Urban Life During the Second Industrial Revolution Essay -- essays rese

Urban Life During the Second Industrial Revolution The trend towards densely populated urban centers begun in 1800's continued into the 1900's. Man's development of urban centers was a major step away from what seemed to be nature's way of living: on farms and sparsely placed homesteads. Industrial production required hundreds of thousands of workers and, especially in the second industrial revolution, scientists. The urban centers that emerged during this period, such as Paris, London, and Berlin, were quickly changing the ratios of population from rural to urban Berlin's population, for example, went from 66% rural in 1871 to almost 66% urban before the first World War (see "The Second Industrial Revolution"). With the influx of people to urban centers came the increasingly obvious problem of city layouts. The crowded streets which were, in some cases, the same paths as had been "naturally selected" by wandering cows in the past were barely passing for the streets of a quarter million commuters. In 1853, Napoleon III named Georges Haussmann "prefect of the Seine," and put him in charge of redeveloping Paris' woefully inadequate infrastructure (Kagan, The Western Heritage Vol. II, pp. 564-565). This was the first and biggest example of city planning to fulfill industrial needs that existed in Western Europe. Paris' narrow alleys and apparently random placement of intersections were transformed into wide streets and curving turnabouts that freed up congestion and aided in public transportation for the scientists and workers of the time. Man was no longer dependent on the natural layout of cities; form was beginning to follow function. Suburbs, for example, were springing up around major cities. This housing arrangem... ...tion from their peers (Kagan, p. 564). So the natural layout of large urban centers eventually gave way to a structured, logically designed cities near the turn of the century. With the help of industrial products such as steel and concrete, new forms were being used to maximize utility in crowded urban areas. Sanitation reform was underway to combat the natural forces of disease and other health hazards, and science was beginning to find the origins of disease and decay. All these developments show mankind taking a less natural approach to society, and bending nature to its will. Other Sources: Kagan, Ozment, & Turner. The Western Heritage Vol. II. Prentice Hall, 1996 Pacey, Arnold. Technology in World Civilization. MIT Press, 1991 Kranzberg, Arnold and Carroll W. Pursell Jr. Technology in Western Civilization. Oxford University Press, 1967

Illegal Immigration Essay

The United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where opportunities were vast, and people migrated in seek of a greater life; however, the American way of living has since then become obsolete and in it’s stead a country facing extreme fiscal burden due to a high influx of illegal immigration which has a resulted in a dramatic tax increase for the American people, a decrease in the quality of life and job availability, and the overall state of America and the economy. Furthermore, a nation penetrated every year by some 300,000 illegal aliens†¦is not a nation experiencing ‘immigration’, but rather, a nation experiencing an invasion. For centuries, our nation has been a safe haven for people of different cultures and nationalities to inhabit. However, that which we have prided ourselves in, will ultimately contribute to our greater downfall; for the negative effect illegal aliens are having on the U.S economy and society, is so gre at, it will eventually surpass and reach the point beyond resuscitation. As stated above, many as a safe haven have considered the United States, thereby, resulting ongoing struggle of people fighting their way into the country for decades. However, as the decades pass, the issue continue to rapidly escalate in gravity. With the United States border being so close to Mexico it is now seeing the highest population of illegal immigrants to date. The rising population is due to the lack of jobs in their country, poor pay and ill work environments. However, it has become the issue which it currently is due to the US having problems with high taxes, steep insurance costs and new laws. Even though the United States is a free country, immigration has changed over the years because of an increase in illegal immigrants, stricter laws and harsher penalties. In the last few decades the United States has had to increase the taxes for their American citizens due to the increase in the illegal immigrant population. â€Å"Even with the national government pouring billions of dollars into the education of LEP students, state and local taxes provide the lion’s share of the funding needed to hire bilingual teachers, purchase non-English textbooks and instructional resources, and hire other professionals or paraprofessionals  who can communicate with non-English speaking parents.† Education is where a major portion of money goes to help illegal immigrants learn to speak English. â€Å"Local taxpayers continue to expend more money to support education; and in communities that serve high numbers of illegal immigrants, such taxpayers will have to provide even more money to public school districts. Universities have been petitioned by local education agencies to prepare more educators to work with LEP students, so additional funding for research and curriculum development will be required at the university level.