Drama is an art

Drama is an art. Its artists are actors. Just like any other art form, proper training in theater is essential to gain mastery in the skill of acting. There are many approaches to teaching acting. Gordon Phillips, a seasoned professional in the field, has developed a very interesting method. In his book, Take it Personally, he describes his system as the most honest, natural, and practical.... The closest to the way nature itself works (26). Phillipss pedagogical technique revolves around the idea that the actor must learn to use a set of tools with which he can handle any role given to him. Through his approach, Gordon Phillips hopes to give all aspiring actors a set of instruments with which to conquer any character. The Process, as he calls it, states that the tools in the actors toolbox do not entail acting in and of themselves, but instead give the actor a way to master the art of acting. The main component to Phillipss toolbox of acting involves neutralization and actualization of the self, the script, and the acting environment represented in the script. In order to comprehend this, we must first realize the definition that Phillips is referring to when speaking of neutralization and actualization. By neutralization, Phillips means to say that before beginning to tackle any given character, one must open himself up to the new character; free himself of judgments and preconceptions of the character. After this has been accomplished, the actor can move on to actualize, or humanize the character. An understanding of what Phillips means by these two complex ideas now allows us to explore the specificssensory, physical, and emotional neutralization and actualization. Sensory and physical neutralization have to do with neutralizing the self. The actor must not allow himself to be hindered by previous learning of the charac...

3 Reasons Authors Shouldnt Worry About Piracy - Joanna Penn

3 Reasons Authors Shouldnt Worry About Piracy - Joanna Penn 3 Reasons Authors Shouldnt Worry About Piracy but How to Protect Yourself Anyway New authors worry about piracy, especially in this age of digital publishing and online marketing. Yes, piracy happens, but here’s why you shouldn’t let fear keep you from putting your words out into the world. 1. Serious readers prefer to buy books rather than download  stolen copies Most of the reading public are book lovers, law-abiding (usually) citizens, and want to compensate you for your creative work. Trust your readers. A  Personal Example I noticed a customer had bought two copies of the same ebook from my website. I emailed her, assuming that she must have clicked twice by mistake, and I wanted to refund her. She explained that she had bought a copy for herself and one for a friend. I was thrilled, of course, because she could have just shared the file. Hugh Howey, the bestselling sci-fi author of WOOL,  shares on his site  that one reader downloaded his book through a pirate site, then sent him money later in recognition of a good book. Most readers want to  help  authors, not harm them. Those who download from pirate sites are not likely to be your target market anyway. 2. Some authors use piracy as a marketing strategy Paulo Coelho, author of the worldwide hit  The Alchemist,  deliberately  leaked his ebooks in Russia  on piracy networks  . His sales went from 1,000 per year to over 1 million, because those free books gave him more visibility in a hard-to-reach market.  He says of piracy, â€Å"It’s a medal to any writer who understands that there is no better reward than being read.† Self-help writer,  Tim Ferriss, used Bit Torrent file sharing site  for the launch of his  New York Times  bestseller,  The Four Hour Chef,  and generated hundreds of thousands of sales from free downloads. Fantasy writer, Neil Gaiman, talks about  piracy as a modern-day version of lending a physical book. Broader distribution means a broader audience and a broader audience means more sales. After all, the most pirated books in the world are by the most successful authors, like JK Rowling or George RR Martin. Tim O’Reilly says,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"For a typical author, obscurity is a far greater threat than piracy.† So, is it better to be pirated and have your book read or have your unseen manuscript sit in a drawer? 3. What are you  really  afraid of? If youre not writing or publishing because youre afraid someone will pirate your books or your ideas, you might need to consider other issues. Steven Pressfield talks about creative resistance in his book,  The War of Art. Stopping writing because you fear piracy is a form of resistance. Its something your lizard brain- that primal part that tries to keep you safe- can distract you with, when really you need to get your butt in the chair and finish your book. It’s scary to put your words out into the world. You might be judged. You might fail. You might get a one-star review. Maybe no one will even notice your book. Such fears are part of the creative process we all go through. Don’t let the pirates stop you from fulfilling your goals. How Can You Protect Yourself? Register your copyright  so you have proof if you need to challenge anyone. This is not technically necessary, as you automatically copyright a work when you create it. But I’ve found it useful when challenged by Amazon to prove my ownership because someone tried to publish a duplicate book. Make sure your book is available in all formats and in all countries at the same time. If your ebook is not available in the UK when your US publisher launches it, don’t be surprised if an avid fan gets a bootleg copy because they just can’t wait. If your book is available only in print, why be surprised if it is scanned and uploaded as an ebook? Plenty of people (myself included) read only ebooks now, and you will lose a sale anyway if it’s not available in digital format. If you’re an indie author (self-published), you can release your books globally on the same day. If you’re traditionally published in one territory, consider self-publishing in other countries. Basically, if your book is available when and how a reader wants it, they are less likely to look for a pirated version. Set up an alert  with a free service like  Google Alerts. Use a couple of unique lines from your book so you will be notified if the text appears anywhere on pirate sites. If you use  digital ARCs  (Advance Reader Copies), consider a service like  BookFunnel.com  to deliver them. They can include a digital watermark and track who downloads the book. If your work has been pirated, email the site and ask for the material to be taken down. If they don’t comply,  issue a DCMA takedown notice. You can also notify the various search engines of infringement. For more detail on this, check out  A step-by-step guide to dealing with content theft  from attorney Helen Sedwick. Joanna Penn is a  New York Times  and  USA Today  bestselling author of supernatural thrillers as  J.F.Penn. She also writes inspirational nonfiction and is an award-winning entrepreneur and speaker. Her site,  TheCreativePenn.com  is regularly voted one of the top 10 sites for writers and self-publishers. Connect on twitter @thecreativepenn In comments, pose any questions or share your experience with literary piracy.

