The Unknown Citizen :: essays research papers

The Unknown Citizen Is Me â€Å"The Unknown Citizen†, a poem written by W.H. Auden, reflects a period of vast change in America’s history, making â€Å"The Unknown Citizen† an example of the government’s view of the perfect modern man in an overrated, unrealistic society. During the time period that this poem was written, in the late 1930’s, The United States was going through tremendous social, political and economic change. Following the passing of Black Monday and at the onset of The Great Depression, many Americans held negative opinions of their government and the many positive aspects that once drew citizens to the United States were becoming increasingly negative. The Great Depression fundamentally changed the relationship between the government and it’s people. Citizens began to expect and accept a larger federal role in their lives and the economy. During this time period, Americans were issued cards with a personalized federal numbers, better known as Social Security cards, which in turn depersonalized the political system of the United States. We the people, see our government as a coalition between our leaders and ourselves, leaders that we elect to represent and enforce our values. They merely see us a number. This issue emerges currently with regard to the election of the next president of the United States. The entire issue deals not with the citizens’ wants and needs, but with the â€Å"numbers†. We are no longer individuals, but merely a vast pool of insignificant numbers. Numbers that only become imperative when the disparity between them is diminutive. â€Å"Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong we should certainly have heard (Auden).† This question is still being asked today, the only difference now is that there is no doubt whether or not the opinions of the masses are being heard. The question remaining is whether or not the government is actually listening to the people. This poem also expresses that government makes it seem that everyone else is doing the â€Å"right thing†, so you must follow in their footsteps and if you do so your reward is a happy and fulfilled life with all the comforts of the modern man. The standards are constantly changing so that you will never reach the optimum point, therefore you must always strive to improve. This can be seen in the 2000 Presidential Race. We the people have followed the same uniform procedures in determining our presidents since the founding of our country, yet we are now being told these standards are â€Å"outdated† and â€Å"unreliable†, which in turns breaks down our faith and the faith of other countries in our political system.