† Many illegal immigration sympathizers attempt to portray illegal immigration as a victimless crime, when in actuality, not only do they willfully and knowingly cross the border, but the act also causes substantial harm to American citizens and legal immigrations- more specifically, those which reside in the more vulnerable and impoverished areas of our population. They not only cause an enormous drain of public funds, but in addition, as proven by the National Academy of Sciences, the taxes they seldom pay do not even partially cover the cost of services they receive. Of which include, education, health care, and other services intended for legal Americans. More so, they entering into the country has severely affected job availability for minority workers and those without high school degrees in America. Furthermore, illegal aliens pose a great threat to national security seeing as by it creates greater opportunities for terrorist to attempt to blend in within those crossing the bord er. However even though, this is a small issue in the overall greater problem which is illegal immigration, the main issue truly resonates in the deep negative effect they are having our economy and quality of life. As stated in the article, â€Å"Do Illegal Immigrants Actually Hurt the U.S Economy† from the New York Times, the author described the story of Pedro Chan, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who crossed the border in hopes of â€Å"a better life in America†. He explained how said illegal alien earns up to $25,000 a year working as a handy man, but furthermore, claimed that these illegal immigrants despite the money they send to their native countries, in fact spend most of their earnings here in America, therefore, allowing the money to circulate within our economy. The author even stated that as all economists, of all political  persuasion, have proven that illegal immigrants –regardless of their legal or illegal standing- benefit the overall economy. When in actuality, the fiscal burden that caused by illegal aliens on U.s Taxpayers is estimated at the federal, state, and local level to be about $113 billion; nearly $29 billion at the federal level and $84 billion at the state and local level. Furthermore, the annual outlay that illegal aliens cost U.S taxpayers is an average amount per native household of $1,117. More so, this number varies greatly depending on the size of illegal alien population in that locality. However, e ducation for illegal aliens undoubtedly constitutes the single largest cost to taxpayers, with an annual price tag of nearly $52 billion. Even though, at a federal level, about one-third of outlays are set to par by tax collections from illegal aliens, at a the state and local level, an average of less than five percent of public costs associated with illegal immigration is recouped through illegal alien tax collections. For the truth of the matter is, the majority of illegal aliens do not pay income taxes, and the few who do, are refunded the revenues collected through tax returns, in addition to claiming tax credits which results from payments from the U.S treasury. With many states, such as California and New York, facing state budgets being in deficit, policymakers are desperately seeking way to reduce the fiscal burden of illegal immigration. With California’s budget deficit being $14.4 billion in 2010-2011, with an estimated $21.8 billion in annual expenditures on illegal aliens, and New York with $6.8 billion deficit and nearly $9.5 billion in yearly illegal alien costs. While these statistics were gathered from the fiscal year of 2010-2011, the profound negative effect of illegal immigration continues to escalate and further accentuate the already enormous fiscal burden it has placed on the American people. Furthermore, if amnesty for the illegal alien population were fully implemented, while tax collections from illegal aliens would marginally increase, the new legal status would make them eligible for receiving Social Security retirement benefits, in addition to numerous social assistance programs for low-income populations. The r esult of this would ultimately be catastrophic and result in the fiscal burden to increase 10fold. As shown by Federal Expenditures on Illegal Aliens chart, they American government divides Illegal Alien expenditures by: education, medical, law enforcement, public assistance and general expenditures. In 2010-2011, the education subtotal was that of $2,107,800,000; medical was $5,949,900,000; law enforcement, $7,838,700,000; public assistance being $4,564,600,000; and general expenditures at $8,184,400,000. Thereby, bringing the grand total of illegal alien expenditures to $28,645,400,000. While this number represents the grand total of 2010-2011, it is a clear indicator of the negative impact they are having on our economy, in addition to playing a vital role in the impeding of the economic resuscitation. Furthermore, the most part, is that said persons who are negatively impacting our country in actuality should not even be in the position to create such casualties, seeing as they should not reside in the country to begin with. For many, such as Vice President Joe R. Biden, feel that illegal immigrants are as part of the American country and culture as the American Revolution. However, despite Mr. Biden’s ostensible statement to the U.S Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, â€Å"you know, 11 million people live in the shadows. I believe they’re already American citizens. These people are just waiting, waiting for a chance to contribute fully. And by that standard, 11 million undocumented aliens are already Americans, in my view.† Well, much like the Vice President’s previous statements, this was also a near nonsensical and politically befuddling statement. For even though Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, has said illegal aliens should be referred to as undocumented workers, in actuality they are neither the former nor the latter. Illegal Aliens, as defined by the IRS, is an individual who is not a U.S citizen or U.S national, and violates our nation’s laws by unlawfully cr ossing U.S borders. Thereby, such illegal entry is a misdemeanor, and, if repeated post initial deportation, become punishable as a felony. Therefore, if their entering of the country is a crime, thereby, making them criminals, why should 1.) Illegal alien amnesty considered an option and 2.) They be referred to as undocumented workers, let alone â€Å"Americans†. The harsh truth being, they are not Americans, in any sense, they are illegal aliens, who have willfully illegally crossed U.S borders, and are now causing unrectifiable damages. Although Border Patrol plays a crucial role in the ongoing war against illegal immigration, this issue cannot be controlled solely at the border; drastic measures by the United States government and more importantly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must be taken to bring this epidemic to a halt. Those, which overstay their visa, in addition to the EWI’s who pass by Border Patrol unscathed, must be identified and immediately removed by interior immigration inspectors of ICE, and deported to their country of origin. Unfortunately, ICE currently is constrained from detaining and deporting any illegal aliens that do not possess criminal convictions or pose as a threat to national security. The main issue with this, is since the topic of illegal immigration is associated