Evolution of Detective Fiction Essay Example for Free

Evolution of Detective Fiction Essay Twenty-first century detective stories are blooming with action, conflict, mystery and so on. But this is only recent development. There is a lot more to it than most people think. From a French man named Vidocq to the creation of modern detective fiction by Edgar Allan Poe, until today’s development of detective stories and its characters. So what made Poe such an important figure in detective fiction history, and in what way did his creation develop after his death? In my study I will try to answer these questions to the best of my capabilities. People started to take interest in crime stories in the early 1800, caused by their fascination and fear of crime. It was the town folks that started to romanticize criminals, as well those who stood up against them: â€Å"The first writing on urban crime pretended to be documentary, but it was filled with archetypes and plots from preceding fiction, particularly the gothic novel† (Marling 2). The detective as a figure first saw light in the early nineteenth century. Eugà ¨ne Franà §ois Vidocq who is considered to be the father of modern criminology and the first private detective wrote Memoirs of Vidocq which inspired writers like Viktor Hugo’s Les Misà ©rables and Honorà © de Balzac’s Le Pere Goriot in creating first of many detective figures based on Vidocq. Of course there were other writers, not just crime stories but novels as well, to whom Vidocq served as an inspiration. A good example to this is Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. The main and most important difference between the earlier mentioned crime stories and Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue is that they didn’t construct their story/case around the detectives: â€Å"Before Poe, the early crime stories did not revolve around the individual detective â€Å"(freewebs editor 3). Crime Fiction is essentially about the solving of a crime, usually a mystery of murder. Crime Fiction texts question what it is to be human and raise questions about identity. (freewebs editor 1) When Poe created Dupin, most of his very own traits were given to the character. Since Poe himself didn’t believe in the supernatural neither did Dupin, giving him a far more realistic view of things, which I believe essentially gave the detective a big step ahead of others when solving a case. In â€Å"The Murders in the Rue Morgue† Poe introduces three of the basic motifs of detective fiction. First is the wrongly suspected man, secondly the crime in the close d room and  finally the solution by unexpected means. It is also important to note the Dupin outsmarts the police by solving the case, which is an element that if not all but certainly most detective storie’s adopted. In The Purloined Letter the reader gets to know another favored element of the detective fiction: recovery and safe keeping of the â€Å"document(s)† needed to ensure the safety of one or more important individuals. In order to make sure Dupin succeeds in this task, Poe introduces yet again important motifs known to the detective fiction: the outsmarting\deceiving of other genius minds, the finding of the evidence in the most obvious place and the use of disguise. Although the element of disguise might not seem so evident at first reading, I am most certain that the use of the green spectacles in order to deceive D—serves as an early version of using clothing or other accessories in order to misguide another character. In the third story of Dupin, The Mystery of Marie Rogà ªt, Poe introduces the method of recreating a crime by recollecting and putting together newspaper reports of the same case. While Poe’s greatest detective fiction will be the one’s pre senting Dupin, we must take a step in taking in to notice Poe’s other two works Thou Art the Man and The Gold Bug readers are familiarized with new motifs from the repertory of detective fiction: the criminals spirit breaks and confesses when he is faced with the enormity of his crime, misguidance by following the wrong clues and the climaxing moment when that the criminal is the least likely suspected person. And of course all five stories have the common unexpected ending which was common to gothic novels in Poe’s time. We must not forget however that there were a few other detective stories in which Dupin makes his appearance even though they weren’t written by Poe. Such stories are like: The Vanished Treasure and The Fires in the Rue St. Honorà © which appeared in a collection of seven short stories by the publisher Mycroft Moran, The Murder of Edgar Allen Poe by George Egon Hatvary, etc. The interesting fact about most of these stories in which Dupin makes an appearance is that he either meets or gets regarded as being Poe himself Just as Vidocq in his own time, Poe’s writings served as role model for the new detective fiction, but unlike Poe who introduced the reader to a new type, a reformed detective story, the new generation of writers kept and used the new motifs and elements which Poe created. None other could serve as a better example for this than the mo st widely known detective in world,  namely Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. In my personal opinion Holmes serves as the best comparison to Dupin. They represent the perfect rivals in what I’d like to call â€Å"who’s the better detective†. In order to make my point in why Dupin is the superior I’ll point out a few of their similarities. First and most likely observed by all readers that both detectives are presented by a narrator who just happens to be their best friend. Like Dupin, Holmes uses cold logic in the solving of the cases. While today’s detectives seem to be more calm and appear to have part in way more action, Dupin and Holmes isolate themselves, they are eccentric, somewhat egoistic and they both enjoy smoking the pipe. But most importantly in their stories the focus is on the case and the solving of the puzzle rather than putting the main protagonists in the middle of the action. While few say that Holmes is a copy of Dupin, most would consider Holmes to be the perfected version of his superior. In A Study in Scarlett Holmes sidekick Dr. Watson makes a comparison between the two detectives: â€Å"Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow †¦ He had some analytical genius, no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine.†(Doyle 24). I believe that most important trait of Dupin that separates him from the other detectives is that he wasn’t exactly a role model for the mentally stable. This of course is the effect of the loss of his inheritance. While Holmes himself wasn’t the charming kind of fellow one might choose as friend(he was addicted to cocaine, stayed up for hours walking around or playing on his violin, making smelly chemical experiments and he even fired off his gone sometimes), his bad habits were of his choosing and making so it wasn’t nearly as bad as Dupins case. Of course Holmes isn’t the only one to be created in Dupins image. Hercule Poirot created by Agatha Christie in one of the characters on which Dupin had a huge impact. In the 20th century the detective fictions have considerably changed in the way they are seen. This of course is due to the new generation. Most of the younger generation lack the imagination to fully understand and enjoy such works as The Murders In The Rue Morgue or Sherlock Holmes due to the fact that they lack action. Today’s generation is used to all the constant action and violence thanks to TV and PC games. So as these factors changed society  entertainment industries took on new elements. Since recent years haven’t produced any film adaptations about Dupin, I’ll have to stick with Sherlock Holmes. The new movie, while still being a detective story, can be easily put into the genre of action. Consider the movie to be most enjoyable despite the fact that it completely lost the book’s magic. With all its stunning visuals and extreme action scenes it is hard for me to find it anything nearly as the book. I believe that the only thing which is kept in it is Holmes himself. Holmes remained the same seemingly mad but genius and efficient detective I got to like from the book while Watson became a 19th century action hero. One must know the detective fiction motifs in order to identify them in the movie, but I assure that they are present. In conclusion, detective fiction is a genre still under development, since new elements are only starting to emerge and all is thanks to the drastic change of technology and way of thinking. But this doesn’t mean that it will surely develop in a positive way. There are way too many factors that play a part in it, however we take our part in preserving the bases of this great genre and putting our own ideas to it in while to make it even greater. But this is question only time will answer and the people who work on it.

The Internet Plagiarism Explosion Essay example -- Exploratory Essays

A great deal has been published in the media about the "explosion" of Internet plagiarism among high school and college students. Because the Internet is so young, there have been few studies conducted on the extent of Internet plagiarism. However, existing studies do show that the Internet is an extremely popular tool students use to cheat on written assignments. In any group of students, some will choose the path of academic dishonesty and copy the words or ideas of another person without giving credit to the author. The advent of the Internet has opened new ways for students to plagiarize written material. Not only can students copy material from individual Web sites, but they can use an online paper mill to pay for and receive an entire paper written by someone else. Educators are interested in the extent of Internet plagiarism, why some students plagiarize using the Internet, and what they can do to prevent students from cheating when they use online resources. I will attempt to address these concerns in this paper. The Center for Academic Integrity based at Duke University studies issues of academic integrity including trends in cheating and plagiarism across the United States. Its studies show that Internet plagiarism is a widespread problem among high school and college students. There are several types of Internet plagiarism. The most common way for a student to plagiarize material from the Internet involves copying material from a variety of independent Web sites and compiling them into an "original" document. A less common type involves a student obtaining a paper from a paper mill. There are now thousands of paper mills on the World Wide Web offering a variety of services. Some, such as www.realpapers.com, offer ... ...m. Los Angeles Times, 1. Retrieved October 28, 2001, from LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe database. Hricko, M. (1998). Internet plagiarism: Strategies to deter academic misconduct. Retrieved October 28, 2001 from the Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference Web site: http://www.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed98/mhricko.html Kleiner, C., Lord, M. & Faber, L. (1999, November 22). The great term-paper buying caper. U.S. News & World Report, 127 (20), 63. Retrieved October 28, 2001 from LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe database. Niels, G. J. (1996). Academic practices, school culture and cheating behavior. Retrieved October 28, 2001 from: http://james.hawken.edu/odris/cheating/cheating.html Walker, W. (2001, September 3). Teachers fight back against 'rampant' cyber-cheating. Toronto Star, A07. Retrieved October 28, 2001, from LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe database.

