Saturday, August 31, 2019

Peoplesoft Messaging Server

Contents PeopleSoft Messaging Server Settings Guide1 Contents2 Introduction Introducing the PeopleSoft Messaging Server3 Messaging Server Processes4 Configuring Messaging Servers in PSADMIN4 Understanding Dispatcher Parameters5 Understanding Handler Parameters7 Understanding Integration Broker Parameters8 Minimum and Recommended Values. 9 Edit History10 Introduction Introducing the PeopleSoft Messaging Server PeopleSoft Messaging Services exist on the application server and are the heart of the Integration Broker.Before using Integration Broker, you must configure and start the Messaging Server, aka PUB/SUB. Although the server processes devoted to your messaging system are all part of the larger application server domain, they comprise a distinct set of processes that aren’t involved with the ordinary transactions associated with PIA connections. Six processes of two different types, dispatchers and handlers, are combined in pairs to produce the messaging servers needed for t ransmitting messages throughout your messaging system. Each messaging server is a different type.A set of three — a publication broker, a publication contractor, and a subscription contractor — constitute the messaging server set required by Integration Broker. Following is a listing of the generic names for the processes: Messaging ServerDispatcher NameHandler Name Publication Broker (BRK)PSBRKDSPPSBRKHND Publication Contractor (PUB)PSPUBDSPPSPUBHND Subscription Contractor (SUB)PSSUBDSPPSSUBHND PeopleSoft delivers default PUB/SUB services with _dflt added to the above naming convention. For example PSBRKDSP_dflt. It is recommended that you use these services unless you have a specific need for dedicated handlers.To boot PUB/SUB use PSADMIN to configure your domain and simply answer Y to the following question at the end of the configuration process: Command to execute (1-7, q) : 4 Do you want the Publish/Subscribe servers configured (y/n)? [y]:y For typical implementa tions, there is no need to configure custom or additional dedicated messaging servers as the default messaging services will handle all basic messages. Please see the last section of this guide for recommended values More information about managing the application server can be found in the PeopleSoft Server Tools Administration Peoplebook.Additional Information available in Peoplebooks under: Home > PeopleBooks Library > PeopleSoft Integration Broker > Configuring the Messaging Messaging Server Processes There are a variety of server processes devoted to application messaging. If you are not implementing the application messaging technology then you may skip through the delivered, default server processes. The delivered server processes are: †¢PSBRKDSP †¢PSBRKHND †¢PSPUBDSP †¢PSPUBHND †¢PSSUBDSP †¢PSSUBHND These server processes act as brokers, dispatchers, and handlers of the messages in your messaging system.For the purposes of this paper we will div ide these into two categories: Dipatchers and Handlers. Configuring Messaging Servers in PSADMIN This section provides overviews of messaging server configuration, dispatcher parameters, and handler parameters. Understanding Messaging Server Configuration Once you create dedicated messaging servers, you must configure their dispatcher and handler processes so they boot when you start the application server. You configure these processes using PSADMIN just as you do any other server process that runs on the application server.Before you attempt to configure additional messaging server processes, you should be familiar with the other server processes that run on the application server. For more information, please see Peoplebooks Working With PSADMIN Menus. As stated earlier, two types of server processes comprise each messaging server: a dispatcher and a handler. Each process type requires you to set a different set of parameters. Most of the parameters are similar to other server pr ocesses, such as PSSAPPSRV, but some parameters are specific to messaging servers. Note.The following sections also apply to the _dflt messaging server processes. Only one parameter is different between a dedicated messaging server process and its _dflt counterpart: the Channels parameter, which enables you to add message channels to the channel list. The _dflt server processes can’t be associated with any specific message channel. Understanding Dispatcher Parameters There are three generic process types that are the basis for all dispatcher processes: †¢PSBRKDSP — the publication broker dispatcher. †¢PSPUBDSP — the publication contractor dispatcher. PSSUBDSP — the subscription contractor dispatcher. The following parameters apply to all three process types. Recycle Count Specifies the number of times each dispatcher process will be executed before being terminated (intentionally) by the system and then immediately restarted. Servers must be int ermittently recycled to clear buffer areas. The time required to recycle a server is negligible—occurring in milliseconds. Recycle Count does not translate into a native Tuxedo parameter in the PSAPPSRV. UBB file. Instead the value is stored in memory and is managed by the system.Allowed Consec Service Failures This option allows for dynamic server process restarts in the event of service failures. To enable this option, enter a number greater than zero, and to disable this option enter 0. The default value for this parameter is 2. The value you enter is the number of consecutive service failures that will cause a recycle of the server process. This is a catchall error handling routine that allows a dispatcher to terminate itself if it receives multiple, consecutive, fatal error messages from service routines.Such errors should not occur consecutively, but if they do it indicates that the server process needs to be recycled or cleansed. A â€Å"Retry† message appears w hen the number of service failures you specified occurs. Handler Status CheckcountHandler check count is used to determine how often the dispatcher should look to get the number of associated handlers. The value of Handler Status Checkcount is the number of cycles that the dispatcher will perform before reading the MIB and getting the number of associated handlers. This comes into play when the number of handlers change (add more, some crash etc. by having the proper count , the dispatcher can queue up messages to the handler more efficiently. Also if there are no handlers, then the dispatcher will not queue up any publications causing the application server log to fill up. For 8. 4 it is simply used to determine if there are any handlers, and if not don't send the message to the handler. This is to eliminate any the informational messages in the appserv. log if the handlers are down. For 8. 42 it is used to merely look at see if any associated handler is booted. Going forward 8. 3 it will be used as one of the determinate of how much work should the dispatcher send out at one time. Scan IntervalSpecifies the number of seconds between scans of the work queue when idle. The scan interval is necessary to detect messages published from two-tier connections, because when a message is in the queue the broker server doesn’t receive a notice of the publication. A scan interval is required to make sure that two-tier messages get processed in a timely manner. The scan interval is analogous to the Process Scheduler polling the Process Request table.In addition, the scan interval detects messages that have been resubmitted after an error, for example. Decreasing the scan interval will decrease latency for two-tier publishes and error recovery Ping RateUsed for PSPUBDSP only. After this many seconds of inactivity, the server will scan the database queues and restart any stalled/crashed items. The scan rate and Ping rate (as percentage) will determine the actual int erval for pinging any unavailable remote nodes (algorithm used: Attempts * Ping Rate * Scan Inteval).Maximum Ping IntervalThe maximum Ping Interval (in Hours) is the maximum interval between subsequent attempted pings of any unavailable remote nodes. Memory Queue Refresh Rate PeopleSoft Integration Broker maintains current asynchronous messaging queues in system memory for quick access. On rare occasions these cached queues can become corrupted, at which point they must be refreshed from the Integration Broker data tables. The likelihood and frequency of cache corruption depends on a combination of factors specific to your messaging system.If you need to periodically refresh the in-memory queues, you can use this parameter to tailor the frequency of the refresh to fit your situation. Each dispatcher on your system has its own queue. For each queue you set the rate equal to the number of dispatch attempts that must occur before the queue is refreshed. The refresh occurs only when the specified number of dispatch attempts is reached for a given message channel. For example, with a memory queue refresh rate of 8, multiple channels could have up to seven dispatch attempts each without triggering any refresh.The following settings are also significant: †¢A setting of 0 disables the refresh altogether. This is the default value. A setting of 1 triggers a refresh immediately after every dispatch attempt, effectively disabling memory caching. Restart Period Specifies the number of seconds between restart attempts on Started items in the work queue. An item which stays in Started state for more than a few seconds might be stalled — for example, the service request might have been lost, or the handler might have crashed. Decreasing the restart period will reduce the latency for recovering stalled items with a status of Started.However, under high load, items might stay in the Started state longer than normal for valid reasons — all the handlers might be busy, and the handler service request for the item might be queued at the Tuxedo level. Setting the restart period too low will result in redundant restarts — the dispatcher will dispatch the item again, even though the original request is still in the Tuxedo queue. A small number of extra restarts is benign, but at higher volumes, the unnecessary restarts can fill up the queue and block real requests.The formula for a reasonable value for the Restart Period is: ((incoming requests per second) / (# of handlers)) * (average processing time per request) For example, if you have an incoming rate of twenty per second, and you have four handlers, each handler will be busy processing one item and will have four others waiting in the queue. A new item will have to wait for the currently processing item, plus the four enqueued items, before it will be processed. If each item takes 10 seconds to process, the new item will stay in â€Å"started† status for approximately 50 se conds before the handler works on it.If it stays in â€Å"started† status longer, it's likely that the request to the handler has been lost, and the item should be restarted. Understanding Handler Parameters There are three generic process types that are the basis for all handler processes: †¢PSBRKHND — the publication broker handler. †¢PSPUBHND — the publication contractor handler. †¢PSSUBHND — the subscription contractor handler. The following parameters apply to all three process types. Min Instances Specifies the number of handler server processes started at boot time. Max Instances Specifies the maximum number of handler server processes that can be started or spawned.Service Timeout Specifies the number of seconds a handlers waits for a service request before timing out. Service Timeouts are recorded in the TUXLOG and APPSRV. LOG. In the event of a timeout, the handler terminate itself and Tuxedo automatically restarts the process. Re cycle Count Specifies the number of times the system executes each server before PeopleSoft intentionally terminates the process. Server processes must be intermittently recycled to clear buffer areas. The time required to recycle a server is negligible—occurring in milliseconds. Recycle Count does not translate into a native Tuxedo parameter in the PSAPPSRV.UBB file. Instead the value is stored in memory and is managed by PeopleSoft. Allowed Consec Service Failures This option allows for dynamic server process restarts in the event of service failures. To enable this option, enter a number greater than zero, and to disable this option enter 0. The default for this parameter is 2. The numerical value you enter is the number of consecutive service failures that will cause a recycle of the server process. This is a catchall error handling routine that allows a handler to terminate itself if it receives multiple, consecutive, fatal error messages from service routines.Such error s should not occur consecutively, but if they do it indicates that the server process needs to be recycled or cleansed. A â€Å"Retry† message appears when the number of service failures you specified occurs. Max Retries Specifies the maximum number of times the server should attempt to restart a failed action. This parameter prevents a bad item from continuously crashing a handler process — its counter is incremented when the handler sets the status to â€Å"working,† but before it actually starts processing the item. Understanding Integration Broker Parameters The following parameters applies to the Integration Broker technology.Min Message Size for Compression The Min Message Size for Compression parameter enables you to configure the threshold of message before the system compresses the message. Local Compression The integration engine compresses and base64 encodes messages destined for the PeopleSoft listening connector on its local integration gateway, bas ed on a setting for the application server domain in the PSAPPSRV. CFG file, which you can configure using the PSADMIN utility. The setting is a threshold message size, above which messages will be compressed. PSADMIN presents the setting as follows: Values for config section – Integration BrokerMin Message Size For Compression=10000 Do you want to change any values (y/n)? [n]: The value is the message size in bytes; the default value is 10000 (10 KB). You can specify a setting of 0 to compress all messages. See Understanding Application Server Domain Parameters. Note. This setting has no effect on the compression of messages that the integration gateway sends using its target connectors. Information Set Profiling information for both Sync and Async processing External Configuration Set External Configuration =Y if you run the Pub/Sub processes on a different domain then where the appserver processes are run for PIA/ PORTAL.This will enhance the Integration Broker performance for Asynchronous processing Minimum and Recommended Values. Specific application server tuning needs vary by customer site based on volume and server capacity. Requests for tuning issues and assistance should be addressed to Peoplesoft Consulting. However, some specific information is available below: PSAPPSRV should have a minimum of 3 instances booted when starting Pub/Sub. PSBRKDSP/HND settings should be sized up. A minumum of 3 instances should be used for all application messaging scenarios. For one particular customer I recommend increasing the PSBRKHND settings to 10/10.Same with the PUB and SUB handler settings: set min/max of 10/10. Other customers have used as many as 20 instances for PSSUBHND. This is generally a tuning issue, and settings vary greatly from site to site. Recycle count: For dispatchers this should always be 0. For Handlers this can be 0, or reduced based on need. A single handler is restarting itself after this number services (this is not the number mess ages, but the number of calls from the tuxedo service). Setting this too low can create performance problems. When a service recycles itelf, all requests must wait for the handler to come back up and re-submit.It is generally recommended using 0 for this value. Otherwise a high number like 100,000 is recommended unless memory problems are encountered in which case this value can be lowered. Restart Period. Since restart period controls how long before a started item will be resubmitted, dispatcher requests may be resubmitting themselves over and over again resulting in a higher queue number. This can be adjusted by changing Restart Period=5 to a higher number. Customers will need to play with this and monitor results, but setting this to 120 would be better than the delivered 5 second interval, especially when using a lower value recycle count.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Daily Time Record