with morality and treatment towards humanity, people often forget or choose to stay blind towards the fact that all those which illegally enter the borders of a country are by default criminals. Therefore, if they knowingly, and willingly, entered the country illegally, they should have to face the repercussions of their actions. The only way to bring about the termination of this grand influx of illegal immigration is to make a united and conscious effort to bring about its demise; that which requires ensuring illegal aliens do not obtain any form of public assistance benefits, public education, public housing, employment, or any other form of taxpayer-funded benefit without detection. Furthermore, focusing on the three major components of immigration control, which are: deterrence, a theory that criminal laws are passed with well-defined punishments to discourage individual criminal defendants from becoming repeat offenders and to discourage others in society from engaging in similar criminal activity; apprehension, the seizure and arrest of a person who is suspected of having committed a crime; and removal, the transfer of a person or thing from one place to another or the transfer of a case from one court to another. In this sense, removal generally refers to a transfer from a court in one jurisdiction to a court in another, whereas a change of venue may be granted simply to move a case to another location within the same jurisdiction. The country must unite, and demand Congress and the Executive Branch to strengthen these three components and reestablish their focus American people, not illegal aliens, as their main focus point- for our government is meant to govern â€Å"by the people, for the people† (i.e. American citizens). In order to effectively control illegal immigration, it requires a balanced approach with a myriad of enforcement improvements that extend far beyond the border; including: procedural reforms, an increase in investigation capacity, asylum reforms, document improvements, limitations on judicial review, improved intelligence capacity and state/federal cooperation, and major reforms in detention and deportation procedures. Even though the cost of these extensive reformations that will result in effective control and management of the laws against illegal immigration are high, it ultimately will cost the US government, economy, and people, far less than allowing illegal immigration to run rampant. In conclusion, it appears that the debate over the future stance over illegal aliens has been brought to two options: pursuing a strategy that discourages future illegal immigration and increasingly diminishes the current illegal alien population through denial of job opportunities and deportat ions, or the more probable and highly detrimental, to adopt an amnesty that further invites continued illegal immigration. The America that our predecessors once knew has become obsolete, and merely a figment of our imaginations. The once great empire that we were, ceases to be, as we have been stricken by a myriad of things, and of those being illegal immigration; of which has been a great problem of ours for decades, more so greatly due to the 1986 amnesty which resulted in a further escalation in the fiscal burden they cause. Furthermore, if the 2014 amnesty of illegal aliens is passed, then the fate of this once great country has been sealed, seeing as it will only result in a higher influx of illegal aliens crossing the border- an event which will greatly contribute to the demise of the once â€Å"American Empire†. Works Cited 1. â€Å"Illegal Immigration | Center for Immigration Studies.† Illegal Immigration | Center for Immigration Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. < http://cis.org/Illegal> 2. Davidson, Adam. â€Å"Do Illegal Immigrants Actually Hurt the U.S. Economy?†The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.< http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/magazine/do-illegal-immigrants-actually-hurt-the-us-economy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0> 3. â€Å"Immigration Issues.† The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers (2010). N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. < http://www.fairus.org/publications/the-fiscal-burden-of-illegal-immigration-on-u-s-taxpayers> 4. Chantrill, Christopher. â€Å"Compare States Growth And Debt.† For 2014. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. < http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/state_debt_rank> 5. Chumley, Cheryl K. â€Å"Joe Biden: Illegal Immigrants Are ‘already American Citizens’ to Me.† Washington Times. The Washington Times, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.< http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/28/joe-biden-illegal-immigrants-are-already-american-/> 6. â€Å"Immigration Issues.† Illegal Immigration Is a Crime (2013). N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.< http://www.fairus.org/issue/illegal-immigration-is-a-crime

Judicial Review And The Indian Courts - 1444 Words

Political Science Essay Monsoon Semester 2014 Submitted by- Pradyumna Soni 214048 JUDICIAL REVIEW AND THE INDIAN COURTS Introduction Judicial Review is basically an aspect of judicial power of the state which is exercised by the courts to determine the validity of a rule of law or an action of any agency of the state. The courts have the power of testing the validity of legislative as well as other governmental action with reference to the provisions of the constitution. The judiciary tries to undo the harm that is being done by the legislature and executive and they also try to provide every citizen what has been guaranteed by the constitution. Judicial review has a more technical significance in public law,†¦show more content†¦Judicial Review in India The constitution of India, in this respect, is more similar to the U.S. Constitution than the British. Under the constitution of India parliament is not supreme. Its powers are limited in the two ways. First, there is the division of powers between the union and the states. Parliament is allowed to pass laws only with respect to those subjects which are guaranteed to the citizens against every form of legislative encroachment. The power of judicial review of legislation is given to the judiciary both by the political theory and text of the constitution. There are several specific provisions in the Indian constitution, judicial review of legislation such as Act 13, 32, 131-136, 143, 226, 145, 246, 251, 254 and 372. Judicial review is a great weapon given to the judges. It includes the power of a court to hold illegal and unenforceable any law or order based upon such law or some other activity by an open power which is conflicting or in clash with the fundamental law that must be adhered to. Truth be told, the investigation of constitutional law may be depicted as an investigation of the precept of judicial review in action. The courts have force to strike down any law, on the off chance that they trust it to be unconstitutional. In the case I.R. Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu the court laid down a

