Letter Format

This letter illustrates the use of the full-block style. Because of the efficiency with which this letter can be keyboarded, its use is growing in popularity. (blank line between paragraphs)Some persons object to this letter style because everything is at the left margin; they believe that the date and closing lines should be centered or started at the center of the page. Others would like to indent the first line of each paragraph. 80th variations are acceptable; the letter style is known as modified block style. Notice that the â€Å"open† style of punctuation is used in this letter; there are no marks of punctuation after the salutation (greeting) or complimentary close.However, it is acceptable, regardless of the letter style, to use â€Å"mixed† punctuation, which requires a colon (:) after the salutation and a comma after the complimentary close. Finally, notice how your title is shown after your name on the first line of the inside address. However, my title is o n the next line in the closing. We try to equalize the line length by doing so. A comma is required if you place the title on the same line as the person's name. (blank line before complimentary close) Sincerely (three blank lines before typed signature)

Are Governments Controlling The Internet Essay Example for Free

Are Governments Controlling The Internet Essay Prior to the 21st century society greatest inventions were the automobile, the telephone, the airplane as a means of communication and transportation. Now individuals are blessed with the Internet. It is commonly regarded that the Internet is a manifesto of technology that allows human beings to interact with one another using networking services. The Internet has broken down the barriers and means of traditional communication. In cyberspace, people can talk with each other regardless of location. It can be defined as a â€Å"unique medium† with no geographical location but available to anyone (p. 21). It is not only used for communication but information searching, listings of products and services, advertising of large/small businesses, and much more. In essence, the Internet can be regarded as a separate entity from our own physical world – a digital utopia. The question being raised is, with the large scale of the internet, how is it maintained or even controlled? Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu’s book Who Controls the Internet? Illusions of a Borderless World gives a perfect example of how the Internet is being directly (and indirectly) controlled by territorial government. As each section of the book is uncovered, it is clearly pointed out that national governments through control of local and global intermediaries and coercion exercise dominate control over the digital empire. The book is subdivided into three large sections. In the first section Wu and Goldsmith marks the impression to the readers that the Internet is in fact a â€Å"libertarian state† where users can freely express themselves. The authors argue at the commencement of the Internet there are no actual â€Å"rulers† or â€Å"governors† of the Internet rather it was the upheaval of a Digital American Revolution, that’s built on â€Å"language and reason and our fail in each other† (p. 22). The authors later indicate that it was open because it was willing to â€Å"accept almost any kind of computer or network†. Thus it is a society that is ruled by the humanity that resides within the Internet. â€Å"Humanity united might do better than our lousy systems of government, throw away the constructs of the nation-state, and live in some different but better way† (p. 7). Section two establishes that users from different geographical regions want their information presented in their local language. As the author pointed that language is one of the most important aspects on the internet. It gives the example that people in Brazil, Korea and France do not want English versions of Microsoft products but rather want a version they can fully understand (p. 50). As the next section unravels we start to notice how digital humanity needs rulers and starts to get involved how national governments are governing the borders of the internet. It proves that government uses coercion and local intermediaries to restrict and even block content that is on the internet. An example would be Nazi merchandise and hate sites appearing on French networks and even an incident in China where a 15 year old girl Liu Di was punished by the Chinese government when she was making an argument comparing the Chinese government and a prostitute. It also points out how controlling Governments can be a beneficial factor in regulating illegal activities such as file sharing and copyrighting. The final section of the book shows how the government aims to make the borders of the Internet a haven that protects its citizens from harm. This section explores the aspect of globalization and competing countries in controlling the Internet. Europe, U. S. and China all wishes to have a centralized power over the Internet. If two out of three countries that are in favour of online gambling while the one third is not, how can a borderless digital society solve this problem? The sections encourages decentralized governments to work together to adapt to people’s needs and respond in a more positive manner (p. 53). For the struggle of ultimate control lies within national governments – and a problem of clashing government interests and priorities can be a serious concern for the future of the Internet (p. 171). Wu and Goldsmith both agreed that this is the â€Å"beginning of a technological version of the cold war, with each side pushing its own vision of the Internet’s future† (p. 184). In order for the book to draw readers closer into fully understanding the Internet the authors must not only make a compelling argument but the style and construction of the book is also important. This essay will discuss four areas in which the book was successful or non-successful into helping readers understand the importance of national governments and their role on the Internet. The notable points in creating a compelling argument lie within the thesis, the method(s) of research, the evidence that supports the thesis and the overall evaluation/recommendation. The first point that’s important in this book is the thesis. The thesis is the main point the authors are trying to make throughout the entire book. In the book Who Controls the Internet Wu and Goldsmith stated their thesis in the conclusion rather than the introduction. Instead they decided to allure readers by telling a short story in the introduction to foreshadow readers into the overall point of the book. In my opinion the thesis of the book can found on page 180 where it reads â€Å"Beneath of fog of modern technology, we have seen the effects of coercive governmental force on local persons, firms and equipment† (p. 180). Ironically, this is not the thesis that users anticipated on hearing when they decide to read the book. On the back cover of the book it reads â€Å"a book about the fate of one idea – that the Internet might liberate us forever from government, borders and even our physical selves†. (Wu and Goldsmith) Wu and Goldsmith prompted readers with a general idea then throughout the book used examples and heated evidence to prove that idea wrong. It gives readers the perception that the Internet is in fact a challenge to governmental rule rather than the idealistic entity of freedom and liberty. The thesis was not always stated at the end of the book rather the author hinted their thesis throughout chapters to reinforce their main point along the way. For instance in chapter 5, Wu and Goldsmith talk about how local intermediaries are present and how government uses coercion to control these intermediaries, thus â€Å"ruling the internet† (p. 65). The authors stated that it would be extremely easy for individuals to â€Å"overlook how often governments control behavior not individually, but collectively, through intermediaries† (p. 68). The authors use the example of HavenCo to reinforce their thesis. In the book HavenCo was described as â€Å"the first place on earth where people are free to conduct business without someone looking over their shoulder† (p. 65). Shortly after, HavenCo became the object of negativity where porn and other offensive content were being hosted. Due to their business model they would not seek out cooperative intermediaries. However falling into a downward spiral, HavenCo became desperate so they looked towards national governments for assistance. However the government would not oblige since it was hosting offensive content and demanded that HavenCo remove the material. Of course, without this aspect â€Å"HavenCo was nothing†. And now without the support of powerful government officials and intermediaries HavenCo is now a â€Å"jumbled pile of network equipment, rotting and obsolete† (p. p. 84-85). The authors presents the readers with a clear and indirect thesis in each chapter, and as each chapter passes they are vividly trying to reinforce their thesis by providing real life evidence