the problem; otherwise, the lateral thinkers prefer to study the problem from all possible angles and usually very quickly. Therefore, the lateral thinking gives more probable solutions; it means more advantages for thinker. Once I heard the interesting for me theory that first group of dancers focuses on definitions and rules, categorizing then standardizing the categorization. And they always ask themselves questions:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœDoes it belong in this box or that box? Which style is correct? So, there is understandably an emphasis on technique, more specifically on defining and enforcing one  correct  technique. Therefore, the second group focuses more on the way dance feels - the subjective experience of dancing. And accordingly ask themselves other questions: ’How does it impact us? How can we enhance the experience for our partners? ’   This group’s thinking therefore embraces more creativity and flexibility, to adapt to partners who are different from our own style. Does it really true? Does it really two types of dancing? As it turned out, no; there is no types of dancing divided by these criteria. So it is a difference between  vertical thinking  versus  lateral thinking, which can happen anywhere. According to the dictionary, lateral thinking is idea generation  and  problem solving  technique  in which new concepts  are created by looking at things in  novel  ways. Whereas the vertical thinking carries a chosen idea forward, the lateral thinking provokes fresh ideas or  changes  the  frame of reference. And, while vertical thinking tries to overcome  problems  by  meeting  them head-on, lateral thinking tries to  bypass  them through a radically different approach  ( usinessdictionary. com/definition/lateral-thinking. html). I want to conclude that vertical thinking is selective, lateral thinking is generative; and importance for vertical thinking is a correctness, whereas for lateral is a richness. According to original Whiteys Lindy Hoppers superstar Leon James, ‘Want to dance Lindy Hop correctly? Then dont be real concerned ab out correctness! ’(Judy Pritchett Frank Manning,2003). But lateral thinking is not better for  all  kinds of dancing. As I wrote, I believe that both vertical and lateral thinking are valid where appropriate. Rule-based vertical thinking makes perfect sense for ballet and competition ballroom dance for example. You cannot hold a competition unless everyone agrees on the rules. But one of the strangest mismatches you will find in the dance world is when someone applies a rigidly vertical thinking attitude to a lateral thinking dance form, like Lindy hop, Argentine tango, West Coast Swing, salsa or blues. Those dances were born and bred in cultures which valued spontaneity, flexibility and personal variations. The original spirit of those dances is lost if their freedom is replaced by an emphasis on rules and restrictions. So, the types of thinking have a place to be even in the dancing. The exact, logical vertical thinking is for dances with very strong techniques, but the lateral thinking gives more emotions to the dance. And always the most fascinating part of dancing is the individuality of the dancers. Keep the spirit alive. List of References Business Dictionary, nd, viewed 19 October 2011, businessdictionary. com/definition/lateral-thinking. html Marlys Mayfield, 2010, Thinking for yourself, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, USA Judy

Friday, November 22, 2019

Definition and Examples of Tmesis

Definition and Examples of Tmesis Tmesis is the separation of the parts of a compound word by another word or words, usually for emphasis or comic effect. The adjective form is  tmetic. Related to tmesis is synchesis, the jumbling of word order in an expression. Etymology:  From the Greek, a cutting Pronunciation:  (te-)ME-sis Also Known  As:  infix,  tumbarumba  (Australia) Examples and Observations Abso-friggin-lutely! I said triumphantly as I mentally crossed my fingers. (Victoria Laurie, A Vision of Murder. Signet, 2005)Goodbye, Piccadilly. Farewell, Leicester bloody Square. (James Marsters as Spike in Becoming: Part 2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1998)Whoopdee-damn-doo, Bruce thought. At most newspapers, general assignment reporters were newsroom royalty, given the most important stories. At the East Lauderdale Tattler, they were a notch above janitors, and burdened with lowly tasks . . .. (Ken Kaye, Final Revenge. AuthorHouse, 2008)To persuade people to keep watching [the television program Zoo Quest], [David] Attenborough gave the series an objective, a rare animal to pursue: picarthates gymnocephalus, the bald-headed rock crow. He doubted this creature would be alluring enough, but when his cameraman Charles Lagus was driving him down Regent Street in an open-top sports car and a bus driver leaned out of his cab and asked, in a neat piece of tmesis, if he was ever going to catch that Picafartees gymno-bloody-cephalus, he knew it had lodged itself in the public mind. (Joe Moran, Armchair Nation. Profile, 2013) This is not Romeo, hes some other where. (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)In what torn ship soever I embark,That ship shall be my emblemWhat sea soever swallow me, that floodShall be to me an emblem of thy blood. (John Donne, Hymn to Christ, at the Authors Last Going Into Germany)Most often, tmesis is applied to compounds of ever. Which way so ever man refer to it (Milton); that manhow dearly ever parted (Troilus and Cressida 3.3.96); how heinous eer it be,/To win thy after-love I pardon thee (Richard II 5.3.34). However, the syllable of any word can be separated: Oh so lovely sitting abso-blooming-lutely still (A. Lerner and F. Lowe, My Fair Lady). Or See his windlilycockslaced (G.M. Hopkins, Harry Ploughman). Tmesis is also commonly used in terms of British slang, such as hoo-bloody-ray. (A. Quinn, Tmesis. Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition, ed. by T. Enos. Taylor Francis, 1996)Its a sort of long cocktailhe got the formula off a barman in Marrakesh or some-bloody-where . (Kingsley Amis, Take a Girl Like You, 1960) I did summon up the courage to poke a camera through Terry Adamss front gate last year, only to be met with a minders greeting: Why dont you leave us a-f-ing-lone. I wonder if the brute was aware of his use of tmesis, the insertion of one word into another? (Martin Brunt, How Terror Has Changed the Crime Beat. The Guardian, Nov. 26, 2007)old age sticksup KeepOffsigns) youth yanks themdown(oldagecries NoTres) (pas)youth laughs(singold agescolds Forbidden StopMustnt Dont) youth goesright ongrowing old(E.E. Cummings, old age sticks)Gideon [Kent] knew [Joseph] Pulitzer, of course. He admired the publishers insistence that his paper never become the captive of any group or political party. Indegoddamnpendent was Pulitzers unique way of putting it. (John Jakes, The Americans. Nelson Doubleday, 1980) Tmetic Rhythms When you insert a word for emphasis- be it fricking, bleeping, something ruder, or something less rude- you cant just stick it any old where. We know this because abso-freaking-lutely is fine but ab-freaking-solutely or absolute-freaking-ly is not. Whether its in a word, a phrase, or a name- you stick the emphatic addition right before a stressed syllable, usually the syllable with the strongest stress, and most often the last stressed syllable. What were doing, in prosodic terms, is inserting a foot. . . . When it comes to sticking these extra feet in, we normally break the word or phrase according to the rhythm of what were inserting. To be or not to be, that is the question is thought of as iambic pentameter, but you wont break it between iambs if your interrupting foot is a trochee: To be or not to bleeping be, not To be or not bleeping to be . . . But if its an iamb? To be or not the heck to be, not To be or not to the heck be. Look, these are rude, interrupting words. Theyre breaking in and wrecking the structure. Thats the freaking point. But they still do it with a rhythmic feeling. (James Harbeck, Why Linguists Freak Out About Absofreakinglutely. The Week, December 11, 2014) The Split Infinitive as Tmesis A split infinitive has been elsewhere defined as a type of syntactic tmesis in which a word, especially an adverb, occurs between to and the infinitival form of a verb. Different labels have been used to name this particular ordering of English, spiked adverb or cleft infinitive among others, but the term split infinitive has eventually superseded all its predecessors (Smith 1959: 270).  (Javier Calle-Martin and Antonio Miranda-Garcia, On the Use of Split Infinitives in English. Corpus Linguistics: Refinements and Reassessments, ed. by Antoinette Renouf and Andrew Kehoe. Rodopi, 2009)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Statement of Cash Flows Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Statement of Cash Flows - Assignment Example Creditors can also use this statement to establish the credit worthiness of a company within a particular period. A firm with a healthy cash flow is characterized by the cash generated from operating activities (Needles & Powers, 2013). Even though income statements and balance sheets are used to establish a firm’s performance and heath (Harrison, Horngren, & Thomas, 2013), it is still imperative that firms prepare the statement of cash flow. For instance, shareholders need the statement of cash flows to check the adequacy of cash flow as a sign of the firm’s ability to pay dividends and expand its operations. Cash flow statement is used for short and long-term financial planning since it explains the reasons for a deficit or surplus in a firm’s liquidity position at the end of a particular period (Harrison, Horngren, & Thomas, 2013). Furthermore, a cash flow statement is mainly based on the actual cash concept; thus it is a critical tool for liquidity analysis of a company (Rich, Jones, Mowen, & Hansen, 2013). Users of the company’s annual financial reports can get a glance of the liquidity position of the company by looking at the statement of cash flows. This statement also helps in s treamlining a company’s internal financial management by providing information on the cash flow analysis of the company. Finally, the cash flow statement assists users of the annual financial report to examine the relationship between profitability, profits and the net cash flows of the company for a particular period (Mohana,

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Design Research - Article Critique Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Design Research - Critique - Article Example The authors employ purposive sampling to find and select illustrative cases of the firms that had initiated brand-building process. The authors also selected three Swedish firms with strong brand image making their results to be of note. The article also employed personal interviews as their main data collection which offers further credibility to their findings. Pre-testing of the data collection tools also offers strength to the findings and article (Aggarwal 2008, p.123). A weakness in the research article is that its study sample size of three firms appears limited and small. The article’s findings are of use considering the fragmented literature available on brand building from an internal perspective. Further, this article can be of use to managers who are interested in developing strong brands by providing indicators to how a firm can respond to scandals, geographical expansion, and or brand repositioning. The article’s findings are relevant to current practices in corporate branding. It further highlights emergent trends that should provide base for future research in regard to the implementation phase of corporate branding (Glynn & Woodside 2009, p.63). The article has a good structure as it provides an abstract first, then a literature review, followed by methodology, then the results and a conclusion. It makes it easy for the reader to follow and understand its contents. In their article ‘innovation, growth, and getting to where you want to go’, Ryan Jacoby and Diego Rodriguez seek to give advice to their readers on how to thoughtfully structure the innovation process (Jacoby & Rodriguez 2007, p.10). They aim at presenting managers with a model that helps them to assess and direct innovation efforts. The authors provide evolved and refined tools that employ design thinking to assist their clients to shape their innovation efforts. The strength of the article lies in its step by step approach towards design

