The Joy Luck Club Essay example -- Essays Papers

The Joy Luck Club The Joy Luck Club is a story about four Chinese friends and their daughters. It tells the story of the mother’s struggles in China and their acceptance in America, and the daughter’s struggles of finding themselves as Chinese-Americans. The movie starts off with a story about a swan feather, and how it was brought over with only good intentions. Then the movie goes on, the setting is at a party for June the daughter of Suyuan. Suyuan has just past away about four months ago, and her mother’s friends have found her long lost daughters. But it is too late for her to go see them so they tell June, about it and they arrange a meeting for her in China. The party is a going away party for June’s trip to China. At the party June realizes that she was expected to take the place of her mother at the mahjong table. June sat at the East where it all starts â€Å"The Joy Luck Club†. The Joy Luck club was a weekly meeting of the best friends, were they talked about their hopes for their daughters and there stories of the past. The swan feather in the beginning was a symbol of all the hopes and dreams that the mother wanted to give to her daughter. This woman crossing a vast ocean, with only the company of a swan, yet she is not scared. She has dreams for her daughter, and this dream is the driving force of her actions. She is moved to realize this dream, that she is not even aware of the potential bad outcomes. There is no talk about hoping to have a daughter it says I will have a daughter just like me, and she will always be to full to swallow any sorrow. There is no single thought of failure in her mind. Her dreams have instilled in her blind faith, and inherent optimism. She will go as far as that she lets these qualities take her. The swan feather is a symbol of Chinese culture, in that it was brought from China with only good intentions. It was not a symbol for failure but for hope. The swan grew up to me more than what was hoped for it was too beautiful to eat. But when it was taken away, the only thing that was left was a feather a symbol of something that was meant to be nothing but became more. It was a symbol for the mothers it was what they wanted there children to become more then what they where in China. This symbol was learned through the stories that the mothers have told to their daughters. It was learned throu... ...o this movie more than then the other because I am a Chinese American. I don’t relate so much to the daughters but more than the mothers, since I am a 2nd generation Chinese. The movie was more about the spirits and dreams of the mothers and the hopes for a better life for their daughters in America. The struggle between the two cultures and the acceptance of mother and daughter are also present in the movie. By looking at the different stories of mother and daughter I could see the differences in the Culture and the gap that they had to overcome. I think that in my life the gap is much smaller than the gap that the mother and daughters had to overcome. I think this because of the way that my mom raised me. She raised me thinking nothing but the best for me. I think that I can live up to her expectations because of the way that she accepts what I do. The movie opened my eyes to this and made me think, and to come to a conclusion on why I do what I do. The ugly du ckling that came from afar and grew into more than what it was supposed to be, a beautiful swan. But taken away and only the feather and the memories of what it was. A beautiful swan, that proved everyone wrong.

Dual Structure in Japan :: essays papers

Dual Structure in Japan What do you understand by the term â€Å"dual structure of an economy†? How do you explain the dual structure of manufacturing industry in Japan? The word â€Å"dual† has the meaning of double, twofold or in two parts according to The Australian Oxford Dictionary (1996). Applying the word to an economic context, I would describe the term â€Å"dual structure of an economy† to indicate the co-existence of two different sectors alongside each other with disparities in technology and productivity between them. Take for instance, the existence of a traditional primary sector along with a modern non-primary sector constitutes to a â€Å"dual structure†. Duality can exist within a particular sector of the economy. The existence of traditional subsistence agriculture alongside export agriculture among the Southeast Asian countries during colonial period is an example of duality within a sector. Minami (1994, p.239) defined â€Å"dual structure† to mean the existence of two distinct sectors; one that has modern technology, a high capital-labour ratio, high labour productivity and wages, against another one, which has all the opposite characteristics. Therefore, one can infer that if large-scale industries with high capital intensity (K) were promoted at the stage in which labour supply (L) is relatively abundant then differentials in labour productivity (Y/L) and the wage rate would arise and lead to a dual structure. For Japan, three characteristics of the economy indicated the existence of a â€Å"dual structure†. First, the coexistence of a very low unemployment rates and continued low incomes in agricultural and small business. Second, the existence of large (â€Å"industrial giants†) and small scale firms within the manufacturing sector. Third, the existence of peculiar characteristics of the labour market such as enterprise unions, wages differentials according to the size of the firm and long term employment (Odaka, 1967 p.50). Furthermore, duality existed in the manufacturing sector too. In general, â€Å"dual structure† of the Japanese economy began before the Second World War as seen in a widening of income differential between agricultural and non-agricultural. The widening income differential was due to two main reasons. Firstly, productivity differential widen as productivity in the industrial sector increases faster due to relative ease in technology borrowing than productivity in agriculture. Secondly, the existence of surplus labour in traditional industries has tended to hinder increases in productivity due to limited arable land for agriculture so the farmland area per worker increased very slightly.

