Different Rather Complicated Games Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Different Rather Complicated Games - Assignment Example That was when he started to design games of the same nature at the age of about 13.   The writer solemnly believes that the kind of thinking he was doing was the result of the video games and sitcoms that were popular at his time. The writer’s major argument here is that today’s pop culture does not affect the individuals, in fact, it is the other way round. Pop culture is the result of the system. The writer goes on to say that he doesn’t believe that today’s pop culture make it to the bracket of masterpieces but it certainly has more depth and meaning than it appears to have. The writer believes the sleeper curve to be the most important force that is affecting mental development in this age. He believes it to enhance thinking and improved behavior in members of the society rather than the opposite. The opposing position to this argument is that the pop culture enhanced by the popularity of video games knows no boundaries. The sex, violence, and profan ity not just give out a negative image of the society as a whole, it corrupts it. Columnist Suzanne Fields puts it best; it is shameful to think about how many people are exposed to the worst traits within their society. The boundaries of acceptable conduct have become murky because people believe it is okay for them to act in accordance with what the pop culture is showing them. The writer’s major argument is that media doesn’t corrupt society, it is a result of the corrupted society. The pop culture in the form of video games is a reflection of the real world, the world that isn’t the so happy and safe place people want it portrayed like. The author also says that it is not the content of the pop culture that matters but one needs to look at the positive thought process it is responsible for. The writer goes on to acknowledge the benefits of conventional learning forms such as books admitting that they are the best vehicle of learning but argues that video gam es can provide with the same benefits. The only problem people have with them is that they came later on. If video games were the conventional form of learning and books were introduced after them, people would have the same reaction to books. He says that people are just resistant to change and adapting to modes like television and video games as learning sources it just a matter of being better acclimatized with them. Video games benefits are simply not limited to better hand and eye coordination, it offers much more. In retrospect, video gaming is a more effective form of learning for it is more engaging, interactive and generally more enduring. It packages learning with the element of fun delivering lessons without boring people. In fact, many a time when individuals are not playing, they are thinking about how to overcome a particular obstacle in the game. As such, video games encourage and foster personal as well as mental development. The writer of the book comes across as im partial. True he has very strong beliefs about the pop culture especially video games believing them to be a positive driver of the society. However, it cannot be ignored that the writer acknowledges the other point of view and gives it due consideration.

The Benefits of QuickBooks Online Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Benefits of QuickBooks Online - Essay Example The template forms developed for data entry on the quick book platform is imperative for the consistency the approach offers in data entry (Keep it Simple Accounting, 2013). Moreover, functional entities including the state abbreviations, phone numbers and dates have consistent formats. I acknowledge these findings owing to the simplicity it offers to the analysis of data and report generation. The highly built relational table structure allows propagation of changes throughout the system in case a single entry is altered. The inbuilt functions can be tuned to suit a given scenario. For instance when implementing a new tax policy, changing the tax rate in one entity amounts to a propagated change across the system’s sale records. I guarantee the platform offers more benefits in line with query endeavors. Searching for information is an ease yet quick. It has capabilities to sort, filter and display the specific information as needed and queried by the user. In that respect, multiple reports based on different templates and formats can be viewed or printed (Keep it Simple Accounting, 2013). The platform offers the capacity to track bounced checks, report in instant clicks and customizable content generated for clients. The functions support the advantages offered by quick books that I regard to be true. The utility that enables import of bank activity into quick book online makes it even better in the accounting process. Within the record is the contact information for vendors, manufacturers, clients, and employee (Keep it Simple Accounting, 2013). With such information at the user’s disposal quick books becomes a key tool in the financial division of an institution. The user interfaces developed are better set with the user in mind. They offer in a friendly way and an icon approach to functions. The profile of a company can easily be developed with quick books online making it a superior tool. I specifically adore the interview approach to customization of