Game Console Industry

The game console industry is unpredictable, as the market leader changes as frequently as new games being released. Currently, the most prominent console manufacturers in the industry are Sony (PlayStation), Microsoft (Xbox), and Nintendo (Wii). While Sony and Microsoft focus on powerful machines and games targeted at older teens and young adults, Nintendo’s family friendly, less graphically polished consoles target an entirely different market, and is not applicable to the Sony/Microsoft battle. The adoption of consoles depends heavily on one factor: the content available.A console manufacturer needs to have third-party developer support in order to have a steady stream of quality video games being released throughout the year. Although brand loyalty, technical capabilities and price certainly plays a part on the purchase decision of an individual, consumers tend to buy the console that offers the games that the consumers enjoy the most. Sony and Microsoft both publish a cata logue of a unique line up of video games made in-house as well as receive royalties from third-party video game developers such as Electronic Arts and Activision (ATVI).Microsoft and Sony both use a loss leader strategy, pricing their consoles lower than the production cost; thus, increasing the market for higher margin sales of related software, licensing fees, accessories, and downloadable content. As such, both firms sacrifice console profit to attract customers to adopt their ecosystem. This pricing strategy for game consoles, coupled with each console’s respective launch dates, has immense effect on setting the competitiveness of the companies for years to come.Historically, higher initial pricing methods bottlenecked initial uptake on consoles, and is often followed by price cuts to encourage greater adoption. During the launch of Xbox 360 and PS3, the price disparity and subsequent price drops hugely altered consumer purchasing decisions. The lower initial price point for Xbox 360 resulted in a quick grab for market share, but Sony followed with price cuts; thus, resulting in a price war – one that was won by Sony in total number of sales, but also the most amount of losses.To most consumers, these consoles are mutually exclusive and purchase decision is mostly based on value for money. Timing of the launch is also crucial as many gamers aim to be first adopters for new consoles. Relationship with Gaming Suppliers and Consumers The winner’s curse exists due to the biased optimism of bidders and the unknown value of the object being bid on. This is especially true in the heated rivalry between Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The bid that these two giants are trying to win is the hearts of the console gaming community.However, both companies are unable to actually quantify how much the console gaming industry is worth as bidding takes place during the production phase, prior to sales. Generally video game players can be segmented into PC gamers, Console Gamers, or Casual Gamers. The PC gamers are currently being served by Gaming PC's, with the latest technology and the widest variety of customization regarding multimedia; this is essentially the enthusiasts market.The Casual Gamers are generally younger gamers who have less of a focus on the depth and graphical intensity of games. This demographic is currently being satisfied by Nintendo's Wii & DS or a normal home PC. Both the PS4 and the Xbox One can be categorized as serving the console gamers, for these gamers often demand high quality machines, certain elements of media integration, and high degree of innovation from new generation consoles. However, above all else, the quality of games and price of systems are the primary order winners for console gamers.The quality of games is generally determined based on the two factors of aesthetic and gameplay. The aesthetics of a game depends largely on the processing capabilities of the system while the gameplay comes f rom the creative minds of the game developers. Thus, for Sony and Microsoft to accurately predict the relative demand for their consoles, they need to evaluate the strength of both these key success factors. In the eighth generation of consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have very similar processing power and graphics rendering capabilities.The similarity of the two devices mean that the order winner for a console gamer will not be based on the internal capabilities, rendering demand predictions using aesthetics of a game irrelevant. With regards to game play, this falls squarely on the shoulders of game developers and publishers. Both Sony and Microsoft have their in-house gaming development arm under subsidiaries. Microsoft's game developer, 343 industries are responsible for the blockbuster hit â€Å"Halo 4†, which has  already sold 4 million copies to date.On the Sony side their in-house developers, Naughty Dog has created the â€Å"Uncharted† franchise and has sold 5 million copies with its second instalment alone. From an exclusive content perspective, both companies all have clear winners and it is very difficult to predict which exclusive content will outsell the other. Aside from exclusive titles, there are also independent game developers such as Activision-Blizzard and Square Enix.These independent game developers are capable of influencing player behaviour by releasing exclusive content on specific systems. For example, Microsoft's partnership with Activision on Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (COD MW3), ensures that specific content only gets released over the Xbox platform, thus incentivizing players to choose Xbox during the game’s release in November 2011. Microsoft's success with Call of Duty does not however spell doom for Sony, as Sony's partnership with developers like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy franchise creates enormous success as well.In the end, not only are most games playable across the two different plat forms, but even for the exclusive contents the two firms are essentially