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford was the artist that I took a look at. His creativity was wonderful abstract, catching my eye piece after piece. The particular artwork that I looked at was his â€Å"When We Ride† created in 2006. The media is a mix, which was created into a collage on canvas. The canvas was at its large of 46 3/8 x 62 ? inches. This piece of artwork is located in the city of art itself; Los Angeles, California. I believe this canvas collage tells an untold story through contrast and rhythm, light and color, and texture. As a child Mark Bradford had known his mother and grandmother to be creators. He called them creators because as a job title they were seamstresses. The ability to make things, new things at that for people was the motivation and process of making things. The contrast of the objects used on the collage is weird because he just used scraps that were lying around the house. The contrast was the placing of fabrics next to a different color and flow of the piece was in amazing. It made me think of rhythm that is somehow missing but never seems to finds its own way. The fact he put two different pieces of fabric next to each other is another way of throwing it off and creating pattern of not being rhythmic with the rest of the picture. When throwing in the light and color of the collage you start to make a better picture and scene of what the artist is trying to communicate. I believe the bright colors are making a statement to emphasize on the major parts of the artwork. Showing the motion, makes you move your eyes along the imaginary wave. The slight tone of yellow makes me think of the sun come through the wave. The soft light of the off white background makes me think of a light blue sky that is clear of everything. Vague colors made me stare at the picture for long periods of time so that way I could understand why he created this on in particular. I thought maybe like times when he got bored and went to the museum; he created a scene of his bus ride there. Maybe he pictures himself at a beach and what it would be like to sit and watch someone ride a wave. I can’t even imagine what the texture of this piece feels like. Smooth with rough bumpy edges going down the side. The yellow on the canvas looks like it was painted on because it is so soft in texture and faint. The red wave looks like it would be frailly and soft. The canvas is smooth which creates this illusion that artwork is somewhat is three dimensional. Silk and cotton would be of the many fabrics on this art work. Mark Bradford used whatever was available for him to use because he used the scraps from clothes that were being made. Being blind folded and being able to rub your fingers across the piece would give the sense of what a mixture of random textures would feel like all together. All in all, Mark Bradford did an amazing job of creating a masterpiece out of trash. I am not that creative to make any artwork out of scraps that could have been thrown away. Kudos to him and I think he should teach a class on how you can use your imagination and whatever materials you have available to use to create art. Art has many different ways of being seen, but to actually understand and appreciate it is taking it to a whole another level. Mr. Bradford showed texture, contrast and rhythm, and light and color all in one piece, yet showing many other principles of art that could be analyzed.

A Comparative Essay on Plato’s and Aristotle’s Philosophies on Beauty, Tragedy and Art Essay

The existence of philosophies in life is important and valuable because they are to guide and determine the beliefs of a person. These beliefs are what dictates a person to act as such or to say such things. For all of the Classical and complicated philosophies present in the world and founded by great thinkers and philosophers, having a philosophy is as simple as having a belief and that belief is what constitutes our actions, words and thoughts. A philosophy can even dictate on what kind of school or job person would want to go to. In some instances, there comes a time that shallow or inconsequential perceptions of a personal philosophy arises and though it may seem as thus, it is still important to remember and consider that a personal philosophy is important for a particular person—since it is his or her own beliefs, therefore it is who he or she is or who he or she wants to be regarded as. No one can deny the fact that philosophies have gone through intensive and extensive transformation and progress in the world’s history and it is still transforming and changing in the contemporary times we have now. From the early ages of the Mesopotamian civilization to the Egyptian kingdoms and to the Romans and the Greeks, the branch of knowledge we now famously call philosophy have had great origins and greater people who made it a point to make their way of thinking or personal beliefs known—Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli and Nietzsche are only some of the few famous philosophers with different beliefs and different perceptions but which all aimed at the same thing—that is they wanted to explain how things function, how life is and finally, to point out that there can be a better way of life for everyone concerned. Something as simple and mundane as what is happiness or what is love is a catalyst for great amount and efforts of thinking since it aims to answer specific things in life—that is, human beings, how are we as