Should it be a crime to download copyrighted music from the Internet Essay - 1

Should it be a crime to download copyrighted music from the Internet - Essay Example This has prompted the introduction of various laws and regulations in most parts of the world in regard to protection of copyrighted properties such as music and other downloadable files over the internet. In this light, the regulations regarding this protection restricts the general public and any other entity from freely accessing the files and only through seeking permission can an individual get access to them. This has been a source of public outpourings with a majority of the people seeking to stop the restrictions which come with illegality for anyone trying to break the set laws. In regard to my opinion, it is my assertion that personal properties such as music and other downloadable files should be protected and thus it should be illegal to download copyrighted music from the Internet. According to one of the surveys carried out by the popular website Debate.org regarding the issue of whether downloading copyrighted music should be made illegal, a majority of the public (54 percent) held their opinion that they did not really think that was justified (making downloading illegal). To most, downloading the music freely from the internet did affect the music owners or their labels in any big way since most of their money was generated through avenues such as concerts, promotions, brands and cloth lines among others (Debate.Org, 2015). In another study carried out as documented by Stein and Evans (100), downloading the copyrighted music from the Internet has been largely attributed to the young people who are convinced that the CDs that are sold with this music are overpriced and thus will find not guilty when downloading these music from these sources. In this cases, it is evident that most of the public harbour the opinion that they are justified to downloading copyrighted music from the Internet, and thus this practice should not be illegal at all. As seen in the earlier argument about the downloading of copyrighted

Film analysis Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Film analysis - Movie Review Example The film generally highlights Maria Alvarez, who is a fictional character aged 17, showing her routine reality within the society. This paper will seek to analyze the film by evaluating various aspects of planning, as well as other related issues incorporated and used in Maria Full of Grace. The film Maria Full of Grace illustrates several crucial aspects that are involved in global planning, one of which is the immigration issue. In this case, immigration is defined as the movement of people from their countries of origin in order to settle in countries other than their own (LeGates & Stout 131). While immigration is caused by numerous reasons, one of the most prevalent one in the film has to do with poverty. For example, Maria Alvarez emigrates from Bogota in Colombia to New York and is lured to do so by the promise of being a drug peddler and the money that she will get from the business. Immigration has an essential part to play in urban planning, specifically because the influx of persons that the government fails to account for may lead to a crisis of population. Majority of immigrants exert additional pressure on government public facilities, including schools, hospitals, and community centers (LeGates & Stout 132). Moreover, immigration also pressures government institutions as they have to adapt to the new demands of an increasing population due to immigration. In addition, cultural facilities and other institutions are also forced to become more diversified, as well as expand their capacity in order to suit the population’s needs (Zukin 132). Thus, such influx of immigrants leads to necessary changes in the structure of public institutions in the host country. Immigration is also linked directly to cultural influences as an important factor of planning. Since urban development mainly seeks to control diverse peoples and cultures living in communities around the city, along with the need to ensure maintenance of civility and peace in