This Automated Student Attendance Daily Time Record focuses on the need to design a system that will automatically arrange the record and calculate the average attendance of each student. A well-conceived and implemented automated student record system can reduce the costs of handling the paperwork associated with record keeping. Manual attendance record system is not efficient and requires time to arrange record and to calculate the average attendance of each individual student. Automated Student Attendance Daily Time Record is intended to replace the manual model of attendance record keeping. Our school using ball pen or log book to record a attendance this system need a computer and the student will record his attendance with a password and the system will arrange the record and calculate the average attendance of the student. The system contains attendance record in electronic files containing details of absence or presence of a specific student enrolment during a semester. Attendance records have been collected on paper forms and verified with hand written signatures. However, the increasing demand for automated student attendance daily time record should be implemented as soon as possible in order to reduce the costs of handling the paper works with record keeping. This system described in this document should be implemented also in different school and all automated systems must follow the standard procedures. This project will try to organize the current school attendance record system that will be much quicker and will save time. Statement of the Problem The study was conducted to some school that does not have automated student information daily time record. Specific Problem. Does our some school have this system? †¢What is the importance of having this kind of system? †¢Is there any summary report for the attendance weekly or after the semester? †¢Is the system reliable to keep all the attendance records? Objective Design and create a system that could calculate and get the average attendance of the student more efficient, reliable and less time in a semester. Specific objective †¢Create a system the will calculate the average of attendance of each of individual student †¢Arrange the record accordingly. †¢Reduce the costs of handling the paperwork associated with record keeping.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Business Finance Report