The Problem of Emotionally Destructive Relationship Free Essay Example, 3250 words

The Collector by John Fowles is a psychological thriller. The story begins with an improbability-A clerk financing the global jaunt of his odd relatives! He must be having a hidden agenda. Does he do that to secure absolute privacy? His subsequent action indicates such possibilities. He buys a lonely cottage with a cellar. He has been stalking Miranda, a beauty he admired secretly, and his weird plan is to imprison her in the cellar. This simple-looking British middle-class man is neatly plotting to capture Miranda, and he had kept his thoughts about her suppressed to bid his time to strike at the opportune moment. The windfall of the lottery is a God-sent opportunity for him. Money is the harbinger of many evils, and Clegg has proved this right, by his highly improper action. He expresses his helplessness about his infatuation with Miranda, when he says, Seeing her, always made me feel like I was caching a rarity, going up to it very carefully, heart-in-mouth they say. (Fowles, 1 997, p, 3) He again says it emphatically, I can t say what it was, the very first time I saw her, and I knew she was the only one. We will write a custom essay sample on The Problem of Emotionally Destructive Relationship or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page But in the given situation she had to study Fred, come to terms with his attitudes, and seek her freedom with the trust gained by outsmarting him. She is shattered by her captivity, like a bird desperately flapping the wings in an effort to fly free. She becomes cynical; her faith in God is in question, with the ignobility of the world around her. The level of her frustration is revealed, when she says, "He's not human; he's an empty space disguised as a human. "

The Comparison Of Facebook And Wechat. With Scientific

The comparison of Facebook and WeChat With scientific and technological progress, anything develops, especially the advent of the Internet era spawned a number of new things. The United States has been certainly walking in the forefront of the times, but China who has 731 million Internet users can also not be underestimated. As the one who earliest accessed to the Internet era, United States is always the leader of the social media in the world. China’s social media users try to catch up from behind. Today, more and more information is available through the social media across the world. About 7/10 of Americans now use social media to make friends, access to outside information or entertain themselves. With the development of social†¦show more content†¦They can also join networks and groups. Once users join a network, all the people in that network can view their profiles, but they can choose to limit it to just people on your friends list if you wish. When logging into Facebook, users are presented with a mini news feed that gives them a variety of updates on friends. They can read their status, see what they have written on other friends’ walls, view any pictures they have added and see results of quizzes they have taken. When a friend updates a status, you can leave a comment related to that status and be alerted when your friend or friends of your friend reply to your comment. Many actors have their own pages on Facebook. People can become a fan of the actor to gain access to updates and events related to them. When others in your circle become a fan of something, it will also show up in the news feed, which gives us a chance to join if we wish. Facebook also has many games that can be played, and a lot of these can be played with your friends and this highlights that Facebook is primarily a fun and modern way to play and communicate. In China, WeChat is a mobile messaging board offering free video calls, group chat, and many fun fe atures such as a shake function to link contacts with other users. Now it boasts 700 million users. Each user has a personal QRShow MoreRelatedSocial Networks And Its Effect On Our Lives1661 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction In the past ten years, social network sites (SNSs), like, Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, QQ, get tremendous popularity over the world and gradually play an important role in our life. People can easily make new friends, communicate with friends and strengthen their relationship on the social sites. Users can share their routine and interesting experiences to their families and friends. They also can view pictures from friends’ timelines, read current news, and even play games. There is no

Amazon.Com Case Studies Free Essays

string(564) " shipping might affect future financial outcome \? Certain products \(high volume/weight\) have high shipping costs which could confront with local offline retailers Threats \? eBay, Barnes Nobles, and Wal-Mart \? Population segment not targeted to on-line sales due to their lack of internet access \? Weak economic performance of Germany and France in the last year \? Competition will increase due to the low barriers to entry in the market: offline companies are coming online \? Heavy investments in Partnerships \(Dustin Nadeau Donatas Sumyla\." Name: PRASHANTH BALAKRISHNAN Student ID: 071090070 Course: BIS 541/03 –MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS Program: CEMBA Commonwealth Executive Master of Business and Administration TMA 1: â€Å"Amazon. com†- A Business History Tutor: Prasanan P. T. We will write a custom essay sample on Amazon.Com Case Studies or any similar topic only for you Order Now Kannan Submission Date: 07. March. 2009 [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterTitlePage 1. 0Executive Summary 2. 0Problem Statement1 3. 0Analysis of Causes 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt 2-3 3. 2 Competition3-4 3. 3 Expansion4-6 4. 0Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management7 in supply chain 4. Presenting a competitive edge to competitors7 4. 3 Expansionto Asia8 5. Recommended Solutions 5. 1 Technology Integration and RD9 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis9 5. 3 Differentiation9 5. 4 Inventory10 5. 5 Visionary Informative10-11 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything11 5. 7 Shipping Delivery11 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region11-12 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement12 6. 0 Expand the product lines13 6. 0Appendices14-16 7. 0References17 Executive Summary The study comprises of Amazon. om which started its history by selling books and now one of the online market leaders globally not only for books but products from various categories. Comp any started with a mission to be Earth’s most customer centric company. In order to become the largest and convenience online store for all, there are major problems or threat being faced by Amazon. com in succeeding its mission. The major problems are Amazon facing high amount of debt, it’s less initiative in not expanding to other developed countries, and also competition from other online retailers and one tough opponent is Barnes Nobles. Many plans of actions can be taken and some of it is; Amazon. com should decrease long–term debt by increasing expenditure on research and development, increasing word-to-mouth advertisement and good customer service. Amazon. com should also expand the five most common languages in Asian region. Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy and willing to spend on. Strategize new plan on improving sites to be informative and attractive as much as possible so Amazon. com should also adapt to the best technology where it can sustain as a strong innovator in ever increasing retailer market. Amazon. com also must strive to give customers the best service in shipping and delivery as it’s an important aspect in online business to out beat its entire competitors on this online industry. Problem Statement The main problem faced by Amazon. com now being an online retailer can be divided to three in overall. Amazon. com is in confronting huge debt behind their successful screen. Amazon. com is lack of expansion to other regions or Asia which be said as another big market for a huge online bookseller as Amazon. com. Another problem is the competition being faced by them with one of the tough opponent as BarnesNobles. Analysis of the Problem Amazon. com’s in Debt 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt One of major causes of Amazon’s huge debt is its large expenditure. In order to keep its advantageous position, Amazon has no choice but to continue to spend astronomical amounts of money on sales marketing, research development and general administrative costs. (Table 1 Table 2) â€Å"One misstep, and its love affair withy investors and sources of capital could be over. (Kimberly Weisul, 1999) †¢ Competitors Although Amazon won the battle soon after entering the online cd and music market, there are some competitions in other product lines that may be too immensely strong to beat. For example, in March of 1999, Amazon introduced an auction service. After a few months effort, its auction business performed slightly, indicating how difficult it is to challenge the giant’s eBay and Y ahoo! Auctions. |Auction Sites |27-Sep-99 |Multiplier needed to equal eBay listings | |Amazon Auctions |4. 0% |15. 3 | |eBay |73. 60% |   | |Yahoo! Auctions |21. 60% |3. 4 | Source: Auction Web sites and C. E Unterberg Towbin †¢ Consumer Behavior Amazon. com is widely regarded as having one of the best management team of any internet company. However, there are some outside forces that are not easy to manipulate. Security; as the number of Internet crimes increases, customers are becoming aware of the possible danger involved in the process of on-line shopping. This security problem may not be difficult to improve since security technology is innovated quickly, but to convince customer of this is not as easy ? Etailers vs. retailers Another factor is hard to manage customer purchasing habits. Most consumers still prefer the capability of seeing a product before buying it. Additionally, the number of people buying personal computers and that of the Internet population will dir ectly affect Amazon’s sale. . 2 Competition †¢ Michael Porter’s Model ? Supplier ; Amazon started to build its own distribution centers in different locations and moving the products directly form the factory rather than from other distributors such that Amazon can lower its marginal costs. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Consumers ; Amazon. com continues to spend a lot of money in advertisement to reach customers as well as to increase customer awareness of eCommerce in general and brand name in particular. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Substitutes; The Substitute of eCommerce, the traditional retailers, is still more attractive than the Etailers. For example, we as consumers more than likely would rather go to the bookstore and browse through a book before we buy it. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 ) 3. 3 Expansion †¢ Lack of Spanish website version (Latino and Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing online ethnic group) †¢ Amazon. com is very less popular or it can said there are people without knowing the existence of Amazon. om †¢ Website is not more expanded with more languages options where currently there are options only for Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China (www. amazon. com) Competition with Barnes Nobles Amazon. com Weakness ? Difficulties of handling large number of customers ? Limited operating history ? Security awareness ? Low margins in the sector ? Risk of introduction of wrong new categories which could damage company’s bran d ? Company’s offered free shipping might affect future financial outcome ? Certain products (high volume/weight) have high shipping costs which could confront with local offline retailers Threats ? eBay, Barnes Nobles, and Wal-Mart ? Population segment not targeted to on-line sales due to their lack of internet access ? Weak economic performance of Germany and France in the last year ? Competition will increase due to the low barriers to entry in the market: offline companies are coming online ? Heavy investments in Partnerships (Dustin Nadeau Donatas Sumyla. April 2006) Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. com are competing, but both stores and other online stores recognize what works and are studying one another – often duplicating one another’s business strategies. This has resulted in them having more similarities than differences and it helps the consumers find similarities across the Web such as; †¢ When a description of an item is given, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both place the shopping cart option prominently displayed to the upper, right portion of the screen. This makes it very efficient and useable for the viewer and they do not have to search around the page for this button. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ In pricing, both Amazon. com and Barnesandnobles. com display the average price or their items above their own discounted rates so that the users feel as though they are saving money. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites are â€Å"Flexible†, there is an option of buying things at a later date and placing them in the shopping cart temporarily. This option is called the wish list and it is displayed just beneath the â€Å"Add to Cart† button. Users can access this saved information and acce ss it on their next visit. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites offer â€Å"Security† that provides safe shopping, privacy and efficiency by requiring customers to join as members at a certain point during a transaction. Membership is free and requires an email address, full name, home address and phone number. It allowing customers to maintain an order status and helps provide a history of what they bought. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢   Both sites are very â€Å"Scalable†, allowing for a huge selection of items to be added to the product catalog or taken away. A Field size is accommodated in the database. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) 4. 0 Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management in supply chain ? Use increased income to pay down long-term debt ? Keep operating costs low (efficiencies of scales) ? Increase expenditure on Research Development arena ? Strategic cost analysis ( WOU , MIS notes) ? Determining Differentiation ( WOU , MIS notes) 4. 2 Presenting a competitive edge to competitors †¢ Create more expertise in marketing and more product launches compared to competitors; †¢ Do a more through research on the customers needs and come up with something new that has its own brand and establishes as only Amazon. om could have the product. (Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007) †¢ A new Strategy on only books should be brought up in order to outcome one tough opponent as Barnes Nobles. For example, Amazon. com’s booth’s can be set up in country sides where there is no access for Internet and give knowledge to country people that there also business through online. This is because; giving more exposure and awareness to people might be a business opportunit y as well. †¢ Product review information; Customers would have n a clear description, synopsis and other customer’s review on the book as it gives a clear rating of the book and there won’t be any sort of disappointments for them after purchase. 4. 3 Expansion to Asia †¢ Create different website versions based on the five most common language in Asian region †¢ Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy. †¢ Word of mouth advertisement (Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003) †¢ Continue expanding its product lines 5. 0 Recommended Solution Implementation 5. Technology Integration and RD Amazon. com should increase expenditure in the research and development arena. We believe that Amazon should prepare itself for additional telecommunications implementations such as high speed internet and network security. These types of implementation, though representative of considerable RD costs, are pro bably most significant factors that etailers must prepare for near future. As users, connections increase in speed, any delays on the part of the etailer they are connecting to will become obvious and less tolerable. Amazon can stay ahead of the pack by preparing a unique and comfortable interface for the users. 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis Amazon. com should also use Strategic cost analysis process where identify the firm’s value chain, diagnose the key elements that drive the costs of each value activity, identify competitors value chains, develop a strategy to lower relative costs by controlling cost drivers, ensure that any cost reduction does not erode differentiation in service and test the cost reductions if its sustainable in the end of the analysis. . 3 Differentiation They should also consider by costs by determining Differentiation where the process goes as determine who the real buyer is, identify buyer’s value chain and put in rank order the buyer’s reason to purchase, asses the current potential sources of diffentiation, identify the cost of these resources, design a value chain to maximize value relative costs, test for sustainiablity and reduce costs in activi ties that do not affect the chosen forms of differentiation. 5. Inventory; There are programs built to be extremely user-friendly, and most offer great support along the way of usage for online businesses to maintain the book database. Amazon should invest in software to best highlight and maintain the data on the site and importantly back up systems. Keep inventory accurate and up to date; This is also an important aspect that Amazon can out beat its competitors with as this is first step towards building a long-term relationship with that customer. Inventory of the books stock-out and sold out will be kept up to date on the site. 5. 5 Visionary Informative A picture is worth a thousand words; Uploading pictures by decreasing explanations or descriptions could attract customer’s attraction and curiosity in exploring the book. Somehow it boosts up sales compared to other online booksellers who give attention in words. Product Review Information; In case of books, editorial reviews are provided by the company and it applies for all books. Customers can also rate each other’s review. A rating is placed against each review so that customers can decide whether to read or not based on that. Most online booksellers do not include this but they display the customer’s satisfaction on the delivery service provided by them which is less important to boost up sales. People out there want to pay you for your books; Amazon should use own merchant service account or a service offered by a listing site, make sure that customers can buy books quickly and painlessly with a credit card while you have them on the brink of finalizing said purchase. Don’t judge a book by its cover; First impressions are lasting impressions. When a customer receives the book they’ve ordered, make sure the first thing they see is a product and package that you are proud to have supplied by using use clean, new boxes without writing (or envelopes for low-cost paperbacks) for shipments. Customers will be expecting an excellent service but if its vice versa then they are chances for them to switch to other online retailers. 