that happens in the midst of the digital society. Other notable examples that are highlighted in the book that supports the thesis would be the Chinese government sometimes with help from Yahoo, seize political dissidents and put them in prison (p. 181). Next, the government that are threatening Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and search engines and credit card companies with fines so that they can filter out offensive net communications. And, it is clear that Jon Postel and the Internet’s founders give up control over their creation under implied threats of governmental force. And finally, under the aspect of file sharing (where it was debated it would be hardest to control) governments have executed hidden but important ways to fuel coercion on the economy of file-sharing and â€Å"tilts the playing field to favour law-abiding companies like Apple† (p. 181). The authors have a very climatic way to communicate their thesis to the reader, By presenting support evidence and a strong conclusion they are in fact proving to readers that the government does control the internet. The next section uncovers the methodology that the authors used to present their topic. In order to prove their thesis they need an abundant amount of information. Not only does this information provide historical insight in the topic but it grants validity in the matter. In the book the authors have presented much needed evidence that governments control the internet, as each chapter is unraveled the readers are engulfed with powerful side stories of the lives of specific individuals that resided in the digital age. The book uses a combination of statistical information and encoded facts, personal biographies and appealing stories. If we direct our attention to the sources at the end of the book we notice that the authors use a hefty number of secondary sources. The only notable errors that are present in their methodology were that the sources they used were a little out of date. Old sources will lead to skewed results and that might cause a misinterpretation of the research. The book was written and published in 2006 but the majority of sources they used were within the 1998-2001 timeframe. Although they did use several sources that were recent (2005) it still does not change the fact that the Internet and technology are always changing in real time. With this change it’s rather hard to keep up and readers can be misinformed of with irrelevant information rather than significant information. Although with these slight flaws in the book, the methods were applied correctly in the sense that it is very easy to understand. They have broken the entire book into three parts; each part builds up information for that peak ending (or thesis). The methods were appropriate in the sense that the authors had a balance of evidence to support their claim. For example, the information gathered was not all focused on the government’s point of view but rather an equal split between government, organizations and individuals. It would be naive to think that a proper thesis can be proved without the support of evidence. Methodically the authors predominately still influence the readers with horror stories and statistics of government coercion on digital societies to prove their thesis. For example, the chapter on China outlines President Bill Clinton’s visit to the foreign land. Clinton observed that users required national ID cards before logging on. Regulated cafes also featured cameras pointed directly at the computer screen and police officers would occasionally monitor users right behind their back (p. 97). In China the Internet is far from being a liberating force but rather it is the major attraction for government surveillance. As previously mentioned Liu Di was arrested on personally insulting the government over the Internet, shortly after Liu Di’s story was printed in the press as a warming to all other civilians using the Internet. Throughout the book we see many stories that mimic the true horrors of the Internet, presented in a non-fictitious way to leaves readers shunned into believing the overall message of the book. Other factual occurrences that are displayed in Wu and Goldsmith’s methodology are the Kazaa/Napster case where digital piracy was at its initial state. Napster, a company located in the United States was battling with court officials to stay alive. With no luck, a simple U. S. ourt order was easily enforced and that led â€Å"to a total system collapse† (p. 108). Another factor that stands out with the evidence was that it’s very diverse in the geographical sense. The authors not only present their ideas from the American standpoint but tackles on other regions of the world. In the introduction the authors commences a deep discussion on global borders of the internet, the evidence and support was from a simply disgruntled individual that didn’t like seeing Nazi merc handise on the French site of Yahoo (p. p. 1-10). By using this intrinsic method of communicating the thesis they are successful in the sense of drawing readers. This chapter rather than supporting the thesis, they argue against it saying that the Internet â€Å"cannot be regulated†. Using factual data, they are offering both sides of the story in a very objective manner. This helps readers understand the thesis a little better and perhaps even raise serious questions on a political, global and technological standpoint. Who Controls the Internet is a very accurate portrayal of the digital society. It tells readers the important message that originally the Internet was designed to liberate individuals and it was designed to escape government and borders, but without the government mingling in affairs the Internet as we know it today wouldn’t flourish. One of the few appealing factors of this book is that it speaks out in a very clear and engaging style. Within each chapter the author conveniently uses sub-headings to divide important topics and that each chapter features several compelling stories. The two authors, who are both lawyers does an excellent job of communicating the legal issues to the readers without heavy use of legal jargon. Despite the many praises the book gets, it still has some flaws. In my opinion the flaws are contained within the unnecessary pictures and images that are included. Many (if not all) of the pictures are unneeded. For instance on page 4 it shows a rather large photo of the Palais de Justice, where the Yahoo case was litigated and similarly on page 66 shows a picture of Sealand where HavenCo was initiated. Although visualizations are nice they have no purpose in proving the thesis. How can a picture of Jon Postel who is described as â€Å"a rambling, ragged look, living in sandals, and a large, unkempt beard† help readers understand the dominate government forces on the Internet. In another part of the book Wu and Goldsmith dedicated half a page to Steve Jobs and as a background; shows a skull and sword insignia and was labeled â€Å"Piracy†. In retrospect the authors should have gotten rid of filler photography and replaced it with diagrams, which brings up the next flaw, the limited use of diagrams within the book. A diagram can help readers understand the point the author is trying to prove in either a passage or chapter. Back to the Steve Jobs example, if the authors showed using a diagram how Apple and national governments were combating internet piracy it would strengthen their thesis in proving that government controls most sides of the Internet. Or even a timeline that showed how government intervened with such programs such as Napster, Kazaa and then taking on Apple. This book appeals to a large audience of graduate, undergraduate students and professors teaching either politics or information technology. The benefits include that readers of this book can raise important questions and use these questions as the foundation for political debates. The content is not the only contributing factor in a well rounded book, Wu and Goldsmith does an excellent job in constructing the book that’s easily presentable to the reader. Even an individual with very little prior knowledge of the Internet can understand the book. Each term is defined when it is firstly introduced. Next, at the end on page 187 the authors implemented a â€Å"frequency used abbreviations† section and the definition in case the reader is having a hard time following due to the technological jargon. In conclusion, there are four areas that were used to critically analyze the book. They are the thesis, the methodology, the evidence used to construct the book and the personal evaluation. This book presents many important topics that relate to past, presents and futures of the technological era. It is telling a story where digital democracies suffer at the ends of coercive governments. It is not just powerful nations have the power to reshape the Internet’s architecture, more specifically it is the United States, China and Europe using their dominate power to reestablish their own version of the Internet. Are Governments Controlling The Internet. (2016, Nov 16).

