Deconstruction and Multiplicity of Self through Modern Technology :: Technological Essays

Deconstruction and Multiplicity of Self through Modern Technology The Internet has allowed a postmodern view of self to dominate and serve as the solution to a dilemma that modernism has perpetuated surrounding self perception. Such a dilemma includes the identity crisis. Having only one self is restricting and can be dangerous, especially if the self is viewed as â€Å"bad† by the individual/self or others. It becomes critical, in the modernist view of self, to like oneself or else one will have to either self-hate or self-destruct. Self destruction would mean to kill off or eliminate the self-defining characteristics that one dislikes. My Mother always told me: â€Å"It’s never to late to be who you really are†. This advice functions to encourage combat against negative self-image that modernism cultivates. For some, this process is like clearing the slate. Starting from scratch will hopefully be refreshing to one’s self-esteem and self-value, but starting over as the â€Å"new you† can be a difficult an d scary adjustment as well. For the same reasons, labels and stereotypes control and shape one’s identity. The postmodern, technological world loosens the powerful grip of modernism’s resulting restrictions on selfhood. Modernism promotes an either-or option for self being one thing or another (and, hopefully, that dichotomy is not the dangerous good-bad ultimatum). On the other hand, postmodernism allows for fluidity and does not condemn or pollute the entire self with one portion of self-identity. Additionally, the worry about a â€Å"new you’s" role in society will never arise as the â€Å"new you† is just â€Å"another you† in a postmodern self concept. No one has one true self nor control over others’ perceptions of one’s selves. Therefore, one must come to terms with the fragmented, multiplicities of their own identity. Their self exists in the here-and-now, and is much less definable in simple categories. While others, then, cannot grasp and categorize your identity, the possibility exists, that neither can the self which is you. This presents a freeing and frustrating capacity for any individual worried about control. The postmodern, technology-age self is not contained. It is a limitless region abounding with environment-sensitive traits. We can imagine such a concept through the unlimited Internet—in the vast expanse called cyberspace. Viewing ourselves through, or actually as composed like, a machine unlocks such infinite possibilities in identity.

I’m Not an Imitation of Someone Else, I’m Latina :: Personal Narrative Writing

I’m Not an Imitation of Someone Else, I’m Latina As I sat at the kitchen table on those chilly winter evenings in Kenner, Louisiana, I could feel my mother staring at me from where she was. I was busy doing my homework, and she was preparing that night's supper. She would always start off by asking me what I was doing and the only thing I would ever answer was, "Oh, nothing. Just homework." Then I would turn away and sort of look in the other direction as if to tell her to leave me alone, because I had a lot to do. At the time I was only eight years old, in my second complete year of schooling in the United States. I had already fully grasped the English language, and it had been a year and a half since I had been removed from the bilingual program. In actuality, I had become Americanized quiet easily. Although this was a process that involvedgive and take, because although I did adapt to my new environment very well, I never let go of what I had already learned in my previous environment. I can recall that at the same time that I was learning to read and write in English, I was also learning to do so in my native tongue, Spanish. In school, as I sat in the small wooden house, which was the bilingual classroom, I could clearly remember wondering why it was that "Spot" was so important. For more than a month we had been learning about this brown dog and about seeing him run. This experience was very strange for me, not only because it was in a totally new language but because I never did really see spot run. I only saw him painted on an oversized illustrated notebook. After a long and confusing day at school, I would come home to do my assignments; alone. It wasn't that my mother did not want to help me, but she couldn't. She knew little about the assignment , and knew even less about the language. At first I didn't mind. The assignments were easy for me to figure out, and if it was really hard I would just tell the teacher the next day that I couldn't figure it out. Sh e would ask me why I didn't ask my mother for help, and I would have to respond to her, "because she didn't know either.