Technologies Effect on Culture Essay Example for Free

Technologies Effect on Culture Essay Technology effects culture in very many ways. To begin with,in the last hundreds of years there has not been a bigger impact on culture than technology. Next,technology has changed culture so many ways from communication,traveling,entertainment,medical stuff,cooking,to industry development. Then,technology has been improving more and more with no end in sight very soon. Finally,the main reason you see all of these rich people to day is technology. This is only some of technologies effect on culture. However,there are many more ways technology effects culture. To start with,Alexander Graham Bell,he started the improvement of technology by creating the telephone,and we as people took that and improved it to make a better telephone and eventually,the cell phone. Next,the Wright brothers,they made the airplane to where it could fly and again we as people took it and improved to make it better and last longer. Then,Henry Ford,he created the first affordable,combustion engine car called the Model-T and once again we as people took it and improved like ever before by making it safer,faster,and more durable. Finally,Philo Farnsworth,he invented the television and once more(as if we’ll never stop)we as people improved it and gave it color and we made more portable. So you see it’s not necessarily the technology effecting the culture but us making the technology effect the culture. So now I have explained to you the how technology effects culture in many ways. To begin with there was Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone. Next,there was the Wright brothers who made the airplane able to fly. Then,there was Henry Ford who invented the first car. Finally,there was Philo Farnsworth who invented the first television. So you see this is the kind of stuff we as people are capable of doing.

Making Moral Decisions: The Synergistic-Reflective-Equilibrium Model :: Philosophy

Making Moral Decisions: The Synergistic-Reflective-Equilibrium Model ABSTRACT: This treatise is a contribution towards the understanding of why humankind cannot agree on the foundation of morality and why moral pluralism is the logical constitution of moral reality. The synergistic-reflective-equilibrium model is the model that will describe how persons can make moral decisions as pluralistic agents. If this model is correct, then it will not be a new discovery, rather, it will be a new description of how pluralistic agents do in fact make moral decisions. This synergistic-reflective-equilibrium description should then be useful not only in giving a fuller understanding of how moral decisions ought to be made, but also how moral philosophy can be united into a pluralistic collective whole. The first part of this paper defines the synergistic-reflective-equilibrium mode. It briefly explains how it is a combination of both the theory model of moral decision-making and the intuition model of moral decision-making. The second part of this paper defines mi d-level principles and explains how they are a natural development of the synergistic-reflective-equilibrium method. It will then be shown that both Mill and Kant used this method in their own moral theories. Lastly, it will be shown how "weighing and balancing" and "specification" are integral components in this model and were also practiced by Mill and Kant in their moral systems. Introduction This treatise is a contribution towards the understanding of why humankind cannot agree on the foundation of morality and why moral pluralism is the logical constitution of moral reality. The synergistic-reflective-equilibrium model is the model that will describe how persons can make moral decisions as pluralistic agents. If this model is correct, then it will not be a new discovery, rather, it will be a new description of how pluralistic agents do in fact make moral decisions. This synergistic-reflective-equilibrium description should then be useful not only in giving a fuller understanding of how moral decisions ought to be made, but also how moral philosophy can be united into a pluralistic collective whole. I. The Synergistic-Reflective-Equilibrium Model The synergistic-reflective-equilibrium model is the position in which the justification of what is right or wrong is done by using neither a pure theory model, nor a pure intuition model. The synergistic-reflective-equilibrium model is a back-and-forth process—starting with particulars and going to the general and back to the particulars and so on and so forth. This is a constant process that never really comes to closure as new decisions are constantly having to be made.