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything; Amazon should update the status of order to customers on the order made and also keep them in loop by e-mail the listing service directly with questions about their orders and keep updating the latest events and new stocks of books through emails. 5. 7 Shipping Delivery Follow-up; After shipping out an item to the customer, Amazon should send them an e-mail a day or two after expecting that they’ll receive their package, asking them if they’ve received it and are satisfied, and reminding them that there customer rep are there to help should they have any questions about their order. This is also a great time to remind them that you have similar items in stock or to offer them a coupon towards future purchases. 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region Amazon should strive to expand its expertise to Asia region as well as high potentials are there which huge population. Education is becoming one important aspect in Asia and lack of important reference books are always a problem in many parts of Asia. It should diversify its marketing capability in Asia too to capture the market. Amazon is very less popular in Asia regions. Amazon. om should take Asia to consider for its business expansion. Amazon could also diversify its marketing and research ability to expand mostly to the developed countries of other territory. In order to grow big and always sustain in the market and competition, Amazon should takes this sort of steps to expand. International Sites; Amazon. com has got an added advantage of international sites on Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China. All about what the customers have to do to browse the site with their language is by clicking to their national site. For example, if you clink Japan, immediately the whole website will change its descriptions and instructions into Japanese language. This is not at all applicable for a customer in Malaysia or any other regions of Asia. It should expand and add more languages options in its site to accumulate its customers. Giving customers what they want is also one strategy not all online business can do but if this can be proven in Amazon’s case then it have all the potential to be the one. 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement Amazon also should increase its word-of mouth advertisement. This might seem odd for an industry leader to rely upon such a quaint tactics as this, but we truly believe that in the world of Internet this is a powerful tool. We are quick to visit sites that our friends identify as being fabulous, and Amazon might capitalize on this by rewarding its customers who can reel in a new prospects. 6. 0 Expand the product lines Amazon should expand its product lines. Given’s Amazon’s vision and its unique position in the etailer industry, the cost associated with entering new markets is significantly lower than that of its competitors. There is no reasons to let this advantage slip away unused. Conclusion In order to stay focus on business Amazon. com has various ways and strategies that can be implemented with proper organizations communication networks. Financial reports should be reviewed annually and quarterly if necessary to come up with decisions whether to boost up sales or to maintain on a certain criteria for the wellness of business. Amazon. com also should have a frequent customer feedback program where they could exchange view on the services and products most desired to be acquired online by customers. Top level management meetings should be initiated to assure goals are achieved. A proper corrective action should be determined after the first year if annual objectives weren’t accomplished. However there are difficulties and competitions to overcome, and how companies attack these difficulties will separate the winners form the losers. Appendix |AMAZON. COM, INC. HISTORICAL INCOME STATEMENTS | |(in millions, except per share data)(quarterly information unaudited) | |Amazon. com Investor Relations | | | | | | | |Calendar Years Ended – December 31, | | |2008 |2007 |2006 |2005 |2004 |2003 |2002 | |Media |   | $ 5,350 | $ 4,630 | $ 3,582 | $ 3,046 | $ 2,589 | $ | | | | | | | | |2,270 | |Other |   | 448 | 326 | 263 | 222 | 130 | | | | | | | | | |110 | |International |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 5,734 | 4,612 | 3,485 | 2,885 | 2,513 | | | | | | | | | |1,780 | |Other |   | 94| 57| 20| | | | | | | | | |8 |2 |- | |Consolidated |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 11,084 | 9,242 | 7,067 | 5,931 | 5,102 | | | | | | | | | |4,050 | |Other |   | 542 | 383 | 283 | 230 | 132 | | | | | | | | | |110 | Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) |Total U. S. Home, Work and University Locations, Unique Visitors (000) | |Source: comScore Media Metrix | |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors | | | |(000) | | |  (000) | |   |Total Internet : Total Audience |191,863 |   |   |   | |1 |Google Sites |151,010 |26 |Target Corporation |28,628 | |2 |Yahoo! Sites |146,131 |27 |Time Warner – Excluding AOL |27,209 | |3 |Microsoft Sites |125,568 |28 |Weatherbug Property |26,944 | |4 |AOL LLC |108,441 |29 |Bank of America |26,322 | |5 |Fox Interactive Media |90,510 |30 |United Online, Inc |26,048 | |6 |Ask Network |74,742 |31 |Gorilla Nation |25,585 | |7 |eBay |72,160 |32 |ATT, Inc. 25,574 | |8 |Amazon Sites |64,768 |33 |Answers. com Sites |25,563 | |9 |Wikipedia Foundation Sites |62,737 |34 |Demand Media |25,447 | |10 |FACEBOOK. COM |57,232 |35 |CareerBuilder LLC |24,750 | |11 |Glam Media |55,293 |36 |Everyday Health |24,717 | |12 |Turner Network |54,877 |37 |Shopzilla. com Sites |24,097 | |13 |Apple Inc. 54,194 |38 |Photobucket. com LLC |23,928 | |14 |CBS Corporation |53,539 |39 |WordPress |23,730 | |15 |New York Times Digital |49,110 |40 |Real. com Network |23,359 | |16 |Viacom Digital |46,510 |41 |Expedia Inc |22,703 | |17 |Weather Channel, The |40,056 |42 |JPMorgan Chase Property |22,399 | |18 |craigslist, inc. 39,437 |43 |Monst er Worldwide |22,244 | |19 |ATT Interactive Network |38,184 |44 |Gannett Sites |21,829 | |20 |Adobe Sites |35,315 |45 |WorldNow – ABC Owned Sites |21,586 | |21 |Comcast Corporation |33,940 |46 |WebMD Health |21,185 | |22 |Wal-Mart |33,513 |47 |iVillage. com: The Womens Network |21,002 | |23 |Superpages. com Network |32,558 |48 |NBC Universal |20,974 | |24 |Verizon Communications Corporation |32,412 |49 |WhitePages |19,351 | |25 |Disney Online |30,345 |50 |ESPN |19,266 | Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com References 1] Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 http://www. rhsmith. umd. du/faculty/jbailey/ents630/amazon. pdf 2] Dustin Nadeau Donatas Sumyla. April 2006- Amazon. Com Inc 2004. (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 3] Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001 – E-Transaction: Shopping Carts Comparison (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 4] Paul Larson. February 14, Amazon. com – Motley Fool Research, Stock Report http://www. fool. com/search/index. aspx? go=1site=USMFq=am azon. com (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 5] Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003 – Informat? on Management (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 6] Strategic Analysis of Amazon. com (Accessed Feb 19, 2009) 7] www. wikinvest. com/wiki/E-Commerce, (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 8] www. ikinvest. com/stock/Amazon. com_(AMZN), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 9] www. wikinvest. com/stock/Barnes_%26_Noble_(BKS), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 10] Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007 – Amazon vs. Barnes Noble: www. santarosa. edu/~ssarkar/cs66sp07/fprj/abn. htm (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 11] Table 1- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 12] Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 13] Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) ———————– AMAZON Supplier New Entrance Substitute Consumers How to cite Amazon.Com Case Studies, Essay examples

Deconstructing Mixed Methods Research

Questions: 1. Briefly describe the type of design used by Torres and the timing of the data collection.2. Briefly describe the theoretical lens that underlies the study.3. Briefly describe the data analysis procedures used in the study.4. Explain the rationale for using the mixed method design in this study. Answers: 1: Type of design used by Torres and the timing of the data collection In the article presented by Torres, the applied research design was descriptive research design. Mixed research design is the field of study where the researcher is able to apply and depict each individual participant or respondents/qualitative and quantitative observations taking active participation in the research. A mixed research design enables the researcher to describe each and every individual who take part in the research study (Leech, Onwuegbuzie, 2010). In this research, all the potential respondents were actually individually approaches by the leaders just because of the visible services available in Latino community. The study however provided an understanding of the perceptions of the individuals both in oral terms as well as written consent. The article prepared by Torres, (2009) has portrayed the fact that the study conducted by Torres was actually a qualitative study. The researcher aimed attaining representative sample of the respondents depending upon the age, gender and the generation levels. All the questions that were asked were open ended in nature and the data collection method so applied was semi-structured interviews, where the researcher had selected the questions to enable the respondents to craft and indicate the definition of success. The time taken for each interview was around 45 minutes to 60 minutes. 2: Theoretical lens Theoretical lenses can be of two distinct types namely quantitative and qualitative lenses. Applied theories like as interactionism, phenomenology often assist the researcher to undergo and outline a set of research question that may in future help the researcher to propose explanations and causes. The study based on the Latino community by Torres implied to a consensus analysis of a mixture of quantitative and qualitative respondents of 46 Latino adults. Mixed method researches usually deconstructed through the social sciences in the clinical and health and medical sciences. However, the author has also unfolded the fact that in conducting the mixed research, the researcher needs to collect and evaluate both qualitative and quantitative data. 3: Data analysis procedures used in the study In this research, the overviews and the perceptions of the respondents belonging to Latino Community were analyzed through the application of the strategies that aligned with the grounded theories. Torres used and applied the formula of open coding where all the data were divided and then analyzed accordingly. Accordingly the researcher then developed category themes. Again Torres also depended upon cultural consensus analysis in the phase 2 of the research which ultimately aimed at exploring the cultural consensus analysis of the cultural models that are applied in Latino intercultural competence (Torres, 2009). 4: Rationale for using mixed method design Here in this particular research, Torres applied the mixed method design so as to eradicate the challenges that could have limited the outcomes of the research, if single design (either qualitative or quantitative) was applied. However, Torres has applied the mixed research design so as explain and construe the theoretical lenses of the cultural models used in Latino intercultural competence. References Hanson, W. E., Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. L., Petska, K. S., Creswell, D. J. (2005).Mixed methods research design in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 224235. Leech, N., Onwuegbuzie, A. (2010). Guidelines for conducting and reporting mixed research in the field of counseling and beyond. Journal of Counseling and Development, 88(1), 6170. Torres, L. (2009). Latino definitions of success: A cultural model of intercultural competence. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31, 576593.