E- Commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

E- Commerce - Essay Example Many people call this as the knowledge revolution, characterized by an international data highway that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has been far too long since people have acknowledged that the wired or networked world is revolutionizing business. This phenomenon has paved the way for organizations to better communicate with their market and all the stakeholders involved in the production and selling of goods and services. In a nutshell, companies use technology and electronic mediation not just to reach out to its consumers and suppliers but also to automate back-office tasks and industrial operations while pushing ahead with research and development. eCommerce eCommerce or eBusiness is the most prominent consequence of electronic mediation in business. Here, individuals and organizations can sell and/or purchase goods and services through the Internet. The standard definition for eCommerce has been put forward by the US Census Bureau , which defined eCommerce as â₠¬Å"any transaction completed over a computer-mediated network that involves the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or services.† (Storz 2007, p. 126) The Internet, however, is not the only channel by which eCommerce can operate. For instance, transactions can be made through different communication and technological channels such as the phone. Nonetheless, the Internet dominates the electronic commerce today. It was created thanks to the personal computer (PC), telecommunications, business software, as well as the advances in office technology industries. (Shi, p. 25) What ecommerce did for companies is to tear down the traditional bricks and mortar business models and imposing its own brand that features increased performance, speed and cost efficiency. In addition, according to Kellerman (2002), â€Å"globalization is quite unique to eCommerce, permitting the creation of global market areas for many products and services,† and that its â€Å"attribute is â €Å"intelligence, whereby eCommerce is aided by sophisticated information tool, such as databases, search engine and the like.† (p. 128) There are fundamentally two classifications by which eCommerce operates: B2B eCommerce and B2C eCommerce. The transactions that are electronically mediated between enterprises are called business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce, while electronically selling goods and services by a company to its consumers is called as business-to-consumer (B2C) eCommerce. Together they manifest the best possible benefits that a company could reap out of communication and technology. Business to Business With regards to the organization, electronic mediation poses several benefits and opportunities. The most important of these is cost efficiency, productivity and convenience. In the past, for instance, a company would follow the traditional method of procurement, which entails numerous work and human resource in order for products to be bought and sent to the buy er. The consumer would order through a thick and burdensome catalog and would be punished by having to browse each and every page that could rival the number of pages of the telephone directory. After, making the selection, he would then have to phone the selling party, be given several forms to fill, fax his information and proceed with the buy and sell process. This setup can be extremely be aggravated when products and serv

PESTLE analysis for the LUKoil company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PESTLE analysis for the LUKoil company - Essay Example Theoretical view of LUKOIL In monitoring of the company’s macro-environmental or external marketing factors, the analysis would help in shedding light on some of the factors that have an impact on Lukoil Company. As a major market player, Lukoil Company operates through four operating segments. These are the exploration and production part, the process of refining, Marketing and Distribution, chemicals segment, and power generation segment (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2003, p. 23). This comes through exploration of natural resources in order to produce crude oil and natural gas. The expansion of this company extends its interests in operational zones by holding properties in Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South America, South East Asia, the Middle East, and North and western Africa (Kotok & Sciarretta 2010, p. 78). The success of Lukoil depends on its versatility to navigate the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors surrounding its operations, since it is an international corporation cutting across the business world. PESTEL ANALYSIS Political and Economical factors The political factors stem from the extend of the government’s policies in intervening the economy by either through political stability or instability, foreign trade, tax policy, labour laws, in addition, trade restriction. Since Lukoil is an international corporation, its operation, and success cut through many political realms and may certainly influence how the company does business (International Business Publications, USA 2011, p. 23). It is therefore the mandate of the Lukoil Company to respond to the current and potential legislations in order to adjust their market policy accordingly. The profitability of Lukoil Company largely relies on its economic factors (Plunkett 2008, p. 120). There are macro-economical factors like economic growth, interest rates, inflation, and disposal income of consumers, exch ange rates, and businesses. The oil product profits and losses that this company derives from diverse contexts of its markets come with the way the management of demand goes on in the respective economies of operation. This varies, as different countries especially in the East, cannot compare their economy with countries of the West like USA. How well Lukoil adjusts itself to the governments’ mechanism such as interest rate control, taxation policy and government expenditure determines their gain or loss in the economies of investments. Social and Technological factors There are also social cultural factors in the regions with the highest Lukoil investment, which influence a lot on its operations. Many regions have different beliefs, and shared attitudes within their population. Compare the social factors of Eastern Europe and those of East and South Asia and this would culminate in the way the consumption of products do range of different contexts (Marinova & Marinov 2003, p . 104). The large influence of this will depend on the region’s population growth, health consciousness, age distribution, and career aptitude. The marketers of Lukoil have no choice other than understand their global customers and their preferences. The way Lukoil markets its products have to