Corporate finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Corporate finance - Essay Example However, the board decided to acquire Forthnet in Greece on the premise that overseas buy-out will result in higher revenues in the long run. Regrettably, the acquisition of Forthnet was proved to be disastrous for Go Plc, and this demonstrates that how holding excessive cash could destabilise an earlier profit-making company. The choice by Go Plc to go for acquisition instead of paying out the excess cash to shareholders by way dividend has been exceptionally disadvantageous as corroborated by constant fall in its share price and the erosion of shareholder value immediately after the acquisition. The optimum level of cash balances that a company can have is the cash balances to meet their expenses, interest and capital expenditures and some level of cash balances to meet any extraordinary scenarios. Anything more than that will be regarded as too much cash reserves held by a company. The quick ratio and the current ratio will help to understand whether a company is having adequate cash reserves to cater their real time cash needs. Naturally, investors get worried about companies that hold â€Å"too much† cash because huge cash balances minimise the shareholder’s value as they offer lesser returns on their capital. The main contention of the David Einhorn, who is the manager of Greenlight Hedge Fund who successfully obtained an injection from the court against Apple Inc to declare dividend from its cash reserves there by compelling to declare the dividend from the Apple’s cash reserves. Hence, there is a likelihood that the value of shares of the Apple may increase by $50 per share or more after such a dividend declaration. Further, Apple shareholders are more worried that Apple may use these excess cash balances for negative mergers or acquisitions. This is supported by the precedents such as Microsoft’s blunder acquisition of aQuantive at $6.3 bn, EBay’s bad