humans and how we function? It is just that in the end, one thing leads to another and we are finally caught up with far more difficult, challenging and complex things. On the other hand, no matter how complex certain philosophies are and no matter how different the philosophers and their beliefs are, one thing remains the same—the philosophers were excellent people who practiced intellectual art and this intelligence is what lead them to more profound concerns about things which could have been considered as unimportant. Literature and art for example may seem unimportant compared to politics or religion but philosophers also studied and scrutinized them. Thus, it is most probable that both literature and art (although literature can be actually considered as an art itself) were probably tremendously influenced by the early examples of the Greek and Roman arts. Therefore, the literature and the art which we are admiring and studying today are all influenced by the offshoots of the particular philosophies which the likes of Plato and Aristotle believed in—and Plato and Aristotle were only two of the many known philosophers. There are many others who actively advocated certain beliefs or their philosophies concerning life and they did it (such advocacy) not just for the pursuit of intellectual development or personal fame but just because they are in pursuit of something greater for humanity as a whole. The likes of Aristotle and Plato advocated such philosophies since they believed that it aims for better things; as what Ahrensdorf wrote: Philosophy, on the other hand, seems to teach that the pursuit of wisdom through reason alone is the greatest good for a human being, that reason is therefore capable of both understanding the world and of guiding us to happiness, and hence that the world is, at the very least, not opposed to our deepest desires. (p. 151) Thus, though philosophy as a branch of knowledge may be very broad but it also influences many aspects; for example, as what was written before, literature and art (which are also two important branches of knowledge) is undeniably influenced by philosophy as well. In this paper, the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle will be discussed and will focus on their beliefs about beauty, tragedy and art. Though both great philosophers have great connections and are intertwined with each other, and there are even some vague similarities, their views are still astoundingly different and that is what makes it more interesting and intriguing. The Philosophy of Plato Plato was said to be a student of another great philosopher, Socrates who favourite Plato among his students. When Socrates died, Plato was said to be devastated and yet, he being a student of the great Socrates, continued his teacher’s legacy and became a man of philosophy as well. It is quite understandable that much of Plato’s philosophies were offspring of the beliefs of Socrates himself though with many exemptions. Plato was more realistic than his teacher and worldlier. Plato’s ideals concentrated on society and the ethical than that of Socrates who concentrated on the more metaphysical and immaterial things of life. In Plato’s philosophies, the definition and function of beauty, art and tragedy, were exemplified and explained. It is through these three aspects of life that we are able to further understand Plato’s reasoning about his beliefs. Beauty According to Plato, beauty is and will never be linked to the world of arts. In fact, he believes that beauty can never be art and art can never be beautiful. This way of thinking is characterized by his belief that beauty can never exist since if beauty exists then it should correspond to the perfect definition of beauty. For something to be called beautiful it needs to justify such term and label—a thing or a person cannot be beautiful just because someone says it so or it has the attributes of being attractive. It should instead, exemplify the perfect virtue of being a beauty. Moreover, Plato believes in the knowledge that if something beautiful does exist, then that is the only time that people can commonly acknowledge that such a beauty exists. Therefore, what we as humans have right now is not beauty but a pretentious definition or judgement for beauty—according to Plato that is. (Adajian and Hughes, p. 5) Art Most famous for Plato’s argument about art is that on the subject of poetry. Plato argues that art are mere representations and are not real as what an original object is. Art are therefore considered as imitations, illusions and a lie. Art is merely copying things in their original form and aims to portray the truth of the original form but they would always lose to its attempts since there is nothing more truthful than the original form and nothing more false than art. Plato’s view on this is most famous for his â€Å"thrice removed† belief wherein â€Å"artworks present only an appearance of an appearance of what is really real†. In simple terms, there is an idea or â€Å"Form† of a person which that person makes into reality or an original physical object but art copies that physical object and is thus, the most inferior of all. (Adajian) Tragedy Plato’s regard for tragedy is not the same intellectual disgust as what he had for the subject of beauty and art; in fact, he is more hostile with the subject of tragedy as he believes that â€Å"by portraying the greatest human beings as suffering beings, tragedy teaches that the world is fundamentally