Why Obama Won Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Why Obama Won - Assignment Example By taking into concern the current situation of this contemporary world, it can be stated that the political parties need to become market-oriented, by recognizing public demands and most importantly, by designing an effective party product. In this similar context, the party product may comprise certain important factors including policies, constitutions, symbols, organizations and ideologies. It has been apparently observed that an effective political marketing imposes significant impacts upon several important aspects which include political decisions, market orientation strategies, online association marketing and media coverage initiatives (Marshment & Rudd, n.d.). Besides, the notion of political marketing is also viewed as a sort of commercial marketing that emphasizes upon forming, preserving as well as improving long-term interrelation with the voters for the purpose of attaining significant success and expected objectives (Shaughnessy, 2001). In addition, an effective polit ical marketing is all about shaping and delivering accurate message to the key audiences in order to obtain considerable success, especially in the political field (Ren Scott Creative Marketing, n.d.). In this discussion, a detailed analysis will be taken into concern regarding how an effective political marketing supported US President Barack Obama succeed in defeating Mitt Romney to earn a second term. Analysis Brand Difference of Obama and Romney Considering the recent changes in the US political environment, it can be stated that it is the democratic brand which mainly differed Obama from Romney who possessed republican brand. A major difference that can be viewed in this regard is that Obama largely supported the ideas as well as the policies based on Democratic Party while conversely, Romney deciphered strong concern towards Republican Party’s theories and concepts. Furthermore, US President Obama, from the very beginning, was observed as much keen towards introducing a s well as developing significant democratic policies concerning international relations, supporting legalization particularly for illegal immigrants and augmenting employment opportunities among others. These quality facets of democratic policies can be viewed as a significant factor which contributed to the success of Obama helping the common people to interpret the policies as mainly formulated for the interests of the nation (Carothers, 2012). This significant aspect, i.e. the democratic brand of Obama might have significantly assisted him to attain success and win for a second term as US President by a large extent. The democratic branding of Obama evolved over the course of the campaign when he included republican idea into his proposal relating to health insurance reform. According to the proposal, a few of the initiatives based on republican ideas have been taken into concern under the guidance of Obama. In this regard, the initiatives included facilitating varying health ins urance premiums on the basis of participation in programs relating to employer wellness, establishing standardized mechanisms to enhance healthcare quality and superior access towards different community based health centers (The White House, n.d.). Conversely, the republican branding of Romney evolved over the course of the campaign when he acclaimed prior to the election that it is possible to mitigate the loss of revenue resulting from tax cuts by eradicating different deductions as well as exemptions, especially for the upper-income individuals of the US. However, a few of the republicans were significantly criticized regarding the viewpoint of Romney regarding the

Positive functions for society Essay Example for Free

Positive functions for society Essay The family was once described as a social group that shared common residence, consisted of at least two adults of each sex that maintained a socially approved sexual relationship and had one or more children, their own or adopted. This is a nuclear family, described by George Murdoch to be a universal family type. Although it is correct to say that nuclear families reside universally, family types now vary from single-parent families to gay headed families. Despite the variety, they contribute to the society, in ways that can be positive and negative too. Many sociologists differ in their views as to whether the family is positive to the society or not- functionalists believe that the family has positive functions that contribute positively to the society but it has to be said that functionalists tend to ignore negative aspects of the family such as the dark side, which consists of all that makes the family a negative experience for its members. Nevertheless there are sociologists that focus on only the negative aspects, such as, radical psychiatrists, radical feminists and Marxists. The new right theory has faith that family is a positive function of the society, however new rights only refer to nuclear families, as they believe that any other family type is inferior. Functionalism is a consensus theory which looks at society positively. Functionalists often make an organic analogy, as a human body is maintained by the functions of each part of a body, keeping it alive and healthy, similarly, and society is kept going by its institutions- family being one of the institutions which function to sustain the well-being of society. It is recognised by functionalists that families change themselves over time for the sake of adapting to society, an exemplar would be leading functionalist Emile Durkheim who strongly believed that family was the most important institution of society. Durkheim believed that family positively functioned for both individuals and society. The family, he believed, is the institution that offers its members emotional support, stability and gives them their identity as primary socialisers, and to an extent, teaches them how they should act toward the rest of society. Thus he proves that they perform a positive function to society too, as they provide fundamental social order and stability, which helps to prevent the society from becoming disordered. Talcott Parsons was a functionalist who analysed the families  from a modern perspective and came to a conclusion that although families have less functions, as they are provided with help from outside agencies, they still perform two