Information technology and society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information technology and society - Assignment Example The society needs to care more on this issue because; through education people promote their social status and it also influences the way of life of individuals. Besides this, education provides access to such items as employment opportunities and thus improves the way of living of people. It is an important issue to focus on because knowledge gained through education can be applied in various fields such as health, information technology and in technical skills (Petersen, 2002). The application of information technology in the education is important so as to obtain current knowledge and improve access to many people across the globe. The name of the database is African Journals Online (AJOL) which provides access to African scholarly research online and is a non-profit making organization based in South Africa. The publisher that maintains this database is the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publication (INASP) supported by Google. The staffs in AJOL maintains this database using digitalized full texts and capable software such as Linux as an operating system, Apache and PHP for scripting. The database is freely accessible and provides a user front-end where those using can browse and access the contents of the database online. It also has an administrative end where the staff, journal publishers and editors can log in and manage the contents of the database. In March 2004, AJOL re-launched a data system that was more sophisticated to increase the functionality of site and to ensure compatibility. This included the indexing of all journal content listed with AJOL through Open Archives Initiative, OAI search engines. Basically, information and knowledge products that are indexed include journals article so as to make them available to a greater audience and increase their visibility among the research community. An option for limiting

Critical assessment and measurement of costs involved in the operation Essay

Critical assessment and measurement of costs involved in the operation of JIT policy - Essay Example In this report, we will try to identify the hidden costs of implementing JIT system and assign monetary value to them. The purpose of this report is not to reject the effectiveness of JIT, but to evaluate the exact benefit derived from this system and whether the effectiveness of this system will be universal for all business concerns or not. 90% of this work is original and is based on primary research in form of Focus Group, Interviews. The deductions, implications and examples quoted are original. References are used only for definitions and the various components for the JIT theory. Survey Research Method: The second method used is the Survey Research method, which according to Kotler "Surveys are best suited for descriptive research". In our case, the survey comprised of a sample of Production/Operations Managers in different industries. At present, almost all management schools of thought are in favour of JIT system. Due to the success of its implementation in Toyota Motors and Japanese companies the tendency of all Production/operations managers is towards implementing JIT. In this regard, a paper retrieved on 20th December 2007 from www.wikepedia.com was particularly useful resource material since it gave insight onto the problems built into the JIT system and problems faced with implementation of the JIT system. In the "Critical Assessment of JIT, costs associated with JIT" section of this report, some points are included form the work on www.wikipedia.com/critical assessment of JIT. The second most useful secondary Internet resource material was collected from www.1000ventures.com. This gave a detailed insight into the components of JIT. These components are included in table form in this report. The detailed knowledge of these components has given me an insight into what can be the cost components or hitches in implementing and practicing JIT. Other than this,