You need to conduct a research on equity capital available for new ventures in your home country and prepare the report.   1) An introduction explaining major sources of equity capital for new ventures, such as 2) Describe all main BA, VC and PE firms in your home country (their structure, history, approach, number of deals, total amount of capital raised, etc.) – all factors you may consider appropriate to have a better understanding of their activities. 3) Summarize BA, VC and PE firms in your home country in the following table:   Sectors: list all the sectors in which they invest (e.g. high tech, tel , agriculture, etc.) Website: Give the link to the website 4) Give your conclusion on the situation with equity capital in your home country and perspectives for the future. You are required to prepare the report based on the results of your research and analysis. The report should contain: tables of contents, introduction, analysis and conclusion. The student’s work will be assessed by analytical abilities, deepness of research, solid judgments, logic of statements, and understanding of implications of finance and business.    Business angle are individual investor who finance new start-ups from his own fund directly. He /she are independent financially i.e. his profit or loss will not hamper the whole economy of a country. They do not have any family relation with the startups. They make their own investment decision, which is final[1]. Their investment varies from medium to long term depending n the case. Venture capital was first introduced in the 20th century, which means risky capital. It supports new ideas that are very risky but have high profit and growth. It is a type of equity financing which is very long term. There is a liquidity problem in venture capital as during the startups the project is expected to run for several years. It involves high technology and enjoys capital, which is the main benefit when the business succeeded[2]. It does not take a dividend in the intermediate stage. It also participate I the management o the entrepreneur and give expert advice besides monetary support. Private equity is a class of asset that consists of various securities, which are invested, in panies to generate high values. There are various types of Private equity like leveraged buyout (LBO), venture capital, Mezzanine capital and growth capital Growth capital refers to small amount of investment in the equity of a matured pany to help it expand its capital base or increase its market share without any changes in the management control of the pany[3].  Ã‚   In this section detailed analysis of various BA, VC and PE in Spain will be done and their impact on the new ventures will be discussed. In Spain, many business angle brokers support startups. However, top 10 are: Carlos Blanco: He is one of the greatest business angle in Spain. He is the cofounder of a gaming pany named Akamon Entertainment. He is also the CEO of Grupo ITnet. He has invested in many panies like Infantium or Kantox. Yago Arbeloa: He is the brother of Spanish footballer Alvaro Arbeloa and is in this business from the year 2010. He has invested in panies like Reclamador, Percentil and Really late Booking. He is also the president of AIEI and media group of Hello[4]. Francois Derbaix: he is the most active angle business in Spain. He has given support to almost 21 panies in past year, which includes Startupexplore, Tiendeo and unitae. He is also the co-founder of Toprural and Rentalia[5]. Currently he is running Soysuper. Every entrepreneur must read his personal blog before starting up a venture. Jesus Encinar:   He is called the founder of Idealista. He also invested in Spanish startups like Etece and AsesorSeguros. He is the advisory board member of Seaya Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by Micheal Kleindl and Beatriz Gonzallez, which has invested in panies like Ticketea and Cabify since 2013. Bernando Hernandez: Previously he is the director management of product in Google and currently he is running the product division of Flickr’s. He is the one of the initial investor of Tuenti that is a social networking site purchased by Telefonica[6]. As an angle business investor he has also funded Mad Video and Mola . Jesus Monleon: He has a lot of expertise and experience in investing and creating various panies. He has founded Emagister in 2000 and recently founded Offerum. For 7 years he has worked in Caixa Capital Risc as an venture associate backing both early stage and mature panies[7]. As an angel business investor, he has funded panies like DADA panies, Chicfy and Deporvillage. Axel Serene: He has at least 20 years of knowledge in the business of internet and is the Chief Executive Officer of Vittalia. As an individual investor, he has funded and backed various panies like Tiendeo, Popplaces and Akamon. He is a Barcelona based investor. Walter Kobylanski: He is the co-founder of panies like Gigas based in Madrid. He and his brother Christian has founded an investment vehicle known as Danka Capital that is backing panies in its early stages[8]. As an individual investor he has funded panies like TouristEye, Ducksboard and Jugo. Martin Varsavsky: He is very famous for inventing and promoting tech juggernaunts like Ta and jazztel. Recently he has fuended Fon-Martin that is an active investor for startups over the past decade[9]. With the help of Jazzya Investment he has supported more than 30 panies like Hootsuite, Meneame and Tumblr which was purchased by Yahoo for $1 billion in 2013. Juan Margenat: He is the co-founder of Marfeel, which is a based in Barcelona. He is also the advisor of Conector. Previously he founded Plan B and Weekendesk Iberia. He has also invested in Habitissimo and fintech darling Kantox. Top 10 Venture capital firms supporting new startups in Spain are as follows: Axon Partners group: Unlike most of the other Spanish venture capital firms is focuses on international market and has office in Spain, Colombia and India. In addition to funding the startups, it also gives consultancy services to panies in which it does not have a holding. In the year, 2010 Party Gaming was merged with this Venture capital firm[10]. Since 2013 it has funded 8 panies raising an   amount of euro 23.9 million. Cabiedes & Partners: It is one of the most famous VC firm in Spain, which have backed more than 40 panies within the country. It was founded in late 90s and is run by Cabiedes brothers. The firm has raised euro 30 million funds in 2014 and focuses on performance and key metrics[11]. It has entered into 17 deals since 2013 raising an amount of euro 25.2 million. Kibo Ventures: Telefonica chose it so that it can manage its Amerigo fund which aims at Latam and Spanish startups. It has entered into 16 number of deals since 2013 raising an amount of euro 24.7 million. It has its head quarter in Madrid and was founded in 2011 Nauta Capital: Like Axon, it also has an international base. It has offices in London and Barcelona. It backs panies, which is at its growth-stage[12]. It has   raised 100-150 million Euros in 2014 and invested in 30 startups within Spain, US and UK. Since 2013 it has entered into 7 deals raising a fund of 35 million euro.   Vitamin K: It is based in Madrid and invest in internet panies and technology which are at its early stage. It is run by Rafael Garrido and has funded at least 10 panies since it was founded. It has entered into 6 deals since 2013 raising an amount of 6.2 million euro. Active venture partner: Their policy is to invest 80% of its funds in Spanish startup and rest are allocated to European countries. It is one of the key funders of BuyVIP, the online shopping pany, which was purchased by Amazon in 2010 for $110 million[13]. It has entered into 4 deals since 2013 raising an amount of 14 million euro. Bosnai Venture capital: It is the oldest venture capital firm of Spain, which was founded in 1999. It invests in panies, which are at its early stage, and its portfolio has startups like Wallapop. It is one of the oldest funders of Idealista[14]. It has entered into 2 deals since 2013 raising a total fund of 3.87 million euro. Lanta Digital Ventures: Angel Garcia founded it in 2013, a very experienced entrepreneur who was previously the Chief finance Officer of a technology pany named Fractus that was the main developer of mobile phone. It has entered into 2 deals since 2013 raising a fund of 50k Euros. Seaya Ventures: Beatriz Gonzalez daughter of president of BBVA’S and Michael Kleindl founded it, which helps panies at their growth stages with an approximate investment of 10 million Euros[15]. It has entered into 5 deals since 2013 raising a fund of 23.4 million Euros. Caixa Capital Risc: It is the most active investment vehicle in Spain. Since 2011, it started funding technological panies and has a portfolio of almost 100 panies including La Caixa which was the most friendly startup banks in Spain. It has entered into 18 deals since 2013 raising an amount of 202 million Euros. Top 5 Private equity firm in Spain are as follows:   Magnum Partners: It manly focuses and invests in Iberian region. It targets all the middle level to upper middle level panies in Portugal and Spain. Portobello Capital: It is Spanish based private equity firms that invest in new ventures and startups, which have high growth aspects, but risk factor involved is very high. Mercapital Servicios: it supports the middle size panies in Spain by steering their process of internationalization[16]. It also invests in panies in Latin America who wants their development to speed up N+1: It supports the existing ventures that are willing to extend their market base and diversify in different sectors. They support panies who are setting up new units or expanding its exiting setup. MCH: It invests in panies who are willing to introduce new technology in the market. They not only provide funds to these panies but also give them expert advice relating to technological development.   https://www.linkedin /in/yago-arbeloa-2448623 https://es.linkedin /in/kobylanski https://www.linkedin /in/martinvarsavsky https://es.linkedin /in/juanmargenat Digital marketing, Online Advertising https://www.linkedin /in/jesusmonleon https://www.linkedin pany/axon-partners-group https://www.crunchbase /organization/cabiedes-partners https://www.crunchbase /organization/kibo-ventures www.nautacapital /news/nauta-iii www.webmd /vitamins-and-supplements/supplement-guide-vitamin-k www.bonsaiventurecapital /en/node/7 https://www.linkedin pany/caixa-capital-risc www.bloomberg /profiles/.../3407468Z:SM-mercapital-servicios-financieros-sl Storm water discharge, Scrape Recycling mch.aarogya /mch/what-is-mch/12-over-all-mch-and-health-sector-situation.html From the above discussion, it can be said that BA, VC and PE have changed the face of startup venture all over the world. In the recent year BA, VC and PE has grown at lot in Spain supporting new ventures and technologies, which involves high risk as well as high growth. It not only supports news startup panies with fund but also provide them technological and expert advices. Now a days, they are also involving in the management of new ventures which was previously not a tradition. Almost 10 BA, 10 VC and PE has been discussed in this report which gives an overview that this BA, VC and PE are focusing on every industry and giving financial and other assistant to panies who need support. Startup ventures, which previously used to struggle to enter into the market with new schemes and technology because of lack of fund are now a day’s supported by this BA, VC and PE with investment. This new ventures are now getting a platform to highlight their talent in the market. Their success and growth rate has also increased a lot during these years because of these BA, VC and PE.  Ã‚   Baldock, Robert, and David North. "The role of UK government hybrid venture capital funds in addressing the finance gap facing innovative SMEs in the post-2007 financial crisis era."  Research Handbook on Entrepreneurial Finance(2015): 125. Business, Small, and Tourism Branch. "ARCHIVED—Financing With Venture Capital: Advances in Knowledge Over the Last Ten Years and Research Avenues References." (2012). Cumming, Douglas J., and Sofia A. Johan.  Venture capital and private equity contracting: An international perspective. Academic Press, 2013. Demaria, Cyril.  Introduction to Private Equity: Venture, Growth, LBO and Turn-Around Capital. John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Dutta, Supradeep, and Timothy B. Folta. "A parison of the effect of angels and venture capitalists on innovation and value creation."  Journal of Business Venturing  31, no. 1 (2016): 39-54. Gregson, Geoff, Sacha Mann, and Richard Harrison. "Business angel syndication and the evolution of risk capital in a small market economy: evidence from Scotland."  Managerial and Decision Economics  34, no. 2 (2013): 95-107. Harrison, Richard. "Book Review: Venture Capital, Private Equity, and the Financing of Entrepreneurship."  International Small Business Journal  31, no. 7 (2013): 832-834. Hellmann, Thomas, and Veikko Thiele. "Friends or foes? The interrelationship between angel and venture capital markets."  Journal of Financial Economics115, no. 3 (2015): 639-653. Hisrich, Robert D., SaÃ… ¡a PetkoviĆ¡, Veland Ramadani, and Là ©o-Paul Dana. "Venture capital funds in transition countries: Insights from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia."  Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development  23, no. 2 (2016): 296-315. Lumme, Annareetta, Colin Mason, and Markku Suomi.  Informal venture capital: Investors, investments and policy issues in Finland. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. Manigart, Sophie, and Mike Wright. "Reassessing the relationships between private equity investors and their portfolio panies."  Small Business Economics  40, no. 3 (2013): 479-492. Mason, Colin, and Yannis Pierrakis. "Venture capital, the regions and public policy: the United Kingdom since the post-2000 technology crash."  Regional Studies  47, no. 7 (2013): 1156-1171. Mason, Colin, ed.  Handbook of research on venture capital. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012. Rosenbusch, Nina, Jan Brinckmann, and Verena Mà ¼ller. "Does acquiring venture capital pay off for the funded firms? A meta-analysis on the relationship between venture capital investment and funded firm financial performance."Journal of Business Venturing  28, no. 3 (2013): 335-353. Siepel, Josh. "Book review: Handbook of research on venture capital, volume 2: A globalizing industry."  International Small Business Journal  32, no. 4 (2014): 474-475. Vanacker, Tom, Veroniek Collewaert, and Ine Paeleman. "The relationship between slack resources and the performance of entrepreneurial firms: The role of venture capital and angel investors."  Journal of Management Studies  50, no. 6 (2013): 1070-1096.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Decision Making Assessment of your organization Term Paper

Decision Making Assessment of your organization - Term Paper Example The problem needs to be defined first and there should not be any type of disagreement between the stakeholder and the decision maker. The criteria, requirements and goals need to be set properly. For effective decision making the problem should be first defined. The problem statement should clearly state the initial and desired conditions. The root cause along with the limiting assumptions needs to be identified. The second step of decision making is to set the requirements clearly. By requirement it is meant that conditions that are the acceptable solution to the problem must meet. Again solution to the problem must meet the requirement. The third step of decision making deals with setting up the goal. Goal does not only mean requirement to be met but it means clearly defining the wants and desires. The forth step defines identification of the alternatives. The alternatives should be close to the requirements of the condition. It transforms the initial condition into desired condit ion. The fifth step is to clearly define the criteria for the problem solution. For judging the effectiveness of the alternative, setting of criteria becomes important. Whether the alternative properly achieves the goal or not is dependent on the definition of criteria. For solving the decision problem proper tool needs to be used. Selection of proper tool is a challenging task and depends on the decision of the decision maker. In the seventh step the alternatives are mapped with the criteria to see whether the alternatives are in sync with the criteria. After this evaluation is done the decision maker now ranks the alternatives and chooses the most promising alternatives. In the final step the alternatives chosen by the decision maker needs to be validated with the requirement and goal of the problem (Fulop, n.d., pp. 1-3). This study assesses the decision making process of US Army Corp Engineer and helps the senior leaders in understanding the decision making culture of the organi zation. Decision making environment US Army Corp Engineer has a large team of dedicated soldiers and civilians who are delivering engineering services to their customers. Environmental sustainability is the guiding principal of the organization, which encourages the employees to work diligently and efficiently to strengthen the communications of United States by building proper infrastructure. US Army Corp aims towards promoting stability and improving quality of life. Developing the waterways of America is one of the chief mottos of US Army Corp. By doing this they aim to energize the economy of the nation by improving the movement of the commodities and providing recreation opportunities to the lakes and marinas. Therefore most of the decision making process involves the procedures related to the development of the waterways (About Us, 2013). Behind any decision taken by the US Corp Engineers the main reason is to â€Å"strengthen the security system, energize the economy and red uce the risks from disasters† (Mission & Vision, 2013). For this motive a group of skilled individual is constantly working to provide innovative and sustainable solutions (Mission & Vision, 2013) In the policy of the US Army Corp a special guidance to the planning of integrated watershed and coastal system has been found. The development clearly states that civil works planning must incorporate watershed whether the planning involves project viability study or