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Chemistry 208 All QUIZ Essay Example for Free

Chemistry 208 All QUIZ Essay The Scientific Method Step 1: Performing Experiments Step 2: Making Observations Step 3: Proposing a Hypothesis Step 4: Confirming the Hypothesis Step 5: Proposing a Scientific Law Scientific Notation It is a mathematical expression in which a number is expressed as N x 10^n where N contains only one nonzero digit to the left of the decimal and n is an integer. Rules for Determining Significant Figures (digits) -All nonzero digits are significant figures -Counting begins from the left with the first nonzero number -Zeros between nonzero digits are counted as sig. Figures -Terminal zeros (zeros to the right of the right of a number) are always significant if the value contains a decimal point. Ex: 2. 3700 g: 5 significant figures 17. 50 mL: 4 significant figures Rule 1- In calculations involving measured values (with a certain # of sig. figs), the number of sig figs in the final answer depends on the operation performed. Rule 2- In multiplication and division of measured quantities, the final answer contains the same number of sig figs as are in the measurement with the least number of sig figs. Rule 3- In the final answer of a calculation involving exact numbers, unit conversion factors and constants, the number of significant figures is dictated by the measured quantity involved. Density = Mass/ Volume Matter: The term matter is used to describe things that occupy space and are perceivable by our senses. It can be classifies in terms of its physical state or chemical composition. Elements: composed of one type of atom. Classified as a metal, nonmetal or metalloid. Compound: a combination of elements in a definite proportion. Atoms of each individual elements are chemically combined to form the compound. A chemical change can break down a compound into its individual elements. Mixture: a non-pure substance made of 2 or more elements or compounds that can be separated by physical procedures. Protons have a positive charge, found in the nucleus. Neutrons have no charge, found in the nucleus. Electrons have a negative charge. The atomic number of an element is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus of its atoms. The mass number is equal to the number of protons and neutrons in the atom. To calculate the number of neutrons, subtract the atomic number from the mass number. Molecules are a combination of atoms in a definite proportion e. g. , molecule of water Ions are charged species formed by loss or gain of electron(s) from an atom. Loss of electron – cation (positively charged) Gain of electron – anion (negatively charged)

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Mama Day by Gloria Naylor :: Mama Day Gloria Naylor Literature Essays

Mama Day by Gloria Naylor The comparisons--North vs. South, city vs. country, technology vs. nature--are numerous and have been well documented in 20th century literature. Progress contrasts sharply with rooted cultural beliefs and practices. Personalities and mentalities about life, power and change differ considerably between worlds... worlds that supposed-intellectuals from the West would classify as "modern" and "backwards," respectively. When these two worlds collide, the differences--and the danger--rise significantly. This discrepancy between the old and the new is one of the principal themes of Gloria Naylor's Mama Day. The interplay between George, Ophelia and Mama Day shows the discrepancies between a "modern" style of thinking and one born of spirituality and religious beliefs. Dr. Buzzard serves as a weak bridge between these two modes of thought. In Mama Day, the Westernized characters fail to grasp the power of the Willow Springs world until it is too late. "When I was just out of school I worked with a team of engineers in redesigning a nozzle for a nuclear steam turbine generator... It was an awesome machine... And when it ran... lighting up every home in New York, a feeling radiated through the pit of my stomach as if its nerve endings were connected to each of those ten million light bulbs. That was power. But the winds coming around the corners of that house was God" (251). George's experience in the hurricane is just one example of the contrasts between technology and spirituality. George ardently believes that every problem can be solved with rational thinking, planning and plenty of hard work. His obsession with fixing the bridge after the hurricane further illustrates this point; despite assurances from Mama Day and Dr. Buzzard that the bridge would be built in its own time, George diligently pushes the townsfolk beyond their capacity to work. His behavior surrounding the bridge--not to mention the boat he tries to mend--is bas ed on his desire to save Ophelia from a strange illness. He ignores the advice and guidance of Mama Day and plunges into the crisis through rational means. Ultimately, he loses his own life when saving his beloved wife, though George never understands how or why. Dr. Buzzard had warned him that "A man would have grown enough to know that really believing in himself means that he ain't gotta be afraid to admit there's some things he can't do alone" (292).

Monday, November 11, 2019

Jazz and Popular Music Essay

Despite the rapid evolution of country music in the U. S. , it was not before the creation of Acuff-Rose Publishing that country music became one of the central elements of musical advancement in the country. The rise of Acuff-Rose Publishing is closely associated with and is considered as one of the drivers for positioning Nashville as one of the country music centers in America; and where country performers and song writers sought to establish themselves in the world of music, â€Å"Acuff-Rose readily gave Nashville an outlet for the fledging country songwriters. Record executives kept Nashville in contact with the New York scene† (Malone, 1968). To a large extent, the creation of Acuff-Rose Publishing by Fred Rose and Roy Acuff was the turning point in the process of moving country music into masses. The new musical enterprise was able to establish close ties with ASCAP and BMI studios, which turned country music into the source of enormous profits (Pecknold, 2007). The popularity of country music and country songwriters depended on the way Acuff-Rose managed to collect and distribute the most promising pieces of country singing. It should be noted, however, that the development of Acuff-Rose and the rapid popularization of country music produced two-fold effects: on the one hand, Acuff-Rose publishing actively worked to promote the relevance of country music; on the other hand, talented country music performers promoted positive business image of Acuff-Rose, which in its turn served to help professionals and beginners in country music to reach beyond traditional regional music markets (Malone, 1968; Pecknold, 2007). Later during the 1950s, the bluesy and gutsy style of music that had originated from Acuff-Rose’s country singers became the determining feature of country singing across several American states. Acuff-Rose has caused a strategic shift in public perceptions with regard to country music, making it a never ending source of inspiration and a reliable basis for generating continuous profits. It was due to country music that Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis became the critical figures of the American musical Olympus, with country sound being the distinctive feature of their style and the essential component of their professional appeal and emotiveness.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Cheap Amusement Book Review

Dereck Rickman Scott Keys History 9September2012 In the book, Cheap Amusements: Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York, Piess takes the reader on the journey of trials and tribulations in working-class women’s lives in the turn of the century. Going in depth of the unfair familial roles and societal female disparities, all the way to what women liked to wear and do for leisure, Piess allows the reader to step into a time machine and gives them a first-class look into what a woman’s daily life was like in late 1800’s and early 1900’s.By using ‘expert’ sources and ‘investigators’, Piess succeeds in her goal by honing in on a specific time and topic which allowed the reader to feel as if they were reading an in-depth history textbook on the matter, but failed at providing deeper substance and backbone through concrete details. Starting off by explaining the typical family roles in the turn of the century, Piess exp resses how while the men may spend his evenings at a local saloon, at a baseball game or reading his daily paper, the women would often be expected to work her â€Å"double day†.Piess explains this concept of the double day to be that the woman is expected to go about her daily work day of typically â€Å"domestic servants, needlewomen, laundresses†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Peiss 1986), and come home to start her other job, being the housewife. The housewife duties usually entailed cooking, cleaning, washing, scrubbing, and most importantly†¦ making her husband and kids happy. All the while, when the woman got her hard earned paycheck, it was expected to go towards family needs.Even as young women in the family home, young working girls were expected to hand over their paychecks in their entirety while their male counterparts were only asked for a small portion of their earnings. Even though women were getting paid at lower wages and it being justified because women were seen as à ¢â‚¬Å"temporary wage-earners who worked only until marriage† (Peiss 1986), Piess automatically shows the struggles and disparities women faced in the work field and even at the home front.Even if the young girl or woman say the disparities for what they were, she were to keep her opinions of the unjust actions to herself or she would find herself alienated and estranged from her own family. Even though the disparities and unequal behavior was seen and picked up throughout the book, Piess moves on to lighter topics such as leisure and fashion. â€Å"Not content with the quiet recreation in the home, they [women] sought adventure in dance halls, cheap theaters, amusement parks, excursion boats, and picnic grounds† (Peiss 1986).Women would often time seek refuge through the cheap amusements they would find in their spare time. If not the small concept of gossiping on the walk home from work, going to parks, or catching a small gossip break at work, women would often freque nt the local dance halls where most of the time their admission was waived or lowered. These dance halls were a way for women to dress in their flashiest attire, talk in their unladylike manner, be pursued by the opposite sex, consume alcoholic beverages, and let loose on the dance floor. When it came to fashion and and the pursuance of men in the dance halls, the two went hand and hand.Piess found that a pair of sisters frequently opted out of such social gatherings simply because they could not afford the fashion to attract the likes of the opposite sex; â€Å"’We have not the money for pretty clothes to attract the boys who would really care for us and of course we have no money to pay for our own amusement, and as a result we stay at home’† (Peiss 1986). Even if it was a new hat to wear to work, women would find the means to get their feminine itch for retail†¦ even if it meant going without a meal or walking the great lengths to work.Even when women we re at the leisure, they were still being treated as unequal partners to the superior man. When out at a dance hall, men would choose who they wish to dance with and it was customary for women, like it or not, dance with the man who chose them for at least the remainder of one song. Peiss explains a process that was customary at dance halls and is even seen at modern day clubs, â€Å"At the beginning of a dance, women would dance together, with the men watching them from the sidelines; then ‘the boys step out, two at a time, separate the girls, and dance off in couples’† (Peiss 1986).The aforementioned process was known as â€Å"breaking† in which the women involved had no say in who she wished to dance with. If a man were to â€Å"treat† a woman, it was only polite that the woman dish out something in return. Be it flirtatious notions or sexual gestures, women were expected and most of the time willful partner in the prostitution-like proposition of the male and female interaction. â€Å"’Many women do their washing in this yard,’ noted a middle-class tenement inspector† (Peiss 1986). Piess uses inspectors and random sources throughout her book as guides to prove or solidify her point.What I was very curious about was who these people were in which she was quoting. I do appreciate the fact that she uses outside sources, but who are these outside sources and how reliable can they be? When it comes to her more specific sites, such as, â€Å"’Some never boarded a street car for an evening’s ride without planning days ahead how they could spare the nickel from their lunch or clothes money’ noted reformer Esther Packard, describing women who lived on six dollars a week† (Peiss 1986), Peiss never goes into depth who the source is or a deeper back-story to the individual that the reader would really be inclined to know.When Piess was able to give names to the quotes she used, it showed credibility and left the reader wanting more of an understanding of the person’s story. Though Peiss did a phenomenal job at proving her thesis in the sense of giving a book on a specific time and topic, she failed to give the reader some real life backbone through a more personal aspect. The reader is left feeling the need of wanting more from the sources rather than from Peiss as a historian.Just as a simple observation was made throughout the length of the book, it seems that Peiss may have been suggesting a certain parallel that is seen in the 1890’s-1920’s in comparison to today’s world. When referring to the saloons and how women who came unescorted by a male counterpart was seen as â€Å"fair game†. In today’s world, if a woman attends a bar without a man, she is also seen as such game. Though the dangers as being seen as a prostitute are not paralleled between the two different eras, the concept of men pursuing an unescorted female in such a setting remains consistent.In another similar tone, the notion Peiss points out of dance halls either lowering their fares for women or waving the fare altogether is consistent with the parallel thought of clubs often times lowering or waving cover charges for women for the simple fact of luring women into their establishments. Peiss explains that owners of dance halls would alter their fees for women because women were usually unable to afford the fee and the owners really wanted more women, like today, to be at their establishment so the men would also come and lavish the women with drinks.Other similarities are seen throughout Peiss’ work such as women going on outings in pairs or groups of women, and also how when on the outings their â€Å"popularity† with the men is dependent on their willingness and capability to drink alcohol. An Appalachian State University student, John C. McKnight at www. scribd. com boldly and confidently states, â€Å"Her study should be considered a valuable source by all historians and should become a reoccurring theme of the Gilded and Progressive Era as far as the history of American woman is concerned† (McKnight 2011).Though I could understand where Mr. McKnight is coming from as far as the history aspect is concerned, to go as far as to openly say that this piece of work should be considered a valuable source and should become a reoccurring them is a tad outlandish. As far as a concentrated topic of a forty year time span is concerned, Peiss did a phenomenal job at capturing the essence of a fairly large group of women. But the fact of the matter is that Peiss only concerned herself with a forty year window of a specific gender, of a specific class.Moreover, it took her nearly two hundred pages to repeat her central idea several times over. Peiss, though could manage to make her book a less repetitive insight into working women’s leisure, did a great job at showing the reader what life l ooked like at the turn of the century for working class women. Peiss created a very narrow window for the reader to look into and gave them a concentrated view of what a certain time frame looked like for a specific group of people in a certain social class.The book was very well organized and was interesting in its topic of choice. I believe that this is an â€Å"O. K. † book for historians to engage in. Besides the book’s incredible organization and interesting topic, the book itself is very repetitive and I believe too concentrated to take much more than needed on the concept of working-class women and their leisure time in the turn of the century. Bib Mcknight, John C. â€Å"Cheap Amusements Review. † Scribd. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. .