Stem Cell Research Legislation Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Stem Cell Legislation - Research Paper Example Humans have two types of stem cells, which include adult and embryonic stem cells. Embryonic cells come blastocyst’s inner layer. The adult stem cells are located in various tissues with varying potency. Potency of the stem cells indicates the number of cell types that can differentiate from the stem cells (Solo & Gasil, 2007). Embryonic cells are said to be pluripotent meaning they differentiate to form an array of tissues. This has attracted a controversial debate on the use of embryonic stem cells for treatment as well as research. This paper will explore the history of stem cell legislation in the US as well as compare this legislation to other statutes in the world. It will also elaborate on the current statutes concerning stem cell as well as the future of these statutes. The policies and laws on stem cell in the USA have undergone various, complicated changes over the years. Adult stem cells were first used for the treatment of leukemia in 1970. However, because of thei r limited potency, their use in research and treatment is limited. The debate on the use of embryonic stem cells is attributed to the fact that these cells are obtained from live embryos produced in the lab (Bellomo, 2006). The controversial issue surrounding this debate is the question on when life begins in humans. This is because some argue that the embryos created in the lab are humans and with rights to live. History on Legislation Roe Wade legalized abortion in the US in 1973. Five years after this, scientists and physicians delivered the first human following in vitro fertilization. These created the need for the federal government to enact policies and laws that restricted the use of public funds in the research of embryonic stem cells. All through history, there were no laws barring stem cell research in the USA (DeGette, 2008). However, the government put a restriction on the funding of the research based on stem cells. During President’s Clinton administration, the National Health Institute advised the government to permit the use of public funds for research on embryos. However, Clinton citing various moral and ethical issues declined to issue funds for this research. Furthermore, Clinton signed the Dickey Amendment in 1995 which forbade the use of federal money in funding the research on human embryos. The use of human embryonic stem cells for research featured significantly during Bush’s first term in office. In February 2001, he requested for the review of the NIH request concerning federal funding for research on the stem cells. Later on in August 2001, Bush issued a ban on the use of public funding in the research of human stem cells (DeGette, 2008). He argued that the creation and abortion of fetuses for the purpose of research was destroying human life and thus, should be avoided. In an effort to lift this ban, both 109th and 110th Congresses passed Bills to life the ban. However, both bills were vetoed by Bush using his Presid ential powers. The 109th Congress also passed a Bill that banned the creation and destruction of human embryos for research purpose (DeGette, 2008). In 2005, the House passed the Stem Cell Enhancement Act which sought to allow the allocation of federal funds to research on human embryonic stem cells. The Presidential vetoed the Bill; therefore, it was never enacted into law. Later on, in 2006, Senate passed the Bill but the President did not approve it. In 2007, the legislation on stem cell research

The Innovation of the iPod Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Innovation of the iPod - Case Study Example "Timing and execution are everything. Being first in an emerging market is neither as important nor can be as lucrative as designing the right products and services to cater to second- and third-stage growth .A smart company commands a premium for successfully blending off-the-shelf technologies into a new and useful product. Essentially, the iPod is a portable hard drive (in the Shuffle and Nano models, a flash drive) hidden inside a simple and beautiful enclosure, accessed through intuitive menus, buttons and a scroll wheel .separately, these parts were forgettable, but together they became unforgettable, Instead of creating a good product and knocking down the price until everyone could afford it, Apple has sold stripped-down versions at lower price points and hoped demand would follow. This strategy helped create Apple's bestselling music player, the bipod Mini." The development of the iPod is well reminiscent of the complex task of an entrepreneur who has to take all the monetary and intrinsic risks which will ultimately bring him success or failure in the cruel world of technology and innovation. (CNN Money 2005,Collingwood, H. 2005)As far back as in the year 2005 financial forecasters were predicting that the stock price of Apple Computer, Inc.had witnessed an increase of almost 6 times its original size . (CNN Money 2005,Collingwood, H. 2005) All this success can be attributed to the iPod digital music player which was introduced only a few years ago and has met unmatched success than any of its contemporary products and thus is an excellent study model in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation.The product itself has accelerated the growth of Apples digital music player market in the USA and has helped Apple increase its third-quarter sales to increase by 75 per cent within a single year. (CNN Money 2005,Collingwood, H. 2005)This success is puzzling for most critics in the sense that when originally introduced the iPod was neither the first digital music player, nor initially compatible with the majority of personal computers ( it was only compatible with Apple's own Macintosh computers, which only had a 4% market share of US computer sales). (CNN Money 2005,Collingwood, H. 2005) Before going on to discuss the success story of the iPod entrepreneurship it is worth reviewing what Product innovation entails for the entrepreneurial success. The concept of product innovation pertains to the whole process of bringing a new product or service to the market and which include the stages of product conceptualization, design and development. (Dyson, J.1997) More importantly there will be a need to improve upon the conceptions of production and distribution of the new product. (Dyson, J.1997) As the name suggests that the "innovation" pertains to the something new in terms technology and creativity .The innovation process will involve the activity of people and organisations who will be able to change themselves and the environment. (Dyson, J.1997).One of the most brilliant examples of product innovation comes from IBM which has become popular for successfully transforming itself from a provider of hardware-based products to more software-based services .