Sunday, December 29, 2019

Boethius Was Successful in His Argument That God Rewards...

‘Boethius was successful in his argument that God rewards and punishes justly.’ Discuss (35) Boethius was a philosopher teaching at the end of the Roman empire, in his 40’s he was arrested for suspected conspiracy with the Eastern Roman Empire and was eventually put to death at the age of about 44/45. Whilst in prison Boethius wrote his book, ‘The Consolation of Philosophy’ where he discusses in great depth with Lady Philosophy issues with God’s omniscience. In his writings, Boethius identifies an issue with God’s foreknowledge, our personal autonomy and the impact of how we are to be judged as when we enter the life after this. He identifies that if God has foreknowledge and knows our future, He then knows what we are going to do which†¦show more content†¦However there is another definition of which Boethius thought was unsuitable. God is eternal and he has no begging or no end, he always has existed and continues to do so. Boethius rejects this as he can’t see how a temporal God can judge someone if he experiences time him self. On the other hand Boethius didn’t consider the flaws of his definition of eternal God; a God that is outside the category of time is one whom cannot be personal, this also means that it doesn’t fit in with the traditional religious view of God who keeps his covenant with his people and sends his son to save us. But it also has its strengths such as it maintains the majority of the attributes of God, such as incorporeal and immutable. Boethius concluded from his characterization of an eternal god that God is like a bird flying over a man walking down the path, the bird can see where the man has been, where he is and where he is about to go all at once. This is a power that God is able to use due to him being outside of time, he can see everyone’s past present and future simultaneously. His knowledge is total however not causal. Boethius expands on his idea of divine foreknowledge and goes onto explain the different types of necessity; simple and contingent. Simple necessity is related to a person’s nature so for example â€Å"man is a rational animal.† Whereas conditional necessity isn’t tied to the objects nature so

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Is Conformity to Group Norms a Good or Bad Thing Essay

BUSI 3310 – Individual Assignment Topic 8 – Question 1 Is conformity to group norms a good or bad thing? Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group. Conformity is inherent in our everyday lives and can occur when we are with others or when we are alone. For example, many of us follow social standards for eating when we are with a group and when we are alone. Conformity occurs when individuals yield to group pressures or expectations, also called norms. The text defines norms as the informal rules and shared expectations that groups establish to regulate the behavior of their members (McShane and Steen, p.194). Norms develop as soon as teams form because people†¦show more content†¦One of the most important reasons for group conformity is for decision making purposes. As noted earlier, norms form as team members discover behaviors that help them function more effectively, which leads to more effective decision making. Once teams have figured out a process that works well for them, team members will conform t o the way the group comes to a decision. This saves a lot of time, effort and energy. This type of conformity is positive and gives structure to the group. Groupthink, on the other hand, is a more negative outcome of group conformity. Groupthink is defined as the tendency of highly cohesive groups to value consensus at the price of decision quality (2009). There has been considerable experimentation on this topic which proves that people will time and time again give incorrect answers simply to fit in with a group. The Asch Experiment was a series of studies conducted in the 1950’s that has shown how perfectly normal human beings can be pressured into unusual behavior by authority figures, or by the consensus of opinion around them. The overall findings of the experiment were as follows: one third (32%) of the participants who were placed in this situation went along and conformed with the majority. Over the 18 trials about 75% of participants conformed at least once and 25% of participant never conformed. After the interview the participants were interviewed, most said that they did not really believeShow MoreRelatedConformity And Its Effect On Society Essay1436 Words   |  6 Pagesbalancing academics, self care and missing home, students face immense pressures from their peers. Conformity is the alteration of a behavior due to the influence of others, regardless of if their presence is real or imagined. Conformity often occurs in groups, and because groups are a very common and important in college, it becomes a time in one’s life when pressure is extremely high. My group of girls are tightly knit. Unspoken rules and plans are always in play and we know just what to expectRead MoreConformity as Seen by Different Cultures Essay1657 Words   |  7 Pagesthe norm of others. We do something or act a certain way because we want to fit in with the others around us. Whether it be from bullying, persuasion, teasing, criticism, or social norm, conforming to the way of society is a part of life. Conformity is defined as a change in behavior or belief in order to accord with others. We all strive to be liked and to fit in, sometimes conforming to others around us is the only was we see fit to do so. Other factors that effect conformity are group sizeRead MoreSocial Influence, Comformity, Obedience and Compliance1543 Words   |  7 Pagesinformation on what is the correct thing to do in this situation. There are three types of social influence - conformity - compliance - obedience Conformity Conformity involves developing attitudes, opinions, and behaviors to match the attitudes of a specific group. Most people conform to the standard values, also called norms, of many groups without stress and often withoutRead MoreLeadership And Teams : Conformity929 Words   |  4 PagesLeadership and Teams - Conformity Leadership with in teams has become the new standard in most contemporary business these days. The model of leadership one choses can help determine the success and effectiveness of a team. We will look into the model of servant leadership, the role conformity plays in teams, and how we can be a better manager. Servant Leadership Being a servant leader is a concept I explored in a previous class while researching Zappos.com, where they require all their managersRead MoreHow Groups Can Resolve Conflicts1678 Words   |  7 PagesThere are usually ways that groups can resolve conflicts before it ever escalates. However, sometimes there can be conflicts in groups that can be a little more difficult to resolve than others. When this happens the last resort for teams is to turn to a third party intervention in order to really resolve the issue. It is best that groups avoid this type of resolution simply because conflicts with and between the team should usually stay within the team. When a third party is brought in it can sometimesRead MoreSocial Psychology : The Bystander Effect1061 Words   |  5 Pagescharacterized by social influences and our environments. As individuals we tend to give in to social influences because we either do not know how to act in certain situations, or because we follow the social nor ms (when we tend to embrace other ways of thinking, behaving, or feeling that are shared between a group of people). Social Psychology gives us the information we need