hostile to our aspirations for happiness† (Ahrensdorf, p. 156). Plato, together with the dialogue with his teacher, Socrates (or most likely, inspired by the beliefs of his teacher) further explains why tragedy is not a correct and erring concept. This due to the belief that tragedy deceives people from the truth and unlike art where imitates or mimics a true â€Å"Form†, tragedy actually changes how we perceive true Form and eventually alters how we perceive things. For example, Homer and other tragic poets does not only creates lie with their â€Å"soft heroes† they (meaning the tragedies) also portray mistaken ideals about the Greek gods and how people should act regarding their own personal tragedies. Because of these tragedies, people desire terror and misery and when tragic things do happen in reality, a person’s initial and natural reaction would be either in terror or in misery. Moreover, Plato further explains that because of these tragedies, â€Å"human beings unreasonably [become] soft and cowardly by filling them with fear† (Ahrensdorf, p. 158). It can be even said that Plato is disgusted with the existence of tragedy since it fills people with dread about the idea of death and death is something evil. Thus, because of how the tragic heroes are portrayed, the audience or people who watch such tragedies are mistakenly believe that death is something to be feared; in conclusion, it makes people cower and weaklings. The Philosophy of Aristotle Ironically, another great philosopher from Greece is Aristotle who was a student of Plato and who had another great person for a student—Alexander the Great. If Socrates inspired and influenced Plato, it can be the same for Aristotle who was inspired and influence by Plato. If Plato was more concerned with the ethical, Aristotle was more concerned with the scientific and made famous terms which are known today such as the label for â€Å"matter†. More than being a philosopher, he was equally a scientist as well and his philosophies and beliefs would in some point, turn and allude to science. Though he was a student of Plato and was influenced by him, his beliefs were far different than that of his teacher. For example, on the concepts of beauty, art and tragedy, he had different ideas compared to Plato. Beauty While Plato believed in the inexistence of beauty as long as something actually perfectly beautiful exists, Aristotle believed otherwise. According to Aristotle, beauty exists depending on the things surrounding that object or person. Something beautiful exists because it meets certain conditions of being classified as such and usually, these conditions entirely depend on the things within the vicinity of that object. Moreover, he defined any object as beautiful if it is clearly and accurately beautiful. Thus, if Plato believed in perfect beauty, Aristotle believed in measured beauty. This is not that surprising since he was a scientist and believed in more logical and reasonable conclusions than that of mere thoughtful imagination; as what Gaut and Lopes wrote, Aristotle explained in many of his writings like Metaphysics and Rhetoric various allusions and explanation on beauty and how it is measurable and definable: This passage appears to assume a definition of beauty in terms of size and proportion. So beauty is a real property of things. Aristotle says much the same thing in De Motu Animalum, when distinguishing what is beautiful from what is merely perceived as desirable. Aristotle’s beauty is real but equivocal. Its meaning derives from the nature of the beautiful thing in question. Aristotle urges his readers to see the beauty of even repellent animals. All living things boast a design suited to the purpose of their sustenance and reproduction, and that is what beauty comes to. (pp. 25 – 26) Art Plato is not wholly rooting for the subject of art since it is supposedly an imitation and a lie and it can be concluded that Aristotle shares that same belief. Aristotle defines art as something of a â€Å"realization†, a concept which is used to materialize an original and genuine thought. For example, if something is good, and an art is created to depict the concept of goodness then that particular piece of art is a realization. This can be the same as Plato’s philosophy as of art as an imitation of an idea but Aristotle argues that, â€Å"Art however is not limited to mere copying. It idealizes nature and completes its deficiencies: it seeks to grasp the universal type in the individual phenomenon†. (The Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy) Tragedy As opposed to Plato’s definition and concept of tragedy wherein the poets are the ones who creates the tragedy, Aristotle has very different view regarding the concept of tragedy wherein tragedy is based on the hero’s very own nature. Based on the Aristotelian beliefs of tragedy, the hero is wholly good and almost perfect. He is strong, virtuous and good. The gods favour him because he is the hero but if in the end, it is discovered that he has a flaw, and then he becomes a tragic hero. But there is a critical point on why this is the case. Tragic heroes and their pathetic demise exists for one thing and that is to â€Å"purge† the audience of the feeling of fear and sorrow: â€Å"tragedy, in depicting passionate and critical situations, takes the observer outside the selfish and individual standpoint, and views them in connection with the general lot of human being† (The Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy).

