Introduction to e-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Introduction to e-commerce - Essay Example In addition, it exceeded the expectations of today’s technology, and enabled the communication industry to integrate their functionality. However, in today’s highly modernized communication world, WAP has some limitations to its functionality. Visible limitations include 1) the pace by which the wireless application protocol is transferred from wireless networks to handheld devices 2) Undeniably, high updating cost of WAP device and WAP content 3) inability of handheld devices using the application to transfer large and bulk amount of data 4) high monetary value of application (Landers, 2002). Moreover, specific engineering of WAP supports only handheld devices in a modern wireless environment. Its limitations make it unreliable to optimize WAP features and the benefits of the application. â€Å"Low bandwidth, high network latency, slow data processing, limited memory, and different obstacles make the application process slow in wireless devices† (Landers, 2002). By pooling abovementioned limitations, one could easily understand that WAP is not user friendly for hand held devices. Therefore, it is necessary to design a substitute suite of technologies that will provide functionality comparable to standard technologies. In addition, the potential of WAP to revolutionize the practice awaits exploration until or unless the technology associated with the WAP receives alteration (Stallings,

The Guardian Building, Detroit, Michigan Research Paper

The Guardian Building, Detroit, Michigan - Research Paper Example Detroit is credited with the best paintings and the best painters like Graham Beal, Julie Mehretu and Jane Hammond. In Detroit, the Detroit Institute of Arts also has a wide collection of paintings which hail from all corners of the world consequently making Detroit an art attraction city. It is reported that Detroit owns more than 100 art galleries which showcase the talent and creativity of the people of Detroit (Uhr, 4). Painting being is one of the major aspects of art that has been vividly exploited by the people of Detroit. Due to this, this paper will explain the recent and old art of Detroit with a main focus on paintings around its metropolitan area. Paintings in Detroit The Detroit area hosts a wide range of paintings safely kept in galleries, museums, schools and famous buildings with some of the oldest and famous painters credited for the beautiful works. One of the oldest painters in Detroit was Diego Rivera who painted twenty seven wall paintings. His paintings featured the traditional Mexican culture which resembles the indigenous Indian culture (Scripps, 54). It is evident that art was used to express the heritage and culture of a people. Moreover, Diego Rivera’s work also included wall paintings or murals of the Ford Company at the start of making of the fuel propelled engine (Scripps, 147). He painted workers at the industry working with big machinery inside the Ford Company making the engines. This was a great monument which until today holds the memory of the beginning of the petrol engine designing. On the walls, Rivera painted murals with varied expressions from the cultural traditions of the Mexican people to the industrialism if the American nation (Scripps, 97). They were considered his greatest success which depicted the industrial and technological revolutions that were taking place around the nineteenth century. It is also evident that painting as art also stores the memories and events that were take place at a certain time I n addition, Thomas Cole in 1845 and 1847 painted one of the most extraordinary pieces of the view of lakes and peaks at sunset (Richardson, 57). This was a great painting which attracted attention from the greatest collectors in Detroit. It was finally stored in the Schwartz Galleries among other paintings done by Thomas Cole. In his paintings, Thomas Cole expressed nature at different views clearly exploring the diverse natural attractions of Detroit. This explains that art is also used in the expression of certain natural phenomena. This led to increased tourist visitations and further enhancing the art of the Detroit people (Downs, Rivera & Kahlo, 57). Other inspiring and talented painters have also hailed from Detroit. Particularly, Patricia Hill Burnett (Siler) a lady who was born in Brooklyn moved to Detroit with her mother and started professional portrait painting (Beal, 21). She is credited with some famous paintings including the painting of the Philippines President Coraz on Aquino in her presidential palace in Manila, the portraits of Margaret Thatcher, Max Fisher, Jackie Joyner Kersee and Indira Gandhi. Another artist who was very talented is Shelden Iden, who is credited with beautiful works of himself, and the inspiring paintings of the great Indian caves using the light rays that were streaming through the cave openings. Robert Wilbert, another painter based in