Modernization of NTUC Income

Assignment On Modernization of NTUC Income Course code: MIS101 Section: 1 Submitted to: Md. Monzur Morshed Bhuiya Course Instructor Submission Date: 19-04-11 Acknowledgement At first we would like to thanks the Almighty Allah, who provided us this great opportunity to accomplish this project successfully with good health and sound mind. We would like to pay profound gratitude to our honorable sir Md. Monzur Morshed Bhuiya, without his guidance and help it was impossible for us to complete this term paper satisfactorily.We enjoyed the challenges of preparing this assignment as it provided us an opportunity to increase our understandings of various pertinent features of conducting a research. To continue this research we mainly take help from different websites, books etc. Finally, we would like to pay thanks to our parents from the depth of our heart for their endless support, encouragement and inspiration. Table of content 1. Abstract†¦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‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 2. Introduction†¦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‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3. Question No. 1†¦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‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 4. Question No. 2†¦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‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 5. Question No. 3†¦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‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 6. Question No. 4â₠¬ ¦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‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 7. Question No. 5†¦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‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 8. 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‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 9. Reference list†¦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‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Abstract NTUC Income is a life and general insurance company. It is a co-operative insurance society formed in 1970, was initiated by Dr Goh Kang Swee.NTUC Income’s process star ted with various customer meeting and agent filling the paper form and many other steps which was very long and tedious but after migrating a fully digital system, it includes customer centric design barcode technology which minimize the downtime occurrence but it also face problems such as paper policies compromising data retrieving problem etc. But it also got benefits such as efficient retrieval data, high pace electronic mass storage system etc. Finally we can say that NTUC Income enriched their working system in such way that there is no possibility to create further problems in future.Introduction NTUC Income is a life and general insurance company based in Singapore. It is one of the â€Å"Big Three† insurers with a significant share of the local motor insurance market. It is an organization that was made different right from the start with an initial capital of $1. 2 million. It is a co-operative insurance society formed in 1970, was initiated by Dr Goh Kang Swee duri ng the â€Å"Modernization of the Labor Movement† seminar on 18 November 1969. Today, it has matured into a leading insurer and progressive organization with close to 2 million policyholders placing their trust in us and assets at $19. billion. Its insurance plans benefit large numbers of Singaporeans from all strata of society, and the company supports the community through financial contributions to the labor movement, charities and other worthy causes. The insurer employs about 3400 insurance advisors and 1200 office staff with the majority located across an eight branch network. On June 1, 2003, Income succeeded in the migration of its legacy insurance system. The Herculean task required not only the upgrading of hardware and applications, it also required Income to streamline its decade-old business processes and IT practices.Question No. 1. What were the problems faced by Income in this case? How were the problems resolved by the new digital system? In the past, NTUC In come, which has over a million insurance policy holders, processes were very tedious and paper-based. The entire insurance process started with customers meeting an agent, filling in forms and submitting documents. The agent would then submit the forms at branches, from where they were sent by couriers to the Office Services department. The collection schedule could introduce delays of two to three days.Office Services would log documents, sort them, and then send them to departments for underwriting. Proposals were allocated to underwriting staff, mostly randomly. Accepted proposals were sent for printing at the Computer Services department and then redistributed. For storage, all original documents were packed and sent to warehouses where, over two to three days, a total of seven staff would log and store the documents. In all, paper policies comprising 45 million documents were stored in over 16,000 cartons at three warehouses. Whenever a document needed to be retrieved, it would take about two days to locate and ship it by courier.Refilling would again take about two days. So the processes were complicated and the result was waste of space and time, which leads in waste of money. The digital system can solve both of these problems and it cost 1/3 of the â€Å"paper–based† cost. Question No. 2. What types of information systems and business processes were used by Income before migrating to the fully digital system? Until a few years ago NTUC Income insurance uses a very traditional business process. Their process was very tedious and paper based and it takes five steps to complete the process. The steps are- st-The process started with customers meeting an agent, filling the paper forms and submitting documents. 2nd-Then the agent would submit the forms at branches, from where they were sent by couriers to the office services department. 3rd-After two to three days the couriers were received by the services department. Then the services would log documents, sort them and then send them to the department for underwriting. Proposals were allocated to underwriting staff, mostly randomly. 4th-Accepted proposals were sent for printing at the computer services department and then redistributed. th-At the end of the process all original documents were packed and sent to ware houses. Where, over two to three days, total of seven staff would log and store the documents. After the process complete, whenever a document needed to be retrieved, it would take about two days to locate and ship it courier refilling again take about two days. NTUC Income use HP 3000 to host the core insurance application as well as the accounting and management information system. The HP 3000 is a line of midrange computers which Hewlett-Packard first released in 1972 and which has been constantly updated and sold since then.All HP 3000 computers run the proprietary MPE operating system and come with the rock solid Turbo IMAGE database. Question No. 3. D escribe the information systems and IT infrastructure at income after migrating to the fully digital system. It changed in June 2003, when income switched to the java based eBao lifestyle from eBao technology. The software comprised three subsystems- Policy Administration, Sales management and supplementary resources. This system had- 1. Customer Centric Design. 