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Free Essays on Lonnie David Eubanks

HISTORY: Lonnie David Eubank (air-name: Lonn David) was born and raised in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. From the very start, he was a music addict. He used to dig through his brothers? and sister?s record collections and make compilation tapes to give them to friends. Every part of his life revolved around the love of music, and the need to share that love will people. EDUCATION: Lonn was attending a local community college and preparing to transfer to Arizona State University, when he realized that what he was going to school for ? Sales, Marketing, Business, Accounting, etc. ? was not something he wanted to do the rest of his life. He was choosing a field that would allow him to make a very healthy salary, but he wouldn?t have been happy. Lonn took an about-face and decided that since he loved music so much, radio broadcasting would be something he would enjoy. He was well aware that radio pays horribly, but at least he?d be happy. Lonn then enrolled in a ?microwave college? (that?s what he calls trade schools? because you get the same result in a much shorter amount of time) called The Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting in Phoenix. It taught him every (almost every) aspect of the radio industry, and the basic skills to get him going in any position at a radio station. That was 1994. JOB HISTORY: His wife, Wendy Eubank, whom he met while attending the Academy, found a job in radio in Lexington, Kentucky. He followed her there after graduation, and landed a job at a Light Classic Rock station ? The ARROW 102.5. Lonn was hired as a board operator ? the only on-air DJs were the morning and afternoon drive DJs. Lonn began taking on light commercial production responsibilities, and within a few months realized that this was his strength. It became his job to write and produce all station liners, promos and IDs. At this point, he also began to realize that a love of music WILL COMPLETELY ... Free Essays on Lonnie David Eubanks Free Essays on Lonnie David Eubanks HISTORY: Lonnie David Eubank (air-name: Lonn David) was born and raised in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. From the very start, he was a music addict. He used to dig through his brothers? and sister?s record collections and make compilation tapes to give them to friends. Every part of his life revolved around the love of music, and the need to share that love will people. EDUCATION: Lonn was attending a local community college and preparing to transfer to Arizona State University, when he realized that what he was going to school for ? Sales, Marketing, Business, Accounting, etc. ? was not something he wanted to do the rest of his life. He was choosing a field that would allow him to make a very healthy salary, but he wouldn?t have been happy. Lonn took an about-face and decided that since he loved music so much, radio broadcasting would be something he would enjoy. He was well aware that radio pays horribly, but at least he?d be happy. Lonn then enrolled in a ?microwave college? (that?s what he calls trade schools? because you get the same result in a much shorter amount of time) called The Academy of Radio and Television Broadcasting in Phoenix. It taught him every (almost every) aspect of the radio industry, and the basic skills to get him going in any position at a radio station. That was 1994. JOB HISTORY: His wife, Wendy Eubank, whom he met while attending the Academy, found a job in radio in Lexington, Kentucky. He followed her there after graduation, and landed a job at a Light Classic Rock station ? The ARROW 102.5. Lonn was hired as a board operator ? the only on-air DJs were the morning and afternoon drive DJs. Lonn began taking on light commercial production responsibilities, and within a few months realized that this was his strength. It became his job to write and produce all station liners, promos and IDs. At this point, he also began to realize that a love of music WILL COMPLETELY ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Email Subject Line Best Practices Boost Opens According to 20 Studies

Email Subject Line Best Practices Boost Opens According to 20 Studies Writing marketing email subject lines is easy. Right? I mean, all you need to do is write about four catchy words and boom! Youll get opens, clicks, and conversions! So, as I said. Easy. or not. That said, knowing (and employing) email subject line best practices will help you get those opens. And when your emails get opened you have the opportunity to get clicks which also gives you the opportunity to get conversions. But if you dont follow the best practices you wont get opens. And without opens you get zero clicks which means zero conversions. Wah-wah. :/ So wouldnt it be ultra handy if there was a free Email Subject Line Tester built specifically to help you write great subject lines according to best practices every time? A free tool that will help you get those opens so you can get those clicks and ultimately get those conversions? If you answered a resounding, Yes, Nathan! to those questions, youre gonna dig this. A lot. ;) What 20 Studies Say About Email Subject Line Best Practices (How To Get More Opens)Introducing: The Email Subject Line Tester, Your Newest Free Marketing Tool From Your Friends At The Email Subject Line Tester is the latest free marketing tool designed to help you write subject lines that get your emails opened. So why should you check out (and bookmark) the Email Subject Line Tester? It’s the data-driven way to get more opens. The insurmountable open gets reads, clicks, and ultimately conversions†¦ which helps you reach your goals, sell more, and impress the boss. How to get that open? The Email Subject Line Tester makes it easier than ever to write subject lines that are most likely to get opened (backed by tons of nerdy datasets). Bid good riddance to that infamous blinking cursor. You know the importance of getting emails opened†¦ but sometimes, writing inspiration is fleeting at best. Use the Email Subject Line Tester to not only make the process waaaayyyy more fun, but to have a clear â€Å"subject line saving grace† when all hope seems lost. Start typing. Get feedback. Iterate. Get results. Forget trying to remember the mechanics behind successful subject lines. Character count, emojis, emotional words, oh my! The tester is your expert email consultant that helps you clearly optimize every subject line for best practices so you don’t have to constantly wrack your brain for the tedious, nit-picky details. Find your best ideas faster. Write multiple subject lines, then choose the best performers for your A/B test BEFORE they hit your subscribers’ inboxes. The tester even shows you what your subject lines look like in inboxes to help you make informed decisions. And all of that gives you†¦ in turn†¦ the most opportunity to get those opens you’ve been pining for. And you can rock the Email Subject Line Tester for free right now to get all of those ^^^ benefits! But wait, theres more! Coming Soon To A Calendar Near You: Email Marketing (Including The Email Subject Line Tester Built Into Your Calendar)! You already trust your marketing calendar to help you see everything in one place. It's the best way to have a global view of everything your marketing team is working on. And with email marketing integrations coming to   very soon... ...makes it easier than ever to plan comprehensive campaigns for your blog, social media, email marketing, and beyond all in one convenient tool. Plus, the Email Subject Line Tester is built into your marketing calendar so you can use it right in context of the emails you're writing! That makes it easier than ever to: Plan your email marketing alongside everything else. Execute everything extremely efficiently with processes in context with your campaigns. Know exactly when everything is publishing (including your email marketing and beyond). Alright, well. I'm excited. Really excited. You could say I might feel like this atm: So let's turn that excitement into learning all about email subject line best practices so you can get the most opens ever, shall we? ;)