Explain the Muslim idea of Religious Authority Essay Example for Free

Explain the Muslim idea of Religious Authority Essay Revelations are the way in which we receive knowledge of God and this is done through the Holy Books. In the Christian tradition there is an understanding that the Bible is a medium of revelation (Prepositional view), this is where the truths recorded by God are recorded, there is also an understanding that revelation is the way in which God acts with human experience through history (non-prepositional view) In Islam religious authority comes from God via the Quran through the process of tanzil. The Quran tells them about God and gives them guidance this is the book in its guidance is sure without doubt. The Sunnah and the Hadith are also sources of authority. The Sunnah, which is the life example of the Prophet Mohammad, is a source of authority because he was a wise and trustworthy man who settled tribal disputes. The Hadith is also a source of authority because Muslims look to Mohammad because he showed true obedience to Allahs commands. The Imam also has authority, the Shiites believe the Imam possess spiritual ability and divine light but the Sunnis simply see the Imam as a leader of prayer who has no superior status. The Shariah is also part of religious authority because this is the Islamic law for Muslims and it gives all the basic rules and regulations as to how human beings should live and act in a political, economic, social and collective individual spheres. The Shariah looks at family life, inheritance, marriage, food regulations and divorce for example Muslims must eat halal foods, those that have been slaughtered by the neck vein being slit and blood drained whilst the name of Allah is invoked. Muslims follow the Shariah so that they are doing what is good and right according to God and removing evil from society, which works through the process of Greater and Lesser Jihad. Greater Jihad is about establishing maruf (right) and removing munkar (evil) from yourself A Muslim learns to control his own bad desires and actions. Lesser Jihad is the struggle of the Muslim community to remove haram from society. Evil will always exist in society and a Muslim must resist this by showing true dedication to Allahs commands. In Islam Allah is the main source of religious authority and to help Muslims to show they are showing their authority towards God, Muslims believe that Allah allows evil and suffering in the world to see if they do what is right. Muslims have free will and believe that everything is pre-determined and that Allah knows the present, the past and the future of every creature but this does not mean that man has and freedom of will, its just that they have the choice to obey or disobey Allah and that this will show on the day of judgement whether they will go to Heaven/ Hell because all their actions are judged. Religious authority from the Quran is seen to govern every aspect of life for example women in Islam are seen as the most important in the family. She is the one who should keep a halal home and to make sure food and dress laws are kept. The teachings of Islam is that women should have total equality in religion and education but they can never be fully equal, for example the husband has more power but with that comes a lot of responsibilities to perform The man has full responsibility for the maintenance of his family therefore a man has more inheritance than a womens because his need is seen to be greater. Through the 5 Pillars Muslims are seen to be showing obedience to Allahs commands this is because they are a very intense and personal struggle to abide by and through reading the Quran Muslims believe that it enhances there spiritual development because it is the word of God. They believe it is the pure word of God because it is seen to be a perfect copy of a timeless document. In Islam the Quran is more important than the Bile/Torah because they where seen to be distorted to suit their believing communities and the revelations in the Quran are believed to be recorded when Mohammad received them. The other basic beliefs of Islam such as Tawhid are also seen as authority. Tawhid implies that everything is created by Allah; it is the belief in Allah with all his powers. It is a source of authority because this is one way a Muslim fulfils Allahs commands as it reveals Gods loving and caring nature. From a non-religious perspective a philosopher would look to reasoning to emphasise human freedom to make moral choices. They would argue that all of humanity relies upon their conscience to decide what is right and wrong, and for many this authority does not come from God. However from a Christian perspective this higher level of consciousness comes from God. In Islamic terms we gain our conscious awareness from Quranic teachings about Akirah which gives us focus for this temporary life on earth, from taw hid which reveals the qualities of God that we should aim to develop in our own hearts (such as love and compassion), and Al Qadr which ultimately points to a pre-determined path which only God knows about he does not dictate.