in order to understand why we, at times, behave in a way that can sometimes go against our moral and ethical code. One example of thisRead MoreInfluence Of Social Influence On Society1461 Words   |  6 Pagesthoughts by other people or groups in which causes you to change your behavior (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, 2013). This can be caused by peer pressure, the need for acceptance, or wanting to fit in. This makes situations that are not the norm feel as if it is the norm. This is called a social norm which is generally an accepted way of thinking, acting, and acceptance by members of asocial group since it is considered the right thing (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, 2013). A norm is the way we judge peopleRead MoreTheir Eyes Were Watching God By Zora Neale Hurston1400 Words   |  6 Pagesneed to be included and belong t o a group is second only to the need for safety and food and water. If this need is not satisfied, the chronic anxiousness developed from wanting to be included could cripple success in correctly choosing between the decisions and judgements of daily life. This anxiousness is prevalent in literature and is expressed as fear of not belonging and become a social outcast. This fear of not being accepted into a population causes conformity, behavior that adheres only to acceptedRead More1.Introduction. Virgin Group Of Companies Is A Multinational1403 Words   |  6 Pages1.Introduction Virgin group of companies is a multinational corporation founded by its chairman Sir Richard Branson.â€Å"Virgin† was named by one of Branson’s associates who think this name proclaim their commercial innocence ( Doyle and Bridgewate 2012, p.43). Virgin group consist of subsidiaries such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Media, Virgin Trains and etc (Wachman, 2012). As an entrepreneur, Branson built the Virgin group brand focusing on a point in the market of the product and services which didRead MoreDo Other People Influence You?908 Words   |  4 PagesDo Other People Influence You? As you get older you start to realize that you truly never stop learning new things. Something I recently had the pleasure of learning was that other people really do influence how we react in certain situations. There have been numerous amounts of studies done to show what actually makes someone do something different or change something about the way they normally would have done on their own. What seems to make this change is the influence of others. Whether people

Friday, December 13, 2019

Comaprison Between Equity and Gold Free Essays

string(166) " gold price increased from year 1999 through 2006, even there is a   stock market crash, lastly I can conclude that gold was a longer investment if compare to stock\." sComparison between Gold and Equity BA 341: Corporate Financial Management OBJECTIVE Our main objective for this assignment is to find out if an investor should invest in gold or stocks in current economy. Besides that, it is to know why an investor should invest in gold and not stock in current economy. Other than that, we will make some comparison between the years 2006 until 2010. We will write a custom essay sample on Comaprison Between Equity and Gold or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, we also learn the main factors that affect investor to buy gold. Furthermore, we have to compare the difference between gold and stock and also the drawbacks between gold and stock.It is because they may have different factors to consider in cooperate financial management. Last but not least, we also want to understand how gold can benefit shareholders even when investors hold diversified portfolios of investments. INTRODUCTION Gold is a precious metal ore that is mined underground then melted and refined into bars, coins, jewellery, accessories and into units used in industries. In financial terms, Gold is considered a safe haven/ hedge investment, a store of value and a monetary asset. Equity is defined as one’s ownership interest in a corporation in the form of preferred stock or common stock INVESTMENT OPTIONS FOR GOLD Gold is measured in troy ounces. When the reference to gold is obvious, it is much easier to refer to it as an ounce. One troy ounce is equal to 31. 1034768  grams. 1. Bullion Gold Bars – They come in a number of different sizes and weights. These can range anywhere from one gram to as much as 400 troy ounces. Small bars are defined as those weighing 1000g or less.According to industry specialists Gold Bars Worldwide, there are 94 accredited bar manufacturers and brands in 26 countries, producing a total of more than 400 types of standard gold bars between them. Gold bars contain 99. 5% fine gold. 1. Bullion Gold Coins – These are issued by different governments around the world. They are used as a form of currency for their face value and not content of gold. However for investors, market value is the sum of the value of its gold content and a percentage that varies between coins and dealers.Their sizes vary from 1/20 ounce to 1000 grams. 2. Gold Exchange Traded Funds – These are open ended mutual fund schemes that invest the money collected from investors in standard Gold Bullion. 3. Gold Certificates – Allow Gold investors to avoid the risks and costs associated with the transfer and storage of physical gold bullion. 4. Gold Accounts – These are accounts, which are available to investors, which hold less 1000 ounces of gold. 5. Derivatives, CFDs and Spread Betting COMPARISON OF EQUITY AND GOLDNow a day normally most of the investors will ask â€Å"Where should I invest my money to gain more return on investment? †Ã‚   During the year 2006 until 2008 there have a monetary crisis, which is the value of a country currency fall due to political concerns. Stocks have been a terrible investment over the past decade and they are about to get worse. Gold has been one of the best if not the best investment over the past decade and is about to get better. When you examine investments via relative merits, Gold has trounced general equities.Gold has also trounced paper cash, regardless of the fiat currency held, as well as real estate and commodities over the past decade. After all the economy crisis, normally investor will trying to invest in gold, with the reason of they define gold as a safe alternative, furthermore gold prices are does very well to hold its price. The price of gold are holding very well it had increasing from 600 dollar per ounce from year 2006 until 1,000 dollar per ounce on year 2008, its definitely increase in a huge amount during this two years.Furthermore the performance of stock markets are no longer reflective of the world economies, since year 2006 until year 2008, on that time many investors are try to invest in other solid instrument to create wealth during the â€Å"Black Thursday†, which is the day that the value of share drop down several point in one day, so because of this a lot of investor are changing their mind and invest in gold, because the best way to protect your wealth are invest in gold other than stock. For an example the price of gold in the beginning of year 2007 was 680 dollar per ounce, and all the inancial predictor stated that the price of gold will reach until 850 dollar per ounce, moreover at the end of year the price of gold are increasing to 870 dollar per ounce. Due to this example we are known that the price of gold is always increasing no matter on past or now a day. Other than that, many investors are choosing buying gold as a hedge against inflation. Even though gold had high peaks and low valleys, besides that if compare to other commodities such as oil, silver or