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Marine Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Marine Insurance - Essay Example The varied factors of floating policy along with marine open cover policy have been discussed with its conditions and aspects along with their roles in marine insurance. The discussion has provided an understanding that the marine insurance policy can be an extremely valuable component for the manufacturing organization in order to mitigate the risks of damage and loss during transaction of materials through the seas. Marine insurance is considered as a contract of insurance policies that cover up the losses or the damages for a person or a business entity that occurred during the transportation of the cargos or ships through the seas. Moreover, the marine insurance is a contract wherewith the insurer takes on to underwrite the assured with regard to various types of marine losses during acquired or transferred cargos or goods. The Marine Insurance Act 1906 (MIA), conveys certain consistency and uniformity that assures to be accomplished with the appropriate underwriting policies of the losses during the transportation of cargos or ships (Sitigorn n.d.). The â€Å"Floating Policy† is one of the major components that had been formulated under the MIA section 21. The floating policy possesses effective assurance of the goods and insured risks during the deliverance of the transported goods or cargos. The floating policy has been initiated comparatively at a large amount by the regular goods of the suppliers. The policy covers several shipments that are stated subsequently with other details. The floating policy is highly favorable for the exporters to avoid problems of issuing out another policy during every shipment (Insurance 2Day 2012). The floating policy within the MIA 1906 Act 29 depicts the insurance facilities in general terms. The policy makes use of the ship(s) name along with other particulars classified through succeeding statement in order to transport the cargos through the seas. The declaration may be formulated with

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Personal Statement - Essay Example Now, I want to pursue a higher degree in the field of Global Product Development and Management to gain an in-depth understanding of all issues and concepts related to this field. My educational background has played a vital role in building my interest in pursuing a higher degree in this field. I want to become a successful manager with a good knowledge of global manufacturing and engineering design, and that can be possible if I study under the guidance of highly qualified professors of Cranfield University. Studying under the guidance of highly qualified teachers of Cranfield University would allow me to grow intellectually in a proper manner. I want to be skilled in managing product engineering and development considering internal and external business environments and market conditions. I possess almost all qualities of a successful manager, such as, creativity, intelligence, visionary outlook, assertiveness, integrity, openness, and effective communication skills. With my focus ed mind and properly planned ideas, I think my academic interest and passion would help me get admission in the MSc program being offered by the Cranfield University. Some of my core academic strengths and abilities include: In-depth understanding of different concepts of global product engineering and development Excellent interpersonal communication skills, and Passion to develop new products which can create their place in international markets.... I have no restriction in staying or working in UK as I am a spouse of a British Citizen and has obtained an ILR (indefinite Leave to Remain). Therefore, I would be able to flourish my business as much as I can while staying in the United Kingdom. However, the stepping-stone towards the achievement of my professional goals is my master’s degree. I need to do masters in order to get a detailed and up-to-date knowledge of global product development and management. Here, I would like to mention that I need some financial support to achieve my academic goals. I have come to know that Cranfield University offers a Manufacturing Masters scholarship with an associated Ford based project to a highly qualified student of the University. I believe that such a scholarship can help me a lot in achieving my academic goals. I am a self-motivated graduate seeking to undertake a full time Masters course in Global Product Development and Management. My previous academic record is the main proof of my interest in systems engineering. I possess the required level of qualification and experience for award of the scholarship. The School of Audio Engineering, Malaysia, has awarded me with a Diploma in Audio Engineering in1993. Moreover, the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, has awarded me with the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic Certificate in General Mechanical in 1993. I have also obtained a Higher National Diploma in Engineering in 1996 upon completion of a BTEC-approved program at Coventry Technical College. Following my interest in engineering, I took admission in Bachelor of Engineering program offered by the University of East London. I completed my graduation from the university in 1999 with good marks in all subject related to systems engineering.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Application of the color combinations and principles of design Essay

Application of the color combinations and principles of design - Essay Example 31). Still life by Jacob van Walscapelle is a drawing showing fruits and flowers as the main life subjects. Light was used to emphasize on the sharpness of the fruits; with the peach being at its direction. The fine glass has a red wine, while the shorter one contains water. The grapes have their traditional pale purple shade showing maturity. In terms of principles of designs applied in the two paintings, rhythm is created in the first picture by having smooth transitions between all components of the pictures; there is no clear cut colour difference between the buildings and the field at the background. However, the audience can notice that the painting is detailed only under close scrutiny. The artist gave balance to the items in ‘Still life’ painting by arranging them at strategic points for the picture not to appear heavy at some points and light at the rest of the painting. In this respect, the tall glass is positioned at the left side; however, it balances with the huge pawpaw fruit situated at the right

