Friday Forum What Makes a Book a Classic

Friday Forum What Makes a Book a Classic Earlier this week, I took on the classics. When I use the word classic, I am referring to the novels that have remained a very visible part of the literary landscape but were written before 1900, by authors like Dickens, Dumas, Austen, and Cervantes. That is the definition that was suggested to me by my teachers in high school and my professors in college. I do not remember anyone ever making a formal statement, but that is what was understood. The great novels that were written after 1900 may have been referred to as modern classics.     That word, modern, seemed to make all the difference. The discussion that resulted from that post has led me to reconsider my definition. I looked to other sources, including the essay What Is a Classic? by Charles Augustine Sainte-Beuve at the beginning of the 20th century. He offers this explanation: A true classic, as I should like to hear it defined, is an author who has enriched the human mind, increased its treasure, and caused it to advance a step; who has discovered some moral and not equivocal truth, or revealed some eternal passion in that heart where all seemed known and discovered; who has expressed his thought, observation, or invention, in no matter what form, only provided it be broad and great, refined and sensible, sane and beautiful in itself; who has spoken to all in his own peculiar style, a style which is found to be also that of the whole world, a style new without neologism, new and old, easily contemporary with all time. I rather enjoy his definition, but I find it to be a bit too subjective. Using this logic, a reader could potentially classify ANY book as a classic. Their arguments may not be ones that others would agree with, but there are arguments that could be made. The word classic obviously means different things to different people. What do you think? What makes a book a classic? According to that definition, what is one book that stands out to you as a true classic? ____________________________ Cassandra Neace teaches college students how to write essays and blogs about books and book-related goodness at Indie Reader Houston. Follow her on  Twitter:  @CassandraNeace

Essay about Personality and Finding Out Who You Are

Personality and Finding Out Who You Are Many people go throughout life not knowing exactly who they are. The personality of some one is who they are. Many psychologists have tried to define what they envisioned personality to be, and by analyzing their theories I will try to find out who I am. Carl Jung developed the concept of introverts and extroverts. Introverts are people who tend to be preoccupied with the internal world of their own thought, feelings, and experiences. Extroverts are people who tend to be interested in the external world of people and things. Personally I do not believe personality can be put into just two columns as Jung has filtered it into. I do not feel like I am extroverted or introverted. It all†¦show more content†¦Just like Carl Jung, I disagree with Freud, but for a different reason than Jung. I feel like my consciousness has just as much, if not, more control over my body and my personality as my unconscious. I feel like I put a lot of reasoning into my normal daily life rather tha n do what I unconsciously want to do. However, I do go through surges where my unconscious will want something, and I have to do anything within my conscious power to get it. An example of this is sexual temptations, or competitiveness (aggression) in sports. I do not like to lose, and some sports I cannot play because there is not enough contact, which my unconscious needs so I can get out the aggression necessary to win the game. I like football because I can convert my aggression and frustration into adrenaline and then convert my adrenaline into afflicting pain on others – in essence – to win the game. However, I also play basketball and there is not enough contact in it to subdue my unconscious need for contact, so my adrenaline can do nothing but turn back into frustration. Through analyzing these personality theories I have got a sense of what my personality is like. However, what I view as my personality can be different as to what others view my personality as. In order to know what my actual personality is, I need at least a second opinion. Nevertheless, I feel that through the analysis of these theories I know more about who I am. Works CitedShow MoreRelatedPersonality Traits Of The Big Five915 Words   |  4 PagesAs we all know, humans come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. A big part of being an adult is entering the work field and finding a career. That’s where the â€Å"Big five† personality traits come in. The five traits that most employers base their tests off of are; neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. So the next time you take a pretest for employment would these would be good to keep in mind. Especially when determining if you’re a good fit forRead