important functions which determine the actions within a society. These two functions focus on individuals- the first being the socialisation of children primarily, into the responsible, committed individuals that society can benefit from and the second is the stabilisation of adult personalities, as he stated that it was family who help ease away tensions of the modern world, particularly for male workers. He also believed that these functions were best found in nuclear families, where the clear sexual division in labour enabled wives to partake an expressive role while men held an instrumental role. However, there are functionalists like Fletcher who believe that family has not decreased their functions, he explains how the family do not just perform the apparent obvious functions of primary socialisation, social control and reproduction but they also play a role in providing basic education and support through school life and they still have an economic function because they provide support to their non-working members, whether they are un-fit to work, ill or unemployed and ultimately, family supplies the whole economy with workers. The functionalism theory sheds light on the positive aspects of family life which all contribute to the society positively. Each functionalist has consistently mentioned a vital performance that families partake- the primary socialisation of children. During this stage a child learns about his/her culture and is most likely to be taught the norms and values of their society. Primary socialisation is a vital performance which is done by the family, as a child is expected to have acknowledgement of the norms and values in order to adjust with the society they live in. Although the functionalist theory does not look at the negative aspects of the family there are others that do. It can only be assumed that the functionalist view was patriarchal- the belief that men are dominate. This assumption is only representative of Parson as he introduced the warm bath theory, whereby he suggested that it was men that had a hard day at work and their wives (women) stayed at home and made them feel better when the husbands came home. Radical feminists are those who focus on this discrimination and have firm belief that the world is wrongly dominated by  men. They believe that patriarchal ideology gives women a perception that motherhood is their natural role whereas it actually keeps women subservient to men. They express how women have at least a dual role but most have a triple burden which consists of the roles of a paid worker, a mother and a housewife. The Marxist theory characterises the society as being one that exploits and subordinates the working cl ass. They argue that the family only benefits capitalists as they produce the working class, teach their children to accept capitalist values when primarily socialising them, which are to hard work, accepting and respecting authority, and it is the family that makes their members feel that capitalism is the norm. Radical psychiatrists on the other hand, argue that the family as a whole is a deception. Clinical evidence proves that families suffer exploitation, oppression and a negative experience. The modern family is so independent that it leads to emotional stress between the members. They disagree with functionalists and say that families actually spend too much time trying to please others by doing what they are expected to do, which prevents them from having autonomy. Thus if someone did something wrong it would lead to shame, guilt and repression. This leads to the dark side to a family which includes abuse to children and domestic violence to both men and women. Child abuse consists of, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. A CPS report showed that five to six children died each day in 2001 due to child abuse or neglect. Approximately 84% of the children were abused by their parents and mothers alone were responsible for 47% of the neglect and 32% of the abuse. Domestic violence is also increasing the UKs crime rate and accounts for a quarter of the murders in the UK. Domestic violence is all the violence that occurs between partners. Not only does it account for physical violence but sexual and emotional abuse too. Although it is considered a crime against women because they are twice as likely to be threatened and injured, men are also violated against- a study conducted at the Leicester Infirmary in 1992 concluded that equal numbers of men and women were being assaulted at home and that men received more serious injuries, losing consciousness more often than women. It may be so that the family as individuals may be affected more if they suffer these negative experiences however, it may also affect the society because ones participation to society will become effortless regardless of the way they contribute, for examples if they are a student,  they will not work hard, if they are a worker, they will be less. Nevertheless there are 400 refuges around the UK and any help lines to support those that are suffering. There are different views of the family that that highlight how they function in society and towards individuals. Functionalism is the main theory that promotes the positive aspects of a family and reflects the positive contributions a family makes towards society by performing essential functions such as reproduction, primary socialisation and social control. There are also many theories that focus on the negative aspects of the family- the things that make family a bad function of society. However, it has to be said that all the theorys are correct if read from the perspective that they are written in. Thus, although the family does have a dark side and may not comply with all theorists, such as radical psychiatrists and radical feminists, they still manage to uphold the main functions, that is to reproduce, socialise with individuals and support their family members.