2. Seamless integration with Imaging. 3. Barcode Technology. 4.A product definition module that supports new products, new channels and changes in business processes. Implementation work started in September 2002 and the project was completed in nine months. By may 2003, All the customization, data migration of income’s individual and group life insurance businesses and training were completed. The new system was immediately operation on high availability platform. All applications resided on two or more servers, each connected by two or more communication lines. All of which were ‘loud balanced’. This ro bust architecture minimized downtime occurrence due to hardware on operating system failure.Question No. 4. What benefits did Income reap from the new system? After going through the whole case study, we have found a significant change in the IT infrastructure of NTUC Income and come to know some crucial benefits that Income has experienced. Firstly, the very long and tedious and paper-based processes were substituted by computer-based eBao Life System which reduced the total time for policy opening dramatically to a minimum level. Also the floor-based data storage system was replaced by high pace electronic mass storage system which has made the company a much better and faster performing concern.Secondly, moving from eBao Technology to eBao Life System was extremely lucrative for the firm. It facilitated so efficient retrieval of data that it was possible to access data of any time period in contrast to the previous system of access to only preceding day data by any of its authori zed employees. Again, the breakdown of software into three subsystems- Policy Administration, Sales Management and Supplementary Resources opened new product development possibilities, new channels and charges and new horizons for Income.Thirdly, the new system was immediately operational on high-availability platforms which were equipped by all up-to-date hardware components and internet connections among its workstations. Moreover, the implementation of disaster-recovery centre protected the organization from any accidental data loss. In addition, the implementation of eBao Life System ensured the access of about 500 office staff and 3400 insurance advisors to the system anytime and anywhere with faster access to information.This helped the company to monitor its management more efficiently and serve the customers individual priority and customized needs. Finally, the summary of the benefits of eBao Life System as commented by the former CEO of Income Mr. Tan Kin Lian is â€Å"eB ao Life System has the best straight through processing workflow and it is very flexible. It cuts our new product launch time from months to days. It also allows us to support agents, brokers, and customers to do online services easily. I got a fantastic deal: the best system with much lower cost and much shorter implementation time.I have to say that this is a revolution. † So, we can say that NTUC Income got quite a certain number of benefits from the new system, which made life even better and easier. Question No. 5. How well is income prepared for the future? Are the problems described in the case likely to be repeated? NTUC income has created powerful establishment for future . In spite of all drawbacks in past they overcome their weakness through the execution of eBao technology, which gives them a new dimension of system.Before the implementation of java based eBao life system, NTUC Income faced lots of troubles in core insurance applications, accounting, and management information system. Those troubles appeared as if the backup was not completed data would be lost, in case any hardware crashes reconciliation took several months to restore the data . It also experienced three major hardware failures it also took huge time to launch a product , it formed problem for the agents and advisors regarding to access information .All those problems came to an end when Income implemented eBay technology through the java based eBao life system , which they consider everything for them . this eBao system changed the way they worked . income restored its IT infrastructure by upgrading their system through increasing PC RAM size ,installing scanner and hardware etc which also helps them to store more data and to scan documents ,they also implemented hot back up disaster recovery center so that data cannot be lost easily and remain stored in the storage and they do not need to depend on restoration of previous day data . nder the new system , all document store d as well on â€Å"trusted† storage device , it crates easy way to access the information for the agents and advisors . Because of eBao technology Income enriched their working system and established it in such away, which has no possibilities to create further problems in future. Conclusion Trade union membership, especially for industrialized country, has been declining over the past years. This is largely due the structural changes caused by globalization and the rapid changes in technologies.Trade unions in Singapore also faced similar challenges. In order for trade unions to stay relevant, unions must continuously adapt to effectively meet the expectations of different types of workers, regardless of age, collar and race. NTUC and trade unions have a promising future ahead if they have a better understanding of the economy and the needs of the workers. Furthermore, unions must not only continue to do what they have been doing over the years but use various innovative str ategies and tactics to reach out to the new emerging generations.NTUC Income will continue to provide a better life for its policyholders and the community through innovative insurance plans and services. The co-operative will strive for excellent customer care through its staff and insurance advisers. By using technology effectively, we aim to reduce costs and pass the savings to policyholders through lower premiums. Reference List †¢ Kenneth C. Laudon & Jane P. Laudon, Management Information Systems Managing the Digital Firm 11th Edition, Pearson Education, Inc. †¢ http://www. icrosoft. com/singapore/mssg_docs/1703. aspx †¢ http://essaysforstudent. com/Business/Ntuc/21763. html †¢ http://www. income. com. sg/insurance/iTerm/index. asp †¢ http://www. papercamp. com/group/modernization-of-ntuc-income-case-study/page-690 †¢ http://www. income. com. sg/insurance/financialplanning. asp †¢ http://www. ebaotech. com/en/news/200306_en. shtml †¢ http ://www. income. com. sg/insurance/iTerm/index. asp †¢ http://www. income. com. sg/PSD/termsofuse. html †¢ http://www. income. com. sg/homepage. asp