investment in other hard assets, gold doesn’t beat on inflation. In addition most of the investors think that the best way to protect their wealth is invest in gold. Besides that during the year 2006 the price of stock are more expensive than gold which means those investors are more likely invest on stock compare to gold but because of the monetary crisis the price of gold are increasingly in a short period, because during that time, buying gold are the most diverse ways are also the most risk less.As a conclusion we suggested a good investors should have some gold in their portfolio, due to the research are showing that buying gold are a good investing way to against declines, because of the reason of the value of gold only will increasing dramatically if there have a stock market crash. The research are showing that the gold price increased from year 1999 through 2006, even there is a   stock market crash, lastly I can conclude that gold was a longer investment if compare to stock. You read "Comaprison Between Equity and Gold" in category "Pa pers" Moreover gold also tends to gain in value as the value of dollar declines besides that gold also is a store of value.Gold price will go up even there’s inflation, furthermore invest in gold will always maintain its value. Graph showing relationship between Gold and Stock returns ( 2006 – 2008) This graph are showing the return between gold and stock during the year of 2006 until 2008, due to the graft we can see the there was big different between the return of gold and stock. Other than that, the above graft also highlighted the parabolic rise evident in value of gold, due to that we can prove that the value of gold are always place at the first permanent or first choice for those investors as the investment instrument.The return of stock is more smooth if compare to gold. Gold stock will rise during inflation i had mention earlier but other than that gold also will increase during deflation. Investing in gold is good inflation protection gold rises as the value of the currency falls. But what many people don’t understand is that gold stocks will do even better during deflation, as the government lowers interest rates significantly and wildly prints money or creating inflation to offset that deflation and leading to substantially higher gold prices. DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE (DJIA)The Dow Jones Industrial Average was created in 1896 by Mr Charles Dow. It is a stock market index. It is infact the most widely used stock market index in the world. Essentially it consists of 30 public owned companies situated in the United States measuring the gains and losses of their stocks in a particular trading session within the stock market. The value is the sum of the 30 companies’ stock prices divided by a divisor. The divisor alters whenever one of the company’s stocks has a stock split or stock dividend, so as to generate a consistent value for the index.The DJIA performance, though mainly economic, is influenced by both internal and external factors such as corporate information; political factors both domestic and foreign as well as environmental factors that could inflict some damage to the economy. DOW/ GOLD RATIO The Dow/Gold ratio compares the price of the DJIA to the price of one ounce of gold. In essence, it is generally considered as the number of ounces it takes to buy one share of the Dow. This ratio has been used throughout history as a yardstick for economic performance.When the ratio is relatively high it is assumed that the economy is in a healthy state because stocks are performing well. However when the ratio begins to decrease it is assumed that the economy is not performing well and stocks are not performing well. Figure Comparison Dow/Gold Ratio and DJIA The graph shows a comparison between the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Dow/ Gold ratio. On the right hand side in red is the number of gold ounces it takes to buy one share of the Dow. On the left hand side in black is the Industrial Average points. The time frame for the graph is from the year 1999 to the year 2010. From the graph we can see a general trend, the Dow/ Gold ratio has been decreasing from the year 2001 to now. The DJIA increased from 1999 to an all time high in 2007-2008. It then sharply fell in the year 2009 and has recently began to increase once again. However even when the DJIA was at an all time high of 14200 points, the Dow/Gold ratio was 21 and in the year 2010 the ratio has fallen to an all time low of 8. 5. In the last 11 years there are various economic and political factors that affected the American economy and in essence the DJIA which would explain the decrease of the Dow/ Gold ratio to its current level of 8. . In terms of the economy, the United States has suffered two market crashes in the last decade. In the year 2000 to the year 2002, there was the dotcom crash which was a burst of the internet economy. It was a case of too much too fast with investors blindly investing in anything associated with the internet and expecting fast returns. In the year 2007 to the year 2009, the American economy suffered yet again with the housing bubble and credit crisis which resulted in an economic recession whose effects are still being felt worldwide.The housing bubble was based on real estate speculation as the price of real estate was soaring with many investors assuming that the prices of real estate would remain relatively stable and that’s not what happened. The credit crisis was brought about by the bankruptcy of Lehmann brothers which was the fourth largest American investment bank. It also faced 2 major financial scandals in the year 2001 to 2002 and these were the Enron and Worldcom s candals. These scandals involved misrepresentation of company statements.All these factors had effects on both the DJIA and the Dow/Gold ratio however the one with the most effect is the housing bubble and credit crisis. In terms of politics, America suffered it first terrorist attack on its own soil with the September 11th attacks in the year 2001. This subsequently led to the American government launching the infamous war on terror by declaring wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These factors contributed to the decline of the DJIA. We can see on the graph that between 2001 and 2002 the DJIA was at a low of 7300 points.From history, we can infer that Gold performs well in times of uncertainity whilst stocks perform well under political and economic stability. We can see that all these factors have in contributed to the decline of the DJIA and the decline in the Dow/Gold ratio as demonstrated by these events which created an element of economic and political uncertainty thereby making Gold perform well. REASONS FOR INCREASED DEMAND OF GOLD Continued weakness of the United States Dollar – All throughout history Gold and the United States Dollar have an inverse relationship. When the dollar gains in value, gold reduces in value and vice versa.However, since the global economic crisis of 2007, the dollar has been losing value and has continued to lose up to now which is the year 2010. As a result of the dollar weakening the price of gold per ounce has continued to rise. Inflationary concerns – Many of the world’s major currencies have been dropping in value. This is led by the US dollar whose value has steadily been decreasing. It is also the most used currency in international dealings. Because of this drop in value, the prices of most goods and services have increased. However inflation seems to be on the rise and is showing no signs of reducing.Fragility of markets – Due to the economic recession, markets haven’t