Information and Communication Technology in the Philippines Essay

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become and will continue to be an integral part of the day-to-day life of every Filipino across all levels of our society. Information has always played a vital role in our history. Over the ages, people have used it to gain a more accurate picture of their current situation, make better decisions for the future, and improve the quality of their lives. But never has information been more accessible and more widespread than it is today. The latest improvements in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have been impressive. Computers are progressively becoming smaller, more affordable, and more powerful. They are capable of storing an almost vast amount of data and information. And they are interconnected through telephone lines, satellites, and fiber-optic cables that span across the world, allowing the ability to communicate and share information with one another across borders. The pervasiveness of communication technology around the world necessitates that government embark on a cohesive and coordinated strategy on how to prepare its citizens to survive, live and thrive in a digital world. The world is experiencing a digital revolution and the Philippines have the opportunity to play an enormous role in it. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an important part in the country’s development. Opportunities abound with the help of ICT. The current ICT master plan for the Philippines dates back to 2006. With all of the new developments in this highly dynamic field, there is clearly a need to develop a new blueprint on how the country and its people can benefit from the use of ICT in governance, our economy and improving one’s way of life. The Philippines positions itself at the forefront of the digital revolution – dynamic and in command of the future. ICT is used extensively in the delivery of career information and guidance. Such usage covers wide range of applications. The role of ICT in guidance can be seen in three ways: as a tool, as an alternative, or as an agent of change. The growth of websites and helplines as forms of technically mediated service delivery means that the potential of ICT as a change agent is now greater than ever before. Current business-command the optimization of ICT usage to support national objectives of becoming a high income developed country. Thus as an enable, ICT in public sector must be addressed in general manner including people, process and technology where internal and external needs must be taken into place. The ICT evolution will take place with or without a systematic, comprehensive and articulated policy. However, the lack of a coherent policy is likely to contribute to the development (or prolonged existence) of ineffective infrastructure and a waste of resources. The importance of ICT policies is understood at the highest political level in many developing countries, and some countries have already adopted their own policies. The effectiveness of an ICT policy in one country does not guarantee that the same method would work in another and many developing countries face similar constraints that need to be taken into account when ICT policies are formulated. Philippines’ ICT against Other Countries ICT Development Current trends the world over the pointed to the fact that the major developments in the information economy. It resulted in revolutionizing the way people communicate and for the governments and firms to interact and conduct business. The presence of a reliable, accessible and affordable Philippine Information and communications infrastructure is a necessary condition for our participation in the information economy. Without it, our country will once again face the prospect of being marginalized in the global economy. The next part of this case study will discuss a brief ICT’s plan and current situation of our 3 neighboring countries; Singapore One of the key drivers of the Singapore’s Economic growth is their ICT. The island state is well connected via both fixed and wireless networks. By early 2012, their mobile penetration has passed 150%. By maintaining Singapore’s status as an ICT market leader, the government launched its plan for a nationwide fibre-based broadband network known as the Next Generation Broadband Network (NGNBN) and this is being rolled out in line with the government’s strategy. Hong Kong The world’s freest economy, characterized by free trade, free market and free flow of capital with stable and freely convertible currency and no foreign exchange controls. Their ICT development, the free flow of information with no censorship on content transmission provided a good environment for the development of web-based businesses such as content and media and cloud computing. In the next few years’ government will increasingly adopt cloud-based services. Such initiative will spawn opportunities for vendors and providers. Their telecommunications infrastructure is one of the most sophisticated in the world, with a wide range of innovative and advance services available in relatively low prices. The country also ensure the online secure. Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT) was set up to coordinate responses to computer security incident, promote information security and take preventive measures against Internet Security threats. Malaysia Malaysia’s national transformation agenda envisions an innovative citizen-centric model of public service delivery accordance with the country’s principles. This is undertaken in tandem with a bold economic transformation approach to propel their countries in to a high-income economy by 2020. The effective utilization and application of information and communications technology (ICT) across multi-faceted service delivery of internal and government operations. The developments of country’s future where the ICT implementation comprise a suite of service offerings and infrastructure development that support a fundamental shift towards a collaborative and co-operative arrangement of open consultation, open data, shared knowledge and expertise. The Malaysian Public Sector ICT Strategic Plan (2011-2015) provides the blueprint to accelerate the innovative utilization and development of ICT in readiness for the ever-changing service landscape facing their public sector. Is it our country really prepared for this to compete with our neighboring countries? Can we level up our ICT sector with them? How ready is our country to harness the fast phase and benefits of information and communications technology? Our country’s main department about ICT related issues is the ICTO (Information and Communications Technology Office) which is under the Department of