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Comparison between film and television history styles etc Research Paper

Comparison between film and television history styles etc - Research Paper Example The television technology had its humble and skeptical beginnings, but except for the Internet is the 20th century’s most influential invention, Monaghan argues (1). Even its own inventors may not have imagined the development it has reached today and the further development it could reach in the future. The invention of the television cannot be attributed to a single person but many individuals (Bellis, â€Å"The Invention of Television† 1) whose works and accidental discoveries on optical, mechanical and electronic technologies contributed together in capturing, then transmitting and displaying a visual image (Blackwell 1; "History of Television," par. 2). It was the Briton Joseph May, a young electrical engineer and telegraph operator who in 1873 in Ireland accidentally discovered the photoelectric effect of selenium bars. It was his supervising engineer Willoughby Smith who proposed the idea of creating ‘visual telegraphy’ by exploiting this unique property of crystalline selenium. (Parsons 23) It was the German physicist Eugen Goldstein in his own investigation of discharge tubes in 1876 who produced light by forcing an electric current through a vacuum tube. This emitted light he called the ‘cathode rays’. (Blackwell 1) In 1897, the German scie ntist Karl Ferdinand Braun invented the ‘cathode ray tube’ (Peters 5). It was the development of the cathode ray tube, more popularly known as ‘picture tube’ and found even in LCDs (liquid crystal display) today, that had become the basis of the development of the electronic television (Bellis, â€Å"Television History† 1). It was the American George Carey who in 1875 drew a plan of a complete TV system – a selenium camera. It was however undetermined whether he was able to build it or not. (Ritcher 6) It was the German inventor Paul Nipkow who in 1884 drew a plan for a rotating

Monday, August 26, 2019

Contemporary thinking in Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contemporary thinking in Marketing - Essay Example These experiences indicate the physical, emotional, behavioral and rational value of goods and services. In other words, experiential marketing theory can be defined as any event, which helps in marketing products and/or services, ideas, places and person among others by forming effective communication with the targeted customers or audiences (Sharma, & Sharma, 2011). The experiential marketing theory is often viewed to be a contemporary marketing discipline, which practice by several companies of this modern day context for generating greater awareness about their respective potential products and/or services (Heng, 1990; Wood, n.d.). Amongst varied business corporations operating in dissimilar industry, the organizations belonging to events sector are also identified to use promotion or experiential marketing theory. Such organizations operating in events sector of the UK market can be ascertained as "Jarvis Woodhouse Events" and "Definitive Events Limited.   With this concern, the essay tends to discuss and analyze the application of either promotion or experiential strategy by the above discussed two event organizations for targeting their profiled customers. Moreover, the essay will also describe consumer value through the execution of marketing theory and also the value types that are being offered to the customers by the products and/or services of the above stated event organizations. Jarvis Woodhouse Events, an UK based events management company, remains much committed towards serving clients with quality services and forming effective communication with them. The company was mainly established in the year 1992, which continued its business journey by offering the products and/or services like conferences, corporate hospitality and incentive programs among others to its potential customers (Jarvis Woodhouse Events, 2014). It

Comparation of the use of fantasy in Tom's Midnight Garden and The Essay

Comparation of the use of fantasy in Tom's Midnight Garden and The Secret Garden - Essay Example Comparation of the use of fantasy in Tom's Midnight Garden and The Secret Garden This not only has to do with the fact that different authors are responsible for these respective works; it also has to do with the differential in time between when these books were penned and the growth and development of the genre in which they fall.1 Whereas an absolute and/or concrete definition of fantasy is somewhat impossible to define with regards to children’s literature, many commonalities are expressed by the genre and help to define it. These are as follows: the utilization of many form and narrative techniques, the heightened use of symbolism, and the focus upon the language to create mystique, setting, and sense of time that other functions or genres might otherwise struggle with. Fantasy within children’s literature, although a similar issue, is in fact somewhat different and more nuanced; due in part to the fact that it can be separated into two distinct time periods – the first and second golden age. The first golden age necessarily refers to th e period of the late 19th and early 20th century; whereas the second golden period refers to the period of time starting in the mid 20th century and extending nearly until the close of the 20th century. Naturally, for the novels in question, The Secret Garden falls into the first golden age; whereas Tom’s Midnight Garden falls into the second.... 99. From a cursory analysis, the inclusion of the word â€Å"secret† in The Secret Garden or â€Å"midnight† in Tom’s Midnight Garden present something of an expectation for the implementation of fantasy as a means of bringing about a particular understanding.2 Once again, a non—nuanced approach is presented partly due to the fact that children’s literature is the focus and intended audience for which these respective novels are intended.3 Whereas this might be considered a cheap literary trick in some circles, the use of such terminology within the titles creates an expectation for fantasy and intrigue to define the subsequent pages and chapters of the novels in question. However, even though such an expectation exists, as the reader might expect, a clear level of differentiation exists between the level and use of fantasy that is leveraged and these two novels which are written nearly 50 years apart.4 With regards to The Secret Garden, a sense of fantasy is immediately conveyed to the reader due to the fact that a fantastical representation of an exotic life is presented to the reader. The protagonist, Mary Lennox, is defined as a girl who grew up in the lap of luxury and far off India.5 The description and definition of the luxuries and carefree lifestyle that she lived while there helps the reader to understand the sense of warning and mystique to which she greets the gray and uninviting steps of northern England. However, of all of the literary approaches that are utilized as a means of affecting a sense of fantasy within The Secret Garden, perhaps the most poignant and powerful is with regards to the religious imagery that is presented. Rather than merely attempting to evoke a sense of fantasy based

Sunday, August 25, 2019

How online dating affects real life dating experience Research Paper

How online dating affects real life dating experience - Research Paper Example The purpose of this study is to weigh the pros and cons of online dating. While having its benefits, this form of socializing also has some side effects. It is a gift and curse at the same time. Chatting online gives everyone the chance to be social without any of the normal anxiety like possible rejection and thinking up unique ice-breakers. For people who are anti-social or shy, online dating is bliss. On the contrary, Internet allows people to create the most favorable versions of them and they can ‘be’ who they want to be. As such, it can become very easy to fall in love with the online self of a person and ignore the dissenting aspects of his/her personality in real life. In this study therefore, I want to mention the advantages and disadvantages of online dating and assess the favorability of this new chapter in dating. The overview of the study is basically how online dating has affected the real lives of the individuals. Obviously, as it is said, too much of ever ything is fatal – it applies here that the negative aspects of online dating outweigh the positive ones, resulting in heartbreaks, lack of trust, mental illnesses, suicides and time wastage. Literary Review: The famous culture media in modern years has become all the time more spellbound by online relationships, both those that are flourishing and particularly those that conclude in heartbreak. A movie released in 1998 entitled, â€Å"You've Got Mail† (Brown, Durk, & Ephron, 1998) portrays the tale of two people who fell in love while using the Internet. Social scientists have also recognized these modern-day relationships, and at present, a large accessible literature is based on computer mediated e-mail, Internet culture and Internet relationships. Nevertheless, there is in plain sight lack of pragmatic research in particular dealing with romantic Internet relationships. According to Ellison et al (2006), there are infinite people nowadays who will give an undertakin g for the fact that online dating is an enjoyable way of getting to know remarkable people. They think this way you get more choices and you too have the choice of breaking up with someone who you do not like without any worries unlike in a real relationship, which can get a teensy weensy bit knotty when it comes to wrapping up. Kira Leck (2006), in her article on ‘Dynamics of Online Dating’ stated that, love is trouble-free to find and practice on the internet or so it gives the impression. In addition, for individuals who have not been doing well in getting companions or friends in actual life in bona fide social circles, online dating is indeed a blessing for them. If truth be told, many people date several people at the same time not knowing which could be the right one. However, here comes the catch. According to Robert (2010) the more choices available, the more probability is there for lack of commitment. When one is busy trying to decide, first-rate, add up and even uphold the number of online dates, you sure are going to give attention to

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Racial Harmony According to Martin Luther King Essay