fully recovered and are still reeling from the effects of the credit crisis of 2008. Economic uncertainty – This again is attributed to the economic recession, inflationary concerns and the continued weakness of the dollar. Industrial Demand – This is due to demand for Gold to be used in electronics specifically the consumer electronics industry which is still thriving. Increased demand for gold jewellery – This is especially true of Asian markets whereby there is a robust demand for gold jewellery. Infact Gold Jewellery demand is expected to increase 11% worldwide this year despite record-breaking prices, led by buying in India and China BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS There is a considerable difference between gold and equity; many benefits and drawbacks. First and foremost, equity has the potential of delivering returns in the form of capital gains and dividends. Capital gain is the amount by which an asset’s selling price exceeds its initial purchase price. A realized capital gain is an investment that has been sold at a profit.An unrealized capital gain is an investment that hasn’t been sold yet but would result in a profit if sold. Capital gain is often used to mean realized capital gain. For most investments sold at a profit, including mutual funds, bonds, options, collectibles, homes, and businesses, the IRS is owed money called capital gains tax; opposite of capital loss (Defining capital gain). Dividends on the other hand are a taxable payment declared by a company’s board of directors and given to its shareholders out of the company’s current or retained earnings, usually quarterly.Dividends are usually given as cash (cash dividend), but they can also take the form of stock (stock dividend) or other property. Dividends provide an incentive to own stock in stable companies even if they are not experiencing much growth. Companies are not required to pay dividends. The companies that offer dividends are most often companies that have progressed beyond the growth phase, and no longer benefit sufficiently by reinvesting their profits, so they usually choose to pay them out to their shareholders; also called payout (Defining dividends).Apart from that, having equity allows easy portfolio diversification as the amount of shares available for investment are almost endless thus investors are able to invest in countless of companies. Being a shareholder in a company a lso consents to the opportunity to vote on the company board. This is where shareholders actually have their opinions heard by the board of directors and they are able to get their point of view across in a company they have a certain treaty with. Overall, equity is very liquid which means that investors are able to convert stocks into cash effortlessly as they see fit.Gold conversely offer different forms of advantages. For example, endowing in gold is considered a safe-haven for investors as there are low risks involved. For one thing, gold reacts consistently with the inflation rate of a nation. If inflation is high, the price of gold will be high as well; unlike equity. Besides that, the demand for gold will never die. Since the 1600, gold has been used as a form of currency. If war breaks out in a country and money is destroyed, gold will be used as a form of exchange rate because of its stability and security. On top of that, the possession of gold is made convenient.It can be held physically as jewelry or non-physically in safes of banks (where a token is issued as a form of recognizing that ownership of a client’s gold has been set aside). Moreover, gold is a universal standard for assessment where gold in United States for example will be appraised anywhere around the world with similar rates (depending on the gold price standard of that particular year). With pros exists cons. Therefore, a number of drawbacks from investing in equity are apparent. Firstly, shares of a company can decline to zero if a company goes bankrupt.Also, as shareholders gain certain amount of shares in one’s company, there is a certain level of control of the business that is traded. This is where total loss of complete control is abided. Besides all of this, estimating the fair value of stock is difficult. For example, shares in the United States cannon under any circumstance be exchanged for shares in Europe for Euros; unlike gold. Furthermore, the securities of equity are tied up to the management sector of a corporation. This is where examples of companies such as Enron and WorldCom come into play. Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001.The former energy giant was undone by accounting fraud and off-the-balance-sheet transactions. In the Enron case, many players were involved in fraud at multiple levels. Investigations have implicated several former high level executives and have brought into question the roles of many others. Enron’s accounting firm, Arthur Anderson, LLP, has already been convicted of obstruction of justice because the firm allegedly destroyed documents pertinent to the Enron case. On top of that, the similar consequences occurred to WorldCom where in July 2002, major accounting errors that hid vast amounts of debt led WorldCom to file bankruptcy.The telecommunications giant faced increasing problems up to that point, but investors were unaware of the company’s demise because of the accounting gaffes and intentional cover-ups. Some former top executives of WorldCom have been accused of altering transaction and account records to conceal company debt; several have admitted wrongdoing so far (Enron and worldcom ). The drawbacks of gold on the other hand are such as where dividends or any form of additional income aren’t provided. Shares could be sold for almost twice; sometimes more, of its original cost. Besides that, physical gold has insurance and storage prices bestowed upon them.Paying these taxes could be bothersome to a client moreover, the total amount of insurance coverage for gold is up to $10 000 only. Finally, a high liquidity rate is present with the ownership of gold. Cash is not as easily exchanged for gold as it is for equity. The number one question on many investors minds are which investment would have netted a better return; gold or equity? The table enclosed below will help clarify this predicament. For example, if u had an investment of $10 000 in gold bullion in 1999, your initial investment would have grown to $38,300 by 12/31/09 – an amazing 283% percent increase.That same $10,000 investment in stocks of the S amp; P index would have lost $1,400. That’s a 14% loss. Therefore, it is obvious that there is a higher percentage of risk involved investing in equity then there is in gold. However, the benefits and drawbacks of gold have to be weighed carefully before any form of investment is made. Extensive research must be conducted prior to investment to make sure that all forms of options are carefully understood and acknowledged. In addition, an investor should never put all his/her eggs in one basket. Diversifying is the number one rule of investment.That way if shares or prices of gold declines, not every all ventures would be affected. Holding both diversified equity funds and precious metals funds actually lower the overall risk in one’s portfolio as one can work to offset losses in the other over the long term. It’s not really a question of gold vs. stocks for the average investor at the end of the day but rather how much to invest in each as a percent of one’s total gold or equity portfolio. How to cite Comaprison Between Equity and Gold, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

The Potential merchandising opportunities Samples for Students.