Science and Technology which is the former Commission on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The ICTO’s primary thrusts for 2011-2016 are in the areas of ICT Industry Development, E-government, ICT Policy Development, ICT infrastructure and Cyber security. As designated organization by our government ICTO will ensure the development and implementation of comprehensive program to sustained the growth and comprehensiveness of ICT industries segments and firms; formulate an integrated program to support the growth of the ICT industry in the regions; undertake the development of an industry-relevant curriculum in coordination with the industry, government and academe to enhance the competitiveness of the ICT workforce, formulate, recommend and implement a comprehensive and harmonized ICT promotions and advocacy programs. Facilitating ICTO’s mandate in formulation ICT policies, implementing ICT plans and programs, leading international ICT cooperation bodies, and other related functions is the ICT Governance Policy and Planning group, which take lead in multi-stakeholder policy development. Primary initiatives for the policy and planning includes; National Connectivity and Broadband Development Plan, Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS) Implementation Plan, Cyber security and Data Privacy, ICT Procurement Standards, Digital TV Migration, ICT Standardization and the Philippine ICT statistics Portal. Ensuring that ICT access and Internet opportunities are available for the entire country is made possible by the development of effective and sustainable and strategic ICT infrastructure. The ICT infrastructure Group through its various programs ensures that these connectivity requirements are met in an efficient and effective manner. These projects include the TV White Space Initiatives (TVWS), Government Fiber Core Network, Upgrade of National Microwave Network, Cloud Top e-Learning for Public Schools and Internet TV Testbed. With all the documents presented our country’s policies regarding in boosting our ICT development and infrastructure are impressive. But only question is that, is there will be enough budget that the government will provide to sustain these developments? We might left behind in many aspects with our neighboring countries in terms of ICT development but we can still move forward and have these implemented with the right manpower, policy and full support from our government and private sector as well. Recommendation for ICT Development We are all contributors to the development of the global economy. Globalization, which is made possible by the ICT revolution, has extremely changed the rules of the development of it. Efficiency more than ever is now an indicator of competitiveness to achieve our nations goals. Nations, corporations and people that find the means to become more efficient will advance and prosper. We all know that in our country ICT will be one of the major drivers for boosting economy, and as a critical tool for better governance, corporate performance and individual achievement as a Filipino. Our government’s should provide an enabling policy, legal and regulatory environment for the ICT development. This means that our government should act as a facilitator and its involvement should be predictable, developmental, transparent and efficient. With more transparency in government operations and diminishing corruption by placing more government data in the public domain using the Internet, thus increasing opportunities for public scrutiny. For government more improvement for ICT development they must build public trust, enhance citizen to participate in government projects and activities, improve government’s public services online, and improve country’s competitive ness thru more efficient government operations. Another factors that needs to give attention to our country’s ICT development are the private sectors, civic organizations and society, international organizations they the role and responsibility as well. There are some actions that need to implement in order for these organization to help on enhancing our ICT programs: * By providing knowledge tools and enhance capacity in industry sectors to take advantage the ICT. * Create an environment for job growth in ICT and ICT-enable job all over the country if possible. * Promote an environment that entices investments for ICT research, innovation, development & manufacturing In order to ensure the success and sustainability of ICT initiatives, investors should be enabled by ensuring their direct participation during its conceptualization, planning and implementation. These sectors have the role as well to provide investments, capitals and other resources. By this the project for the ICT sector will be higher change of success and sustainability if these are market-led, rather than government-led. Let us not also forget the LGUs, schools and other community organizations, they must be consulted and their specific requirements are determined. They as well have an active involvement to the operations in building the ICT of our country on their own respective area of jurisdiction. Many of us today use the Internet for a variety of reasons: e-mailing to connect with friends and family, for business and work correspondence, web-browsing for news, research and entertainment, and increasingly for richer media and applications, such as watching online TV, posting videos and photos, as well as creating Internet content through blogs and other interactive forum. Being able to use the Internet has become an important necessity to any social and work life. For many different reasons, there are also many Filipinos who are not able to access the benefits the Internet has to offer. Some cannot afford the Internet or computers; others do not know how to use the Internet; and there are parts of the country where there is no Internet service or even electricity available, such as in more rural areas. Not only is the possibility and ability to use the Internet important for individuals, but also for countries as a whole. In our globalized world, the connectedness and Internet capabilities of a country are important elements for its competitiveness. Developing the Internet, including to rural areas, leads to new opportunities for nonagricultural employment, better paying agricultural jobs and greater overall productivity. Access to the Internet also promotes small and microbusiness growth, allows people in remote areas to work from home, offers greater access to crop market prices and enables rural businesses perhaps to compete more successfully even in the world markets. As far as I can say creating Internet opportunities for all guarantees that the Philippines has an inclusive growth and helps eliminate poverty.