Matching Dell Case Analysis Essay

The PC industry can be analyzed using Porter’s Five Forces. The first force is threat or barriers of entry. Here, the threat is high and barriers are low. Although certain brands own the majority of the market, the costs to manufacture are extremely low, and the prices of these components are declining yearly at 25% to 30%. The capital required is relatively inexpensive, as well. Also, unbranded â€Å"white box† PC makers have become prevalent overseas; showing anyone who can make a PC could make sales. In Buying Power, consumers have great power. There are a high number of users but consumers have a wide variety of brands to choose from and have put much pressure on companies to make satisfactory products at good prices. Customers also have low switching costs. This force along with high demand was also partly responsible for the â€Å"vigorous price war† as many companies cut prices to match one another and satisfy consumers. Supplier power was also high. Intel and Microsoft ran near-monopolies in supplying microprocessors and operating systems, respectively. By 1998, 96% of all PC’s ran on â€Å"Wintel.† These two suppliers drew profits from all PC companies and minimized differentiation, as there were few substitutes and little options of switching to another supplier. The industry’s degree of rivalry reflected its fierce competition. As computers became more common, demand rose, prices decreased, and demand grew stronger, boosting competition between manufacturers. This rivalry is essentially what sparked Dell’s competitors to try to emulate their business model and attempt to gain a competitive advantage for the future. Lastly, the threat of substitutes was low but growing. Consumers were becoming reliant on PC’s as they became commodities but new technologies such as laptops, PDA’s, and smartphones among others were slowly emerging. Business Model Although Dell sold to a diverse range of customer segments, they generally targeted the â€Å"educated consumer,† people knowledgeable about computers. Dell targeted them and wanted to avoid the â€Å"inexperienced Transaction buyer.† Because Dell sold customized PC’s directly to the customer, they needed to know each computer’s specifications, thus making it difficult for inexperienced users to specify their needs. Dell’s close location to its suppliers served as a large advantage. Dell arranged for suppliers to  locate their production facilities close to Dell’s to maximize the efficiency of operations. This allowed Dell and suppliers to work closely with one another, integrating the organization and minimizing buffers. Dell’s unique production process is the part of the model that may deter most imitators. Dell had the advantage of handling fast and large orders and even having suppliers send shipments straight to customers in som e cases. Performance Dell’s success with the Direct Model led to rankings among the top of its competition in user ratings (Exhibit A), a ranking first in ratings for high-end PC’s, and allowed them to obtain the second and third spots for market share in the US and world, respectively. The financial statements that best measure Dell’s advantage are their inventory level ratios. Specifically, Dell’s days of inventory is significantly lower than competitors. Their low days of inventory ratio correlates to a very high return on invested capital and return on equity. Comparisons with competitors can be seen in the appendix (Exhibit B). Principal Issue Dell’s success in financial returns and rapid growth has caused rivals to try to emulate their Direct Model in attempt to gain a competitive advantage and similar success. What is difficult to emulate in Dell’s model and how can they keep itself in this position and leverage sustained growth for the future using this model? Alternatives Dell is the originator of the direct model and knows the formula for success. Dell’s integrated production process with suppliers on a global scale, sole focus on distributing directly to customers, ability to effectively serve a diverse customer base, and ability to provide high quality PC’s at relatively low prices, has put them in a strong position ahead of competitors. Dell knows their capabilities, their customers, and knows exactly to focus on direct distribution. IBM ranks alongside Dell in domestic and worldwide market share. As the first to recognize Dell’s threat of distribution, they took initiative immediately, responding with a joint operation with distributors and resellers called AAP. Many major distributors and resellers each invested tens of millions of dollars into  this program, which could result in powerful partnerships if successful. Compaq owned the largest market share in the industry for some time and are reliable to a number of segment s. They also responded with their own model, ODM, which is also in conjunction with distributors and resellers similar to IBM’s, and DirectPlus, selling directly to small and midsize companies. The company also recently acquired DEC, in which they would leverage their relationships to sell directly to DEC customers and accounts. HP created their own direct model with ESPP. Although their model was similar to IBM and Compaq’s involving distributors and resellers, they specifically aimed to please these partners. HP offered incentives and would make resellers and distributors a larger part of the process. In result, 59% of resellers reported they were more willing to promote HP products than IBM and Compaq. Gateway may have been Dell’s largest threat as the world’s second largest direct seller behind Dell. They even briefly surpassed Dell in sales in 1994 and their days of inventory was at 10 days, only 3 behind Dell’s 7 in 1998. Gateway served mostly pe rsonal users but began serving large corporate accounts with Gateway Major Accounts, Inc. in 1997. But in 1998, the company scaled this operation back as they could not afford to keep it up. Criteria Dell’s Direct Model had a competitive advantage rivals could not easily emulate through their relationship with large enterprise customers and their unique production process that involves a close relationship and location with suppliers. Recommendation Dell is in a strong competitive position against its rivals because of the criteria of advantages in their model. Dell’s production process and close location and collaboration with suppliers on a global scale is a standard that is very difficult to emulate. IBM, Compaq, and HP tried their own versions of direct distribution models but failed to produce anywhere near the same efficiency with financial returns as Dell (Exhibit B). Also, these companies attempted to branch into Dell’s lane while continuing retail sales, which showed it is difficult to focus on both methods and see the same success. Gateway was arguably their biggest threat but could not compete due to their inability to serve large enterprise customers similar  to Dell. Plan of Action Dell should continue to focus on relatively low cost, quality customized products through direct distribution. As technology and computers evolve with more computer alternatives, they should adapt to producing a more diverse product line but continue the same production and distribution process that has brought the firm so much success thus far.

