Fight Club Essay Example

Fight Club Paper The other people who were camping near us wanted to drink and party all night long, and I tried to get them to shut up one night, and they literally beat the crap out of me. I went back to work just so bashed, and horrible looking. People didnt ask me what had happened. I think they were afraid of the answer. I realised that if you looked bad enough, people would not want to know what you did in your spare time. They dont want to know the bad things about you. And the key was to look so bad that no one would ever, ever ask. And that was the idea behind Fight Club. (1) This realisation that humanity does not want to know about the dark side of life is central to the narrative of Fight Club. It focuses on how society has become numb; relying on physical possessions to define them (Id flip through catalogues and wonder what kind of dining set defined me as a person) rather than accepting yourself as being more than what you own, your career and how much money you have in your wallet, a notion which one of the central characters, Tyler Durden, reminds his followers of regularly. The film adaptation of Fight Club remains loyal to the ideas presented in the novel, with a few somewhat hidden visual clues to highlight the message within the story. We will write a custom essay sample on Fight Club specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Fight Club specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Fight Club specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Our Narrator is an insomniac, working for a big corporate car company evaluating accidents, and whether it would be cost effective to warrant a recall. To counter-attack these dehumanising factors he joins numerous therapy groups and soon finds himself addicted, that is, until another tourist names Marla joins the self-help group scene and he finds himself unable to open up, and his insomnia begins again. It is soon after meeting Marla that the Narrator meets Tyler Durden, an enigmatic soap manufacturer who embodies all the qualities he wishes he had self-fulfilment, perfect looks and who isnt a slave to his possessions. Together they form Fight Club, a way to feel something in an otherwise numb life which consists of the same thing day in and day out. When Marla overdoses on Xanax, she is saved by Tyler and the two embark upon a sexual relationship. Tyler tells the narrator that he must never talk about him with Marla. Under Tylers leadership, the fight club soon spirals into a nihilist terrorist organisation named Project Mayhem, which commits increasingly destructive acts of anti-capitalist vandalism in the city. After an argument, Tyler disappears from the narrators life, and following a member of Project Mayhem dying, the Narrator attempts to trace Tylers steps, discovering that clubs have been set up in all major cities. One of the participants identifies him as Tyler Durden, which a phone call to Marla confirms, and he realises that Tyler is an alter ego of his own split personality. Tyler appears before him and explains that he controls his body whenever he is asleep. The opening scene of the film shows the main character, an unnamed twenty-something male, being held at gunpoint. The succeeding description, accompanied by a visual tour through the corporate building which is about to be blown up, immediately engages the viewer, as not only does the visual style appear edgy, but intrigue about how he got himself in such a situation is aroused. One of the main gripes in Fight Club is the consumerist society, and at its heart is a dark parody about consumerist discontent. The film engages with this idea by regularly not showing faces and focussing on other aspects to identify them. The first instance this is shown is when the unnamed central character, unnamed because it could be any twenty-something male, is approached by his boss. He immediately focuses on his tie, identifying the day as Tuesday because his boss was wearing his cornflower blue tie. We then get a glimpse of how our main character has fallen victim to the Ikea trend, the camera pans around his apartment with the catalogue descriptions of each item he owns appearing next to it. The scene finishes with a comment about how we used to read pornography, now it was the Horchow collection which