Varieties of Market Segmentation

Varieties of Market Segmentation MARKET SEGMENTATION Market segmentation is the process of categorizing the market into several groups on the basis of various factors such as demographic, geographic, psychological, and behavioral factors. This is to ensure that the marketers can understand their target audience better so as to make the marketing more effective and get more satisfied customers. Thus, the marketers can gain a great advantage over the competitors. There are different ways by which market segments can be categorized. It can be done by categorizing the preferences of the consumer. Based on this, market can be categorized as homogeneous preferences, diffused preferences and clustered preferences. In homogeneous preferences the customers roughly have the same preferences whereas it varies in case of diffused preferences. When a group of consumers have shared preferences it leads to the formation of natural market segment which refers to clustered preference. While marketing a product three areas of marketing must be taken into consideration, i.e, mass marketing, product differentiated marketing and target marketing. Mass marketing takes into account mass producing, mass distributes and mass promotes on product to all buyers. It is important to realize the great variety in individual customers and therefore the marketers use this type of segmentation to customize their marketing programmes for each customer. In product differentiated marketing more than one product with different features, style, size, and quality is introduced. In target marketing, on the basis of the market segments the products are developed and customized. Market segments can be differentiated in various ways. Some of them are demographics, geographics, psychographics and behavioural segmentation. Demographic segmentation Demographic factors are age, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, generation, nationality, family size, family cycle, social class etc. Based on these demographic values, the customers are divided into various segments. This type of segmentation is suitable because the variables are easy to measure and as they provide description of the target customers therefore media buyers and others can target a desired target market. Some of the important variables while segmenting markets are: Age and Life cycle segmentation As the desire and need of customer change with their age therefore age and life cycle is a good factor in order to determine marketing approach. One of the examples is of a 70 year old person using landlines instead of mobile phones due to lack of technological knowledge. Therefore marketers need to take this into consideration and guard against stereotypes. This can also be associated with buying pattern and behavioural characterstic. For example, as married people have various economical obligation therefore they tend to spend less on luxury items whereas on the contrary, single people tend to purchase new fashionable items as they don’t have such economic obligations. Gender Segmentation As the needs and wants of men and women are different therefore gender segmentation is being applied from a long time in terms of clothing, hairstyle, magazines, cosmetics. But the marketers must not define a product as being masculine or feminine as metro sexuality has become a common gender-factor. Income Segmentation This type of segmentation can be seen in automobiles, financial services, travel, clothing, and cosmetics. Usually the high income customers are the target but it should be considered by the companies that just the income cannot be suitable criteria to determine the customer as they might have different preferences and priorities while selecting a product. Even the lower income groups are targeted as the competitive pressure reduces and the consumer loyalty is gained. Generation Segmentation Various significant events, many a times characterize a particular period. These influential factors can be music, politics, movies etc. Therefore the marketers must make use of the images and icons of a particular generation in order to market their product. Social class Segmentation Most of the companies design their product for a specific social class. It divides the customers on the basis of their preferences towards cars, clothing, leisure activities, home furnishing, retailers, reading habits etc. Demographic segmentation thus assumes that people with different backgrounds and other differences are likely to share same values and behaviour. Geographic Segmentation In this method of segmentation, customers can be categorized on the basis of countries, nation, state, region, city, and neighborhood. But a company must consider the fact that the data might vary due to population shift. Various sales and purchases are based on the geographical variables as the purchasing behaviour of the customers are influenced on where they live or work. Sometimes there are also differences in the location where the product is marketted due to cultural factors, tradition, politics. These differences can be significant in one segment whereas in other segments there might just be minor differences. Globalization plays a major role in linking socio economic and demographic characteristics. This type of segmentation is referred to as geodemographics. It therefore combines the target customers with where they live. Instead of comparing the consumers by their occupation, the consumers are compared on the basis of where they live, hence the companies are more capable of predicting consumer behaviour. Psychographic Segmentation There are two types of customers, personality profiles and lifestyle profiles. The psychological variables provide the marketer opportunity to get additional information about traditional, geographical, demographic bases like sex, age, income. Psychological profiles are often used as a supplement to geographics and demographics. Therefore on the basis of their attitude, values, lifestyles, interests and opinions people are divided in psychographic segmentaton. Behavioural Segmentation There are various behavioural variables such as occasions, benefits, status, usage rates, loyalty, attitude, buyer readiness (which will be discussed in detail) which determine behavioural segmentation .These variables are considered the best starting points in constructing market segments which are mainly based on the customers attitude towards the use and response to a product. Occasions Customers are divided into segments according to the time on which they get the idea to buy a product. The time can be a day , a week, a month or an year. An example for this situation is the variation in market strategy for Christmas and Valentines day. Benefits As different kind of people look for different benefits in the same product, this segmentation divides the customers based on this. People tend to look for the benefits provided by different brands and accordingly they make their choice. Here casual factors play a major role rather than descriptive factor like demographics. User status This type segmentation is done on the basis of the category of users , i.e potential users, non users, ex-users, first time users, regular users etc. The marketing approach varies according to the type of users. Usage rate Based on the usage of the product, the customers are divided into various segments like non users, heavy, medium, light product users. The basic strategy followed by the company is to target one heavy user instead of several light product users because the heavy users account for a high percentage of total buying although they constitute a small percentage of the market. But the other users must not be neglected as even they may provide better future prospects. Usage rate further divides the customer according to time which means that the product to be sold may vary according to time. Buyer readiness stage It depends on the factors such as people’s awareness and interest in the product. A person might be aware of the product and he also may not be. The difference lies in whether they are just informed about the product or interested in buying the product or they desire to buy the product or just intend to buy the product. In all the cases, a customer must be lead along so that he finally gets convinced to buy the product. For example, a person belonging to a different place might not be aware of the products particularly sold at one place hence the marketing strategy should be different at that place and the product should be promoted more. Loyalty status Based on the loyalty of the customers, they can be categorized as hard core loyals, split loyals, shifting loyals and switchers. Hard core loyals tend to stick to a particular brand for a long period of time without even considering other brands. Split loyals have preference towards two to three brands and they keep switching in these. Shifting loyals stay with a particular brand for some time and then change it. Switchers do not have any specific choice and they keep changing the brands from time to time. Attitude People can have an enthusiastic, indifferent, positive, negative, or hostile approach towards a product. Based on these factors people can be divided into various segments and hence the company can get a good idea of the market and the strtegy to be followed. To improve the targetting strategies and get a clear picture of the market, it is important for the marketers to combine different behavioural variables. A marketer must reach all buyers in all segments by defining its target audience. By taking into account various concepts such as demographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, the psychographic segmentation and the behavioural segmentation, a company must decide which is the most appropriate concept while designing the market strategy. For example , demographic and behavioural segmentation are the most appropriate one’s while designing market strategies of a telephone as the ages of the customers is an important factor. Apart from age, attitude is also an important factor. Once the target customers have been defined, the next step is to evaluate the market segments and decide in which segments the marketing strategy should be directed. Market targeting is the second stage of the segmentation process.