ensuring competitive exclusives are available on their respective consoles. Adding to this uncertainty is the fact that games are very much like animated blockbuster movies, while having a talented cast of game developers certainly lowers the risk of creating an unpopular game, it is not guaranteed to always be a hit. A perfect example of this is the game â€Å"Haze†, supported by Sony's PS3 and developed by the All-Star developer Free Radical Design.Prior to its release it was deemed to be the Halo (one of Xbox's most successful franchises) killer. However, once the game hit the shelves it was met with lukewarm reception and only 500K in sales, which resulted in the closure of Free Radical and a huge write-off for Sony. At the time of production for Xbox One and PS4, many games for the consoles have yet to be developed; therefore, making it almost impossible to foresee which franchise will continue to d o well and which will fail.One key order winner for console gamers is the quality of games, yet on this specific metric Microsoft and Sony are practically non-differentiable and it is nearly impossible to predict which console will fare better than the other. Subsequently, because of this ambiguity, it contributes to the notion that in this common value auction, the players do not know the actual market value of the item they are bidding on, and will likely overpay due to the uncertainty. The launch of PS4 and Xbox One As the launch of PS4 and Xbox One is extremely recent, there has been little market data to show who is winning out the competition.Because these consoles are the eighth generation of gaming platforms, observing current actions in comparison to past events can grant us a view into their individual competitive advantages and assess their strategy. The pricing strategy for Xbox One is to offer the console at a much higher premium. At $499USD, the Xbox is $100 more than the PS4, which is largely attributed to the Kinect 2 motion-sensing technology as part of the package. It is yet too early to tell how consumers will react to this huge price discrepancy, as the value added for the bundled technology creates an interesting value proposition.This pricing strategy is also noticeably opposite of what Microsoft has done in the past. In the previous generation of consoles, Microsoft sold each Xbox 360 at a loss of $126, while Sony saw $130 loss per PS3. Microsoft claims to be, at minimum, breaking even per unit of Xbox One to cover variable costs. While this discourages a price war like what has taken place in the pass through Sony and Microsoft’s use of loss leader strategy through their pricing, it is yet to be seen if consumers will be able to swallow the $100 difference. In contrast, Sony is selling the PS4 at an average loss of $60 per console, at a price of $399 per unit.Even with the addition of PS Eye, a similar accessory to the Kinect 2 t he $100 premium of Xbox One is still higher the PS4 cost with PS Eye. We can see that Sony chose to continue to pursue a loss-leading strategy, potentially overestimating the revenue that can be reaped from future sales. Sony is still operating with the optimistic idea that by incurring a high initial loss, they will be able to reap higher benefits in the future, continuing their vicious cycle of the Winner’s curse. Microsoft’s marketing expenditure for the Xbox One launch is expected to exceed $120 million USD.Assuming that Microsoft is breaking even per each console sold, that means it needs to sell at least 200K consoles just to see a return on marketing investment. Noting the fact that Xbox One’s controller itself cost over $100MM USD to develop, a small snippet of full R&D costs, the timeframe at which Xbox makes a positive net present value remains to be seen. Xbox 360 sold just over 79MM units over its time-span; with shifting consumer focus away from con soles to PC gaming, it is hard to predict just how profitable or unprofitable the One will be for Microsoft.The situation is just as devastating for Sony; with a unit contribution loss of $60, it would take a lot of cross-product sales to achieve a return on investment. Sony is just as heavily invested in terms of development and marketing costs compared to Microsoft. Even with the uncertainty of consumer adoption and market share capture rate, the two firms are going head-to-head in hopes of securing a return on their investment through capturing more of the pie. Beyond competing on price and marketing, Sony and Microsoft are competing for first adopters through launch dates.Historically, Sony entered the gaming console market first with the original PlayStation while Microsoft waited a whole generation before entering. PS2 dominated the sixth generation of gaming consoles while the original Xbox only gained about 1/8th of the pie. By launching 13 months ahead in in Europe, Microso ft effectively out competed Sony and was able to gain almost half of the market share. This neck to neck competition means the launch of the eighth generation of consoles will determine who truly wins out in the console world, as clearly both firms are much more concerned about getting their consoles into people’s homes at any cost.Interestingly, Microsoft decided to launch in the Eurozone ahead of Sony while the situation is reversed for the North American market. The two firms are essentially trying to steal shares from each other’s respective strongholds. There are many competitive strategies at play for this battle, but regardless of these actions, both firms are losing money. Microsoft has been making a net loss with the gaming division in the past decade, largely attributable to the winner’s curse and also price wars. There has been signals that Microsoft wants to shift away from this competition that has resulted in such heavy losses on both sides.With a pricing that supposedly creates a unit contribution of zero, Microsoft is no longer suffering from the Winner’s curse to win out the bid of each individual consumer’s wallet. Although it has yet to be seen whether this will be effective as consumers are