fully shows how consumerism has become the new form of self- gratification. Its only when his apartment is blown up that he begins his journey to total freedom, his entire i dentity was enclosed in that apartment, and now that it has gone he begins again Its only after weve lost everything that were free to do anything. Director, David Fincher, employs an impressive array of techniques to tell the story, combining traditional cinematic conventions (voice overs, breaking the fourth wall to address the audience directly) with arresting CGI sequences and subliminal blips. For example before we are formally introduced to Tyler, he flashes onto the screen at what may seem like random moments, but are in fact key to unravelling the mystery of a confused identity. Of course, we dont realise the genius behind this until after the film. The main thing to remember whilst watching this film is that nothing has been put in there by mistake; every minute detail serves its purpose. From this aspect Fight Club succeeds in every way, and it also succeeds as being one of the rare film adaptations which is better than the book. The opening credits of Fight Club shows how the film incorporated modern CGI sequences to its advantage; a special effects sequence which quite literally takes us into the Narrators brain, wh ich starts from a tiny glow deep within his brain-cells, through his mouth and up the barrel of the gun. The clean look of the CGI contrasts greatly with the general visual texture of the film. There are many negative images in the film (bags of human fat splitting open, broken teeth and crackling electrical cable in water) which all adds to the effect. The most discussed, and criticised, aspects of Fight Club is its violent content. Fight Club was one of the first openly violent films to be released after Columbine High School massacre in April of 1999, and for this reason it generated a lot of critical attention about its attitude and graphic depiction towards violence, with voices being raised claiming that the movie glorifies violence by portraying it as something positive. (2) No one can deny that Fight Club is a violent movie; there are in fact some scenes which are so brutal that some viewers will turn away. But there is purpose behind showing this bloody battering, and its to make a point about the bestial nature of man and what can happen when the numbing effects of day-to-day drudgery cause people to go a little crazy. As the film evolves, he methodically reveals each new turn in an ever-deepening spiral that descends into darkness and madness. The reason Fight Club is such a memorable film, lies in its ability to reach out to modern society, of a certain age at least, and engage and relate to them in someway. The characters acknowledge at more than one point that theyre in a film. The Narrator makes sarcastic voice-over remarks, and is constantly rewinding and fast-forwarding through his story. After the Narrator has giving us the whole story, we return to the comment this is about where we left off, and Tylers response, Oh. Flashback humour. Fight Club takes on everything that cinema can do but has been too afraid to. Maybe it is the fights that stand out the most. In an era of fake fight scenes, beefed up with special effects, the fight scenes in Fight Club have a somewhat narcotic effect; with their documentary feel its much more realistic. The lack of music only adds to the atmosphere, with the only memorable music being at the very end of the film appropriately named Where Is My Mind? Fight Club is a daring film, forcing you to thing outside the box with how a Hollywood film should look and feel. It also forces the audience to question their lives, in modern times most people can not help but be caught up in the consumerist rat-race.

Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis Essays

Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis Essays Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis Paper Whole Foods Individual Case, Financial Analysis Paper This report is written in order to perform financial analysis on Whole Foods Market Inc and its competitor Safeway Inc. This in depth report is both to determine which company is doing financially better and how also how they are doing comparing them to their whole industry. The ratios in this report are going to be used to compare WF to its competitior and also to compare its financial performances to the whole Grocery store industry (SIC: 5411) to see how Whole Foods Inc is doing in regards to the whole industry. It is crucial to compare a company’s ratios with the industry’s, because they may appear good or bad when comparing with the company’s competitors, however, when comparing these ratios to the industry a different conclusion could be drawn. Another purpose of this paper is to show the trends and relationships of this company which will allow us to assess Whole Foods’ weaknesses and strength. In this report, you will come across profitability ratios, liquidity ratios and asset utilization ratios of both companies and also the industry’s. Background Both Safeway and Whole Foods Market are major players in the Grocery stores industry and they are both leading the natural organic food field. from a Wall Street perspective, the highest profile player in natural / organic foods is likely Whole Foods (WFMI). The company’s revenues have increased 18% a year, on average (Value line). The company’s merchandise line of over 1,500 items includes organically grown. he company owns about 287 store locations in 38 states and Washington, D. C. , as well as five stores in the U. K and Canada. From 2010 through 2013, Whole Foods plans to open 53 new stores, including eight relocations(Plunkett research). The original whole foods Market opened in 1980 in Texas with a stuff of 19 only. Safeway Inc opened its first store in 1915 in Idaho. Safeway Stores, is one of the largest food retailers in North America, operating 1,712 stores. The company recently expanded its O Organics line of certified organic foods and beverages to over 300 exclusive products. Exhibit 1: source Industry ratios : retrieved November 4th 2010 from ,Reuters. om | | | |Whole foods | | | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 |Industry | |ROA |7. 22% |9. 98% |5. 69% |3. 39% |3. 88% |2. 38 | |Profit Margin |2. 90% |3. 63% |2. 77% |1. 4% |1. 83% |1. 8 | Exhibit 1 | | | |Safeway | | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 | |ROA |3. 56% |5. 35% |5. 03% |5. 52% |-7. 78% | |Profit Margin |1. 46% |2. 17% |2. 10% |2. 9% |-2. 69% | In analyzing the profitability ratios, we see that WF had better profit margin than Safeway ev ery year in the last five years, except 2008. However in 2009, WF’s profit margin was 0. 3%lower than the industry’s average. In 2008, safeway outperformed WF’s profit margins 0. 75%. However, in 2009 Safeway had a negative profit margin due to their net income loss. Looking at both company’s profit margins in 2008 and 2009, we can conclude that both companies are struggling to make high profit margins. WF’s (ROA) suggests a good profitability from 2005 to 2007; however, it started to decline in 2008 and 2009. WF’s (ROA) was 1. 5% higher than the average industry ratio. Safeway’s ROE rations were lower than WF’s every year in the past 5 years, except from 2008 again, where their ROA was 2. 13% higher than WF’s. This shows that WF’s has been doing a better job than Safeway at using its assets to generate a profit. Based on the Profit margin and ROA and we could conclude that WF is doing a better a job than Safeway at managing its assets efficiently in order to generate a profit. Moreover, we could also conclude that WF has been doing really well comparing it to the other compnay’s in the same industry since all its profitability ratios were higher than the industy’s. | | | | whole foods | |Industry | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 |2009 | |inventory turover |26. 09 |26. 78 |24. 42 |23. 90 |23,27 |20. | | | | | safeway | | | | |inventory turnover |9. 92 |10. 58 |11. 08 |11. 72 |11. 