Television Programing Essay -- Technology, TV, Internet

In the beginning, television programming was free for anybody with a television set and an antenna. Unfortunately, there weren’t very many channels to choose from and they were all loaded with ads. Later, cable companies found success for themselves by charging consumers to pipe an ever increasing number of channels into their homes. But it still seemed like there was never anything good, and it was all still loaded with ads. Now advanced telecommunications technology enables consumers to access television and video content on demand via the internet, provided they have a broadband, or high speed, connection. The increasing market penetration of broadband internet service may be leading consumers to abandon traditional television in favor of internet based on-demand video distribution, and forcing traditional television content producers to find new ways to maintain profits in the wake of this change. Watching high quality video content on a television screen via the internet has become easy for the average consumer. Streaming video players, which connect televisions to the internet and allow someone to easily navigate the vast sea of internet video content, are readily available for purchase in electronics stores. One such product, the Roku 2 HD, retails for about $60 and allows access to hundreds of online video channels without subscription fees over a broadband internet connection (â€Å"Choose your Roku†, 2011; â€Å"Roku channel store†, 2011). Meanwhile, Cox Communications charges about $20 per month for a very basic programming package consisting of 23 channels (â€Å"Cox Communications†, 2011). Since the Roku only costs the equivalent of three months worth of the most basic cable television service and does not require a subscription ... ...ly $734 million of that is from video (Perren, 2010, p. 74). While the advertising revenues are still small for online video, the number of people that are viewing is large, and it is getting larger quickly. In November 2010, The Washington Post published an article that that noted Netflix’s video service alone made up roughly 30% of all consumer internet traffic during the busiest times (as cited in Kang, 2011a). With so many consumers shifting over to online viewing, it is apparent that the industry will have to find a way to make it work. The consumer trend towards broadband internet connections and internet based on-demand video services is clear. Cable companies will continue to lose their once dominant positions unless they are able to leverage these new technologies to improve their customers’ experiences while increasing value of their advertising space.

Reaction to Wendell Berry’s Out of Your Car, Off Your Horse Essay

While Wendell Berry’s essay is certainly thought-provoking, it was to a certain degree frustrating to read for me because I perceived it as a perfect example of good environmentalist intentions and a legitimate desire of finding alternatives to our unsustainable system which ultimately lead to an oversimplified and irrational utopian vision to be realized by pursuing just one path which shows esoteric traits. Berry’s idol is localism.  Surely, local economic structures are vital to environmentalist efforts if they actually help to reduce for example the Carbon footprint because fuel for transportation is saved. On the other hand, if consequently carried out, this strategy will backfire. Local farming will be more diverse but it certainly won’t be more productive. In a free, global market, farmers, if they have access to the necessary knowledge and equipment, will grow the food that is best suited to their soil and climate, thereby maximizing productivity and getting out more food on less space for less energy. This effect can and often does weigh heavier than short transportation, especially if this transportation is also carried out only on a small scale, leading to many small trucks delivering small amounts of food to countless small organic shops which do a good job on selling an ecologically peaceful mind but very poorly on actually saving the environment. Large scales might not fit to our romantic social ideals but more often than not, they are ecologically efficient More importantly, the question â€Å"What will this do to our community† is not the only important one. If this were true, then some people in Northern Siberia should probably start burning their fossil fuels like crazy. After all, they are often available in their neighborhood and global warming would certainly benefit their agricultural returns while their colleagues a few hundred miles South will suffer from extreme dearth. No, mutual dependency and its consequence, thinking globally, are a huge step forward, if it is flanked by serious consideration of local concerns.