Free Essays on Paradigms

Sociology is the systematic study of human society, so when sociologists begin thinking about issues and how to connect facts they developed the theoretical paradigm (Macionis 14). Sociology has three major paradigms: the structural- functional paradigm, the social-conflict paradigm, and symbolic-interaction paradigm. The structural-functional paradigm is â€Å"a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability† (Macionis 14). The idea is that we have a stable social pattern most of the time, and that social structure gives our lives shape. This paradigm also looks for social functions. Rituals and simple courtesies keep society going (Macionis). The main characteristic of the structural-function paradigm is that society is stable. The conservative side of this paradigm is that we focus on stability even when there is conflict, which also led sociologists to develop the social-conflict paradigm. The social-conflict paradigm is â€Å"a framework for building theory that sees society as an area of inequality that generates conflict and change† (Macionis 15). Sociologists in this paradigm link such things as race, gender, age, social class, and ethnicity to inequality among money, power, and education. Thus, leading to dominant people striving to stay on top, while the subordinate try to gain more for themselves. The problem with this paradigm as well as with the structural-functional is that everything is in such broad terms, so a third paradigm was developed which represents society in everyday experiences. The symbolic-interaction paradigm is â€Å"a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals† (Macionis 17). In this paradigm sociologists believe that society is nothing more than when people interact with each other. That is, human beings live in a world of symbols attaching to ever... Free Essays on Paradigms Free Essays on Paradigms Sociology is the systematic study of human society, so when sociologists begin thinking about issues and how to connect facts they developed the theoretical paradigm (Macionis 14). Sociology has three major paradigms: the structural- functional paradigm, the social-conflict paradigm, and symbolic-interaction paradigm. The structural-functional paradigm is â€Å"a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability† (Macionis 14). The idea is that we have a stable social pattern most of the time, and that social structure gives our lives shape. This paradigm also looks for social functions. Rituals and simple courtesies keep society going (Macionis). The main characteristic of the structural-function paradigm is that society is stable. The conservative side of this paradigm is that we focus on stability even when there is conflict, which also led sociologists to develop the social-conflict paradigm. The social-conflict paradigm is â€Å"a framework for building theory that sees society as an area of inequality that generates conflict and change† (Macionis 15). Sociologists in this paradigm link such things as race, gender, age, social class, and ethnicity to inequality among money, power, and education. Thus, leading to dominant people striving to stay on top, while the subordinate try to gain more for themselves. The problem with this paradigm as well as with the structural-functional is that everything is in such broad terms, so a third paradigm was developed which represents society in everyday experiences. The symbolic-interaction paradigm is â€Å"a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals† (Macionis 17). In this paradigm sociologists believe that society is nothing more than when people interact with each other. That is, human beings live in a world of symbols attaching to ever...

Roadhog essays

Roadhog essays According to the SUV info link website, Roadhog is any of several vehicle type exhibiting excessive size, creating dangerous highway condition, and emitting increased pollution, also formally known as SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) These are the enormous looking vehicles that I constantly have to seek refuge form while I am driving on the road. For some reason, all the SUV drivers seems to have this urge to run over small cars such as my modest Corolla. Surprisingly enough, the number of these people is rapidly growing. From the downtowns to the winding highways, people are having a love afire with these monsters. Last year Americans purchased a record number of 3.36 million of them, most of which were domestic made. This year foreign made such as BMW and Honda Acura are reporting record number of sale. This is a concerning matter when SUV proven to be most inadequate vehicle for the consumer. The purpose of this paper is to establish the fact that SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) are the most inadequate vehicle for the consumer. The three reasons that support this argument are, first the safety concern, second its damage to the environment and third its excessive cost. The cleaver marketing and overstated advertisement has made an impression that SUVs are the safest vehicle on this planet. There is increasing evidence that SUVs are not as safe as they appear. Recent studies show that SUVs pose a significant threat to drivers and passengers of other cars on the road. In addition, there are indications that safety problems threaten passengers and drivers of SUVs themselves. The propensity of sport utility vehicles to roll over is a major safety concern. Sport utility vehicles are more than three times more likely to roll over in crash than normal passenger cars. SUVs are built on the base of the pick truck platform. This meant that a taller and heavier body would be riding on a frame designed for a pick-up truck. The result is ...