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll Essay

Some of the most lastingly delightful children’s books in English are â€Å"Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland† and â€Å"Through the Looking-Glass†. Here are what Albert Baugh write about them in â€Å"A Literary History of England†: â€Å"Written by an eccentric Oxford don to amuse his little girlfriends, these two world-famous books are the best of all memorials of the Victorian love of nonsense. In them are elements of satire and parody which connect them with a long tradition, but they shot through with a quality distorted logic (for their author was a professional mathematician and logician) which is inimitable and unique.† A story may be told either by one of the characters, or by an external narrator. To define by whom the narration is made is to define the point of view that the author has chosen for his story. Look more:  satirical elements essay   In â€Å"Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland† the narrator does not introduce himself as a character. Lewis Carroll uses 3rd person narrative. Yet, everything in the story is seen, heard or thought happens which she cannot sense, or in places where she is not present. This kind of point of view is called selective omniscience, that is the author knows everything, but only through one character’s consciousness. Other books in which author uses the same point of view are â€Å"Amintiri din copilà £rie† and other novels written by the romanian writer Ion Creangà £. In the end reader is told that everything has been a dream. There are a lot of elements which make up the dreamlike atmosphere. One of Carroll’s favourite devices is the pun (play upon words) that is the humorous use of the same word in more than one sense, or of two different words similarly pronounced. For instance â€Å"Mine is a long tale!† said the Mouse. â€Å"It is a long tail, certainly†, said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse’s tail.

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG - Case Study Example The practice of bribery is perceived advantageous to parties involved since it enables them acquire business gains without having to meet expected standards, developing relationship with foreign officials or being favored by potential customers. In other instances, they can also benefits from reduction of the payouts involved, thereby resulting to increased profitability for the company. Other benefits derived by these companies from the practice of bribery are such as opportunity cost since money offered as a bribe in not considered to be in productive use. Siemens AG was involved in a case of corruption that involved bribery in 2006 and 2007, whereby this scandal involved company’s employees, who had established slush fund meant for facilitating acquisition of contracts. For instance, Siemens managers were convicted of embezzling company funds amounting to six million pounds in order to bribe foreign officials to acquire a contract involving natural-gas turbine (Akana, 1). H owever, the perception of the executives towards this case was that getting involved in bribery practice was worth it, since the employees were willing to break the law in order to gather huge profits. Other employees argued that this act was not a violation of any laws since it did not result to any personal gain; instead, it was aimed at enhancing Siemens’ positioning strategy. Nonetheless, their notions were not rational since breaking the law can never be for the right purpose; thus, despite, focusing on the benefits that to be derived from practice of bribery for the Company. Question number 2: Was the Board right in not extending Kleinfeld’s term even though he had performed well and was not personally implicated and explain? What virtuous and/or virtuous behaviors did he show with observable facts? Decision of board whereby they failed to extend Kleinfeld’s term can be considered personal due to lack of rational reason associated with the bribery scandal. This judgment is made based on considerations of the challenges that Kleinfeld was faced with as the CEO willing to rescue the company from the bribery scandal in order to sustain their growth. On the other hand, Kleinfeld had gained confidence on issues such as labor and management in the Siemens AG. Besides, there is need to understand that the scandal caused by bribery practice was not entirely Kleinfeld’s fault; in fact, employees were the once involved in the practice. The entire company should have taken the blame; instead of laying the whole burden on the CEO. The board should have considered that engagement into these practices was due to the influence increasing competition among companies, hence these illegal payments aimed at winning international contract was the only option for these employees in the emerging economies. Furthermore, Kleinfeld was not directly implicated in the scandal; thus, by the fact that he was responsible for behaviors of the employees, thi s case was out of his control. In fact, Kleinfeld was unaware of the unlawful practices that employees were engaging in within the company. In addition, the practice of bribery was hard to notice since there was commonality of spending funds amounting to four hundred and twenty million and they were unnoticeable or unquestionable (Akana, 1). Kleinfeld’