Racial Harmony According to Martin Luther King - Essay Example He stated that he dreamt that "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with the little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers." Direct Action. In one of his letters from Birmingham City Jail, he stated four basic steps to non-violent campaign: 1) Collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; 2) Negotiation; 3) Self-purification; and 4) Direct action. He saw these four basic steps of non-violent campaign as a systematic and rational approach to address conventional violent tension protests. In the same context, King explained that direct action is the non violent protest to negotiate with the reluctance of "city fathers," especially on civil rights issues. In King's view, non-violent direct action could create the same crisis and tension like violent protests - enough for a nation and its officials to pay attention to, like demand for the responsible party, marches, sit-ins, and the like. Biological Basis of Race and Conscience. In one of Martin Luther King's statements titled Trumpet of Conscience, he stated that "many people believe that the urban Negro is too angry and too sophisticated to be nonviolent," implying racial discrimination where black people are believed to be incapable of being diplomatic as to carry out non-violent direct action. ... He is therefore convinced that even very violent temperaments can be channeled through nonviolent discipline, "if the movement is moving, if they can act constructively and express through an effective channel their very legitimate anger." J. Philip Rushton, a psychology professor at University of Western Ontario, in his paper titled, Is there Biological Basis for Race and Racial Differences dated May 28, 2001, said that biological composition has to do with people race. He mentioned brain size, intelligence, temperament, sexual behavior, fertility, growth rate, life span, crime, and family stability. Rushton said, "On average, Orientals are slower to mature, less fertile, and less sexually active, and have larger brains and higher IQ scores. Blacks are at the opposite end in each of these areas. Whites fall in the middle, often close to Orientals." Rushton suggested in his findings that racial balance or harmony as biological basis is lacking or cannot be supported through the very material components of people, as people differences through biological aspects calls for classification such as race. This conflicts with the idea of racial harmony that King envisioned. However, King's principles were the results of his study of social history and philosophical views, as recorded by Doug Linder in Martin Luther King Letter from Birmingham Jail. Accordingly, Luther modeled after Socrates' enforcement of learning his concept of non-violence direct action for creating tension to achieve a certain goal. By this Luther believed that "in creating such tension, society will help men to rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding

Friday, August 23, 2019

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 15

Reflection - Essay Example think over the causal factors as well as the potential impacts of such events as the earthquakes and the cyclones that keep happening from time to time, that I used to overlook before. I have started to realize the importance of knowing what is going on at different points under the surface of Earth around the world and how things are working. I ponder over the state of equilibrium between the internal forces of the Earth and the external factors and forces that instigate them. Before, I thought of Earth as a round shaped mass of rocks whose voids are filled with water. Having taken this course, I realize the different layers the Earth is made up of, and how changes in one layer induce changes in the other. I see the Earth as a big round electromagnet which has its own electromagnetic field. The two Earth science topics that I shall continue to follow after this course are the Weathering and Erosion. Weathering is the process responsible for inducing changes in the rocks’ surfaces that are open to the water or air. There can be several reasons for the occurrence of the weathering action. It can occur because of the physical action, plant action, abrasion or because of chemical processes like oxidation and reduction. I have selected Weathering because it gives sufficient explanation of the way different kinds of rocks were formed. Erosion, on the other hand, is the process that illustrates the causes and patterns of movement of the sediments from one place to another. Gravity is the fundamental force that causes erosion and water serves as the most significant driver of erosion. I have chosen to follow the topic of Erosion after this course because it tells how the rivers and seas were formed and the factors that cause the depth of water in a reservoir to alter ov er the time. The one action item that I would consider doing as critical to helping with the Earth’s preservation in my area, or in general is spreading awareness about the ways people can protect

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Applied Linguistics - 1 Essay Example for Free

Applied Linguistics 1 Essay Language in literature is used to create alternatives to the real world. In doing so, the precise choice and ordering of words is very important. It not only creates a substitute world for us but also determines our attitude to its inhabitants and the events that take place there. This dependence upon precise wording is why a literary text loses so much in paraphrase or translation. However, despite this importance of precise wording, the meanings of literary works are often disturbingly imprecise. Apparently, the linguistics choices in literature are not the concern of applied linguistics. It does not have the same kind of direct social and economic consequences as language education policy, or the spread of English as lingua franca. Yet, it is wrong to decrease the value of the impact and importance of literature. It reflects our individual and social identities, embodies and criticizes the values of the society from which it comes, and it also has an important role to play in education. And because it is made fully from language, it has something to do applied linguistics. Literary stylistics :- Linguistic analysis can describe and analyze the language of a literary text but this is not an applied linguistic activity. However, It begins to move in that direction when linguistic choices are linked to their effects upon the reader. This is the attempt of literary stylistics. It is not in itself applied linguistics as it does not involve any practical decision making, but it is an important resource for the powerful and persuasive uses of language in general. It raises awareness of the importance of precise wording in addition to showing that there are more things in language use than the literal meaning of the words. Literary analysis cannot be brief in order to attain justice to its complex subject-matter. Stylistic analyses tend to highlight three related aspects of literary language: its deviation from the norms of everyday language use; its patterning of linguistic units to create rhythms, rhymes, and parallel constructions; and the ways in which the form of the words chosen seems to  intensify the meaning. These features of language use are not exclusive to literature. They characterize other highly valued uses of language such as prayer, song, and rhetoric. Generally, these features and other similar ones occur in emotive uses of language in society at large, whether in commercial, political, or interpersonal communication. Stylistic analyses can investigate the link between the forms of these language uses and their social and psychological power. If such analysis is used to discuss and reveal manipulation, it then becomes part of an applied linguistic process. Language and persuasion :- As language is used to tell the truth, it can also be used to distort facts, or to persuade people to take a particular stance towards them. Literary language partakes of this persuasive power. It manipulates our feelings and thoughts in ways which we accept happily. Other uses of language are unacceptable, seeking to control and influence our ideas in the service of some political or commercial interest. There are a big number of urgent issues in which language is used for manipulation such as; advertising, science, journals, even telephone operators speak from learned scripts. Applied linguistics should help understanding such issues. This is not only because the power of words is naturally interesting, but also because there are decisions to be made, often with far-reaching consequences for health, welfare, and success. Understanding linguistic techniques of persuasion can improve our ability to make rational judgments on which decisions making depends. Critical Discourse Analysis ( CDA ) :-  In fact, in any communication, there is selection and omission of information. For example, newspaper editors must choose which events to cover, how much space to give to each, and which facts to emphasize or omit. However, one cannot report any event or situation without selecting some facts in preference to others. But the selection reflects the values of the writer and the view of the world which he or she wishes to encourage in their readers. These matters are already apparent to the reader even without any specialize knowledge of language. What is more importance and interest to applied linguists is the presentation of the same facts in ways which, although telling the truth, affect the reader’s attitude. In literary texts, the wording is everything. For example, in the opening scenes of Macbeth, lady Macbeth says â€Å"what’s done is done†, and at the end in her lament she says â€Å"what’s done cannot be undone†. The literal meaning might be the same, but the effect is very different. The analysis of such details can be made to increase the people’s ability to read and listen critically, and to resist being manipulated by what is said. The analysis of such language and its effects is known as critical linguistics. When it is studied in a larger social context, it comes to be known as Critical Discourse Analysis ( CDA ). Another area of interest to applied linguistics is patterns of grammatical choice. For example, there are constructions which allow a speaker or writer not to mention the agent. Two strategies allow this to happen. One is passivization, the favoring of passive constructions over active ones. The other is nominalization, when actions and processes are referred to by nouns without mentioning the actual doers. The techniques can make an action seem certain and impersonal. The work of CDA specialists is of great social importance. Yet, they have the challenge of communicating their specialized knowledge to the outside world. To do this, they have to move in two opposite directions: one towards obfuscation and the other towards a false clarity. Obfuscation is the failure to speak as clearly as possible. The language of law and bureaucracy are often used as examples. It is claimed that in this case clarity should be sacrificed to exactness. The other direction is described as conversationalization and the creation of synthetic personality. This is the tendency for communication to be presented in the form of a casual conversation in which the relationship between the participants is apparently equal and intimate. This presents the opposite danger from obfuscation, for it may make matters simple and imprecise. There is a problem with CDA analyses which has been noted by several applied linguists. They focus their attention too much with the writer while deal too much passively with the reader. Most texts are both formed and interpreted in many different ways. The process of composition is often more hasty and specific purpose affair. Readings also are different. In short, there is a danger of assuming that understanding a text is fully determined by the language used.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Japanese course for teachers in Elementary Schools Essay Example for Free