43 | | Source: Industry ratios from Reuters. com, exhibit 1 Inventory turnover: Comparing inventory turnover is extremely crucial especially for the Grocery industry where it all comes down on how fast you sell your inventory. Every year since 2005, Whole food’s inventory turnover is more than twice. This reveals that whole Foods turns its inventory twice as fast as Safeway. This high inventory turnover demonstrates WF’s strong sales. This could explain the company’s revenues that have been increasing18% a year, on average, so far this decade. By comparison, Kroger and Safeway (SWY) have seen their revenues increase at low single-digit rates over the same stretch( Value line. com). WF fast growth could be also explained by the growth in consumption of organic food, it jumped from 5 Billion $ in 1997 to almost 25 billion in 2008( look at exhibit 5). Revenue Growth of Whole Foods. Source  : Retreived Novermber 4th, from plunkettresearchonline. com database [pic] We can see from this charts that sales have been constantly growing over the past decade and that is the best growth in sales in the supermarket industry ( Standard and poors). Advanced dupont method Chart3 , exhibit 1 Metric  : I belive that there are many important metric in the retail industry, but the most important one is sales per square foot. | | | |Whole foods | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 | |RONA |9. 54% |15. 70% |8. 12% |5. 38% |5. 89% | |Spread |2. 76% |15. 71% |7. 78% |3. 21% |3. 14% | |fin lev |1. 38% |0. 61% |50. 67% |61. 67% |48. 15% | |ROE |9. 98% |14. 52% |12. 3% |7. 60% |9. 02% | | | | | | | | | | | |Safeway | | | | |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 |2009 | |RONA |7. 78% |10. 49% |5. 03% |10. 35% |-7. 78% | |Spread |2. 85% |4. 7% |4. 59% |5. 45% |-16. 53% | |fin lev |109. 83% |88. 88% |69. 50% |69. 27% |88. 16% | |ROE |11. 41% |15. 36% |5. 03% |14. 22% |-22. 19% | Advanced dupont method Chart3 , exhibit 1 [pic] Source : Retreived on November 4th from, netadvantage. standardandpoors. com The advanced Dupont model is used to separate the effects of operating and financing decisions which was not possible with the old dupont version. As shown in the formula above ,the higher the RNOA, Spread and Financial leveraged, the higher the ROE will get. Throughout the last 5 years expet from 2008, WF had a higher RONA and higher spread than Safeway, but they end up with a lower ROE in both years( see chart 3). WF’s higher RONA in those 4 years shows that WF uses its assets more efficientely than Safeway It also reveals that WF controls its costs better than Safeway. Looking at Safeway’s Balance sheets and income statement, we can conclude that Safeway has a low RONA( exibit 2, 3 and 4) and it is due to their low Net Operating profit. This could mean that Safeway has too much fixed assets that is not used efficiently, or it may also indicate that Safeway manages its expenses poorly comparing it to WF. Safeway is planning to reduce the size of its stores when opening new once( Standard Poors),showing they want to improve their RONA. During 4 out of these 5 last years, WF has been having a better spread than Safeway, because they have been getting a better RONA and because Safeway’s net borrowing cost is really high comparing it to their RONA. In 2009, we can see that Safeway had a negative RONA of -7. 8% due to the negative Net operating profit after tax. This affected their spread negatively since it is directly related to the RNOA. We could see from chart 3 that the reason why Safeway were getting higher ROE during in 2005, 2006. And 2008 is because they were using a lot financial leverage. In 2005 and 2006 Safeway’s Financial leverage was 109,83% and 88,88%, against only 1. 38% and 14. 52% for WF. Even if Safeway had a negative ROE in 2009, they used 88. 16% of financial leverage against only 48. 15%. This shows that the reason why Safeway got better ROE in 2005. 006. and 2008 is because they increased it with they increased it with their high leverage. Therefore we could conclude form the advanced Dupont analysis that WF has been doing better in terms of operating performance and that Safeway relies much more on financial leverage than WF. Conclusion. : We can conclude that after analyzing both companies’ ROA, RONA, Sread, asset turnover and Financial leverage, we can infer that Whole is using its assets better than Safeway and that it is growing its sales at a faster pace than Safeway. Comparing WF ratios with its industry, It is apparent to see that WF is doing really well against the average of the whole industry. Bibliography Retrieved November 4, 2010 reuters. com/finance/stocks/financialHighlights? symbol=WFMI. O Retrieved November 4, 2010 valueline. com/ Retrieved November 4, 2010 netadvantage. standardandpoors. com Retrieved from November 4, 2010 mergentonline. com/compsearch. asp Retrieved November 4, 2010 plunkettresearchonline. com .