Analyse William Golding’s choice of language during and after the killing of Simon. Why does the language use change?

â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!† This is the chant that begins the section, increased in its violence as it now says â€Å"kill the beast† representing the feelings of the boys. They want to destroy the beast but can't find it as it is inside each of them. This causes them to get ever more angry and frenzied, starting a ritualistic â€Å"dance† with â€Å"the chant† beating â€Å"like a steady pulse†. This is reminiscent of Simon's experience earlier when a â€Å"pulse started to throb in his temple†, just before he went into a fit. This suggests that the boys are also going into a trance or fit, but a much more dangerous one, unaware of their actions. They lose their individuality and start â€Å"the throb and stamp of a single organism†, again with the throbbing and stamping inducing images of a trance-like ritual. Also the symbolisms of circles and the weather are repeated. The circle now â€Å"yawns emptily† waiting to catch someone inside. The weather is threatening, â€Å"Thunder boomed†¦the dark sky was shattered†¦scar†¦blow of a gigantic whip†. This is a great contrast to the clear skies earlier in the book that symbolised peace. Now they begin to become terrified by the weather and the trance and out of this terror â€Å"rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind†. This is the frantic, unthinking desire of bloodlust. The boys don't want to think about what they are doing, Simon is called â€Å"Him!† and â€Å"the beast† and â€Å"the thing†. This is because the boys are trying to dehumanize him in their great desire to kill something that could be the beast. However, Golding calls Simon by name just once, the effect being that we see this as the mindset of the boys. The imagery when Simon is finally murdered is very vivid, with the mouth comparison drawn again, â€Å"The mouth of the circle crunched and screamed†. This gives the impression of someone being eaten alive. Simon is shown to be helpless. He doesn't even try to defend himself; he just â€Å"struggles free†. He is completely innocent and Christ-like comparisons are drawn by these things and also because he is still trying to save them from themselves as he â€Å"was crying out against the abominable noise something about a beast on a hill.† When he falls down onto the sand he is leapt upon. â€Å"There were no words and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws†. The use of â€Å"claws† draws comparisons with beasts and shows the boys' savagery and animalistic actions. There are no words, symbolizing the complete breakdown of civilization and communication. Nobody is exempt from this original sin and even Piggy joins in. They completely destroy Simon, taking pleasure in the mutilation of his body. After Simon's death â€Å"the clouds opened† as if they are taking him up to heaven. The rain acts as a â€Å"cold shower† and breaks up the savages. Golding reminds us of the age and vulnerability of these boys and Simon especially, â€Å"they could see how small a beast it was and already its blood was staining the sand.† A great wind blows the parachutist off the mountain in a tribute to Simon. He has removed the beast from the island, though he had to die to do it. We could look deeper and say that this shows he has only removed the symbol or personification of the beast. The parachutist was never the beast, nor was Simon, but they were used as the personification of the evil which still remains inside all of the boys. After the rain ends, the mood completely changes, from frantic and urgent to calm and serene. The â€Å"incredible lamps of stars† â€Å"cool†¦clear air† make Simon's death seem peaceful, natural and spiritual. The images are of â€Å"silver† â€Å"phosphoresce† â€Å"pearls† â€Å"clear water†¦clear sky† â€Å"strange moonbeam bodied creatures†. These all give a heavenly, spiritual and peaceful feel as does the alliteration of ‘s' sounds; â€Å"Softly surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations.† This makes Simon's death seem beautiful and the violence of the reality unimaginable. Golding uses the violent, urgent, frenzied language during Simon's death to show the feeling surrounding it. He uses the calm, peaceful and spiritual language afterwards, when his body is carried away as a reminder as to the kind of person Simon was and how different he was to the others.