Japanese course for teachers in Elementary Schools Essay What are the minimal Japanese language competencies for our team teachers working in Japanese Elementary schools? Through this question I hope to make explicit and test methods of data collection, diagnostic testing, and needs analysis; and determine if these methods transfer to another language. This data will be used as a basis for collecting authentic materials to prepare a Japanese for Specific Purposes language course. Setting We have 12 British Council teachers team teaching in 24 Japanese junior high schools and one elementary school This is a completely Japanese environment (e. g. dress, code of conduct, meetings are all done in Japanese). Primarily our teachers rely on our team teachers to translate important information such as scheduling, written messages, problems with the photocopier, dealing with disruptive students, etc. In the future we would like to expand into Tokyo elementary schools, however, the board of education has expressed reservations about our Japanese ability and that our British Council teachers need to be linguistically self reliant in the schools Objective. I would like to look at creating a series of Japanese language competencies similar to the CEF guidelines for our British Council teachers teaching in elementary schools such as: â€Å"I can read instructions on a photocopier† or â€Å"I can interact in a simple way dealing with a change of school schedule†. By collecting feedback, writing competency guidelines and finally creating a diagnostic test, I hope to examine the methods of data collection and analysis that I have read about studying for this module. I would like to compare my journey from data collection to course objectives to similar cases of TESOL course design such as Johan Uvin when he designed workplace ESOL (Graves ed. , 1996). Furthermore I believe that by using native English speakers as the students, I can examine more closely what our needs are (without interference from the native language). Then I can compare it to data collection methods and needs analyses that we use for our TESOL students. I am considering this as a sub-aim (the differences and similarities of data collection from L1 to L2 informants). To determine the competencies I must resolve these questions: 1. What situations our teachers find themselves in an Elementary school context where written or spoken Japanese is needed or used? 2. What expectations the Japanese team teachers or schools have in regards to what their needs are regarding communication with our staff? 3. What expectations our teachers have and what they would like to know how to say, write or read? Data collection I propose three ways for data collection, which would be done concurrently 1. Diaries: British Council teachers in both elementary schools and JHS will note down situations and times when they needed Japanese or would have liked to know how to say something in Japanese. (Long, 2005) 2. Interviews with our team teachers and elementary teachers on what they would expect our teachers to be able to do or say. These interviews/ questionnaires might have to be done in Japanese. (Anderson, 1998) 3. Questionnaire or survey of what BC teachers would like to learn in a course (Hinkel, 2005) I believe that using three ways of data collection will bring me a fuller and more varied sample of information. This will also give me more access to the differing stakeholders. Research Plan 1. I propose first to identify current and leading ideas of needs analysis and data collection. 2. Then I will test and verify these methods using both native speakers and Japanese team teachers to create the diaries and questionairres. 3. From this data collection, I will write minimum guidelines for Japanese linguistic competency in Elementary schools. 4. With this, I will write and send out a diagnostic test based on these results. 5. Finally, I will collect authentic materials to use in a Japanese language course. Issues I realise that developing a Japanese language course falls outside of the TESOL area. However, I believe integration in the country or work atmosphere is an overlooked area of our work. I would also say that it falls under the area of Educational Management in TESOL and therefore I believe it is a valid area of study. Furthermore, data collection and analysis methods that I have covered in my reading for this module should be universal and apply to any language. I believe that by using native speakers for some of the actual needs analysis allows me to communicate with the students (in this case the BC teachers) in a way that can test or validate certain presumptions of language learning and needs analysis. Background Reading Anderson, G. and Arsenault, N. 1998. Fundamentals of Educational Research. London: Routledge Farmer. Graves, K. (Ed. ) 1996. Teachers as Course Developers. Cambridge: CUP. Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. 1987. English for Specific Purposes: a learning centred approach. Cambridge CUP: Chapter 8. Nunan, D. 1992. Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP. Nunan, D. 1988. Syllabus Design, OUP. Skilbeck, M. 1982 â€Å"Three educational ideologies† in T. Horton P. Raggat (eds) Challenge and Change in the Curriculum, Hodder Stoughton. Long, M. 2005. Second Language Needs Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wallace, M. 1998. Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hinkel, Eli. (Ed. ) 2005. Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Business Model For Ebay Marketing Essay

Business Model For Ebay Marketing Essay Innovation is not a single but a total process of interrelated sub processes. It is not just the conception of a new idea, nor the invention of a new device, nor the development of a new market but all of these things acting in an integrated fashion (Myers and Marquis, 1969). Innovation can as well be explained with the following equation: Innovation = theoretical conception + technical invention + commercial exploitation. EBay is the online trading community between person-to-person and is one of the few profitable internet companies. EBay effectively created a new business model never before possible with efficient one-to-one trading in an auction format. Individuals use 4,300 categories in eBay to buy and sell items of wide range, from collectibles and antiques to electronics and toys. Sellers pay a nominal fee for placing an item up for sale, and eBay receives a transaction fee ranging from 1.25% to 5% of the final sale price on any item sold. The buyer and the seller work out the logistics of the transport (e.g. shipping, payment) between themselves, and eBay never takes possession of the item being sold, or the payment for the item removing the need for inventory, transportation and other overhead costs. Business Model Business model defines how a firm will define and promote its brand (plans to operate), produce and distribute its product (generate revenue) and build or attract its market (compete). The success of business depends on selecting the appropriate business model. Business models convert new technologies to economic value. For some start-ups, familiar business models are not always applicable so a new model must be devised. In some cases, the importance of business model far exceeds the innovation of the product or service itself. Role of the Business Model Technical Inputs Business Model Economic Outputs A business model bases on a multitude of business subjects including economics, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, operations, and strategy. The business model itself is an important determinant of profits to be made from an innovation. A mediocre innovation with a great business model may be more profitable than a great innovation with a mediocre business model. EBays business model was based on creating and maintaining a person-to-person trading community, providing millions of auctions, and hundreds of thousands of new items every day from which bidders may choose. After implementing their model, EBay has been able to build strategic partnerships, continue making innovative changes and progressions, and supervise its internal and external environments for possible future opportunities which have made them the worlds largest online auction company. Since the site provides plenty of reasons to stay for longer period of time and revisit on a regular basis, eBay has become hugely successful. The longer they stay on eBay, there is more chance to complete a transaction and generate revenue for eBay. The other reason for eBays success is their highest bidder wins style auction mechanism as a means of earning profit from charging a premium for mediating between buyers and sellers as a third party. In using this mechanism, a history of prices exist s (price points), creating increased inter-play between competitors in the marketplace. EBays business model recognizes these specific elements as a key to its success. They are (as given in the case study): It is the largest online trading forum with a huge mass of buyers and sellers, and varied range of items listed for sale Its compelling and entertaining environment with strong values and established rules hence facilitating communication between buyers and sellers. It has programs such as Safe harbor to aid in disputes and to punish users who violate eBay Cost effective and convenient trading Strong community affinity An intuitive user interface that was easy to understand, arranged by topics, and fully automated The founder of eBays vision was to create the environment and provide users ways to interact. Rather than finding various ways of making money, eBay has focused on creating a community of users by which they ended up making lots of money. According to a survey, the average eBay user spends an average of one hour, 26 minutes and eight seconds on eBay (http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/ebay-aol-benefit-from-increased-us-web-usage-12765/). In contrast, visitors to catalogue stores and other commercial websites might spend only ten or twenty minutes there. EBay is maintaining their position since they are continuously improving to become better. When compared to amazon.com and other sites, eBay turned out to be far better since their expenses are low and doesnt hold any stocks like the others do. Creating New Markets Through Service Innovation For decades, since the evolution of internet, the importance of services has grown steadily to the global economy whereas the importance of goods has declined. Naturally, companies are constantly seeking to provide better services, regardless of whether they are in a pure service business or in a manufacturing industry that must increasingly rely on its service operations for continued profitability. However, most improvements to service activities are incremental. Stores stay open longer; producers establish websites with e-commerce functions; airlines, casinos and supermarket chains introduce loyalty card programs. These improvements are useful and indeed necessary, but their returns are somewhat limited. Only rarely does a company develop a service that creates an entirely new market reshaping the market providing company with unforeseen profits for a longer period of time. EBay is one of these rare companies. It has created new markets through its unique model of innovation. For example, in the online auction concept, eBay was not the first but it gradually became the dominant player. In the early 1980s, CompuServe (nee MicroNET) and The Source were sponsoring auctions. Specifically, Comp-U-Card Online/Comp-U-Store held weekly auctions for consumer goods like the brand-new Sony Walkman in 1983, and CompuServes first eBay-style automated online auctions were held in 1982. Due to limited use of the internet technologies and lack of awareness, these companies were not much success. Later when the trend changed, new technologies developed, and online business grew, eBay introduced its business totally focussed on service which led them to create successful new markets domestically and globally. Ansoffs growth matrix identifying opportunities for growth for eBay Current Products/ servicesNewProducts/ servicesCurrentMarketsNewMarkets 1. Market penetration strategy Attempt to get existing users to spend more 3. Product development strategy Wireless Develop sectors such as introduce car sales, boat, sales etc. Fixed-price shops Paypal: payment system Providing commission on sales 2. Market development strategy Attract new vendors such as large corporations Develop international sites in significant markets such as Germany, Japan 4. Diversification strategy Skype: VOIP Enabling communication among community EBay is one of the most successful e-commerce website in the World Wide Web. The strategic direction of the company is market penetration. The main aim of a market penetration strategy is to increase the market share by using the current products within the existing markets. This involved the actions and programs to be done in order to enhance the current core competencies or build a new one. In the case of e-Bay, the company focuses on improving the quality of their service in order to improve the reputation of the company compared to its direct and indirect competitors. EBay is focusing on the improvement of its service by using updated and high-tech Information System, which will help to improve the visitor log, improve the quality of service and the security and safety of its online users. Beside that EBay has continued to innovate and connect people. The most important points in their innovation are acquisitions of PayPal in 2002 an online financial service, and Skype in 2005 an internet communication company. With these acquisitions, EBay provides customers with the most convenient methods so that buyers can make low cost contact with sellers easily and make all transaction swiftly. Although there are several disputes that EBay is doing a real value chain, its characterization proofs that EBay performs a virtual value chain. It provides platform for trading on the internet in virtual market where it operates and the value of goods sold in this site is determined by auctioning of buyers. It performs as a self-regulating global economy. Lesson to a new internet business from eBay Figure from www.ebay.com On a normal e-commerce site, customer does some shopping, picks out one or more items, and heads to the checkout area as quickly as possible. But in eBay, members can do other thing than just buy or sell. They can Post feedback: In business, feedbacks are crucial and help the company to improve their mistakes. Here, both consumers and sellers can post their feedbacks in the forum describing their deal of the product. Communicate with others in message boards: Consumers such as Antique hunters, collectors, and bargain hunters like talking about their common interests. This leads them to meet and greet each other in the same spots on eBay, either in a weekly or prearranged chat, just to say hello and share opinions. Post secondary information: eBay sellers and buyers can create About Me pages to inform people about themselves. Sellers can open eBay Stores. This gets them personally involved with the sales they open this site not only for business but it has become part of their daily lives. In other words, loyalty, the desire of finding a bargain, and the love of making some extra money are what keep eBay users returning on a regular basis, which makes eBay a lovely and a successful venue. Its the human touch that means so much on the auction site. By implementing their business model, eBay employed three main tactics. First, they looked to build strategic partnerships. Second, they looked for customer feedback to constantly make changes and improvements. Finally, they monitored its internal and external environments for possible opportunities. By doing all of these sorts of things, eBay is being able to adapt to the changing ways and keeping their customers satisfied. To be successful eBay continue to mould and change their business model to satisfy its customers and keep the level of quality they employ to the highest degree as possible. eBay has created a one-stop-shopping experience that is appealing to large corporations, independent entrepreneurs, and individual buyers and sellers. They have created value through many facets of their business that appeal to their customers and differentiate them from the competition. The main ways that eBay differentiates themselves is through: Variety of products offered When customers visit eBay they can search for virtually any product. EBay boasts a category variety not matched by any competitor with over 27,000. The eBay Community EBay wants their customers to feel like they are a part of a community. This community feel gives customers the sense that they are branch of something and cared about. By showing the customers that their feedback, opinions, and feelings are important eBay has gained tremendous ground with their customers. The eBay Website EBay has created an auction and retail website that is unique and interesting. This creative site sets them apart from their competitors. The site is set up with many facets that reach a broad span of visiting buyers and sellers. The site is also entertaining and easy to use making it very appealing for online shopping and trading. The eBay Brand Name EBay was the creator of the online auction industry. When customers think of online buying the immediately think of eBay. This has given them a competitive advantage that sets them apart from other online auctions. eBays Global Reach The global reach of eBay is not achieved by any other online auction site. For large corporations international selling and buying is done everyday. Even for an individual buyer or seller, having the option of searching throughout 150 countries with a span of 94.9 million users is very appealing. Conclusion eBays compelling value proposition, their ability to create a new market using Internet technology, and their first-mover advantage, have been key factors that have contributed to the success of the brand, however, their ability to cultivate a distinct sense of community has been the defining characteristic which differentiates them from other online auctions. As a result, eBay attracts a broader selection of buyers, which in turn attracts more sellers the ultimate network effect contributing to its strong lead and competitive advantage. Their focus on heavy users and targeted promotions, have been instrumental in building a quality customer base, which has established eBay above other online auction communities. eBay has also faced difficult challenges in scaling the organisation fast enough, as they could not opt for a go slow strategy.