Question: Discuss about the Social Networking with Electronic Commerce ? Answer : Introduction In present scenario, the users of internet look for, communicate and share data by the means of various social networking websites for example, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube etc. By sharing information over these sites there is development of trust based relationship among the individuals. Number of theorists believes that expanding the aspects of social networking with electronic commerce will help in improving the trust among the various online transaction partners and it will allow attainment of higher economic value (Liang and Turban, 2011). The expression social commerce (SC) has been derived from the definitions of ecommerce and social networking. Social electronic commerce can be understood as the accomplishment of the e-commerce transactions and activities by the use of web software and social media. Thus, Social electronic commerce can be regarded as a subset of social networking and e-commerce which enhances the use of social media for assisting the customers in their commerc e related activities and transactions. Though, the social electronic commerce is regarded as a new phenomenon and it so keep on emerging day after day as well as has fetched the attention of the researchers across the globe. The purpose of this paper is to analyses the current stature of social electronic commerce and the associated opportunities and challenges of the social e-commerce (Pavlou, 2003). Literature review With increased diffusion of social e-commerce in the lives of people and the business organisations, there has been offered numerous research opportunities both from a practical as well as theoretical point of view. In such an innovative form of business facilitated by the use of social media, both the organisations and the consumers take advantages. The customers are empowered with more know ledged and informed buying by the other consumers (Turban, et al., 2003). The organisations achieve higher earnings by the positive recommendations made by the existing customers for attracting the new and potential customers. In particular, the primary attention will be on the various studies, researches and articles describing the various aspects of social electronic commerce and the associated opportunities and challenges of the social e-commerce in an organisation. In this manner, it will be possible to probable to summarize the present evidences considering the social e-commerce and outlini ng some of the open challenges (Yang, et al., 2012). With the rise of various so vial media channels, there is spending of more time over the use of the social media. Because of the strong advent of the social media and networking sites, the voice of the customers has raised and became much stronger than earlier. In the past, the sales were used to be a result of the vast messages spread by the means of advertisements; they are now more reliant upon the customer relationship building. But in the world of social e-commerce, fetching and impressing new and potential customers have become less significant as the organisations emphasis more upon the longtime customer value, customer relationship and ongoing engagement (Wu, et al., 2015). In numerous studies, the researchers have focused upon the numerous opportunities present in the social e-commerce. These opportunities include the Potential merchandising opportunities. The social e-commerce allows the vendors or the organisations to develop their pool of the potential buyers by up surging the volume of various e-commerce transactions and activities (Wang and Zhang, 2012). It is usually recognized that withy the increase in the customer loyalty there is enhancement in the growth and profits of the organisation. The researchers also emphasizes upon the other opportunities of social e-commerce which includes Improved external and internal advertising and communication. The effective advertising is one of the major sources of revenue and profit generation and it is used as a vital part of number of social e-commerce sites. The potential of the market is amplified by the various social networking sites which allow the organisations to rapidly reach extended pool of pote ntial buyers and several product sites. In concern with the internal advertising process, the customized and tailored advertisements appear to the users are generally based on their particular likes and interests by the profiling done with the help of the social e-commerce (Vajapeyajula, Radhakrishnan and Varma, 2015). The next opportunity discussed by the theorists is the Robust consumer influence by the recognized individuals. The influence of one consumer on another consumer is much higher than the influence of the sellers. In certain cases, the online buyers usually wait for the responses and the opinions of the early users before making a buying decision for reducing the risk of purchasing new and unknown merchandise (Seedorf, et al., 2014). The next opportunity is, Increased trust, intention to purchase and social presence. The social presence is of vital significance and importance to the e-commerce websites because of the impersonal and cold nature of the simulated and virtual environment of the social world (Frutos, Giones and Miralles, 2014). Furthermore, the presence of trust shows a positive impact on an individuals intention of engagement with the social e-commerce. In practice, there must be integration of the social plugins with the e-commerce platform which can enhance the perceived trust, purchasing intention and social presence of the online customers. The next opportunity is, Economic development of the already present social e-commerce. The services of social e-commerce are booming across the globe. It has practiced extended growth, fascinating a large number of the customers and the organisations. As a result, there is achievement of increased and continuous economic development (Salvatori and Marcantoni, 2015). Another opportunity is, reduced initial fixed costs. The features of the social e-commerce permit the organisations to incorporate this form of platform with squat initial fixed costs. The next opportunity focused by the researcher is, Easy update of product via social media. This was considered as an opportunity because the vendors or the organisations can update the information of the products and also its associated relevant media over the social networking sites with fewer efforts, particularly if matched to the conventional shopping, therefore it is helpful in offering the customers with the latest fashions and trends regarding the merchandises