Indian Telecom Sector Employability Skills

( Employability Skills for Indian Mobile Phones Telecom Sector First Author: Rishi Kapal, BE, LLB, PGPM (Vice President-Sony Mobile Communications, India) Abstract It may not known to many that after Alexander Graham bell invented the first telephone, Motorola’s Martin Cooper is understood to have created the first mobile phone, followed by IBM-Bellsouth making the first Smartphone. However, in the present day, not much is heard about the companies that pioneered the mobile and Smartphones revolution.Indian telecom sector story is only getting better by the day, however, the growth sustenance and leveraging technology for better use in only possible if our population could be transformed to a real productive employment asset. In this paper, the important aspect of employability in Indian telecom Sector will be highlighted INTRODUCTION Indian telecom industry underwent a high pace of market liberalization and growth since 1990s and now has become the world's most competitive an d one of the fastest growing telecom markets.The Industry has grown over twenty times in just ten years, from under 37 million subscribers in the year 2001 to over 846 million subscribers in the year 2011. India has the  world's second-largest  mobile phone user base with over 929. 37 million users as of May 2012. It has the  world's third-largest  Internet user-base with over 137 million as of June 2012. [pic] THE RISE OF INDIA MOBILE PHONES INDUSTRY The explosion of mobile phones sector is attributed to the following three factors: 1. Opening up of new technology 2. Convergence of computing and telephony 3. Mobile Phones EnablementOPENING UP OF NEW WIRELESS TECHNNOLOGY Till 2010, India was a pure-play GSM and CDMA technology driven country whereas rest of the world had moved to 3G(HSPA+) and few advanced nations(like Japan) already launching LTE(Long Term Evolution) high speed wireless technologies. Post the 3G and BWA auctions in India, the wireless technology landscape s tarted changing and alongside it brought the need for differently (enhanced) skilled professionals to handle new technology and associated devices. A brief snapshot of the wireless technologies deployed in India is below: [pic]India today is on the forefront of telecom services and related content. This changes the way the telecom products are conceptualized, priced, launched and their life cycle is managed. Not much of this is known to the budding leaders during their academic orientations. CONVERGENCE OF COMPUTING AND TELEPHONY In today’s world, computers are used to make voice calls (Gtalk, Skype) and phones are used for data access. So each device has evolved from its original function and become multi tasked. This convergence of devices ecosystem is happening due to the following:For most time in computing technology, microprocessors were traditionally associated with computers and other IT related products. However, since the last two years, phones are also sold based o n the GHZ speed of processor that makes them run, various related aspects like single core, dual core and quad core processors. Now, this has brought about a major shift in consumer behavior whereby a buyer actually decides about a phone not just by looks and geeks but begins with the processor strengths and data speeds supported.This all comes with perceived compromise on battery life however the mobile phones processor manufacturers are fast gaining ground in terms of optimizing battery life for higher processor power. MOBILE PHONES ENABLEMENT A natural question about why is the mobile phone industry growing at a strong pace is obvious. Firstly, India is now moving to be a strong mobile replacement market. The mobile sales ratio is skewed to replacement buyers as compared to first term buyers as per industry sources. Hence there is a two-fold demand now.Alongside, mobile phones have become the first internet access device for the youth and hence the mobile internet penetration mom entum is making up the volume. Lastly, a mobile phone is no longer a luxury and is affordable by anyone, at a cost as low as $15. All these factors are leading to a strong growth in mobile phone sales. MOBILE PHONES DISTRUBUTION SYSTEM Let us now examine the mobile phones sales and distribution systems to better understand the required skills that need to be acquired by professionals aspiring to work in this sector. [pic]The firs layer does product sell-in to the second layer which in-turn works for shop level product placement and sales. The final sales to end customer is referred to as Sell thru. The mobile distribution model is extremely dynamic and need of the hour may change regularly due to competitive launches and initiatives. Each product has its own merits, positioning and technological implications. Traditional models of distribution don’t always work in realms of the mobile words due to the amount of need-of-the-hour and flexibility mechanisms required to be adopte d. EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS FOR THE MOBILE SECTORROI : Relationship, Ownership, Initiative †¢ Relationship: mobile phone industry is too diverse and needs one on one relationship mapping with the ecosystem stakeholders in product development and distribution. The †¢ Ownership: professionals without adequacy of understanding of ownership will not cut it into the telecom †¢ Initiative: India is a distribution led mobile market, unlike the mature markets like US where