BOOK REVIEW Research required.Review Righteous Dopefiend by Philippe Essay

BOOK REVIEW Research required.Review Righteous Dopefiend by Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg - Essay Example These emotions were intensified by their situation, with addiction bringing them closer and farther away from each other. The work of Bourgois and Schonberg critically presented their findings of the conditions of the homeless community by linking image, words and theories. This is reflected clearly on their research methods and their unique style of presentation with the use of their field notes and photographs from their period of study. They did not only show the dopefiends’ struggle with life on the streets and with moral judgment but they also revealed their humanity through the same struggles. The authors aimed to present a critical presentation of the issue of addiction. They did not merely present what is happening, though, lest they be mistaken as simply intellectual voyeurs but they find the relationship between practice and theories (Bourgouis and Schonberg, p.297). They critically assessed the situation but they also looked for solutions through immediate policy options and specific local interventions, both short and long term, to reduce the suffering of their research subjects (Bourgouis and Schonberg, p.297). Their work also aimed to redress the institutional suffering of the homeless addicts and translate this to practical use for the betterment of the community and the moral economy. They delved deep into the situation, considering not their personal reasons for being doped but the structural position and ehtnographic differences within the community. With this, the researchers learned how the community treats each other and how the larger and more dominant com munity regards dopelessness and homelessness. With the use of participant observation and photo-ethnography, the researchers developed a unique way of presenting the human side of the dopefiend community of Edgewater. With the use photographs, they were able to present the emotions present in the everyday lives of the addicts. It also weaved a path for the

The divine comedy Essay Example for Free

The divine comedy Essay One may ask whether or not the scriptwriters or directors of the movies to be mentioned in this paper were able to actually read the Divine comedy; or perhaps the depiction of Heaven, hell, and the purgatory made my Dante was simply so vivid that it has become a staple of the mainstream literary views (in all its modes). Let us begin with the scenery comparison of Heaven and hell as depicted in the â€Å"What Dreams May Come† (1998) and that of Dante’s Hell and Paradise. The protagonist of the film named Chris awoke in a garden called Summerland, which if we would view using Dante’s paradise is quite similar to the Garden of Eden portrayed in the book. In travelling to hell in order to rescue his wife, he was accompanied by a guardian angel (similar to Virgil in a loose kind of way). The parallelism is heightened when we see that the hell in the film reflects the same coldness, and eerie feeling as that of Dante’s Inferno. In terms of storyline, we ought to refer to the film entitled the Purgatory (1999), the setting is different in a sense that it was set in Wild West, and the place of judgment is a town. Those who are yet to gain entry in heaven are sent to the said town to repent their sins by changing the way they lived. They are to resist temptations as well as go to church to repent, or perhaps it was to reflect on their sins. This is similar to how Dante portrayed the souls in his purgatory. In a way that, both depictions showed experience of toiling to make amends for one’s sins, waiting for judgment to come, and the fulfillment of one’s punishment for his shortcomings in his lifetime in order to be allowed passage into paradise. Lastly, the eternal suffering of the condemned in hell is a theme of Dante’s Inferno that can be seen in the comedy Little Nicky (2000), wherein one’s sins receives the tantamount turmoil in hell. We could also take reference to the angels in the said film that implied the dominance of femininity in the gates of heaven like that of Dante’s Paradise i. e. Beatrice et al. Reference: Dante Alghieri, The Divine Comedy: Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso, One Vol. Ed. Everyman’s Library, (1995).