James Baldwins Narration and Analysis in Notes of a Native Son Essay

Experiences There is a very thin line between love and hate in James Baldwin’s essay â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† Throughout this essay James Baldwin continually makes references to life and death, blacks and whites, and love and hate. He uses his small experiences to explain a much larger, more complicated picture of life. From the first paragraph of the essay to the last paragraph, Baldwin continually makes connections on his point of view on life; beginning with the day his father died, to the time that his father was buried. James Baldwin is an outstanding author, who creatively displays his ability to weave narration and analysis throughout his essays. The binaries between life and death play a huge role in Baldwin’s â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† The day that James Baldwin’s father died, his mother had borne her last child. Although the day his father died was extremely upsetting, a new child coming into the world is exciting. This brings hope to the reader that eventually through all the trials and tribulations Baldwin goes through, that eventually he might find a state of peace. Baldwin’s father’s funeral happens to fall on Baldwin’s nineteenth birthday, which brings up another way Baldwin is able to show how life and death affect this essay. Instead of trying to deal with his father’s death with his family, Baldwin decides to celebrate his birthday with a bottle of whiskey and a girl that he knew. Baldwin is unsure of what to do now that his father is gone. He says, â€Å"I imagine I decided it, since, as the funeral hour approached, it became clearer and clearer to me that I would not know what to do with myself when it was over† (Baldwin 77). Baldwin figures that if he gets drunk enoug... ...ne to them and they would not tolerate it. So instead of cowering to the white girl’s â€Å"white power† they stood up for themselves; and showed this girl that she was not better than them just because of her skin color. It is these girls that help to diminish the â€Å"separate but equal† facilities. James Baldwin is an incredible essayist. He skillfully intertwines his own experiences growing up, into a more universal theory. Using binaries, Baldwin explains the hatred between whites and blacks and his desire for a change. His point of view on life is slightly different from the beginning of the essay to the last. However, he creatively shows these changes through narration and analysis. Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York, New York, Library of America, 1998. 70-84.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Childhood Obesity :: Obesity in Children

Over the past thirty years, childhood obesity has doubled among young children and adolescents in the United States (National Institute of Health, 2014). It is becoming a great concern for parents as children are getting heavier and heavier (Eberstadt, 2013). Fast food restaurants, among other reasons, can be to blame for this. Obesity, which should be identified before any problems can occur, has many causes which has lead it to become an epidemic in the United States, however there are several preventions and treatments that parents can execute to help their children live healthy lives. Nevertheless, this requires parents to educate themselves about obesity. Obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of body fat. One’s total body weight would be more than 25 percent fat in boys and more than 32 percent in girls if he or she were to become obese. A trained technician may obtain skin fold measures by triceps alone, triceps and sub scapular, triceps and calf, and calf alone. In triceps and calf, a sum of skin fold of 10-25 mm. is considered optimal in boys, and 16-30 mm. in girls (Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Besides the skin fold test, there are other ways to measure excess fat. A measurement called Percentile of Body Mass Index, or BMI, is used to identify overweight and obese children. If a child is in the 85th percentile, he or she is at risk level to becoming obese. For adults, this means that one is overweight. If a child reaches the 95th percentile, which corresponds to a BMI of 30, obesity in adults, than the child is at a severe level. The 95th percentile identifies children that are very likely to have obesity persist in adulthood, and is associated with elevated blood pressure and lipids in older adolescents, and an increased risk of diseases. The 95th percentile is also a sign that the child needs aggressive treatment (American Obesity Association, 2014). Obesity among children is increasing on a day-to-day basis. Between 5-25 percent of children and teens in the United States are obese: about 15.5 percent of adolescents (age 12-19) and 15.3 percent of children (ages 6-11). Of children, 7 percent were obese from 1976-1980, 11 percent from 1988-1994, and most recently 15.3 percent from 1999-2000. Of adolescents, 5 percent were obese from 1976-1980, 11 percent from 1988-1994, and an outstanding 18.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Charles Dickens Hard Times and David Lodges Nice Work Essay -- Lodge

Charles Dickens' Hard Times and David Lodge's Nice Work ----â€Å"Fact, fact, fact, everywhere in the material aspect of the town; fact, fact, fact everywhere in the immaterial.† – Charles Dickens In the early 1851, London staged the Great Exhibition to show the world, the achievements and inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Many people believed that this showed how much better, safer and healthier Britain was than its neighbours in Europe. People living in mansions amid lawns and fountains, with horse drawn carriages certainly felt that life couldn’t be better. However behind the publicity and the royal occasions there was another England, not so glorious. Benjamin Disraeli wrote that Britain was really â€Å"two nations†, Dickens wanted to show his readers what was behind the glittering faà §ade of Victorian industry. He wanted to show his readers the factual monotony behind the sulky blotch towns of industrial Britain. As the essay title suggests, both Lodge and Dickens have portrayed their format of an industrial landscape. Both authors’ coddle in a crestfallen environment of the industrial world: one at the height of a revolution, the other at the height of a decline. Dickens is keen to depict his Victorian contemporary world of Coketown in an essentially satirical context. It is emblemed with certain thematic issues including religion, the nature of employment and education, which follow course throughout the book. This surreal caricature of the Victorian landscape contrasts with Lodge’s realistically styled piece. Lodge’s passage, which holds a fictional veil over the names of â€Å"Rummidge and the Dark Country†, is clearly intended to represent Birmingham and the Black Country. In Hard Times it ca... ...o hold no target. In his account he mainly adopts an educational style prose to mirror the thoughts of his subject Vic Wilcox whilst also using a slightly more creative passage towards the end of the description to reveal political opinion and sentiment. Overall it is credible to say that the sources examined are quite detached in similarity. This maybe due to the large disparity of time between time periods. In view of success I think though Lodge’s modern style of writing should be recognized as playing games with the reader, I judge that the tone is overtly mundane and dreary. It is impossible to give a comprehensive argument on Lodge’s point of view due to his modern isolated style from the writing. Dickens is appealingly aggressive, motivating and quite favourably figurative. He leaves his readers without a shadow of a doubt of whom he is attacking. Charles Dickens' Hard Times and David Lodge's Nice Work Essay -- Lodge Charles Dickens' Hard Times and David Lodge's Nice Work ----â€Å"Fact, fact, fact, everywhere in the material aspect of the town; fact, fact, fact everywhere in the immaterial.† – Charles Dickens In the early 1851, London staged the Great Exhibition to show the world, the achievements and inventions of the Industrial Revolution. Many people believed that this showed how much better, safer and healthier Britain was than its neighbours in Europe. People living in mansions amid lawns and fountains, with horse drawn carriages certainly felt that life couldn’t be better. However behind the publicity and the royal occasions there was another England, not so glorious. Benjamin Disraeli wrote that Britain was really â€Å"two nations†, Dickens wanted to show his readers what was behind the glittering faà §ade of Victorian industry. He wanted to show his readers the factual monotony behind the sulky blotch towns of industrial Britain. As the essay title suggests, both Lodge and Dickens have portrayed their format of an industrial landscape. Both authors’ coddle in a crestfallen environment of the industrial world: one at the height of a revolution, the other at the height of a decline. Dickens is keen to depict his Victorian contemporary world of Coketown in an essentially satirical context. It is emblemed with certain thematic issues including religion, the nature of employment and education, which follow course throughout the book. This surreal caricature of the Victorian landscape contrasts with Lodge’s realistically styled piece. Lodge’s passage, which holds a fictional veil over the names of â€Å"Rummidge and the Dark Country†, is clearly intended to represent Birmingham and the Black Country. In Hard Times it ca... ...o hold no target. In his account he mainly adopts an educational style prose to mirror the thoughts of his subject Vic Wilcox whilst also using a slightly more creative passage towards the end of the description to reveal political opinion and sentiment. Overall it is credible to say that the sources examined are quite detached in similarity. This maybe due to the large disparity of time between time periods. In view of success I think though Lodge’s modern style of writing should be recognized as playing games with the reader, I judge that the tone is overtly mundane and dreary. It is impossible to give a comprehensive argument on Lodge’s point of view due to his modern isolated style from the writing. Dickens is appealingly aggressive, motivating and quite favourably figurative. He leaves his readers without a shadow of a doubt of whom he is attacking.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Social Media and the Egyptian Revolution