Whitman College Admissions and Acceptance Rate

Whitman College Admissions and Acceptance Rate As one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country, Whitman College has highly selective admissions. The acceptance rate in 2016 was 51 percent, and accepted students almost always have grades and standardized test scores that are significantly above average. Keep in mind, however, that the SAT and ACT are an optional part of the application. The admissions process is holistic. The college uses the Common Application, and an essay and recommendation are required parts of the process. Your extracurricular involvement can also play an important role. Interviews are recommended but not required. Will you get in if you apply to Whitman College? Calculate your chances of getting in with this free tool from Cappex. Admissions Data (2016) Percent of Applicants Admitted: 51  percentGPA, SAT and ACT graph for WhitmanTest Scores: 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 600 / 720SAT Math: 600 / 700What these SAT numbers meanTop Washington colleges SAT comparisonTop 4-year colleges SAT score comparisonACT Composite: 28  / 32What these ACT numbers meanTop Washington colleges ACT comparisonTop 4-year college ACT score comparison About Whitman College Located in the small town of Walla Walla, Washington, Whitman is a great choice for students looking for a quality education and engaged campus community in an intimate setting. For its strengths in the liberal arts and sciences, Whitman was awarded a chapter of the prestigious  Phi Beta Kappa  honor society. Students interested in the sciences, engineering or law can take advantage of collaborations with top schools like  Caltech,  Columbia,  Duke  and  Washington University. Academics are supported by a 8  to 1  student / faculty ratio. Whitman also offers a wide range of options for study abroad with programs in 23 countries. In athletics, the Whitman competes in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 1,493  (all undergraduate)Gender Breakdown: 43  percent male / 57 percent female97 percent full-time Costs (2016-17) Tuition and Fees: $47,862Books: $1,400 (why so much?)Room and Board: $11,910Other Expenses: $800Total Cost: $61,872 Whitman College Financial Aid (2014-15) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 80 percentPercentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 75 percentLoans: 55  percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $25,630Loans: $5,471 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors: Biology, Economics, English, History, Philosophy, Political Science, PsychologyWhat major is right for you? Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Graduation and Retention Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 94  percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 83  percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 88  percent Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports: Soccer, Track and Field, Tennis, Swimming, Golf, Baseball, BasketballWomens Sports: Lacrosse, Volleyball, Track and Field, Basketball, Golf, Swimming Data Source National Center for Educational Statistics If You Like Whitman College, You May Also Like These Schools Stanford University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphPitzer College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphUniversity of Washington: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSeattle University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphGonzaga University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphCarleton College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphWhitworth University: ProfileBowdoin College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphGrinnell College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphMiddlebury College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphLewis Clark College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphReed College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphPomona College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph Whitman College Mission Statement mission statement from https://www.whitman.edu/about/mission-statement Whitman College is committed to providing an excellent, well-rounded liberal arts and sciences undergraduate education. It is an independent, nonsectarian, and residential college. Whitman offers an ideal setting for rigorous learning and scholarship and encourages creativity, character, and responsibility. Through the study of humanities, arts, and social and natural sciences, Whitman’s students develop capacities to analyze, interpret, criticize, communicate, and engage. A concentration on basic disciplines, in combination with a supportive residential life program that encourages personal and social development, is intended to foster intellectual vitality, confidence, leadership, and the flexibility to succeed in a changing technological, multicultural world. Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

To demonstrate how the field of 'globalisation studies'has moved on Annotated Bibliography

To demonstrate how the field of 'globalisation studies'has moved on - Annotated Bibliography Example In addition, Harvey reveals that such ideals are indeed seductive and compelling. To this end, he reiterates that the seductive ideal comes from individual freedom and its ability to captivate a high number of people. The author equally narrates the genesis of neoliberalism as from an international and domestic scale in the 1960’s. In addition, he elaborated how liberalism had failed. Consequently, Harvey narrates how neo-liberalism rose up as a solution to the crisis created by liberalism. The author also challenges the presumed neoliberal advantages. This is in evidently pertinent to the assumption that there is no substitute to neoliberal restructuring. To this end, the author blames neoliberization for the ‘creative destruction’ of powers, institutional frameworks, traditional state sovereignty, welfare provisions, social relations, reproductive functions, technological mixes and ways of life and ideals. Consequently, Harvey’s analysis of such shortcomi ngs is pertinent to the debates in neoliberal