A critique on Doing Business in the Wired World

A critique on Doing Business in the Wired World A critique on "Doing Business in the Wired World"The article "Doing Business in the Wired World" depicts how a company can achieve business transactions and success through using the information-rich Internet. The article is well plotted by using examples of different companies to show the potential use of electronic commerce via the Internet. The article is empirical as the findings are based on experiences at large companies such as Cisco Systems, Amazon, Onsale, and BidnAsk, ect. The main findings are:1. Companies can obtain a lot of benefits doing business through electronic commerce. First, information is available and easily accessible. One typical example is Morgan Stanley's use of intranet. As it is stated, "nearly all of the company's 10,000 employees access its server on a weekly or daily basis". Information is disseminated and distributed at a largest possible scale in the company. It is surely much easier for employees to deal with daily work, to cooperate with other coll eagues, and to prepare their reports."moo business cards"It is even important for decision-makers to take action at a faster speed with better-prepared analyses and reports.2. Companies can save a lot of expenses using E-commerce. As companies now can receive orders through network, suppliers can send their orders directly and accurately in a shorter time. This is quite beneficial to companies since in the past time, companies used to adopt fax machines to receive and send message, which was quite slow and was even troublesome for businesses under some circumstances. That can be cost consuming and also a waste of paper. With networks easily available, companies can view information at any time. As the article states, "in the first 18 months of Web usage, over $1 million in annual savings". Any business who finds such a cost-effective method will accelerate...

LinkedIn + Microsofts Resume Assistant Friend or Foe

LinkedIn + Microsofts Resume Assistant Friend or Foe The biggest conversation about LinkedIn nowadays seems to be about the perils of Resume Assistant, a child of LinkedIn and Microsoft’s recent marriage. LinkedIn touts Resume Assistant as an integration between LinkedIn and Microsoft Word that will help you accurately reflect who you are and what you’ve done, in a way that is tailored to the role you’re aspiring to. But is it all that? What is Resume Assistant? According to Rock Your Resume With Resume Assistant From LinkedIn + Microsoft, this is how Resume Assistant works: If you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber, you can open Resume Assistant from the Review tab in Word. You can then enter a position and industry, and Resume Assistant will pull information from millions of people’s public profiles on LinkedIn that match that position and industry. You can then use the examples to inspire your own resume content and â€Å"make sure you stand out from the crowd.† LinkedIn claims, â€Å"Ditch the one-size-fits-all resume†¦ Resume Assistant provides the top skills other professionals in your desired role and industry have, as well as job requirements from real job postings. You can then think about how your applicable skills can be transferable for the role you want, then tailor your resume to fit that role.† All this sounds too good to be true. It requires users to think hard on their own, resist the temptation of copying and pasting, and basically write their own resume. I’m not sure it will make resume writing easier for anyone who does it right. Perhaps it will provide some valuable research, but beyond that, I’m not clear on its usefulness. Is Resume Assistant Evil? One of the most vocal opponents of Resume Assistant is Donna Serdula, who claims LinkedIn is committing â€Å"Profile Plagiarism.† I don’t know about that. Certainly a diligent person can do their own search for people with their position title, and model their profile or resume off someone else’s. My understanding is that what Resume Assistant does is crunch numbers so you get a more accurate picture of what skills are the most important to include in your profile. It seems to me that Resume Assistant is streamlining a process, not committing plagiarism. What is disturbing to me, and to Donna, is that LinkedIn and Microsoft have failed to inform LinkedIn members that Resume Assistant will pull information from your profile unless you opt out. Even if all the information is from your public profile and your name is not attached to it, making people’s profiles automatically available for scanning is a bit sneaky, if you ask me. Here’s how to opt out of the Resume Assistant so your information is kept out of people’s hands who are using the program. Note that if your profile is public, resourceful folks could still find your profile and â€Å"flatter† you with imitation. Click on your profile image thumbnail in the upper right corner. From the drop-down menu, select Settings Privacy. On the Privacy tab, scroll down to Data privacy and advertising, and under Microsoft Word, flip the switch to No. Or,  follow this link. I’m choosing for now to keep my information public and available to Resume Assistant. At least I know I’ll be contributing quality material to those who need it. How Does Resume Assistant Really Work? Unfortunately, at this time, I am not able to tell you exactly how Resume Assistant works. I had to go to Microsoft’s article, Write your best resume in Word with help from LinkedIn in Resume Assistant, to figure out that it’s supposed to show up under my Review tab in Microsoft Word. Microsoft provides a bit of practical information, including how to opt out of having your information used. None of the information I could find on LinkedIn actually explains how to start using it. I’m hoping that will change soon. One big question that remains for me is about the quality of information that shows up on Resume Assistant. Believe me, I’ll be testing it out as soon as that option appears in my version of Word! I’m concerned that low-quality information could steer people in the wrong direction as they’re writing their resumes. There might be something I’m not aware of, but I would not want to take just anyone’s profile in my industry and model my resume after it. I can’t emphasize enough that someone else’s achievements are samples only! If you imitate their achievements exactly, you are either committing plagiarism or you have some work to do in distinguishing yourself in your career. Will You Use Microsoft’s Resume Assistant? While Resume Assistant seems like a marketing ploy to get people to subscribe to Office 365, for me, the jury is still out on whether might actually have true value. I hope you’ll test it out if it’s available to you and you’re looking for ways to improve your resume. Perhaps it will be the resume writers’ new favorite tool! I look forward to sharing more as the opportunity to use Resume Assistant becomes a reality. If youd like to have your resume professionally crafted by a certified resume writer from The Essay Expert,  use our web contact form  to send us your current resume and LinkedIn profile URL, and well connect to discuss your needs further.