Teens Essay -- essays research papers fc

In order insure America’s future, a national problem needs to addressed. Is America’s youth being educated in regards to preventing teenage pregnancy? Did you know that approximately every two minutes, a teenage girl in the United States gives birth (Guernsey 6)? While this fact may be sad and startling to most people, it is indeed the truth. Over the past few decades, the problem of teen pregnancy has grown considerably in this country. However, the most extensive dilemma regarding the issue of adolescent pregnancy is the incredibly important question of prevention. Preventing teen pregnancy includes such solutions as the availability of birth control, sexual education among children and adolescents, and a greater sense of support for pregnant teens. However, before society can begin to successfully prevent pregnancies among teenage girls, the underlying causes and facts about the dilemma must first be exposed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eighty-five percent of the teenage girls who become pregnant every year do not plan their pregnancies; an alarming fifteen- percent of these pregnancies is, in fact, intentional (Ayer 107). Some girls are under the false pretenses that having a baby will provide them with a certain amount of love that is currently missing in their lives. Many also believe that with this new life they have helped create will come a renewed sense of hope (107). These incentives reflect emotional problems that will not be solved by becoming pregnant, but will only get worse. In addition, a considerable amount of girls become pregnant as a secret plan to hold on to their boyfriends (Guernsey 37). They assume that by giving birth to their boyfriends’ babies, he will stick around longer and the relationship will improve as a result. However, the reality is that if a relationship is not strong enough to survive on its own, the presence of a baby will simply make it much more diffi cult.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several myths surrounding teen and adolescent pregnancy. Many of these myths are misunderstandings that many teenagers have, regarding sexual activity and pregnancy. A common deception among teens is that it is impossible to impregnate someone, or become pregnant the first time they have sex. Not only is this extremely false, it just so happens that approximately one out of twenty girls becomes pregnant the first time s... ...as moral and emotional dilemmas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By targeting males, many believe that the rate of teen pregnancy will drop considerably. Those involved with the prevention of teenage pregnancy are optimistic that the rate in pregnancy will decrease among teenagers. This is a battle being fought not only by teenage parents, but also by society as a whole. It is important that all children are educated thoroughly about teen pregnancy and then they can therefore make proper decisions regarding this issue. With the growing concern for teenage mothers and their babies, it appears that people have finally begun to take note of the problem and are doing what they can, in their own way, to further prevent pregnancies among teenagers. Reaching to America’s teen in regards to the prevention of pregnancies will is one means of in suring America’s future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Everything You Need To Know about Teen Fatherhood. Ayer, Eleanor H. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 1993. Bell, Alison. â€Å"Pregnant on Purpose.† Teen August 1997: 106-108. Guernsey, JoAnn Bren. The Facts about Teen Pregnancy. New York: Crestwood House, 1989. Harris, Yvette R.