MoreWhat Does Your Body Say About Your Personality?1049 Words   |  5 Pagesprofile picture say about your personality? What does your food choice say about what you should major in? What does your favorite color say about your future spouse? I’ve seen a large amount of pointless quizzes like these on social media. While they are amusing to read, they say very littl e about a person’s actual personality, college major, or spouse. However, they are surprisingly popular among this present culture, as are personality tests, books on how to be what you want to be, and other mediaRead MoreDefinition Of Beauty And Beauty884 Words   |  4 Pagesseldom seen. Only love can bring beauty out. Once seen, beauty never hides again. Beauty is suppressed by the evils of the world (urbandictionary). The kind of beauty that a majority of people knows is physical beauty. Most people are obsessed with having the perfect body, prettiest face, and best hair. Why is everyone so obsessed with being beautiful? Men and women tend to look at the physical appearance at first instead of finding out what type of personality they have. If men do not find womenRead MoreTheories Of Finding Nemo787 Words   |  4 PagesPersonality Theories Essay over the movie Finding Nemo The purpose of this essay is to watch the movie and try to view the main character from three personality theorists’ perspectives. In the movie Finding Nemo, Marlin was a clown fish who lost his son, Nemo, in the vast ocean. Along his journey to find his son, he ran into Dory, a blue tang fish who suffered from short term memory loss. Dory provided moral support and comfort in this search that Marlin has been missing for years. This essay willRead MorePersonality Analysis : Eco Import Agent Fits Me Very Well1212 Words   |  5 PagesPersonality Analysis My assessment indicated that I represent a low type B personality. I personally do not agree with the overall stigma of being a type B personality but some of the characteristics related to it suit me very well. I have never been a really competitive person. However, I always try to stay motivated and accomplish my assigned tasks/goals. I always try to exercise patience with people as well as myself by taking things one step at a time and finding pleasure in the most plentifulRead MoreOedipus The King By Sophocles Essay855 Words   |  4 PagesWhat would one expect to be the outcome of the life of a man who has been cursed from birth and cast into the shadows only to rise and rule over the land? In the play Oedipus Rex, Sophocles develops a storyline centered on the main character Oedipus the king who is faced with unequivocal misfortunes that test his courage. Even though Oedipus attempts to evade the prophecy at his birth, his personality triggers a series of events that leads to his destruction. Oedipus had some good traits as wellRead More10 Things I Hate About You Essay1210 Words   |  5 Pages 10 Things I Hate About You Jami S. Ross Murray State College Author Note Jami Ross, Student of Developmental Psychology, Murray State College. Jami Ross is also a student of nursing, Murray State College. The research and comments in this paper are provided by myself. Correspondence regarding this paper should be addressed to Jami Ross, Student, Murray State College, Ardmore, OK 73401. Contact: ross7230@student.mscok.eduRead More School Uniforms Essays684 Words   |  3 Pagesthe uniforms do little to help. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Having uniforms would stop the teasing and discrimination about clothing, but there is more to tease or discriminate someone about rather than just clothing. Such as hygiene, looks, personality, intelligence, race, and the list goes on. So unless people somehow find a way to be perfect in everyones opinion, teasing and discrimination wont stop. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;As for violence, its the same story. Uniforms would only stopRead MorePsychopathy, Sociopathy And Anti Social Personality Disorder913 Words   |  4 PagesAre Psychopathy, Sociopathy and Anti-Social Personality Disorder the same? Psychopathy, sociopathy, and anti-social personality disorder, also known as ASPD, are three very similar disorders; so much so that it is a common question if they are the same disorder or not. All three of them are defined as people who have anti-social behaviours. All of these disorders are very common in people who disregard both the law and social norms, have no shame or guilt, and are occasionally violent; such asRead MoreMusic and Personality1230 Words   |  5 PagesMusic and  Personality What Does Your Taste In Music Reveal About Your  Personality? Could the playlists lurking on your iPod really reveal information about your personality? Research conducted by psychologists Jason Rentfrow and Sam Gosling suggests that knowing the type of music you listen to can actually lead to surprisingly accurate predictions about your personality. For example, researchers found that people could make accurate judgments about an individuals levels of extraversion