Museum paper- analyze ,compare duccio-Madonna and child ,Filippino Research Paper

Museum - analyze ,compare duccio-Madonna and child ,Filippino Lippi - Madonna and Child - Research Paper Example Also known as the Stoclet Madonna or Stroganoff Madonna, Duccio’s Madonna and Child is painted in tempera with decoration on wood panel and this work of art dates back to 1300. In this painting, similar to other Madonna paintings, Duccio portrays Mary, the mother of Jesus, holding the infant Jesus, and it covers a frame of 27.9 ? 21 centimeters. Filippino Lippi’s painting Madonna and Child, a.k.a. Tarquinia Madonna (ca. 1437) covers a frame of 32 x 23 1/2 in (81.3 x 59.7 cm) and is can be briefly described as tempera, oil, and gold on wood. Regarded as the earliest dated work by Lippi, Tarquinia Madonna reveals the enriched language of Lippi’s work as well as his influence of Flemish painting. â€Å"In the Tarquinia Madonna of 1437, the careful study of light and perspective, which confers movement on the Virgin’s drapery and illumines her marble throne, is evidence of a strong Flemish influence (motif of the windows putting the interior and exterior into communication, presence of the book and bed, phenomena of daily domestic life, typical of Flemish painting).† (Dobson, 814) This paper makes a profound analysis of Duccio’s Madonna and child and Filippino Lippi’s Madonna and Child in order to comprehend the similarity and difference between the themes, medium, composition, treatment of space, influence of the period in which they were created, etc. Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Madonna and Child (ca. 1300) is one of the greatest paintings belonging to the medieval Italian art history which is distinguished for its sublime beauty. Significantly, this painting is celebrated as the ground-breaking opening work of art in the most glorious career of Duccio’s art and the influence of the period is very much evident in this painting. At the time of its composition, Italy was divided into many city-states such as Florence, Siena, Milan, and Venice, and Duccio belonged to Siena. It is important to realize tha Duc cio is the founder of the Sienese style in painting which emphasized ornamental surfaces, winding lines, stretched-out figures and profound use of gold. The painting Madonna and Child is familiarly known as Ruccellai Madonna due to its subsequent placement in a chapel of Ruccellai family and it reveals Duccio’s style of composition. As Rachel Nicholls (2008) maintains, Duccio is generally recognized as the founder of the Sienese school of painting and â€Å"his work was so innovative and skillful that it now seen as a new departure rather than a continuation of tradition. His style did not appear in a vacuum and his approach to the painting of figures (particularly the Virgin) is a creative development of the techniques of Cimabue. His style also offers a backward look to Byzantine art with its highly stylized iconic figures against a glided background, and a forward look to a more naturalistic interpretation of human relationships.† (Nicholls, 157) Significantly, a pr ofound analysis of Madonna and Child is fundamental to an understanding of the development of Duccio’s style which is influenced by the period in which he composed his paintings. It is also important to maintain that this painting reveals a naturalistic impulse enriching the religious theme in Duccio’s art. In comparison, Filippino Lippi’s Madonna with Child (Tarquinia Madonna) is also a true representation of the period in which it was created, and it is regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Early Renaissance period. Significantly, Filippino Lippi