Ray Bradbury’s book The Illustrated Man Essay

Ray Bradbury’s book The Illustrated Man is a compilation of short stories that leads from one story to the next. Each story is a continuation of a new one; thereby producing a chronicle-like book. Specifically, there are two stories in the book that really made an impact on me, and they are namely The Veldt and The Rocket. The two short stories is a continuation of the other. Basically, the two stories revolve around their respective families and how they cope up with the struggles of every day living and trying to fulfill their domestic duties. The two stories are very different from one another in a sense that love for the family (and achieving it, for that matter) is told in a different angle. Bradbury shows that in the end, there are still many things in the world that cannot be simply bought.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Veldt, the protagonist is portrayed by George Hadley. George Hadley is a very wealthy man. He is the father of Wendy and Peter and a husband to Lydia. Mr. Hadley is a very wealthy man; he works very hard to give the wants and needs of his family. Because of his richness, he built an automatic house for his family. Their house is one of the most ultra-modern houses that anyone can imagine. Consequently, he built this house in hope that it will solve some of their house problems since Lydia, Wendy and Peter does not want to do their household duties. Because of such, Mr. Hadley mounted different mechanical devices and machineries in their house. Literally, everything in the house is automatic—from the doors, comfort rooms, closets—everything. They even have a machine that helps the kids tie their shoelaces and the house can clean on its own; and even, the house can automatically take care of the children. Moreover, he installed a special nursery for the children in which the surroundings can be change anytime using their imagination. In the long run, the children and even Lydia becomes too dependent on the house and on the mechanical devices and machineries that Mr. Hadley installed. When Mr. Hadley found out about this, he tried to shut down all the machines in their house. Eventually, his wife and children found out about it and they became livid and angry to Mr. Hadley and it even came to a point that they almost want to kill him. This scenario happened because all the children and even Mrs. Hadley realized that it (the automatic house) became more important more than anything in their family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It just goes to show that the Hadley family became more interesting in their house more than anything in the world. They did not even bother to think about the things that matter most in life like love, respect and trust. Admittedly, there are certain things in life that cannot be bought by all the riches in the world. No matter how rich Mr. Hadley is, still, he was not able to show his love for his family. His work demanded too much from him and that is why, to maintain the wants (more than the needs) of his family, he worked too hard to give then all they want. He thought that by giving them an automatic and ultra-modern house, he will be able to fill the gap in their relationships. But what he did not realize is that in the end, his family became more dependent and accustomed to their automatic house. This only implies that a big house or even the most expensive or the most modern gadgets in the world cannot level up to the love that a family have. In the story, Mr. Hadley had barely enough time to spend with his family (that is why his family enjoyed too much the house). He did not have any quality and meaningful time with them. When he found out that the house he built is enough for his family, it is only then that he realized that he is missing too much of a good thing in his life. He realized that his wife and children does not love him anymore and would rather choose to be in their special nursery than spend some time with him. Because of such, he was rewarded by â€Å"secrecy and disobedience† from his children (Bradbury).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, â€Å"The Rocket’ is so much unlike the situation of the Hadley family. The lead character in the short story is named Bodoni. Naturally, his family does not have the amenities and means that the Hadley’s can afford. Their living condition is also so much different from the Hadley’s yet he is able to please his family’s wants and moreover, their needs. His family’s ultimate dream is to visit the planet Mars. To satisfy this dream, he works very hard just to satisfy their daily needs and in the hopes that he can save enough money so that he can bring all his family to Mars someday. After six years of hard labor, he was ready to tell his family of what their dreams have become; and because of this, the entire family got excited but they only got disappointed when he told the truth that he was only able to make three thousand dollars—which is barely enough to take one member of the family to Mars. With this reality in sight, the family got sad and just decided that they now do not want to go to Mars. Instead, the family debated and in the end, Bodoni decided to just buy an old rocket. He fixed the rocket and explained to his family that even though the rocket cannot fly to Mars, they can always inside it and just use their imagination about travelling to Mars. With his brilliant, Bodoni became â€Å"the best father in the world.