The theory of normalisation

The theory of normalisation Howard Parker and colleagues (1995) have had a dominant role in the development of the normalisation thesis. They argue that illicit drug use is no longer a sign of deviant behaviour in relation to crime, but a central part of youth culture due to freedom of choice and consumption, it has become recreational rather than problematic. They predicted that within a few years time, the young people that had not tried drugs would be the minority and therefore be the deviants. They also argue that post-modern Britain has an increasing issue of globalisation and consumption that has affected the increase of drug use as globalisation means that trade and accessibility of drugs is more common and easier, and having spare money due to the labour market and a longer childhood allows young people to consume freely. In this essay I will further discuss the theory of normalisation by Parker et al. Parker, Williams and Aldridge (2002) use the normalisation theory to measure sensible recreational drug use. These drugs include cannabis, amphetamines, LSD and ecstasy, sensible drug use does not include using a combination of these drugs at one time or using them on a daily basis due to addiction (Parker et al., 1998). Parker, Measham and Aldridge (1995) argue that drug use moved from deviant subcultures, such as the Mods and Hippies from the 1960s-1970s, to mainstream youth culture in the 1980s when the rave scene occurred. This dance culture became normalised as it was a recreational leisure pursuit of young people that introduced an appealing new drug, ecstasy. British surveys have shown that the late teens and early twenties are the main users of illicit drugs (ISDD 1994). The normalisation theory was introduced so to rule out the stigma about young people that take recreational drugs as the majority are not deviant or involved in crime. The trends in drug use have altered from the addiction of hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, to drugs that are used by the modern youth culture in leisure activities, including alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy (Muncie 1999). Although this may provoke crime that is out of character due to being under the influence, it does not create a lifestyle of crime which heroin may. For example, in order for class A drug addicts to fuel their habbit they turn to criminal acts such as burglary and mugging. Yet when a young person uses ecstasy or cannabis it is for leisure and does not necessarily cause the individual to partake in a criminal offence. However, Professor David Nutt was recently asked to resign as the c hair of the ACMD (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs) due to declaring that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous for the human health than illegal drugs such as ecstasy, LSD and cannabis. He wrote in a paper at Kings College, London, that the legal drug alcohol ranks 5th as the most harmful drug. We could therefore argue that the consumption of alcohol is normal in society despite the harm it can cause. Also, although David nutt smoking,,, public bans it is now marginalised Alcohol is social activity,,, but some become dependant. abuse of any substance can cause issues to health or impact on family members. Although Parker et al. (1998) does not fully undertake postmodernism as structural inquality still exists, they believe that young peoples behaviour and choices have changed towards drugs due to a post-modern society that allows them to consume freely. For example, Mott and Mirrlees-Black (1993) found that the number of 16-19 year olds using cannabis more than doubled from 1983 to 1991. Normalisation has become an indicator of changes in social behaviour and cultural perspectives, meaning that the opinion about some illicit drugs has changed within the youth culture which in return affects their social behaviour as they do not think that using the drug is wrong or immoral. However, it could be argued that it is overgeneralizing to assume that all young people see drug use as normal, Dowds and Redfern (1994) found that approximately two-thirds of 12-15 year olds saw taking cannabis as a serious offense. Hunt and Stevens (2004) suggest that the government and media use drug normalisation as the proof for an increased disciplinary regulation and endorse policies as it is viewed to be a drug outbreak that needs to be broken or finished. For example, drug testing has been introduced in some schools to help prevent usage by young people (Craver, 2004). Illicit drug use is frequently associated with the youth culture, Robson (1994) points out that the most common time for using or trying drugs is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. It is suggested that this is due to adolescents being the time of experimentation in many aspects of life which can lead to rebellion. Coleman (1992:13) suggests a psychoanalytical-theory of three main reasons why young people and drugs are linked together: adolescence is a time of