Bill Clinton and Racial Reconciliation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Bill Clinton and Racial Reconciliation - Essay Example For the first time in history, America put in office the first African American as their 44th president. This was a great milestone and a step in the right direction towards the issues that Bill Clinton had mentioned. It now seemed that Americans were ready to give opportunities to other races that had been dominantly occupied by one race; the world was in surprised and the celebrations unceasing as President Barack Obama was sworn into office. It was finally a new dawn in the land of America and the struggle for equality had been achieved? Had it really? Many argue that it is not possible for one man to change the perspectives of a population, and I agree with them. Racial reconciliation has not really taken place in America yet, it is still a work in progress, but headed in the positive direction. President Obama’s win was a revelation, that people do want change. He garnered majority of the votes to defeat his opponent Mitt Romney. Despite his landslide win, the Americans d id not vote for him in the same overwhelming numbers across the different races that are represented. From the African American population, 93 percent voted for President Obama as compared to 41 percent from the whites. The other 59 percent favored Mitt Romney, this goes to show that, people were voting mainly, for their own and that is why the votes of the black population was able to swing the vote towards their chosen one. It is clear from this that difference in racial backgrounds is still an issue that the Americans have to deal with. While it was thought that the election of President Barack Obama meant that, the black community had been fully accepted in America, statistics prove otherwise. A research carried out recently by a Stanford University professor, Jon Krosnick, showed that fifty one percent of the Americans still exhibited anti-black attitude explicitly. This is in comparison to forty-eight percent in 2008, the same research revealed that fifty six percent of the Am erican population harbor anti-black attitude implicitly as compared to forty-nine percent in 2008. This brings to light that the different races in America have not fully accepted each other and to make matters worse, it seems like the divide is getting worse. The Declaration of Independence states that all American citizens are equal but the reality on the ground shows that a good number of the population does not agree with that just yet (Lawson and Franklin, 295). However, a population of the Americans especially, the blacks seems to think that President Obama is not addressing the issue of race as people thought he would. He has been openly criticized by some African Americans due to what seems as his effort to stay away from the talk of racial divide and the issues that need to be addressed. It is crucial for the issues that are brought about by different races to be addressed to avoid a repeat of history. The worst crimes against humanity were because of indifference towards o thers. With the deep feelings of negativity still rooted in most Americans it might only be a matter of time before another injustice against a race occur (Wiesel). On the contrary, others might say that, racial reconciliation has already taken place. This is because a couple of years ago, the election of a black president would have been unheard of. It seems that the different

Communication and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communication and Culture - Essay Example To begin with, the prosecutors in both cases have tried to present the videos as pieces of evidence, while the defense has tried to present the videos as an assault on privacy. In this case, an important question to be asked is whether or not looking is an acceptable social practice. The portrayal of truth in this case is the basic premise upon which both cases have been built. For the wrongdoer, it might be a much needed act but for the onlooker, it might be an unnecessary one. Therefore, in case of looking, truth has two dimensions. These dimensions had been played upon by the prosecution and defense respectively, where the defense tried to make the police look like the victims. (Goodwin, 1992) If Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright's book titled Practices of Looking, is to be believed, then the concept of looking has great ideological implications. These ideological implications are a part and parcel of the basic mental makeup of any society and finally, the law that governs it. Th is concept as described by Cartwright et al, works at a dichotomous level as far as the parties go - i.e., the spectators and the participants. Therefore, this is an important concept to follow as far as the definition of looking is concerned in the world of emerging visual culture. This visual culture is a by product of the theories revolving around the emerging field of communication techniques. These theories come in the form of how one chooses to express himself or herself apart from those theories that demonstrate what a person wants to learn and how he or she wants to enjoy. (Cartwright et al, 2001) The Rodney King beating video and the Simi Valley LAPD video have also shown the power of expression which is a close by product of the practice of looking. In this regard, the book titled Look, A Negro, by Robert Gooding - Williams, the author relies mostly on the demonstration of how race and ethnicity continue to be a source of amazement to some people. (Williams - Gooding, 2005 ) According to his theory, it is important to be able to draw a line so as to make people comfortable. This has a wider context in today's global village where boundaries are shrinking and people of various ethnicities settle in lands far from their homes. If Williams Gooding is to be believed, then the concept of looking has both positive as well as negative dimensions in context of who is being looked at. According to Judith Butler in her book titled Endangered/Endangering: Schematic Racism and White Paranoia, the act of looking at a person for the color of his skin, or the clothes she is donning shows that there is a certain amount of ignorance which is demonstrated by their expressions and how they discuss or regard such situations. According to her, this calls for more progression in society and a form of 'controlled looking' wherein, looking is practiced for the sake of catching and punishing wrongdoers or for a strict social causeThese means of expression define the society a t large and steer the way for social practices. According to Butler, looking is a practice that requires a state of complete focus and concentration, especially when in public. (Butler, 2004) References: 1. Cartwright, Lisa; Sturken, Marita. "Practices of Looking - An Introduction to Visual Culture." (Jan, 2001) Oxford University Press. 2. Butler, Judith.

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.