† (Bradbury)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is a very big difference in the family lives of the Hadley’s and Bodoni’s. In the Hadley’s case, he decided to build an automatic house for his family because he is very rich and he does not have enough time for them. He thought that by giving them that house, he will be able to show his love for his family. He showered his family all the material things that his money can buy. In the long run, the actual circumstance became his worst nightmare. The house became undoubtedly became the replacement of his absence in the house. Additionally, the special nursery in which Mr. Hadley built for his children became the author’s symbolism of Mr. Hadley’s absence. The house and the room became his substitute for his affections. When he wanted to shut it down, the children became angry at him because they already view the house as everything they ever needed. The children thinks that it is enough for them and they do not need nay love from their mother, especially their father because the house provides everything for them. What they do not realize is the fact that their father loves them dearly and only has the best intentions for them. It just so happened that he is too busy working. When he realized that the house seemed more important for the children than him, he decided that he wanted his children back but it was too late, the children already hates him. This story only shows that no matter what or how many material things you give or shower to your love ones, love and quality time cannot be bought by such things. What is more important is the time that you will be able to spend with your family and how you will be able to show your love for them. Money is easy to earn but love takes forever. Meanwhile, it is the contrast for the family of Bodoni. Even though they are not as rich as the Hadley’s, Bodoni works very hard just to achieve a life-long family dream which is to travel to Mars. He works night and day so that all the family members can go outer space but unfortunately, after six years of hard labor, he was just able to earn to take only one family member to Mars. After which, they just decided to buy an old rocket. Their rationale for buying it is that, every one in the family can fit and enter the rocket anytime they want. They just have to use their imagination to take them to Mars. In this story, family love is expressed obviously and so dearly. Even though he barely made earnings form his job, Bodoni was able to spend some quality time with his family. Because of this, his family (including his wife and children) understands him and even considers his plan to abandon their dream—but in the end, they gained something more important than seeing Mars—that is, they were able to share the love they have for each other by sharing   the same activities and discussing matters that involve the family. In the part wherein they discussed and deliberated on whether to buy or not a rocket, it shows that family opinion matters in their household. This means that every voice in the family is considered and is important. Through this, they were able to express their love, respect and commitment for each other and the future of their family. They were one in achieving their gamily dream and indeed, they were able to achieve it in a very special way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These two stories is typical scenario in our society these days. Many parents work so hard just to secure the material needs of their family and their family. The consequence of this lifestyle is that, parents then spend less time with their children and so much quality hours are thrown away. Practically speaking, there are many parents who cannot attend their children’s recitals, etc. because they have emergency meetings in their office. Because of such, they become guilty to children and to make up for those absences, they give them all their material needs and wants. What they fail to see and accomplish is that more than any material thing that the world and money can give, deep in the hearts of their children is a heart that longs for a real and euphoric kind of love and happiness. Then, there are also the kind of family in which they lack everything the world can offer (just the basic necessities) but they are the ones who are the happiest in the world. For them, money, wants and desires are not their priorities because they know in their hearts that they a gift of something so priceless that not even the richest man in the world can buy. They have the purest form of love for each other. For this kind of family, they only survive on the basic needs and the hope and love that they have for each other. It is therefore important to cherish every single moment that opportunity gives us to spend time with our love ones for we may never know what the future holds for us. We must think of it as if it is the last hours that we will be able to spend with them. Work Cited: Bradbury, Ray. â€Å"The Veldt.† The Illustrated Man. William Morrow, 1997. Bradbury, Ray. â€Å"The Rocket.†Ã‚   The Illustrated Man. William Morrow, 1997.