wireless operators dominate mobile phones sales channel. Every skilled professional aspiring for working in the Indian telecom sector needs to have self initiative to innovate reach and execution.Alongside the above, the professionals must understand that the mobile phones propositions are undergoing a change: VRS (Value, Range, Service) †¢ Value : value proposition to the customers is fast changing with the advent of Smartphones †¢ Range: Customer associated with brands that have a range(portfolio) a nd not one off products(iPhone is an exception) †¢ Service: Post sales support for sophisticated devices has become a strong reason to buy. As per the nationwide study conducted by MeriTrac, of marks secured by 2264 MBAs who sat for tests by recruiting companies, only 21% were found to be actually employable.The latest figures show a sharp decline – the last such survey done in 2007 placed employability at 25%. Drawn from over 100 B-Schools beyond the Top 25 in the country, the students who were covered by the survey were tested for verbal ability, quantitative ability and reasoning. This despite the fact that more and more B-schools are mushrooming across the country churning out hundreds upon thousands of freshly-minted MBAs every year. There are other cornerstones of employability skills required in the mobile sector that are influenced by †¢ Consumer purchase behavior †¢ Mobiles Operating System CONSUMER PURCHASE BEHAVIOR [pic]The above purchase behaviors d ictate a different skill set required in professionals dealing with individual or a mix of groups above. A person aspiring to work in the mobile sector must know the purchase behavior intricacies that are closely linked to the technology supported by the phones. MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEMS There are few dominant mobile operating systems viz Android, iOS, Symbian and RIM OS that are most dominant in India. Windows is a fast emerging ecosystem supported by Microsoft and Nokia. A professional must know the advantages of each OS so that the right strategy of product and marketing management can evolve.The strength and diversity of operating system is also ensuring that a mobile phone becomes much more than a mere communication device. It now is a gadget that effects and influences one’s lifestyle, something no one can deny or ignore. [pic][pic] A mobile phone does off jobs of a compass, mirror and a rattler as well. These contemporary, un-orthodox applications are becoming a reason to inquire and buying a phone by many. SUMMARY Indian telecom sector will provide employment to around one crore people by 2012, a study by PwC has said.The telecom industry will provide about 28 lakh direct jobs and around 70 indirect jobs by 2012, the study commissioned by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and done by PwC said. While the above aspiration is good to have however the industry is able to attract talent but struggling to get the right one. The employability skills required for mobile sector include a thorough understanding of mobile phones technology, various operating systems, consumer purchase behavior, OEM to Market distribution model and multi screen convergence.There are too many mobbing parts in the Indian mobile phone industry and the same are not evidently addressed as a subject matter in various institutions. It is important for colleges to step up and recognize that lack of employability skills for the telecom and especially mobile phone sec tor leaves the new industry entrants in a very awkward and â€Å" I don’t know much† state of mind. This can definitely be changed with institutions opening up their gates to industry professionals and to consulting companies specializing in transition of classrooms to telecom corporates.Steadily, now certain learning and development organizations are evolving that dedicatedly focus on transition programs for students, aimed at the telecom and mobile phones sector. Organizations like MindActiv Consulting (www. mindactiv. co. in) are pioneering in this critical requirement and having the right industry resources at their disposal. Strong and structured programs by MindActiv and such organizations are going to be much more required in the immediate future when the push back for better employable andidates will come from the telecom industry itself. References: 1. The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators June 2012, TRAI 2. Economic Times Article August 2011: Tel ecom sector to provide 1 crore jobs by 2012: Study 3. Times of India, August 7, 2012: Only 21% MBAs in India employable: Survey 4. Industry sources About the author: Rishi Kapal completed his schooling from Delhi Public School, RK Puram in 1989. This was followed by a degree in Electronics Engineering in 1993 from Shivaji university.He started his career with HCL in 1993 and during his ongoing career span of 19+ years, has worked with coveted organizations like Tata Telecom, Ericsson, Castrol, Sony Ericsson and Qualcomm to name a few. Presently, Rishi is a Vice President with Sony Mobile Communications. During his professional tenure, Rishi completed his PGPM from International Management Institute and LLB from CCS University. Rishi is passionate about instilling employability skills in the budding new leadership generation and is closely associated with the academia sector for guest lectures and grooming students for their first corporate interface.He has a strong knowledge of mana gement practices required in students pursuing graduate and post graduate courses and has prepared specific training and orientation modules for employability skills enhancement in students. ———————– The total revenue of the Indian telecom sector grew by 7% to  [pic]283,207  crore  (US$53. 