January 2011 marked the beginning of peaceful protests and movement demonstrations staged by citizens throughout Egypt. Movement actors fought for democratic advances, political freedoms and equality. The genuine commitment for change, the unity of the people and most notably the tactful com/the-effects-of-social-media-on-communication-skills/">manipulation of social media resulted in the disposition of the suppressive regime. Modern social media has significantly changed the traditional forms of activism and has simplified the efforts needed to provoke civic mobilization.Social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube hold the dynamic power to manipulate, control, inform and motivate. Essentially, they have become excellent tools for activists. This paper seeks to describe and assess specifically the relationship between social media and the Egyptian Revolution. Building on this foundation, this essay will prove that social media platforms were the major catalysts fo r social change in Egypt. To begin, social media, or more precisely Twitter and Facebook, defined and formed the movement's collective identity.These platforms represented safe environments that permitted individuals to consult about common grievances and share revolutionary ideas (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466). Furthermore, social media applications played key roles in facilitating the efforts needed for communication, organization, and recruitment (ibid). These applications were highly trusted as they allowed activists to network effortlessly and moreover, assisted in turning rational individuals into constituents. Lastly, social media aided in attracting global support and ‘helped spread democratic ideas across international borders' (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466).By referencing the works of scholars such as Kenneth Pollack, Halim Rane and Francesca Communello, this paper will prove social media as the underlying force of the Egyptian revolution. To begin, the con versations held on Facebook and Twitter shaped the collective identity that would make ‘individuals feel capable of effecting change' (Staggenborg, 2008; 191). Twitter and Facebook were the underlying catalytic forces of the movement as they provided a space that would allow Egyptians to publically aspire for changes and ‘express opposition to the existing order' (Doran, 2011; 41).â€Å"We Are All Khaled Said† was a Facebook page that established Khaled Said's death as the spark of the Egyptian movement. With Said's brutally beaten face as the banner, this page quickly spurred anger as it emphasized both the unreasonable level of cruelty that was exerted towards him and as well as the oppression Egyptians faced daily. Remarkably over the course of a few weeks, half a million Egyptians were on Facebook, expressing their anger and sharing their grievances over police brutality, rising food prices and corruption.This platform page assisted in framing the movement â⠂¬Å"in terms of demands for dignity, justice, freedom and democracy† (Rane et al, 2012; 80). The establishment of the movement's frame gave rise to many other Facebook pages. These highlighted the corrupted practices of the government and educated both constituents and adherents to the movement about democracy and its benefits. Facebook succeeded in breaking down the psychological fear barrier that obstructed Egyptians from participating.Once fear was no longer an issue, the Egyptian social capital progressed intensively as the collective consciousness emerged. Facebook was used as a mobilization structure that would undeniably give back the power to the people and restore their self esteem. Correspondingly, Tunisia's success in toppling their dictator, had inspired a wave of revolutions in the Middle-East. Socio-political debates and ideas of democratic advances in Egypt were highly influenced by the current events in Tunisia. These influences had left a marginal impact on th e Egyptian collective identity.By using social media platforms, Tunisian activists guided their Egyptian counterparts regarding the matters of revolution. On Facebook, Tunisians inspired Egyptians by further highlighting the benefits of democratic advancements and by providing words of encouragement and advice ( Rane & Salem, 2012; 85). Tunisians contributed to the empowerment and collective morale of the Egyptian people entirely through the use of social networking applications. Social media is what ultimately allowed the Egyptian people to be galvanized.It created a type of common room that allowed dissidents to speak feely which gave emergence to the movements collective action frame and identity. As Twitter and Facebook were deduced as safe and anonymous environments, the psychological fear barrier had eventually been broken, thus supporting the thesis that social media was undeniably a prominent feature in the outcome in Egypt. (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84) In addition, Twit ter and Facebook had facilitated the movement's needed efforts for mobilization.Activists used these platforms as reliable tools  to propagate their message and contact fellow movement actors. Both Twitter and Facebook contain features that allow statements to be liked, shared or quoted; therefore breaking down all geographical barriers. Egyptian activists, while by passing government restrictions, would use these applications to strategically organize peaceful protests and other forms of collective activities and events. Movement actors would organize ways to contest authorities on Twitter or Facebook as they knew their great power to spread news (Idle and Nunns, 2011, p. 20).Specifically, Twitter played a key role during the revolution as it held the power to potentially turn a simple tweet into a worldwide trending topic. Similarly to the diffusion theory, Twitter along with Facebook became key channels of diffusion. Both these applications accelerated the speed at which the ad opters received the innovations initiated by the transmitters, resulting in the instantaneous mobilization of individuals and resources ( Rane & Salem, 2012; 78). The pertinent example of this phenomenon presents itself a few days prior to the massive revolutionary demonstrations of January 25.To avoid attracting authorities, main organizers of this uprising had avoided disclosing details too early. When details were finally shared, it diffused virally over social media applications at an impeccable speed that would attract 80, 000 protestors in two days, thus proving social media as a prominent inciting force. Social media was used to raise expectations of success and coordinate strategy (Howard et al. 2011; 9). These networks were manipulated in ways that would inspire â€Å"dissidents to organize protests, criticize their governments and spread ideas about democracy† (ibid).Twitter and Facebook supported Egyptian activists by sustaining collective action and by facilit ating the process of diffusion (Rane & Salem, 2012; 90). To deduce, social media simplified the dynamics needed to provoke the mobilization of the Egyptian social movement, thus supporting the thesis that Twitter and Facebook were the catalysts to the movement. Lastly, social media platforms galvanized foreign support and â€Å"helped to globally spread voices against [oppressive] regimes† factors that contributed to the movement's success (Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 466).As previously mentioned, social media networks had broken down the geographical barriers that would otherwise limit activists. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube disseminated images and videos of police brutality towards the relatively peaceful protestors; which heightened awareness in countries. Activists used these platforms in their favour to gain international support, thus weakening the oppressive regime. Simply put, the more Egyptians attracted awareness, the more likely Mubarak would fall.Specifical ly, Egyptians directed these images to Western countries as they recognized that added pressures from these States was paramount (Khamis & Vaughn, 2011). An important speech permitted Egyptian movement actors had known of their success days before Mubarak had actually resigned. When Obama publically stated his discontentment with the Egyptian government's abuse of power, there was a cry of victory in all of Egypt. The Leader of the Free World's statement had rekindled the fire of passion and had empowered Egyptians, inspiring them to continue their pursue for change.Moreover, similarly to the Tunisian Revolution, the Egyptian Revolution had sparked movements throughout the Middle East. Countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region share many common elements, thus explaining the wave of uprisings (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84). The Egyptian movement was merely a response to a lack of human rights and freedoms and its success, motivated all pro- democratic activist s in the MENA region. These activists learned of the power of social media by following the Egyptian movement on Twitter and Facebook.In hoping to rid their countries from â€Å"adverse social, economic and political situation†, activists look at social media platforms as the initiators for change (ibid).. Consequently, current oppressive governments in the Middle East have taken example from the failures of the Egyptian and Tunisian governments and â€Å"have been subjected to a new level of scrutiny† (Doran, 2011; 43). In Syria, the authoritative government has been behaving with great brutality in response to mobilization efforts. Assad has ruthlessly killed many of the rioting individuals all while censoring the media, in efforts of shielding ‘himself from foreign audit' (ibid).The social media tactics used by Egyptian and Tunisian activists have weakened their respective government all while strengthening other authoritarian governments in the region. Twitte r and Facebook supported Egypt during its plight for social change as they assisted activists in raising international awareness. Because of their abilities to cascade information virally with no geographical limits, the Egyptian Revolution became an international topic in a matter of weeks; ultimately leading to the movements success.Lastly, social media aided with  spreading ideas of revolution and democracy in the MENA region (Rane & Salem, 2012; 84). The diffusion of Egypt's success on Facebook and Twitter, inspired pro-democratic movements throughout the Middle East; thus supporting the statement that social media was the seminal impulse for social change in Egypt and as well as the rest of the Middle East. â€Å"The best practical reason to think that social media can help bring political change is that both dissidents and governments think they can† C. Shirky ( Comunello & Anzera, 2012; 461).The Egyptian Revolution and the contributory role played by Twitter and Facebook demonstrate the predominant effect social media platforms have on social movements. The achievement of the movements objectives didn't solely depend on social media; offline efforts were required. Nevertheless, Twitter and Facebook were the major driving forces of the movement as they accelerated the movement's progression towards success. To begin, these social media applications shaped the collective action frame and defined the collective identity, ultimately leading to the mobilization of the movement.Furthermore, these platforms facilitated communicational efforts and the transfer of pertinent information thus simplifying all the dynamics involved with mobilization. Lastly, Twitter and Facebook helped in the spreading of democratic ideas and attracted the international awareness needed that would essentially overthrow the Mubarak regime. Considering these statements aforementioned, it is extremely likely that without these social media platforms, the revolution wou ld have evolved at a much slower pace, therefore proving that these platforms were verily major catalysts for social change in Egypt.