Sunday, October 27, 2019

E-commerce in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

E-commerce in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Analysis of innovation of e-commerce in small and medium-sized enterprises In the last decade large organisations have realised the increasing impact of new and cutting edge technology. Clark (1989) emphasized on the importance of technology to gain competitive advantage but at the same time he warned that building and maintaining such advantage will always be a challenge. Information technology in the form of internet has allowed organisations and their management to benefit from better quality information and better decision making. White (1997) adds that the internet is extremely effective in attracting computer literate people. Especially Internet has made a prolific influence on the business world. The internet has become an area where consumers are able to find what they need (Amor, 2002). This is clearly evident by the growth of internet in the last few years as shown in figure 1. Being involved with the new technologies brought many opportunities and easiness to reach products to consumers anywhere, anytime in the world (McKenna,2002). The new technological innovations have allowed organisations to conduct business in a completely new way by using online electronic transaction mechanisms and the concept of E-Commerce evolved(Gunasegaram Love, 1999; Westland and Clark, 1999). Today in most of the business and commerce sector IT has taken the form of E-Commerce. Figure 1 Growth of internet E-commerce is a major innovation, which has benefited industries across the globe even the Small and Medium Industries. The SME’s in Itself amount to a large part of the economy, at the moment there are12000 SME’s using EDI, electronic data interchange to further their businesses. Although the SME’s are contributors to the national economy of any country, the whole framework used to build them lacks transparency. There are problems around the financial resources available to keep them going; there is not enough legislative and administrative support from the government. On the business front these enterprises lack the right kind of management vigour, style, knowledge, and experience in handling more developed innovative technologies, which are inundating the markets. This is something they need to be aware of in order to survive the competitive environment. The SME’sdon’t have a single development system, which can safeguard theirinterests. They need an integrated approach, which encompasses threelevels, strategic, institutional, and enterprise. The government andthe public/private sector need to offer support for the fulfilment ofthis long-term strategy, which will make SME’s into profit centres’-commerce brings in a host of advantages as well as disadvantages tome’s and this project is an attempt to learn more and develop deeper understanding into the effect of technical innovations in e-commerce on Small and medium sized enterprises [Kyiv, 1997]. This study attempts to add to the existing literature by looking at hawse’s are approaching to incorporate e-commerce into their business strategy or how they are trying to improve their existing approach. This study will also evaluate consumer experiences of online shopping and how e-commerce has impacted on their expectations and goes on to suggest how online stores may need to improve if they are to meet these new expectations. 2. Aims and Objectives Aims The main aim of this project is to explore how the SME’s are important to the national economies and how the use of e-commerce help them gain a better position in terms of growth and profitability. There search context is based on SME’s in England to get an even background to this research question. As one knows technology and innovation always have repercussions, this project would also explore how theses ME’s deal with the disadvantages and convert them into viable benefits. This project will also find out to what extent do small firms use-commerce in their business processes and what are the barriers to the adoption of e-commerce? Customers as well as organization’s perspective towards e-commerce will be found out. Alongside the study will also try to find out how much electronic transaction have influenced the small-scale industry? Additionally this dissertation will also provide with accurate, up-to-date, research-based information about possible future trends in e-commerce. And lastly, this research will provide some suggestions and recommendations to be considered for the improvement of-commerce for small firms to develop ideas for further research in this context. This study on SME’s under different situations and circumstances would help present an overall portrayal and even help understand the issues under a magnifying glass when faced in certain sectors like manufacturing. To summarize some of the questions that will be addressed through this research are as follows: †¢ What is the status of SME’s in today’s global business environment? †¢ What is the contribution of the SME’s in the national and global economies? †¢ How will innovations like the Internet in e-commerce help the businesses in SME’s grow and become more profitable ventures? †¢ What are the problems/mistakes in the E-business strategy adopted in general by small firms in U.K? †¢ What are the problems faced by customers and organisations while dealing on internet? †¢ What are the factors that influence the development of e-commerce? †¢ Does e-commerce open up new markets for small scale industries in the United Kingdom? Objectives 1. Critically evaluate the relevant literature on small firms and the importance/usage of the internet. 2. Understand small firms’ problems and barriers to the use of e-commerce through articles, newspapers, interviews and surveys. 3. Gain specific knowledge of internet usage for small firms in business through interviews, publications and company information. 4. Provide recommendations to improve the usage of internet as a competitive tool. 5. The advent of the e-commerce, its advantages and disadvantages. 3. Literature Review E-Commerce E-commerce may be defined as â€Å"The sharing of business information, maintaining business relationships, and conducting business transactions by means of Internet-based technology† (Riggins Rhee, 1998, p. 90). Alternately it may also be defined as â€Å"Anything that enhances your relationships with an existing customer and increases the revenue you get from the customer.† (Sullivan, 1998, p.24). The Internet and Electronic Commerce have made the world market smaller place to trade in. The Internet has opened up many possibilities of organising and running an online business. It has created a universal platform for buying and selling of goods which has resulted in faster transaction times and reduced transaction costs. Colin Turner (2000), in his book on the information of e-economy, talks about the e-commerce business accomplishment and strategies. E-commerce has its benefits and shortcomings, along with this belief; the companies are also battling with the pressures of information technology revolution coming to an end. â€Å"Despite all the hype surrounding electronic commerce, and the recent failure of many of that com companies, it does present real opportunities to small entrepreneurs in many countries.† (Fatal and Janet, 2004) Classification of E-commerce According to the applications or the nature of transaction of E-commerce, it can be categorized as follows: Turban et al (2000) divided E-commerce into three categories in terms of its applications: a) Electronic markets: It refers to buying and selling goods and services at an electronic marketplace, where the business centre is not a physical building but rather a network-based location. The market handles all the necessary transaction, including response to information request, purchase acknowledgement, shipping notice, purchase/service delivery, payment acknowledgement, and the transfer of money between banks and so on. In electronic market, the principal participants transaction handlers, buyers, brokers, and sellers, are not only at different locations but seldom even know one another. The means of interconnection varies among parties and can change from event to event, even between the same parties. b) Inter-organisational systems: They are facilitating inter and intra-organization flow of information, communication and collaboration. An IOS (inter-organisational information systems) involves information flow among two or more organisations. Its major objective is efficient information and transaction processing. All relationships are predetermined and there is no negotiation, just execution. A typical IOS includes a company and its suppliers and/or customers. Through it, buyers and sellers arrange routine business transactions and information is exchanged over communications networks using prearranged formats. Its main types aired (Electronic data interchange), extranets, electronic funds transfer, electronic forms, integrated messaging, shared databases and supply chain management. c) Customer service: It is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction, helping customers to resolve problems they encountered in any phase of the purchasing process. E-commerce plays a dual role in customer service. First, it provides customer service to a process that is done completely offline. Second, it provides help to online transactions. Types of customer service include answering customer inquiries, providing search and comparison capabilities, providing technical information to customers, allowing customers to track order status, and allowing customers to place an online order and so on. Kalakos Whinstone (1997) contended that there are three distinct general classes of electronic commerce applications: a) Inter-organizational Electronic Commerce: Like Turban et al above, Kalakos Whinstone consider that-commerce can be applied in following inter-organizational business: Supplier management: Electronic applications help companies reduce the number of suppliers and facilitate business partnerships by reducing purchase order (PO) processing costs and cycle times, and by increasing the number of Pops processed with fewer people. Inventory management: It shortens the order-ship-bill cycle and time of transmitting information. Businesses can also track their documents to ensure that they were received, thereby improving auditing capabilities. This also helps reduce inventory levels, improve inventory turns and eliminate out-of-stock occurrences. Distribution management: Electronic application facilitate the transmission of shipping documents such as bills of lading, pur chase orders, advanced ship notices, and manifest claims, and enable better resource management by ensuring that the documents themselves contain more accurate data. Channel management: Electronic application quickly disseminates information about changing operational conditions to trading partners. By electronically linking production-related information with international distributor and reseller networks, companies can eliminate thousands of labour hours and ensure accurate information sharing. Payment management: Linking companies with suppliers and distributors enables payment to be sent and received electronically. Electronic payment reduces clerical error, increases the speed at which companies compute invoices, and lowers transaction fees and costs. b) Intra-organizational commerce The purpose of intra-organizational applications is to help a company maintain the relationships that are critical to delivering superior customer value. Its applications are as follows: Workgroup communications: It enables managers to communicate with employees using electronic mail, videoconferencing, and bulletin board, hence increase the dissemination of information, resulting in better-informed employees. Electronic publishing: It enables companies to organize, publish and disseminate human resources manuals, product specifications and meeting minutes using tools such as the World Wide Web. Meanwhile, it reduces costs for printing and distributing documentation, faster delivery of information and reduction of outdate information. Sales force productivity: These applications improve the flow of information between the production and sales forces, and between the firms and customers. The goal is to allow firms to collect market intelligence quickly and to analyse if more thoroughly. c) Consumer-to-Business Electronic Commerce Social interaction: Consumers can communicate with each other through e-mail, videoconferencing, and news group etc. Personal finance management: El ectronic applications enable consumers to manage investments and personal finances using online banking tools. Purchasing products and information: Consumers can find online information about existing and new products/services. Turban et al (2000) further goes on to describe E-Commerce based on the types of transactions and are more popularly known as: B2B (Business-to-Business): Most of E-commerce today is of this type. It includes the IOS transactions and electronic market transactions between organisations. B2C (Business-to-Consumer): These are retailing transactions with individual shoppers. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer): In this category, consumers sell directly to consumers. C2B (Consumer-to-Business): In this category, consumers sell directly to organisations. Challenges to E-Commerce Although the Internet offers great deals of advantages to electronic commerce and businesses, it also provides a number of challenges. Some of these challenges as mentioned by Turban et al (2000) are discussed below: 1. Unsuccessful Business Models Not all companies that implement electronic commerce make benefits. Technologies changes so rapidly that keeping pace with change ultimately becomes too expensive or results in a failure. 2. Channel Conflicts Sometimes a company uses more than one distribution channel (Online as well as traditional channels) to sell its products and services. This can cause conflict between the dealers as it becomes important in such case to maintain a balance between the different channels. For e.g.it might be possible that a particular company tries to sell its product online at a lesser cost with some discount and maintains the original cost while selling it offline. This disparity can cause its dealers to create a problem. 3. Legal Issues Internet Law s are confusing and mostly non-existent. Also the Internet’s global and is used by individuals from different countries and thus it becomes difficult to decide which law to apply if a conflict arises. 4. Security Privacy This is the most important issue concerned with online transactions and businesses. Important information and valuable data like credit/debit card details, personal information, business plans and other company data can be easily leaked and tracked by hackers. Security risk in electronic payments has been one of the major reasons in making online businesses not to grow rapidly over the Internet. Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Different countries define small medium enterprises in different ways. Teethe and Burn (2001) define small medium enterprises (SME) as â€Å"firms with less than 500 employees. This is further broken down into micro companies, those with less than 5 employees; small companies, those with 5 to 20 employees and medium companies, those with between20 and 500 employees. On the other hand, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, 1999) define SME’s as firms with 250 employees or fewer. The European Commission (2003) defines SME’s as follows: microenterprises are enterprises with a maximum number of 10 employees, maximum turnover of 2 million euros and a maximum balance sheet of total of 2 million euros. While small enterprises are enterprises with maximum number of 50 employees, a maximum turnover of 10 million euros and a maximum balance sheet of a total of 10 million euros. Finally medium enterprises are enterprises with a maximum number of 250employees, a maximum turnover of 50 million euros and a maximum balance sheet of a total of 43 million euros. Figure 2 SME Thresholds (European Commission, 2003) Buncombe (1999) points out that a number of studies have attempted to collect information on the make-up of Botswanas SME sector, by gaining access to official statistics and by conducting field surveys in connection with various research projects. According to the report, he defines enterprises according to the number of employees, annual turnover, and level of formality. There is no real universally standard definition for Small firms. In a study carried by the ILO, more than 50definitions were identified in 75 different countries, with considerable ambiguity in the terminology used. For the purpose of this study the author will go with the definition of Small firms which defines Small firms as firms with 49 or fewer employees. From the foregoing definition of small medium enterprises (SME’s) by different researchers, it can be seen that the number of employees and turnover are the determinant factors in the definition of SME, but, the criteria is different from country to country. SME’s and E-Commerce Internet became a main way for effective marketing in business. It is one of the most effective media all over the world and this makes it compulsory channel to use for market entries. Specifically, small firms have major problems with strong companies and existing small firms about market entries in the market. They have to prove their identity in the market as an enterprise despite all these rivalry and difficulties such as web design, domain name, site security responsibilities to customers, etc. They have to let customers know that they are in the market and internet is an efficient way to do so. Furthermore, cost advantages which come with e-commerce are reasonable for market entry. Small firms have a lot of to do as they are new tithe market or they need to grow in the market. They try to cut costs and increase investments in their business. Internet provides great opportunity to small firms for their activities in the market. Even as they serve a local or regional market rather than a national or an international market, it might be difficult to enter market or to reach customers. E-commerce appears as the most efficient way to gain successor small firms in existing fierce rivalry. The small firms generally provide the majority of the jobs and are significant contributor towards the national economy (Baldwin, 2001).Small and medium scale enterprises are considered to be the core out’s economy. According to Smith et al (2000) 99% of UK business firms can be categorized as small businesses and they employ up to 58% out’s total workforce. Hence small firms are extremely important in UK’s economy and the government expends considerable resources to support this sector. The UK government admits that small firms are neglected and left behind while the larger companies getting advantage over small businesses in the e-commerce world (Simpson; Docherty, 2004) Thus it’s very important to study the problems and barriers encountered in adopting a new economy cycle by the sector which represents the majority of the countries businesses. Sadowski et al (2002) notes that even after the widespread use of internet technologies in the corporate world, the amount of Internet use varies to a great extent in the small-scale sector. The adoption of any new technology in this sector is influenced by the several variables as stated by Martens et al (2001). These factors may include the characteristic of the firm, its competitiveness, the influence it has on third parties in the decision process, the management strategy and the characteristic of the new technology itself. All these factors lead company to strategic advantage if they used as they should be. It is important that the company sustains strategic advantage from e-commerce. Competitive business environment makes this matter more important (Hiding, 1999).As long as the company provides well designed web-site that suits with business and its requirements, then strategic advantage can be sustained. Thomas H. Davenport (1993), in his book, ‘Process Innovation –Reengineering work through information technology talks about, how revolutionary approach to information technology and its integration in our business processes can change the scenario. This can dramatically change the way business is conducted in small and medium enterprises also improve the performance keeping in view the competitive environment. New technologies and process innovation brings a new commitment and strategic evolution to these enterprises. Resources like information technology and e-commerce are largely untapped by the SME’s but once that scenario changes, there will be a lot of improvisations and growth avenues. Mandel (2001) says that every technological innovation and discovery finally has it downturn. When these new opportunities like e-commerce come into play, all businesses want ashore of this market. In their rush to get more profits, the investments are so heavy and lacking direction that invariably it leads to a loss since the economy infrastructure cannot support it. This has been proven with the dotcom burst and doom. According to some authors, these SME’s can actually use the innovation of e-commerce to march forward and become integral contributors to the economies. Due to their sizes they lack the initiative and financial power to go all out and compete in different markets, e-commerce could be the solution to some of the marketing gaps, which hold them back from becoming more successful. Importance of SME’s to countries’ economies Baraka (2001) reports that growing evidence indicates that Small Medium Enterprises play an important role in promoting the national economic development of any country. They create a lot of new jobs and produce much of the creativity and innovation that fuels economic progress. Ninety present of the total number of companies in most countries is comprised of small medium enterprises, which provide on average 70% of job opportunities (OECD, 1997). 26% of OECD exports and35% of Asias export are directly produced by small medium firms as suggested by Tendon (2002). The existing literature from research in different studies points out that Small medium enterprises (SME) world-wide have found that Internet use has become a critically important aspect of their business. Porter(2001) supports this view and suggests that companies of all sizes should have a strategy of reacting to competitors and increased adoption of the Internet technology, which will lead to increase in competition within markets. He further points out that e-commerce reduces the difference among competitors offerings and frequently migrate competition to price rather than products features or brand perceptions. He also suggests that smaller businesses could improve their business competitiveness with either other small businesses or larger companies by adopting e-commerce. Porter (2001) is backed up by an earlier study (Jacobs and Rowland 2000). They suggest that smaller businesses have, in particular, been encouraged to adopt e-commerce as a means of improving their competitiveness, either with other small medium enterprises or with larger companies, where they have been promised that e-commerce can level the playing. According to Daniel and Wilson (2002), small and medium-sized enterprises are now increasingly making use of e-commerce. Daniel further suggests that â€Å"responding to competitive pressure was the main reason leading to companies to adopt e-commerce. Information sharing and communication between employees within the firm were found to bethe e-commerce activities where firms are realizing the greatest benefits. Hence, though the future of e-commerce is still unpredictable, it is important that developing countries, their governments and businesses should prepare for these new developments. Benefits of e-commerce to SME’s A growing number of organisations have implemented e-commerce in the hope of improving decision making, lowering costs and improving customer satisfaction levels. A major benefit of e-commerce is cost reduction as Tagliavini et al (2001) pointed out a correct adoption of-commerce could lead to a reduction of transaction costs and coordination costs. Also, Davies and Garcia (1999) argue that benefits for SME’s are faster communication, effective dissemination and collection of information and closer relationships throughout the supply chain. Meanwhile, Liu and Arnett (2000) suggested theatre-commerce can help business organisations cut costs, interact directly with customers, run more smoothly and in a timelier manner, and even better, it can help an organization outperform its competition. Further driving factors of e-commerce for SME’s are also identified by Auger and Gallagher (1997) as follows: access to an Affluent Customer Base, lower Information Dissemination Costs, lower Transaction Costs, broader Market Reach, increased Service, additional Channels for Customer Feedback and Consumer and Market Research. Reducing costs, better communication with customers, access to larger customer base, and extended market are the major benefits of using-commerce agreed by a number of authors. At the same time, the more detailed benefits of e-commerce to SME’s are summarized as follows: †¢ Innovative products, better services and exploring new market opportunities; †¢ Shift in value added and content components of what is made and sold; †¢ Changes to economies of scale and the traditional barriers and advantages of large enterprises; †¢ Untying work functions from specific locations and time constraints; †¢ Flattening and disaggregating of organisational structures; †¢ Scope for customization at low cost; and †¢ Commercialization of in-house content and know-how. However, a study conducted by Poon (1999) found that the benefits of Internet commerce could be classified into long-term and short-term benefits, direct and indirect benefits. He suggested that the short-term benefits should be achieved within a few months, while the long-term benefits may take longer and unable to be predicted. The use of e-commerce can benefit SME’s in terms of reducing costs and access to larger customer base in the short term, and business transformation in the future. The use of e-commerce will also have a great deal of effect on the SME’s business activities as Tagliavini et al. (2001)indicated that E-Commerce has an important influence on SME’s; range of activity, providing increased competition on a global scale and allowing them to access wider markets. From the above literature it could be rightly said that E-Commerce adoption is an essential business strategy for SME’s to obtain competitive advantage. Opportunities and Threats faced by SME’s There are major opportunities for new entrepreneurs and small- to medium-sized businesses to flourish in the maturing of e-commerce(Drew, 2003). The use of e-commerce has provided a variety of benefits for SME’s as well as a number of potential opportunities. â€Å"The Internet’s usually presented as an opportunity for smaller firms because it helps reduce transaction costs and level the playing field (Evans and Wurster, 1997). The opportunities for SME’s include expanding scope of marketing, wider and richer communication, reaching new market and reducing cost of operations and partnering with suppliers (Drew, 2003). According to a report conducted by Prevost (1998), there are variety of opportunities added to SME’s, including efficiency and productivity for business process, the development of new market opportunity (B2C andB2B) as well as access to global market. Also, the e-commerce give SME’s opportunity to exploit competitive and know how benefits as suggested by Tagliavini et al. (2001). Nevertheless, how to use e-commerce as an opportunity to SME’s will depend on the industry and firm factor implied by Drew (2003). These influenced factors include: The smaller firm’s technical and Internet knowledge; The rate at which the market is growing; The pace of innovation and change in the industry; The technical and Internet strengths of the larger competitors; The sources of competitive advantage for the smaller business; The strategic intent of the larger competitors; and The structure of the industry in which the firm competes. Generally, the market, industry structure, and macro-environment will be the major influenced factors that decide e-commerce as an opportunity or threat for SME’s. Therefore, although it is not doubt that e-commerce has provided a huge opportunity for SME’s in the range of business activities, the external and internal factors must be considered strategically while adopting e-commerce. However, Tagliaviniet al (2001) argued, the real opportunity of E-Commerce adoption force’s is still unclear(p.211). Global Trading The significant opportunity for SME’s is to extend existing market to international market addressed by a number of authors (OECD, 1998;Webb and Sawyer, 1998; Walczuch et al., 2000 and Giessen et al., 2001).Giessen (2001) remarks â€Å"the twin phenomena of globalization and-commerce pose new challenges and provide competitive opportunities for large and small firms alike†. It is an imperative opportunity force’s to access the global market, as the one of the important feature of e-commerce is global reach as stated by Loudon (2001). Therefore, ME’s are expecting the opportunity to extend existing market into globalization by using e-commerce. Undoubtedly, Internet has provided chance for SME’s to diminish the entry barrier and costs into global trading market as electronic commerce offers companies the possibility to sell internationally, effectively removing constraints of time and location and substantially enhancing their competitiveness, and it is the most imperative opportunity for SME’s to increase productivity andthe capability to entry markets and discover business partners globally(OECD, 1998). Indeed, the reach of global market is an exciting opportunity for SME’s to grow in terms of the size of company and competitive advantage. However, Jutland et al. (2002) proclaims that â€Å"globalization pressures arising from e-commerce operations often mean that SME’s have to acquire international trade knowledge. Publishing company’s website in the Internet is simple but trading in the global market is not so simple task for any of the SME’s. As Teethe and Burn (2001) points out that the challenge for SME’s are complicated byte general lack of clearly defined frameworks for analysis of the entire processes of strategy building, implementation and management with aspect to the emergent global information economy. However-commerce truly provides the great opportunity for SME’s to increase competence with lager firms in variety of business opportunities as well as an opportunity to extend trading geography. The various opportunities offered by e-commerce are the significant riving factors that encourage a firm to adopt e-commerce as its business operation. Threats Although the use of e-commerce has provided a huge opportunity force’s in range of business activities, e-commerce might become a threat for SME’s while trying to explore a variety of opportunity by using-commerce. As Drew (2003) indicates there are a number of threats of-commerce for SME’s. These threats include increasing competition from larger firms as the new medium allows larger firms to mimic the traditional strengths of SME’s in serving niche markets, developing customer