price sensitive in this industry, Microsoft is also trying to change its value proposition and appeal more to the mass market. Microsoft’s marketing launch strategy focuses largely on pushing the entertainment hub aspect of the product, as opposed to solely the gaming aspect.Many of Microsoft’s marketing ads have been focused on the multimedia content and screen sharing technology of the console. This aims to shift Xbox’s value proposition away from Playstation’s game centric focus, and attempt to communicate to consumers the value for money. In contrast, Sony continues to align their image to fit the hard-core gaming segment alongside the pursuit of the loss-leading strategy. This image is n ot only reflected in marketing techniques, but also the technical specifications of the consoles.Even with the lower price of the PS4, Sony chose to integrate a more powerful console, in hopes that the ‘hardcore’ gamers will buy more games. The heavy initial spending on R&D and marketing is in essence a bid for greater market share. Contrary to the winner’s curse, in this competition between Sony and Microsoft there is no ‘winner’ as increased spending has not translated to greater profits. The pricing and technological attributes of the product is also a bid for each consumer’s purchasing dollar in which the winner makes either a loss or no profit for the console sold.These individual transactions amalgamate to result in the desire to gain a larger share of the pie through greater console sales which leads to heavy losses on both sides. Winner’s Curse Winner’s curse occurs in a common value auction due to incomplete information. In the case of Sony and Microsoft, the adoption rate of their respective consoles is the objective of the auction. Since the value of each customer is worth roughly the same to both Microsoft and Sony, they have equal incentives to win the bid and they are differentiated only by their individual valuations.Prior to the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Microsoft and Sony independently evaluates the value of the market which historically has been inaccurate. At the end, the player that wins the auction and sells the most amount of consoles will often be the one that incurs the largest losses. This is perfectly exemplified in the seventh generation consoles of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, where PlayStation won the bid and outsold Xbox, but in doing so, it cost Sony's console gaming division $5B relative to Microsoft's loss of $3B. These corporations can justify such large losses as they have cash cows in other divisions.The fact that these losses are justifiable is due to both firms’ competitive orientation; if one pulls out of the market, the other would dominate and be profitable. This has been seen in Olympic broadcast rights bidding where stations are willing to lose just so competition won’t gain. The reason for such over-bidding comes down to optimism. Since the value of consumer adoption is nearly impossible to estimate, Sony and Microsoft are essentially guessing what their potential monetary success would. From this uncertainty, the ‘winner’ is simply the one that made the bigger and more optimistic mistake.In the last generation Sony won the auction by making aggressive price cuts following the launch of their console as well as investing heavily into marketing and development expenditures. This spending exceeds the actual value generated from sales of the console and games; thus, resulted in a large deficit of $5 billion dollars. Both firms have been extremely stubborn in their strategies, going head to head to ensur e the other firm does not win. As discussed previously, there has been signs that both firms are acknowledging this winner’s curse scenario, resulting in both aiming to focus on different segments of the consumer market.As this industry is relatively young and consumer interests are fickle and unpredictable, there has been uncertainty in the value of the market. The loss-leading strategy was extremely effective and profitable for Sony during the sixth generation of consoles, prompting Microsoft to enter into the industry. As such, now it is impossible for one to pull out as both realize the market potential when there are no direct competitors. Another strategy for Microsoft or Sony to adopt is to occupy another space and focus their appeal to specific consumers.Nintendo’s Wii was able to be extremely profitable and outsell both Xbox 360 and PS3 as it appealed to a wider demographic, stressing the value proposition of social gaming. The Xbox One is aiming to occupy a d ifferent space by becoming a multimedia hub rather than just a gaming console. However, the success of this is yet to be determined. Analysts suggest that the Xbox should be priced lower in order to compete against the PS4 and PS Eye bundle. However, looking back at this price war and continued winner’s curse, it may be a better strategy for Xbox to maintain its price position.Sony at this moment is more on the defensive where they are not able to raise their price without suffering backlash from consumers. As well, it may be prudent for Sony to wait and see Xbox’s transition away from hard-core gaming to see if they regain adoption rates from this demographic. The winner’s curse has plagued this segment of the gaming industry severely in the past decade with Xbox and PlayStation. As Microsoft tries to redefine its appeal and shift to a more middle segment of the market, this winner’s curse will start to be alleviated.This can only be realized if consumer s accept Xbox’s new position, otherwise the negative spiral continues. Ideally, a consumer will be educated in the differences between the two and purchase based on pragmatic reasons as opposed to perceived value. Xbox pricing their product at cost is a strong indication there is desired change to avoid the winner’s curse. Similarly Sony is losing less per unit of PS4 as well. With less incremental loss per unit, the firms will hopefully generate a profit in the long-run for their gaming divisions.