vulnerabilty as well as being impressionable, of rebellion and non-conformity and the need to be independant by disengaging from family relationships. These changes through adolescence support Colemans sociological theory that youth culture experiment in different social aspects of life, such as subcultures and trends or sexualities and in this case drugs. In relation to the normalisation theory, young people are able to experiment with drugs due to the wide availabilty of them as well as the access young people have to them due to people they know (Barton 2003). EVALUATION It is argued that the claims about the normality and extreme use of illicit drugs is over exaggerated and in fact illicit drugs have always been an underlying issue and therefore society has not suffered an instant or radical change due to industrial or post-modern reasons. For example, in 1932 Aldous Huxley discusses a hallucinogen called soma, showing the existence of drugs in previous decades. if ever by some unlucky chance such a crevice of time should yawn in the solid substance of their distractions, there is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half holiday, a gramme for a weekend, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon. (Huxley, 1932: 49) Illicit drugs have always been present within society but throughout time the drugs have changed to match different subcultures and trends, such as hippies in the 1970s were associated with using LSD, Mods in the 1960s were associated with amphetamines and todays youth culture is associated with dance drugs such as ecstasy (South, 1997). LOOK AT S+N.. difference between frequency and normallcy Shiner and Newburn (1997) argue that the normalisation theory focuses on the measure of lifetime illicit drug use. They point out that if evidence of drug use is measured in shorter time frames such as within the last month or week, there is a dramatic decline in the results of illicit drug use. This is also relevant to the media panic over dance drugs such as ecstasy, amphetamines and LSD in which the media has exaggerated a high rate of use within youth culture. Yet ecstasy is one of the least addictive drugs and tends to be taken less regularly, for example when someone takes an ecstasy pill in a clubbing atmosphere they are less likely consume alcohol which can be an equally as dangerous drug if drank in access (Coleman, 1992). Shiner and Newburn also point out that when time frames such as whether or not the respondent has used any dance drugs in the last year are used, it was found that one in twenty young people said they had. Also, only one in four 16 to 25 year olds said they had used cannabis, the most commonly used illicit drug, in the last year. Overall, Shiner and Newburn criticise the normalisation theory as although there is an increase in the numbers of young people using illicit drugs, it overgeneralizes young people as it does not necessarily mean that they all see it as normal due to conservative norms and values about drug use still existing to many people and they view illicit drug use as wrong or bad. This challenges the argument by Parker et al. (1995) that soon the young people that were not using drugs would be in the minority and therefore be the deviant subculture. However, it is important to remember that Shiner and Newburn are evaluating the work of Parker et al. in 1995. Their work about normalisation in 1998 does acknowledge that young people view each drug differently and their decision to take illicit drugs is complex and sophisticated (Barton, 2003:121-122). It could also be argued that illicit drug use only appears to have become normalised due to a moral panic, a term that is commonly used to describe media stimulated over-reaction to subcultures, such as youth groups and issues within society. Stanley Cohen (1973) coined the term moral panic in the 1960s as a result of over exaggerated reports about the feud between the Mods and Rockers, he noted that moral panics tend to focus on topics concerning the actions of young people. Other sociologist such as Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) suggest that moral panics occur when a proportion of society feel that the folk devils (as suggested by the media) have become a threat to society and social order. For example, when the rave scene occurred there was a new folk devil associated with the acid house dance culture and ecstasy that became normalised among the youth culture. Ecstasy has had huge media coverage, especially since the death of Leah Betts in 1995 after she took one ecstasy pill on her 18th birthday. Leah collapsed in to a coma four hours after taking the tablet and died three days later. The police claimed the death was due to the tablet being contaminated, this resulted in the media using the tragedy to create a panic about the effects of the drug within society. However, it was later revealed that Leah did not die directly from the ecstasy pill but from drinking an excessive amount of water in reaction to dehydration from the drug.