intimacy E-commerce in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) E-commerce in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Analysis of innovation of e-commerce in small and medium-sized enterprises In the last decade large organisations have realised the increasing impact of new and cutting edge technology. Clark (1989) emphasized on the importance of technology to gain competitive advantage but at the same time he warned that building and maintaining such advantage will always be a challenge. Information technology in the form of internet has allowed organisations and their management to benefit from better quality information and better decision making. White (1997) adds that the internet is extremely effective in attracting computer literate people. Especially Internet has made a prolific influence on the business world. The internet has become an area where consumers are able to find what they need (Amor, 2002). This is clearly evident by the growth of internet in the last few years as shown in figure 1. Being involved with the new technologies brought many opportunities and easiness to reach products to consumers anywhere, anytime in the world (McKenna,2002). The new technological innovations have allowed organisations to conduct business in a completely new way by using online electronic transaction mechanisms and the concept of E-Commerce evolved(Gunasegaram Love, 1999; Westland and Clark, 1999). Today in most of the business and commerce sector IT has taken the form of E-Commerce. Figure 1 Growth of internet E-commerce is a major innovation, which has benefited industries across the globe even the Small and Medium Industries. The SME’s in Itself amount to a large part of the economy, at the moment there are12000 SME’s using EDI, electronic data interchange to further their businesses. Although the SME’s are contributors to the national economy of any country, the whole framework used to build them lacks transparency. There are problems around the financial resources available to keep them going; there is not enough legislative and administrative support from the government. On the business front these enterprises lack the right kind of management vigour, style, knowledge, and experience in handling more developed innovative technologies, which are inundating the markets. This is something they need to be aware of in order to survive the competitive environment. The SME’sdon’t have a single development system, which can safeguard theirinterests. They need an integrated approach, which encompasses threelevels, strategic, institutional, and enterprise. The government andthe public/private sector need to offer support for the fulfilment ofthis long-term strategy, which will make SME’s into profit centres’-commerce brings in a host of advantages as well as disadvantages tome’s and this project is an attempt to learn more and develop deeper understanding into the effect of technical innovations in e-commerce on Small and medium sized enterprises [Kyiv, 1997]. This study attempts to add to the existing literature by looking at hawse’s are approaching to incorporate e-commerce into their business strategy or how they are trying to improve their existing approach. This study will also evaluate consumer experiences of online shopping and how e-commerce has impacted on their expectations and goes on to suggest how online stores may need to improve if they are to meet these new expectations. 2. Aims and Objectives Aims The main aim of this project is to explore how the SME’s are important to the national economies and how the use of e-commerce help them gain a better position in terms of growth and profitability. There search context is based on SME’s in England to get an even background to this research question. As one knows technology and innovation always have repercussions, this project would also explore how theses ME’s deal with the disadvantages and convert them into viable benefits. This project will also find out to what extent do small firms use-commerce in their business processes and what are the barriers to the adoption of e-commerce? Customers as well as organization’s perspective towards e-commerce will be found out. Alongside the study will also try to find out how much electronic transaction have influenced the small-scale industry? Additionally this dissertation will also provide with accurate, up-to-date, research-based information about possible future trends in e-commerce. And lastly, this research will provide some suggestions and recommendations to be considered for the improvement of-commerce for small firms to develop ideas for further research in this context. This study on SME’s under different situations and circumstances would help present an overall portrayal and even help understand the issues under a magnifying glass when faced in certain sectors like manufacturing. To summarize some of the questions that will be addressed through this research are as follows: †¢ What is the status of SME’s in today’s global business environment? †¢ What is the contribution of the SME’s in the national and global economies? †¢ How will innovations like the Internet in e-commerce help the businesses in SME’s grow and become more profitable ventures? †¢ What are the problems/mistakes in the E-business strategy adopted in general by small firms in U.K? †¢ What are the problems faced by customers and organisations while dealing on internet? †¢ What are the factors that influence the development of e-commerce? †¢ Does e-commerce open up new markets for small scale industries in the United Kingdom? Objectives 1. Critically evaluate the relevant literature on small firms and the importance/usage of the internet. 2. Understand small firms’ problems and barriers to the use of e-commerce through articles, newspapers, interviews and surveys. 3. Gain specific knowledge of internet usage for small firms in business through interviews, publications and company information. 4. Provide recommendations to improve the usage of internet as a competitive tool. 5. The advent of the e-commerce, its advantages and disadvantages. 3. Literature Review E-Commerce E-commerce may be defined as â€Å"The sharing of business information, maintaining business relationships, and conducting business transactions by means of Internet-based technology† (Riggins Rhee, 1998, p. 90). Alternately it may also be defined as â€Å"Anything that enhances your relationships with an existing customer and increases the revenue you get from the customer.† (Sullivan, 1998, p.24). The Internet and Electronic Commerce have made the world market smaller place to trade in. The Internet has opened up many possibilities of organising and running an online business. It has created a universal platform for buying and selling of goods which has resulted in faster transaction times and reduced transaction costs. Colin Turner (2000), in his book on the information of e-economy, talks about the e-commerce business accomplishment and strategies. E-commerce has its benefits and shortcomings, along with this belief; the companies are also battling with the pressures of information technology revolution coming to an end. â€Å"Despite all the hype surrounding electronic commerce, and the recent failure of many of that com companies, it does present real opportunities to small entrepreneurs in many countries.† (Fatal and Janet, 2004) Classification of E-commerce According to the applications or the nature of transaction of E-commerce, it can be categorized as follows: Turban et al (2000) divided E-commerce into three categories in terms of its applications: a) Electronic markets: It refers to buying and selling goods and services at an electronic marketplace, where the business centre is not a physical building but rather a network-based location. The market handles all the necessary transaction, including response to information request, purchase acknowledgement, shipping notice, purchase/service delivery, payment acknowledgement, and the transfer of money between banks and so on. In electronic market, the principal participants transaction handlers, buyers, brokers, and sellers, are not only at different locations but seldom even know one another. The means of interconnection varies among parties and can change from event to event, even between the same parties. b) Inter-organisational systems: They are facilitating inter and intra-organization flow of information, communication and collaboration. An IOS (inter-organisational information systems) involves information flow among two or more organisations. Its major objective is efficient information and transaction processing. All relationships are predetermined and there is no negotiation, just execution. A typical IOS includes a company and its suppliers and/or customers. Through it, buyers and sellers arrange routine business transactions and information is exchanged over communications networks using prearranged formats. Its main types aired (Electronic data interchange), extranets, electronic funds transfer, electronic forms, integrated messaging, shared databases and supply chain management. c) Customer service: It is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction, helping customers to resolve problems they encountered in any phase of the purchasing process. E-commerce plays a dual role in customer service. First, it provides customer service to a process that is done completely offline. Second, it provides help to online transactions. Types of customer service include answering customer inquiries, providing search and comparison capabilities, providing technical information to customers, allowing customers to track order status, and allowing customers to place an online order and so on. Kalakos Whinstone (1997) contended that there are three distinct general classes of electronic commerce applications: a) Inter-organizational Electronic Commerce: Like Turban et al above, Kalakos Whinstone consider that-commerce can be applied in following inter-organizational business: Supplier management: Electronic applications help companies reduce the number of suppliers and facilitate business partnerships by reducing purchase order (PO) processing costs and cycle times, and by increasing the number of Pops processed with fewer people. Inventory management: It shortens the order-ship-bill cycle and time of transmitting information. Businesses can also track their documents to ensure that they were received, thereby improving auditing capabilities. This also helps reduce inventory levels, improve inventory turns and eliminate out-of-stock occurrences. Distribution management: Electronic application facilitate the transmission of shipping documents such as bills of lading, pur chase orders, advanced ship notices, and manifest claims, and enable better resource management by ensuring that the documents themselves contain more accurate data. Channel management: Electronic application quickly disseminates information about changing operational conditions to trading partners. By electronically linking production-related information with international distributor and reseller networks, companies can eliminate thousands of labour hours and ensure accurate information sharing. Payment management: Linking companies with suppliers and distributors enables payment to be sent and received electronically. Electronic payment reduces clerical error, increases the speed at which companies compute invoices, and lowers transaction fees and costs. b) Intra-organizational commerce The purpose of intra-organizational applications is to help a company maintain the relationships that are critical to delivering superior customer value. Its applications are as follows: Workgroup communications: It enables managers to communicate with employees using electronic mail, videoconferencing, and bulletin board, hence increase the dissemination of information, resulting in better-informed employees. Electronic publishing: It enables companies to organize, publish and disseminate human resources manuals, product specifications and meeting minutes using tools such as the World Wide Web. Meanwhile, it reduces costs for printing and distributing documentation, faster delivery of information and reduction of outdate information. Sales force productivity: These applications improve the flow of information between the production and sales forces, and between the firms and customers. The goal is to allow firms to collect market intelligence quickly and to analyse if more thoroughly. c) Consumer-to-Business Electronic Commerce Social interaction: Consumers can communicate with each other through e-mail, videoconferencing, and news group etc. Personal finance management: El ectronic applications enable consumers to manage investments and personal finances using online banking tools. Purchasing products and information: Consumers can find online information about existing and new products/services. Turban et al (2000) further goes on to describe E-Commerce based on the types of transactions and are more popularly known as: B2B (Business-to-Business): Most of E-commerce today is of this type. It includes the IOS transactions and electronic market transactions between organisations. B2C (Business-to-Consumer): These are retailing transactions with individual shoppers. C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer): In this category, consumers sell directly to consumers. C2B (Consumer-to-Business): In this category, consumers sell directly to organisations. Challenges to E-Commerce Although the Internet offers great deals of advantages to electronic commerce and businesses, it also provides a number of challenges. Some of these challenges as mentioned by Turban et al (2000) are discussed below: 1. Unsuccessful Business Models Not all companies that implement electronic commerce make benefits. Technologies changes so rapidly that keeping pace with change ultimately becomes too expensive or results in a failure. 2. Channel Conflicts Sometimes a company uses more than one distribution channel (Online as well as traditional channels) to sell its products and services. This can cause conflict between the dealers as it becomes important in such case to maintain a balance between the different channels. For e.g.it might be possible that a particular company tries to sell its product online at a lesser cost with some discount and maintains the original cost while selling it offline. This disparity can cause its dealers to create a problem. 3. Legal Issues Internet Law s are confusing and mostly non-existent. Also the Internet’s global and is used by individuals from different countries and thus it becomes difficult to decide which law to apply if a conflict arises. 4. Security Privacy This is the most important issue concerned with online transactions and businesses. Important information and valuable data like credit/debit card details, personal information, business plans and other company data can be easily leaked and tracked by hackers. Security risk in electronic payments has been one of the major reasons in making online businesses not to grow rapidly over the Internet. Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Different countries define small medium enterprises in different ways. Teethe and Burn (2001) define small medium enterprises (SME) as â€Å"firms with less than 500 employees. This is further broken down into micro companies, those with less than 5 employees; small companies, those with 5 to 20 employees and medium companies, those with between20 and 500 employees. On the other hand, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, 1999) define SME’s as firms with 250 employees or fewer. The European Commission (2003) defines SME’s as follows: microenterprises are enterprises with a maximum number of 10 employees, maximum turnover of 2 million euros and a maximum balance sheet of total of 2 million euros. While small enterprises are enterprises with maximum number of 50 employees, a maximum turnover of 10 million euros and a maximum balance sheet of a total of 10 million euros. Finally medium enterprises are enterprises with a maximum number of 250employees, a maximum turnover of 50 million euros and a maximum balance sheet of a total of 43 million euros. Figure 2 SME Thresholds (European Commission, 2003) Buncombe (1999) points out that a number of studies have attempted to collect information on the make-up of Botswanas SME sector, by gaining access to official statistics and by conducting field surveys in connection with various research projects. According to the report, he defines enterprises according to the number of employees, annual turnover, and level of formality. There is no real universally standard definition for Small firms. In a study carried by the ILO, more than 50definitions were identified in 75 different countries, with considerable ambiguity in the terminology used. For the purpose of this study the author will go with the definition of Small firms which defines Small firms as firms with 49 or fewer employees. From the foregoing definition of small medium enterprises (SME’s) by different researchers, it can be seen that the number of employees and turnover are the determinant factors in the definition of SME, but, the criteria is different from country to country. SME’s and E-Commerce Internet became a main way for effective marketing in business. It is one of the most effective media all over the world and this makes it compulsory channel to use for market entries. Specifically, small firms have major problems with strong companies and existing small firms about market entries in the market. They have to prove their identity in the market as an enterprise despite all these rivalry and difficulties such as web design, domain name, site security responsibilities to customers, etc. They have to let customers know that they are in the market and internet is an efficient way to do so. Furthermore, cost advantages which come with e-commerce are reasonable for market entry. Small firms have a lot of to do as they are new tithe market or they need to grow in the market. They try to cut costs and increase investments in their business. Internet provides great opportunity to small firms for their activities in the market. Even as they serve a local or regional market rather than a national or an international market, it might be difficult to enter market or to reach customers. E-commerce appears as the most efficient way to gain successor small firms in existing fierce rivalry. The small firms generally provide the majority of the jobs and are significant contributor towards the national economy (Baldwin, 2001).Small and medium scale enterprises are considered to be the core out’s economy. According to Smith et al (2000) 99% of UK business firms can be categorized as small businesses and they employ up to 58% out’s total workforce. Hence small firms are extremely important in UK’s economy and the government expends considerable resources to support this sector. The UK government admits that small firms are neglected and left behind while the larger companies getting advantage over small businesses in the e-commerce world (Simpson; Docherty, 2004) Thus it’s very important to study the problems and barriers encountered in adopting a new economy cycle by the sector which represents the majority of the countries businesses. Sadowski et al (2002) notes that even after the widespread use of internet technologies in the corporate world, the amount of Internet use varies to a great extent in the small-scale sector. The adoption of any new technology in this sector is influenced by the several variables as stated by Martens et al (2001). These factors may include the characteristic of the firm, its competitiveness, the influence it has on third parties in the decision process, the management strategy and the characteristic of the new technology itself. All these factors lead company to strategic advantage if they used as they should be. It is important that the company sustains strategic advantage from e-commerce. Competitive business environment makes this matter more important (Hiding, 1999).As long as the company provides well designed web-site that suits with business and its requirements, then strategic advantage can be sustained. Thomas H. Davenport (1993), in his book, ‘Process Innovation –Reengineering work through information technology talks about, how revolutionary approach to information technology and its integration in our business processes can change the scenario. This can dramatically change the way business is conducted in small and medium enterprises also improve the performance keeping in view the competitive environment. New technologies and process innovation brings a new commitment and strategic evolution to these enterprises. Resources like information technology and e-commerce are largely untapped by the SME’s but once that scenario changes, there will be a lot of improvisations and growth avenues. Mandel (2001) says that every technological innovation and discovery finally has it downturn. When these new opportunities like e-commerce come into play, all businesses want ashore of this market. In their rush to get more profits, the investments are so heavy and lacking direction that invariably it leads to a loss since the economy infrastructure cannot support it. This has been proven with the dotcom burst and doom. According to some authors, these SME’s can actually use the innovation of e-commerce to march forward and become integral contributors to the economies. Due to their sizes they lack the initiative and financial power to go all out and compete in different markets, e-commerce could be the solution to some of the marketing gaps, which hold them back from becoming more successful. Importance of SME’s to countries’ economies Baraka (2001) reports that growing evidence indicates that Small Medium Enterprises play an important role in promoting the national economic development of any country. They create a lot of new jobs and produce much of the creativity and innovation that fuels economic progress. Ninety present of the total number of companies in most countries is comprised of small medium enterprises, which provide on average 70% of job opportunities (OECD, 1997). 26% of OECD exports and35% of Asias export are directly produced by small medium firms as suggested by Tendon (2002). The existing literature from research in different studies points out that Small medium enterprises (SME) world-wide have found that Internet use has become a critically important aspect of their business. Porter(2001) supports this view and suggests that companies of all sizes should have a strategy of reacting to competitors and increased adoption of the Internet technology, which will lead to increase in competition within markets. He further points out that e-commerce reduces the difference among competitors offerings and frequently migrate competition to price rather than products features or brand perceptions. He also suggests that smaller businesses could improve their business competitiveness with either other small businesses or larger companies by adopting e-commerce. Porter (2001) is backed up by an earlier study (Jacobs and Rowland 2000). They suggest that smaller businesses have, in particular, been encouraged to adopt e-commerce as a means of improving their competitiveness, either with other small medium enterprises or with larger companies, where they have been promised that e-commerce can level the playing. According to Daniel and Wilson (2002), small and medium-sized enterprises are now increasingly making use of e-commerce. Daniel further suggests that â€Å"responding to competitive pressure was the main reason leading to companies to adopt e-commerce. Information sharing and communication between employees within the firm were found to bethe e-commerce activities where firms are realizing the greatest benefits. Hence, though the future of e-commerce is still unpredictable, it is important that developing countries, their governments and businesses should prepare for these new developments. Benefits of e-commerce to SME’s A growing number of organisations have implemented e-commerce in the hope of improving decision making, lowering costs and improving customer satisfaction levels. A major benefit of e-commerce is cost reduction as Tagliavini et al (2001) pointed out a correct adoption of-commerce could lead to a reduction of transaction costs and coordination costs. Also, Davies and Garcia (1999) argue that benefits for SME’s are faster communication, effective dissemination and collection of information and closer relationships throughout the supply chain. Meanwhile, Liu and Arnett (2000) suggested theatre-commerce can help business organisations cut costs, interact directly with customers, run more smoothly and in a timelier manner, and even better, it can help an organization outperform its competition. Further driving factors of e-commerce for SME’s are also identified by Auger and Gallagher (1997) as follows: access to an Affluent Customer Base, lower Information Dissemination Costs, lower Transaction Costs, broader Market Reach, increased Service, additional Channels for Customer Feedback and Consumer and Market Research. Reducing costs, better communication with customers, access to larger customer base, and extended market are the major benefits of using-commerce agreed by a number of authors. At the same time, the more detailed benefits of e-commerce to SME’s are summarized as follows: †¢ Innovative products, better services and exploring new market opportunities; †¢ Shift in value added and content components of what is made and sold; †¢ Changes to economies of scale and the traditional barriers and advantages of large enterprises; †¢ Untying work functions from specific locations and time constraints; †¢ Flattening and disaggregating of organisational structures; †¢ Scope for customization at low cost; and †¢ Commercialization of in-house content and know-how. However, a study conducted by Poon (1999) found that the benefits of Internet commerce could be classified into long-term and short-term benefits, direct and indirect benefits. He suggested that the short-term benefits should be achieved within a few months, while the long-term benefits may take longer and unable to be predicted. The use of e-commerce can benefit SME’s in terms of reducing costs and access to larger customer base in the short term, and business transformation in the future. The use of e-commerce will also have a great deal of effect on the SME’s business activities as Tagliavini et al. (2001)indicated that E-Commerce has an important influence on SME’s; range of activity, providing increased competition on a global scale and allowing them to access wider markets. From the above literature it could be rightly said that E-Commerce adoption is an essential business strategy for SME’s to obtain competitive advantage. Opportunities and Threats faced by SME’s There are major opportunities for new entrepreneurs and small- to medium-sized businesses to flourish in the maturing of e-commerce(Drew, 2003). The use of e-commerce has provided a variety of benefits for SME’s as well as a number of potential opportunities. â€Å"The Internet’s usually presented as an opportunity for smaller firms because it helps reduce transaction costs and level the playing field (Evans and Wurster, 1997). The opportunities for SME’s include expanding scope of marketing, wider and richer communication, reaching new market and reducing cost of operations and partnering with suppliers (Drew, 2003). According to a report conducted by Prevost (1998), there are variety of opportunities added to SME’s, including efficiency and productivity for business process, the development of new market opportunity (B2C andB2B) as well as access to global market. Also, the e-commerce give SME’s opportunity to exploit competitive and know how benefits as suggested by Tagliavini et al. (2001). Nevertheless, how to use e-commerce as an opportunity to SME’s will depend on the industry and firm factor implied by Drew (2003). These influenced factors include: The smaller firm’s technical and Internet knowledge; The rate at which the market is growing; The pace of innovation and change in the industry; The technical and Internet strengths of the larger competitors; The sources of competitive advantage for the smaller business; The strategic intent of the larger competitors; and The structure of the industry in which the firm competes. Generally, the market, industry structure, and macro-environment will be the major influenced factors that decide e-commerce as an opportunity or threat for SME’s. Therefore, although it is not doubt that e-commerce has provided a huge opportunity for SME’s in the range of business activities, the external and internal factors must be considered strategically while adopting e-commerce. However, Tagliaviniet al (2001) argued, the real opportunity of E-Commerce adoption force’s is still unclear(p.211). Global Trading The significant opportunity for SME’s is to extend existing market to international market addressed by a number of authors (OECD, 1998;Webb and Sawyer, 1998; Walczuch et al., 2000 and Giessen et al., 2001).Giessen (2001) remarks â€Å"the twin phenomena of globalization and-commerce pose new challenges and provide competitive opportunities for large and small firms alike†. It is an imperative opportunity force’s to access the global market, as the one of the important feature of e-commerce is global reach as stated by Loudon (2001). Therefore, ME’s are expecting the opportunity to extend existing market into globalization by using e-commerce. Undoubtedly, Internet has provided chance for SME’s to diminish the entry barrier and costs into global trading market as electronic commerce offers companies the possibility to sell internationally, effectively removing constraints of time and location and substantially enhancing their competitiveness, and it is the most imperative opportunity for SME’s to increase productivity andthe capability to entry markets and discover business partners globally(OECD, 1998). Indeed, the reach of global market is an exciting opportunity for SME’s to grow in terms of the size of company and competitive advantage. However, Jutland et al. (2002) proclaims that â€Å"globalization pressures arising from e-commerce operations often mean that SME’s have to acquire international trade knowledge. Publishing company’s website in the Internet is simple but trading in the global market is not so simple task for any of the SME’s. As Teethe and Burn (2001) points out that the challenge for SME’s are complicated byte general lack of clearly defined frameworks for analysis of the entire processes of strategy building, implementation and management with aspect to the emergent global information economy. However-commerce truly provides the great opportunity for SME’s to increase competence with lager firms in variety of business opportunities as well as an opportunity to extend trading geography. The various opportunities offered by e-commerce are the significant riving factors that encourage a firm to adopt e-commerce as its business operation. Threats Although the use of e-commerce has provided a huge opportunity force’s in range of business activities, e-commerce might become a threat for SME’s while trying to explore a variety of opportunity by using-commerce. As Drew (2003) indicates there are a number of threats of-commerce for SME’s. These threats include increasing competition from larger firms as the new medium allows larger firms to mimic the traditional strengths of SME’s in serving niche markets, developing customer intimacy