and the products (Baghdadi, 2013). Another opportunity is, Improved market trends prediction. It is one more primary reason for implementing the social e-commerce technology in the business operations. The social networking sites helps in developing the social interactions, which emphasis the customers to maintain, foster and cultivate th e online associations, it is an important and vital predictor of the purchasing behaviour and patterns of the consumers. Next opportunity is, Better approachability of the network shops. In the marketplaces of social e-commerce, the expanded networks can make the shops more approachable to the potential buyers, thus, it helps in improving the business of the resellers. Also, the shops are much more probable to be discovered by the browsing consumers (Huang, Yoon and Benyoucef, 2012). Another opportunity of social e-commerce is, Increased accuracy level of the recommender system. For attaining improved incorporation of the recommender system, it is essential to offer an advanced and efficient user tracking. The identification of the activities of the buyers over the social networking services offers the social e-commerce an opportunity for creating more customized offers and supports the clients for coping up with the wide informational loaded issues which occurs on a continuous basi s in the social e-commerce businesses (Lee, et al., 2006). Numbers of researchers and analysts have given their arguments which oppose the benefits and advantages of social e-commerce, as they are more focused upon the numerous issues and challenges which are prevailing in the social e-commerce applications. The first challenge discovered is, The development of the feasible business models. The organisations which are small in nature have to encounter a potential challenge related to funding because of the basic revenue needs required for supporting a wide social e-commerce initiative (Linda, 2010). To implement an efficient and successful social; e-commerce, an organisation must grasp the correct combination of the strategic direction, technical process and financial resources. The capital needed for implementing the changes is extremely high for validating the requirement of change and usually the small scale organisations does not have huge investments for implementing such technologies (Lu, Fan and Zhou, 2016). The next challenge is, Development of the new theories. The diversity of the new technological challenges for the social e-commerce necessitates the development of the new and innovative theories. Therefore, the social e-commerce is fetching increasing attention from the industry and the academic for the development of the innovative technologies and theories for understanding the behaviour of the users in regards with the social media (Cecere and Owyang, 2010). Another challenge encountered is, Work and time to manage and implement social e-commerce. For implementing a social e-commerce platform, the organisations are required to spend resources and time to find the required assets and to manage the internal organisation. Presently, the need to work rapidly and evolution of the global crisis prevents the resources from being intended to the incorporation of the social e-commerce platforms. The next challenge is, Some features occurring as initially challenging for use. It is analyze d that the features of social e-commerce can be challenging and difficult for the customers to use, particularly if they are innovative and are not the intuitive tools (Nadeem , et al., 2015). Another challenge or problem is, Popularizing the new platform. There has been a significant increase in the number of social e-commerce platforms, and in that case it becomes difficult for the organisations to fetch the attention of the adequate number of the customers (Salvatori and Marcantoni, 2015). The next major challenge is of, Privacy or Security. It is widely researched and identified that that the social networking websites and the social e-commerce platforms are frequently the sufferers to the social engineering outbreaks. Thus, the illegal activities such as disclosing or sharing of the sensitive and confidential information on publically approachable or even internally shared workstations may result in invasion of the privacy and security breaches (Ronca, Calvanese and Birtolo, 2013). Another challenge is, Less control over the social networking sites which are external. Relying completely upon an outward social network is not at all safe and it can be justified with various explanations. For example, at the time of issue of server getting down of the social network, the organisation and the business may face the potential threat of losing their online sales because of this issue (Fija?kowski and Zatoka, 2011). Another challenge in social e-commerce is, Capturing the right user associations. At the time of conducting the analysis of the social network, it is essential to engage to the challenge of acquiring the customers relationships via identification of their mutual interest. The explicit association between the customers just demonstrates the part of the associations; in fact, most of the users who have mutual interest are associating with each other just in an implicit manner. Therefore, it is complex and hard to attain the correct and appropriate user relati onships (Salvatori and Marcantoni, 2015). Conclusion This paper offers the outcomes attained from a systematic review of the diverse literature available on the subject of social electronic commerce. The literature was based upon the various journals, books, articles and paper of various researchers focusing upon the application of social e-commerce. From the literature obtained, it can be perceived that the subject of social e-commerce is fetching increasing interest from the society and the theorists. It has also analyzed that the organisations should implement the social e-commerce platform, offering the technological aspects which permit the product suggestion and the customer interaction. By such things the organisations can attain huge economic growth. From the various literature, there has been identified several challenges in the implementation of the social e-commerce which can further helpful in future research. There are serious problems and challenges such as privacy and security, these challenges acts as the barricades in the smooth functioning of the social e-commerce. There are various opportunities identified in the literature which can help the organisations to gain attention towards incorporating the application of social e-commerce in the business operations. In future, it is predicted that