Violence in Football

Violence in football We all know that violence comes into sports. Aggression and sport have gone together as long as sports have been around. Violence is a part of sports, no matter how much the professional associations deny the fact. Professional football is commonly known as favorite pastime of many people. Each week millions of TV viewers watch their teams score touchdowns, kick field goals, and win games.The fans of professional sports are expecting more from the players, and when they feel that the performance from their team is inadequate, they get violent. Most people know of the incidents that occur from European and South American football games. The fans of these games have fights regularly over arguments that are provoked from one team winning and one team losing. Football players aren't any better but are a little different when it comes to why they are paid so much.They have a lot more at stake when they go out on to the field. They have to consider the possibility of g etting injured at any time because of the violent nature of the sport. They are paid to be big, mean, fast, and ruthless out on the field against men just as big and ruthless as themselves. As football has grown wider, it has also increased the violence in the game. In the last few years, professional football experienced an increase in player injuries due to game related violence.Unfortunately, there are also incidents of injuries, most of which are sustained in a normal course of the game; but there are also those which occur due to unnecessary, and at times, intentional violence. In my opinion there is too much aggression and too much focus on that aggression concerning sport. Sport should be regulated more strictly to those who break the rules. The National Football League has yet to address or attempt to remedy the situation.

An Analysis of Data On Rape Crimes

An Analysis of Data On Rape Crimes Introduction I will comment on the value of data and highlight advantages and disadvantages of this data and finally and come up with appropriate business actions that could be taken and enable Russex constabulary to help prioritise their work. Methods of data collection Official statistics are those published by the central Government. This source of statistical information informs the general public about the extent of ‘notifiable offences’. Official statistics are easy and cheap to access as you can observe them on the Home Office web page. The second source of statistical information comes from the British Crime Survey (BCS). These statistics are ‘unofficial’ and the procedures used to gather information are completely different to the first, as the statistical data comes from surveys carried out by the public themselves. The statistics given are based on a large representative sample of the general public about their experiences as victims of household and personal crime. The BCS endeavours to provide a count of crime that consists of episodes not reported to the police, therefore examining the â€Å"dark figure† of crime which is not recorded in official statistics. The British Crime Survey (BCS) is a large random survey of private households, designed to give a count of crime that includes incidents not reported to the police, or those reported to them but not recorded. The main BCS interview takes place face-to-face, with no gender matching of interviewer and respondent. This context is not conducive to accurately measuring levels of highly personal victimisation. Estimates of the level of sexual victimisation obtained by the main BCS are acknowledged to be underestimates Consequently, the survey now makes use of Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing (CASI), whereby respondents keyed their responses into a laptop computer themselves. This method provides respondents with an increased sense of confidentiality and minimises ‘interviewer effects’. Respondents who answered the self-completion modules were routed through a series of three ‘screener’ questions, designed to identify whether or not they had been a victim of a sexual offence. If they responded positively to one or more of these, they then answered a series of follow-up questions, designed to elicit the exact nature of the ‘last incident’ experienced. Data as a management tool Data collection is practical because you cannot manage what you do not measure. Statistics from data enables a police department to make smart judgments and assists them in possibly identifying department and procedural problems. Data collection is also a great gesture to the community, showing law enforcement has the willingness to take an inward look to prevent discrimination. It also displays a true commitment by law enforcement to address community concerns and needs. Data collection gives everyone something to work with even t hough it might be just a partial solution. With mandatory data collection, officers will be forced to think about what happens during an encounter and what they do and say and possibly what parts should be looked at closer. Data collection provide a basis for important policy changes. Statistical techniques Line Graph A line graph is most useful in displaying data or information that changes continuously over time. The example below shows the Rape of a female from 1993-2005/06