Amenhotep IV and Art and Religion Essay -- History Historical Amenhote

Amenhotep IV and Art and Religion The influence Amenhotep IV had on art and religion of his time caused him to be one of the most controversial Egyptian pharaohs of all time. The 10th king of the 18th dynasty, he has been called the most remarkable king to sit on Egypt’s throne. He has also earned the honor of being called "the first individual in human history."1 The cult of Aten did develop before his rule, perhaps as early as 1411 B.C. It paid homage to the sun, its central idea was ‘living on ma’at,’ that is, variously translated as "righteousness", "justice", and "truth." The doctrine of this religion failed to win the approval or support of any but Akhenaten’s followers. It is said that cult of Aten did not have an ethical code. It centered around gratitude towards life the sun for life and warmth. Ankh was life the force that the sun-disk (Aten’s ) rays bestowed on man in most of the art. The people could not pray directly to Aten. They directed their prayers instead to the king, who was the only person who could directly pray to Aten. The religion was such an intellectual and introspective nature that the people couldn’t understand it. Therefore, it was inevitable that it would not gain popularity.2 Akhenaten’s father was Amenhotep III, who reigned from 1358-1340. He made a break from tradition when he married a commoner, Tiy, who became Akhenaten’s mother.3 He was raised in a traditional manner, but he eventually showed a preference to worship the god Aten, rather than the traditional Amun. For some time he ruled as co- regent with his father. He changed his name early in his reign from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, meaning "One who pleases Aten." His wife, commonly known as Nefertiti, became Neter-Nefru-Aten, meaning, "Beautiful is the beauty of Aten."4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When he changed his name, it was like a formal declaration of his new religion. He moved the capital of Egypt to a place now called Tell el - Amarna Akhenaton and in year 6 of his reign began to build a new city which he called Akhenetaton "The Place of Aten’s Effective Power." He swore an oath never to go beyond the bounds of the city. This is today taken not to mean that he would never leave it, but that he wouldn’t push the bounds of the city beyond designated boundary stones.5 In the first few years Akhenaten instituted some changes. He began to build a place to worship a n... ...nally, with the excavation of Amarna and Thebes, his existence was beyond question. For a good ten years, there records had shown no pharaoh at all.23 Endnotes 1Edward Malone, Akhenaton. n.p. 1997, 1. 2Breasted, James Henry. A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992), 201. 3Edward Malone, Akhenaton. 4Ibid.,1. 5Ibid. 2. 6H.W. Janson. History of Art. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc. 1962), 57. 7Ibid., 48. 8Ibid., 58. 9Ibid., 57. 10Phillip Vandenberg. The Golden Pharoah. (New York: Macmillian Publishing Co., 1980), 49. 11Ibid., 51. 12"Akhenaton" Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 1, 1989, 188. 13Ibid., 189. 14Phillip Vandenberg. The Golden Pharoah. 299. 15H.W. Hanson. History of Art. 49. 16Ibid., 57. 17Phillip Vandenberg. The Golden Pharoah. 299. 18James Henry Breasted. A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to The Persian Conquest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  202 19R.J. Williams. "Amenhotep and the Hymn to Aten" Gods of the Ancient and Near East.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (London: Thomas Nelson, 1958), 2. 20Ibid., 1. 22Edward Malone. Akhenaton.3. 23Phillip Vandenberg. The Golden Pharoah. 97.

Personal Narrative- Cousins Death :: Personal Narrative Essays

Personal Narrative- Cousin's Death It is amazing how many things we take for granted. We make plans for the day, and don't think twice about how those plans can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I never thought much about it myself, until I was faced with the shock, and undeniable truth of my cousin's death. I don't think anyone really thinks about tragedy until they are actually faced with shocking news. My mom had been going to school in Greeley and staying at my Aunt Margaret's house . She had been away for two weeks and wanted to come home for the Fourth of July weekend. My mom had suggested that I go back with her and visit colleges, shop, go to movies and just spend time together. I had been feeling pretty sorry for myself since she had been gone. I had been working alot as a maid and helping my dad run the house, I was getting very irritated with my siblings as I felt that I was the only family member doing my part to help my dad. I was really excited to have a week with my mom to myself. The whole ride over we were talking about what I wanted to do that week. Making plans and having "me time" seemed very important at the time. I woke up Tuesday morning excited for the day I was going to spend with my mom. I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking fresh coffee listening to my mom and aunt tease and joke around about how paranoid my mom was about doing well in her classes, my aunt was telling her that maybe now that I was there, she would relax a little bit and have some fun. Our plan was to go to one of mom's classes with her, and then on a tour of UNC and then we were going to go to dinner and a movie. We were interrupted by a phone call from my dad. My mom was still joking and in a silly mood when she started talking to my dad. Suddenly the conversation turned from joking to dead silence and my mom started crying. She tearfully asked, "Is she ok? Was she alone?" I was thinking my sister went riding and fell off her horse or that something had happened to my grandma.