there will be wide and vast research over the subject of social e-commerce and its pros and cons for the consumers and the business organisations. References Baghdadi, Y., 2013. From e-commerce to social commerce: a framework to guide enabling cloud computing.Journal of theoretical and applied electronic commerce research,8(3), pp.12-38. Cecere, L. and Owyang, J., 2010. The rise of social commerce.A Trail Guide for the Social Commerce Pioneer. URL: https://www. supplychainshaman. com/wpcontent/uploads/2010/11/rise_of_social_commerce_final. pdf, Stand,19, p.2013. Fija?kowski, D. and Zatoka, R., 2011, September. An architecture of a Web recommender system using social network user profiles for e-commerce. InComputer Science and Information Systems (FedCSIS), 2011 Federated Conference on(pp. 287-290). IEEE. Frutos, S.M., Giones, F. and Miralles, F., 2014, June. Social Media engagement as an e-commerce driver, a consumer behavior perspective. InInformation Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 2014 9th Iberian Conference on(pp. 1-6). IEEE. Huang, Z. and Benyoucef, M., 2013, July. User-centered investigation of social commerce design. InInternational Conference on Online Communities and Social Computing(pp. 287-295). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Huang, Z., Yoon, S.Y. and Benyoucef, M., 2012. Adding social features to e-commerce. InProceedings of the Conference on Information Systems Applied Research ISSN(Vol. 2167, p. 1508). Lee, M.K., Cheung, C.M., Sia, C.L. and Lim, K.H., 2006, January. How positive informational social influence affects consumers decision of Internet shopping?. InSystem Sciences, 2006. HICSS'06. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Hawaii International Conference on(Vol. 6, pp. 115a-115a). IEEE. Liang, T.P. and Turban, E., 2011. Introduction to the special issue social commerce: a research framework for social commerce.International Journal of electronic commerce,16(2), pp.5-14. Linda, S.L.L., 2010. Social Commerce---E-Commerce in Social Media Context.World Academy of Science Engineering and Technology,72, pp.39-44. Lu, B., Fan, W. and Zhou, M., 2016. Social presence, trust, and social commerce purchase intention: An empirical research.Computers in Human Behavior,56, pp.225-237. Nadeem, W., Andreini, D., Salo, J. and Laukkanen, T., 2015. Engaging consumers online through websites and social media: A gender study of Italian Generation Y clothing consumers.International Journal of Information Management,35(4), pp.432-442. Pavlou, P.A., 2003. Consumer acceptance of electronic commerce: Integrating trust and risk with the technology acceptance model.International journal of electronic commerce,7(3), pp.101-134. Ronca, D., Calvanese, A. and Birtolo, C., 2013, March. A flexible framework for context-aware recommendations in the Social Commerce domain. InProceedings of the Joint EDBT/ICDT 2013 Workshops(pp. 105-110). ACM. Salvatori, L. and Marcantoni, F., 2015, July. Social commerce: A literature review. InScience and Information Conference (SAI), 2015(pp. 257-262). IEEE. Salvatori, L. and Marcantoni, F., 2015. SmartSocialMarket: A Social Commerce Architecture. Seedorf, S., Thum, C., Schulze, T. and Pfrogner, L., 2014. Social co-browsing in online shopping: the impact of real-time collaboration on user engagement. Turban, E., Lee, J.K., King, D., Liang, T.P. and Turban, D., 2009.Electronic commerce 2010. Prentice Hall Press. Vajapeyajula, A., Radhakrishnan, P. and Varma, V., 2015, December. Survey of Social Commerce Research. InInternational Conference on Mining Intelligence and Knowledge Exploration(pp. 493-503). Springer International Publishing. Wang, C. and Zhang, P., 2012. The evolution of social commerce: The people, management, technology, and information dimensions.Communications of the Association for Information Systems,31(5), pp.1-23. Wu, J., Xu, M., Mo, Z. and Liao, L., 2015. The research of design based on social commerce.International Journal of Social Science Studies,3(4), pp.157-165. Yang, C.C., Yang, H., Tang, X. and Jiang, L., 2012, August. Identifying implicit relationships between social media users to support social commerce. InProceedings of the 14th Annual International Conference on Electronic Commerce

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Artemis Fowl A Summary Essay Example

Artemis Fowl: A Summary Essay Artemis Fowl is a twelve year old boy. His family and Artemis himself are very rich, and Artemis are very spoilt. Artemis is a twelve year old genius. He is very smart, sneaky and have a very big intelligence. Especially when it comes to things he isnt allowed to do. This time, Artemis travels to Ho Chi Minh city with his manservant, Butler, who is Artemis’ bodyguard, but also Artemis‘ friend and accomplice. They are going there to meet with an informant, whose name is Nguyen. Meanwhile sitting outside a kerbside cafe on Dong Khai Street, they are waiting for Nguyen, who is late. The Butler family has served the Fowl family for generations, with a Butler being assigned to each new Fowl at birth. He has comprehensive knowledge of weapons and therefore extensive training in martial arts. Enlisting the help of his trusty bodyguard, Butler, Artemis tracks down an alcoholic sprite posing as a healer. He needs a copy of a book, which tells about the history of the fairies and spells out their rules and regulations for behavior. A book that all fairies must abide by. After a while sitting at the kerbside cafe, Nguyen appears. Together they look up the sprite, but getting the book isn’t easy, and Artemis have to use one of his mastermind plans once again, to trick the sprite into giving him the book. Artemis have brought the finest Irish whiskey, which quickly, the sprite snatches out of his hand. But meanwhile they are talking with the sprite, as she drinks from the whiskey, bit by bit, Artemis’ plan have already succeeded. Of course, he had a plan. He have poisoned the sprite, by putting holy water into the whiskey which he gave her. We will write a custom essay sample on Artemis Fowl: A Summary specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Artemis Fowl: A Summary specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Artemis Fowl: A Summary specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer He now gives her two options, which basically is, to live or to die. If she won’t give him the book, then he will leave her to die. But if she is willing to give him the book, he will let her live, as he have brought two ampoules. One, is a vial of spring water from a fairy well, sixty metres below the ring of Tara which is the most magical place on earth. And the other, is a shot of man-made magic. It will bolster the sprite’s failing liver and remove the dependence of alcohol. Of course, the sprite choose to live, and Artemis gets to copy every single page of the book.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Medical Ethics Essays - Science, Knowledge, Philosophy, Free Essays