53 billion)  for 2010–11 financial year, while revenues from telecom equipment segment stood at  [pic]117,039  crore  (US$22. 12 billion).The depicted increase in telecom penetration has been facilitated with a strong and every growing mobile phone industry, reaching an unprecedented proportion of more than 12Million handsets sold in India every month. IOIP: Most popular, individual pays for the phone and owns it IOCP: Individual owns the phone, paid by the company COCP: Company purchases and provide the phone to employees LTE TDD and HSPA+ is already launched in India. The country is now neck to neck with the world on av ailability of latest wireless technologies.Alongside, consumers are much more aware of the broadband phenomenon and the benefits this advent can deliver. The access device for the new technologies has to be a mobile phone since other consumer equipments are bulky and more appropriate for inhouse only. With this evolution, the need for skilled workforce in technology, strategy, sales, marketing and operations and much more diverse and unique as compared to that exists today. The Indian handset market is growing consistently with a rate of over 12% annually, of which the Smartphones base is expected to grow at a rate of over 60% year of year.The advent of operating systems like Android along-with new broadband wireless internet access technologies is opening up the mobile phones space in India. The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) works on three retail engagement models: †¢ Master national distributor: imports the products and then associated with regional partners for place ment and sales †¢ Direct Billing: to exclusive stores and conglomerates of high importance †¢ Entrepreneurial Regional partners: Distributors with strong regional command and those who want to deal directly with the company.With the changing shape of Indian telecom sector and need for the skilled population to keep up with the industry resources requirement, there are six dimensions of employability skills that the professionals must have in order to leap into the telecom sector. Each of these dimensions is unique in terms of the capability build up required in professionals, especially graduates and post graduates. Mobile phone industry is part of a unique eco system and must be studied and imbibed from close quarters.

Social Class affects individual life chances Free Essay Example, 1000 words

In the practical sense, this is an erroneous belief since individuals may stagnate in one social class even when their income changes. Also, those individuals may obtain power and prestige without necessarily having increased income and thereby shift from one social class to another. Moreover, social classes maybe complicated by the dual income problem that is associated with majority of American citizens who have more than one income sources. These citizens look down upon single income earners of a higher social class. Education has a causal-effect relationship with social class (Bruce, 2002). In this regard, higher education is a fundamental requirement associated with the upper and middle classes. In order for an individual to belong in the middle or upper class one must possess, among other qualification, a college degree. Higher education is hardly affordable and the costs vary from one institution to another. In most cases, the tuition is very expensive especially in the private universities compared with the public universities. With provision of scholarships and student loans, individuals from low social classes are given an opportunity to shift to the middle and upper social classes. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Class affects individual life chances or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The students from middle and upper social classes easily access quality education in top colleges and university. In addition, they easily obtain employment opportunities in international firms. For students belonging in low social classes, they need to work hard and utilize their talents adequately in order to obtain financial aid for the constantly increasing cost of technical education. Most of individuals with bachelors, professional or doctorate degrees have incomes that are above the national median unlike the college and high school graduates. In this regard, educational qualification determines an individual’s income as well as occupation position. Social classes also have a causal-effect relation with culture that is spiral in nature. Different social classes generate different sub-cultures and therefore individuals who belong in a given social class will have unique ways of socializing its offspring and future generation (Bruce, 2002). In addition, an individual’s mobility from one social class to another will ultimately generate a series of changes of socializing offspring in order to acculturate to the newly acquired social class. According to sociologists, the sub cultures have a significant influence on members of the given social class. These subcultures affect parenting, appreciation of gender roles, social and marital relationships as well as political and economic affiliations.