Illiberal Institutions :: Liberalism Society Family Religion Essays

Illiberal Institutions We all lives are governed by the institutions like law, government, religion, education, family, employment market and others. All these institutions tends to look towards the formation of a society. They do not say that society is made up of aggregated individuals but that individuals are the product of society. This is a conservative notion which is in conflict with the ideology of liberalism. To look at all the institutions within which we live our lives and focus on their characteristics is beyond the scope of this essay. In this some of these institutions would be reviewed and their political approach would be examined. Where possible I would try and look at the whole institution on its own, but where the discussions about the whole institution is too broad, the focus would be on specific examples of the attitude of the institution. In case of law, I would emphasise would be on the laws treatment of women and how that shows the law approach to be illiberal. In religion I would be focusing on one kind of religion, Islam to show how all religions are conservative. In the same way focus in education would be on boarding schools. The rest of the institutions: family, employment, government and market economics are covered in singularity as institutions. As I mentioned earlier the focus in respect to religion would be Islam. I intend to look all some of the basic rules and principles of Islam and examine their attitudes. Islam believes in the authority higher then humans. It believes in the sovereign power of God which is called Allah in the religion. He is suppose to be higher than all the other beings in the world. He is referred in Quran (Muslims’ holy book) as the Creator and Sustainer of lives. This means that all the human are dependent on Him for their living. This is against the liberal theory, which believes in all beings, being equal. Thus, this concept of higher authority brings out the conservative attitude of the religion. Allah is the ultimate authority in an Islamic society and all the rules and regulations emerge from him. There are two kinds of duties that a Muslim owes one to Allah and the others to his fellow beings. The duties owed to Allah are Tauheed (believe in oneness of God), Salat (five time prayers), Fasting and Haj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Box Tree Case

Strike always results to the loss of trust between the employer and striking workers. In the case of the Box Tree Restaurant, the workers went on strike after losing their trust on their former employer, Augustin Paege, who denied them of their commissions because he wanted to reduce his payroll expenses by $100,000. After the strike, these workers could be expected to hold back as far as trusting their employer is concerned. On the other hand, after what Baruch and her replacement employees went through at the hands of the striking workers, they are not expected either to easily trust the returning workers.The most critical job for Gila Baruch, therefore, if she wants to â€Å"restore the once sterling reputation† of Box Tree, is to rebuild trust among all parties concerned. (Corsun, Young, & Shinnar, n. d. ) The situation, however, is not hopeless. Rebuilding trust is still possible. But they should do several things urgently. First, everybody should resort to â€Å"self-ac ceptance. † This means that they should learn to accept who they are and be secured in their identity so that they could develop trust in others. (Messina, n. d.) For instance, Baruch should accept the fact that if not for the strike she would not end up owning a promising business. The replacement workers are on the same boat as Baruch. They have the strikers to thank for their jobs. If not for the strike, there would not have been any vacancy in the restaurant for them to fill. In addition, they should not forget that they, too, are workingmen like the strikers and as such, want to be fairly compensated for their time and effort – exactly what the strikers wanted in the first place.Finally, the returning strikers should be aware that they are also indebted to Baruch and the replacement workers who made it possible for the Box Tree to stay in operation in spite of the work stoppage that they tried to instigate. Without them, the restaurant would have collapsed, they wo uld have completely lost their jobs, and then their strike would have been an exercise in futility. Once they accept who they are and what the strike has done for their benefits, they should be able to trust each other because their livelihood, in fact, clearly depends on one another.Another way by which trust could be rebuilt is for everybody to work hard for the establishment of â€Å"a healing environment. † This means that Baruch, the replacement workers, and the returning strikers should adopt a â€Å"healing mode† which will enable everybody to employ â€Å"forgiveness, understanding, and healthy communication to resolve problems and issues. † Once they are in this mode, they would be able to forget the insults and the animosities during the strike and heal the wounds they created, thereby allowing for an atmosphere conducive for the rebuilding of trust.(Messina, n. d. ) They, particularly the replacement workers and the returning strikers, should also str ive for a â€Å"reduction of a sense of competition. † In other words, they should do away with their jealousies and stop being defensive with one another. Instead, everybody should start cooperating for the common good. (Messina, n. d. ) The replacement workers, specifically, should not make a big thing out of the seniority status afforded the returning strikers and instead accept the fact that they joined the company at a much later time.The affected parties should likewise â€Å"let go of their fear. † Fear is such a restricting feeling which impedes people from behaving normally and objectively towards one another. A person who fears another for any reason could never trust that person. (Messina, n. d. ) The replacement workers, for instance, should not feel threatened by the return of the strikers. They should find security in Baruch’s desire â€Å"to reward [their] hard work and loyalty† during the strike. (Corsun, Young, & Shinnar, n. d.) The retur ning workers, on the other hand, should not be afraid that Baruch will be treating them with suspicion because of what they did. They should instead show Baruch that they mean no harm for her and the restaurant and that their only reason for returning to their jobs was to resume working and continue earning for their families. Reference Corsun, D. L. , Young, C. A. & Shinnar, R. S. (n. d. ). The Box Tree. Order #32096240 attachment. Messina, J. J. (n. d. ). Building Trust. Retrieved October 10, 2007 from http://www. coping. org/growth/trust. htm