Medical Ethics Essays - Science, Knowledge, Philosophy, Free Essays Medical Ethics Medical Ethics ? Bioethics comprise every possible aspect of health care, medical, moral, social, political, religious, legal and financial? (Weiss 3). This includes the questions raised by new research. It takes a look at the results of that research that is used on patients. It takes into consideration contemporary ideas of personal freedom and human dignity. It deals with growth in medical services available in the United States and the sky rocketing cost. Bioethics also deals with the medical advances in technology that has reshaped traditional medical ethics. Medical ethics have changed drastically over a period of years. From old commandments to new commandments, guidelines that provide structural framework, classic experiments that challenge that framework, or even how things are defined in medical ethics. ?Medical progress goes on, and the perils of progress must be heeded? (Leone 165). Changing times have in turn changed our codes of ethics. There are five old commandments o f ethics and five new commandments of ethics. These commandments come from many years of heavily advised dictates from various people. A commandment by definition is, ? ... a dictate or a strongly advised piece of advice? (Halsey 201). The first traditional commandment is, ? Treat all human life as of equal worth? (Singer 190). This statement is very difficult to follow; almost no person believes this statement whole-heartedly. The statement makes more sense on paper or just being heard, but its application in life is almost impossible to ensure. In comparison to the first old ethic, the first new ethic states, ?Recognize that the worth of human life varies? (Singer 190). This statement allows for variation and livability in society. It gives way for someone to say, if a person is a vegetable, has no vital capabilities, this person?s life is of no worth anymore. Without this sort of change in today?s advancing civilization, it would make it ethically wrong to ?pull the plug? (Rothst ein 1698.) The next commandment of old ethics is, ? Never intentionally take innocent human life? (Singer 192). If a doctor or any health care professional just stood by during the birth of a child and both the child and the mother were dying, how could that doctor stand there and watch both the mother and the infant die without taking some method of action. However, if that physician were to save either patient while sacrificing the life of the other, that health care professional would be considered unethical and scorned by the standard of this ethical commandment. In comparison, the new commandment states, ?Take responsibility for the consequences of your decisions?(Singer 195). By the token of this declaration a physician can make a choice based on his/her best judgment, yet; be held accountable for their actions. This gives a doctor the power to use his/her best judgment and knowledgeable skills, to do what they believe is best for the patient. This statement allows for a perso n?s right to free will, even a person who is a Christian may more fully agree with this statement just for the pure reason that they want to believe more in God?s promise of free will in their life. Commandment number four states,? Be fruitful and multiply? (Singer 198). This biblical injunction has been a part of Christian ethics for thousands of years. ? Augustine said that sexual intercourse without procreation ' turns the bridal chamber into a brothel (Singer 198). Some laws in America concerning contraceptives survived until the mid- 1960?s when the Supreme Court declared them invasion of privacy (Madsen 325). The revised commandment number four, ?Bring children into the world only if they are wanted? (Singer 199), allows for population control as well as prevention of children who were never wanted and not loved. From 1930 when the population was two billion to today where the population is over five billion and is expected to rise above eleven billion by the middle of the nex t century. With these kinds of statistics revised dictates, such as this fourth one, are essential. The final of these five old commandments state, ? Treat all human life as always more precious than any non-human life? (Singer 201). If we compare a severely defective human infant with a

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Thinking machines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Thinking machines - Essay Example This paper conducts an analysis of its subject in the form of a qualitative content analysis of relevant available literature. A multi-dimensional approach is adopted to incorporate all perspectives in the analysis. These include perspectives of philosophy, mathematics, language, and related specialized sciences such as Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Robotics and Natural Language Processing. Literature on the Turing Test has also been examined and analyzed to gauge its applicability on modern-day machines. Literature from these diverse subjects of study has been qualitatively analyzed in this chapter in search of a conclusive answer to the central question of the paper. This chapter begins with an analysis of the human thinking process based on the approach of computer science and natural language processing. The objective of the analysis was to define the human thinking process in a quantitative manner and then compare it quantitatively with the functioning of a computer system. The next section of the chapter concentrated on trying to develop a possible mathematical model of the human thinking process based on neuroscience and analyzed by a philosophical approach. Thereafter, the chapter present analyses of the different perspectives held on the subject by related specialized disciplines. These disciplines include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics and Neuroscience. The chapter then takes on an analysis of the Turing Test to gauge its efficacy as a test for human-level intelligence in machines. The chapter is rounded up with an overview in the form of a summary. The literature review conducted for this study was successful in finding the answers to many of the research questions. With regards to the first research question, while Philosophy holds that the human mind itself may not be