Censorship of Books in Schools and Public Libraries Research Paper

Censorship of Books in Schools and Public Libraries - Research Paper Example Examples of such cases are: Martin v. City of Trutherss of 1943. The decision made in Minarcini V. Strongsville City School District of 1976 affirmed the case of the battle of human right. There had been recommendation by teachers to their students on the usage of† Catch 22 and God Bless you† in the students discussion of great American literature. The school board however ordered for the removal of such books. This did not spare â€Å"Cat’s Cradle† either. The court ruled in favour of students to buy the books suggested by the teachers citing that success of the students would be hindered by the removal of such books. This ruling was used by Judge Albert Coffin in1980 in making his ruling on a case filled banning the use of â€Å"The Wonderers and Dog Day Afternoon† from being used in the school library (Kim Stewart, 24). In the same year of 1980, the court ruled in favour of the school board of Warsaw Community School giving them a right of removing several books from the library. The right of the board in designing curriculum based on the school’s discretion was also upheld. The school was given powers to instil tradition and norms in the school by controlling the information resources in the school library. In 1982, the Supreme Court gave the school board powers to remove certain books from the library in good faith or based on educational principles. The basis of such censorship was to be justifiable. Court cases are but just an introduction to censorship of public libraries. Current Society In the recent times, censorship has been based on the terrorist content. With the increase in terrorists attacks in Africa and the western... This essay makes a conclusion that according to the list of the possible business strategies presented in this case study; it appears that there is need for careful censorship of both public and school libraries to ensure safety of children from materials that they cannot understand. Children should be accorded right to information access. There is need for school board and the community to work together in streamlining intellectual freedom, book banning and creation of policies that govern censorship of school and public libraries. This report approves that some school boards remove books they feel are unsuitable to the readers from the book orders. This has led to outcry among the students as well as the public. In many cases it has been viewed as a denial of the library users their fundamental human right. This however does not take place in America alone but notably across the entire globe. Banning of books in school and public libraries is a major concern of the entire society. Parents sent their children to school to gain information in the form of education. In the event students are barred from accessing this vital service, it is seen as a way of denying them their right to information access contained in the freedom of press. On the other hand there is need for ensuring the safety of the children. The safety should not only be physical in nature but also social, emotional and intellectual. There are some times when this right to information could be curtailed in a bid to ensure the emotional and safety of the child.

PROCESS SPEECH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PROCESS SPEECH - Essay Example It will be beneficial to do some research about the career field that you intend to purse, what qualifications are needed for your desired jobs and how to effectively market your skills. The chronological type focuses mainly on your employment history, your most recent job position is usually slotted for the first position and the rest follow chronologically. This resume type is used when you want your prospective employers to follow through career development through the years. The functional resume mainly focuses on your experiences and skills. The skills are typically grouped into functional areas. This type of resume is best used when you want to change a job or if you are trying to fit a gap in your company. As the name may suggest, combination resume is a combination of both the functional and the chronological types. This resume will therefore highlight the competencies and provide chronological work history that you deem suitable for the employer. The other type of resume is the targeted one. This is usually prepared to target a specific job. The job seeker will therefore edit the resume to fit the employer’s needs. The objective or vision statement in this resume must refer directly to the vacant position being applied for. The rule of thumb in selecting the best type of resume to use is choosing the type that will best reflect how your skills are a match to the vacancy you are applying for. The table below looks at some of the important differences between the different common resume types. Most companies prefer hard copy resumes to the electronic ones. The hard copy resume is typically mailed, faxed or even hand delivered to the company premises. Most employers will also require that you carry it to the interview room if you are shortlisted. There are some important things to keep in mind before you print out the resume. Precise- Keep your resume as short as possible. 1-2 pages is the recommended length. Human resource

Girl, One of these days Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Girl, One of these days - Essay Example In order for a story to have a plot, it is imperative that events are sequenced in a sensible way. There may either be a cause and effect relationship between events, or else, the events may just coincidently occur, but in either case, the subsequent events should be linked with the preceding ones. This being the definition of plot, it can be safely said that Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl has no plot at all, because there is no link whatsoever between the various events. In fact, there is no event at all. Though Girl lacks story and plot, yet it essentially fulfills the purpose of character development. From the beginning till the end of Girl, an unknown narrator is advising something that seems to be a girl so that the latter may become a responsible and prudent woman and wife. There are traces of conflict and resolution in the text. Occasionally, the narrator tells why a girl thinks in a particular way, and what she should do to get rid of the problem. 2. There is a dentist who is busy doing his work while a Mayor approaches and sends message to the dentist via dentist’s son that he wants his tooth taken out. The dentist is reluctant to do so and tells his son to tell the Mayor that he is not there. But the Mayor knows he is there. He tells the dentist’s son to tell him that if he did not take out the Mayor’s tooth, he would shoot the dentist. The dentist calls him in, and he makes the Mayor pour in the chair. He warns the Mayor that he would be given no anesthesia because the Mayor has an abscess. The Mayor tells him to proceed. The dentist takes the lower wisdom tooth out, while the Mayor holds his breath to bear the pain. When the tooth has been taken out, the Mayor wishes him a good-bye after receiving instructions from the dentist. The Mayor tells him to send the bill, hearing which, the dentist sarcastically questions him if he would pay from the town’s budget. The Mayor says it means the same eit her way. In this story, the audience gets a