Imperialism the White Mans Burden - 890 Words

Imperialism: The White Mans Burden and the The Real White Mans Burden Well in order to show how imperialism was used in the nature of those two poems, I have to define it. Imperialism is the extension of sovereignty or control by one people or state over another. The objective is the exploitation of the controlled people or state. Imperialism has four major components: economic, military (strategic), political, and humanitarian. Imperialist powers are not bound to follow the laws, international laws and conventions. Imperialist powers make the laws. During the 19th century, British foreign policy had a goal to contain Russia and to secure strategic links to British imperial possessions in Asia and the Near East. This policy was†¦show more content†¦British imperialism during the period of the new imperialism was made up of all these varied aspects. British imperialism was motivated by free trade but also by ideology and broader political, social, and military concerns. Patriotic nationalism was best demonstrated by Kipling in The White Mans B urden about the American conquest of the Philippines in which he urged that the white races take up the white mans burden, to educate and to civilize the half child, half wild races. Now the second short story was called The Real White Mans Burden. Ernest Crosby wrote it. He wrote it mainly in a response to Kiplings poem. Ernest Crosby was an anti-imperialist and he used it to remove the idea of racialism from the poem. He expressed the situation of imperialism in different countries in words so that people could understand where he was coming from. He wanted to make a point on how one man cannot do everything and how you should treat others as you would like to be treated with no influence with gender or race involved. Several forces stimulated imperialism. Imperialism arose from a complex mixture of political, economic and social forces one of the forces were a desire for self-sufficiency. These two poems had a strong nature of imperialism in them. Kiplings poem was focusing on white people and how they handled all the problems. Unfortunately this was not the case. As saidShow MoreRelatedEssay on Colonialism and Imperialism - The White Mans Burden1602 Words   |  7 PagesImperialism: The White Mans Burden      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In one of his most famous poems, Rudyard Kipling said, Take up the white mans burden! (146). He was only one of many who believed in the virtues of imperialism in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. During that period, imperialism was on the rise, and Africa was being swallowed up by competing European nations. The imperialists had many arguments supporting imperialism. They said it was beneficial and, in some cases, essentialRead MoreWhite Man s Burden By Rudyard Kipling1354 Words   |  6 Pages Imperialism English writer Rudyard Kipling published a very famous poem called â€Å"White Man’s Burden† in 1899 which embodied the European feel of superiority over the indigenous peoples. Kipling published this poem when the Americans were conquering different places. In fact, the original subtitle of this poem was â€Å"The United States and the Philippine Islands.† This was because the United States had acquired the Philippines from Spain after winning the Spanish-American War. KiplingRead More Comparing Colonialism and Imperialism in Heart of Darkness and Kiplings Poetry1515 Words   |  7 PagesImperialism in Heart of Darkness and Kiplings Poetry   Ã‚  Ã‚   Imperialism sprung from an altruistic and unselfish aim to take up the white mans burden1 and â€Å"wean [the] ignorant millions from their horrid ways.†2 These two citations are, of course, from Kipling’s â€Å"White Man’s Burden† and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, respectively, and they splendidly encompass what British and European imperialism was about – at least seen from the late-nineteenth century point of view. This essay seeks to exploreRead More â€Å"White Man’s Burden† Essay905 Words   |  4 PagesRudyard Kipling’s 1899 poem â€Å"The White Man’s Burden† epitomizes the European man’s view on imperialism, Euro-centrism and social Darwinism. Four centuries before 1899, such ideas were briefly hinted in the letter from Christopher Columbus to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, however by 1899 these attitudes strengthened and developed fully into their complete meaning. The U.S an d Europe’s imperialism in the nineteenth century were the most influential ever in the history of human civilization. TheRead MoreThe Enlightenment That Changed The Views Of People And Science1225 Words   |  5 Pages1700’s and non-Westerners were admired for a short period of time, views of natives soon degraded as new ideologies began to take way in Western society. With the new ideologies from Romanticism and Imperialism, non-Westerners soon became known as noble savages, and Social Darwinism and the â€Å"White Man’s Burden† eliminated the idea of non-Westerners being equals with Westerners. During the Enlightenment, new ideas that influenced Western ideologies were arising and making the people of the world moreRead MoreImperialism is when a mother nation takes over another nation and become its colony for political,700 Words   |  3 PagesImperialism is when a mother nation takes over another nation and become its colony for political, social, and economical reasons. Imperialism is a progressive force for both the oppressors (mother country) and the oppressed (colony), majorly occurring during the late 19th and early 20th century. It had more negative effects than positive effects due to its domination to other nations. Documents 1 and 5 show how imperialism should work over politics and their benefits over the colonies while documentsRead MoreThe Critical Conversation Surrounding Kipling s Novel, The Prophet Of British Imperialism, By George Orwell1525 Words   |  7 Pagesshape a person. The critical conversation surrounding Kipling’s works tends to reduce their complexities to the single theme of imperialism. In doing so, the manifestation of his personhood is overlooked and ignored, creating an incomplete picture of Kipling and his beliefs. Though an advocate for imperialism and regarded by George Orwell as â€Å"the prophet of British Imperialism,† Kipling is unwillingly implicated within its rigid constructs (118). There is a unique complexity to Kipling’s works that stemsRead MoreHeart of Darkness Imperialism, Hegemony, and Othering1570 Words   |  7 Pageslittle confused, but I understood it better. I would not say that the exact word imperialism came to my mind when I thought about Heart of Darkness. Granted back then I did not really understand the word imperialism. I did know that I was repulsed by what the Europeans were really doing in the Congo. I just did not associate it with the actual word of imperialism. I just knew what was going on was inhumane.   Imperialism in Heart of Darkness was rather intense. There were many times when I questionedRead MoreAnalysis Of Conrad s The Heart Of Darkness794 Words   |  4 Pagescivilizations looked down upon those with lesser technology. There were still places to be colonized and civilized. Imperialism in the 1800s and 1900s generally followed five stereotypes. Black people are a separate and lesser species. Natives are generally thought of as being savages. Under the right circumstances, anyone can lose touch with his/her humanity. Greed can drive people to extremes. Imperialism hurts those conquering and those being conquered. The main stereotype presented was that black peopleRead MoreAmerica s Age Of Imperialism846 Words   |  4 PagesWithin history, Imperialism has been the driving force behind the massive stretches of kingdoms across the world. The word Imperialism is derived from the Latin word Imperium; meaning: to rule over large territories. Imperialism itself means â€Å"a policy of extending a country s power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means.† In the 19th century Imperialism was used to great effect by Europeans in their African colonies; Cecil Rhodes who founded the De Beers Mining

Thomas Becket Free Essays

Describe the state of the church in Chaucer’s middle ages. The king’s immediate successors paid little attention to the issue of division of power between church and state. Richard the Lion-Hearted spent his reign in France and on the Third Crusade to recover Jerusalem, and John was a tyrant who spent much of his time overtaxing and angering his subjects. We will write a custom essay sample on Thomas Becket or any similar topic only for you Order Now But from time to time, the issue of who would control the judicial system of England resurfaced and other differences between church and state arose. It was not until the rule of Henry VIII that the struggles between king and pope were resolved. Henry VIII settled the issue by separating England from the Catholic Church altogether. â€Å"Thomas Becket. † IJXL Biographies. Detroit: 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. 16. What is the Magana Carta? What historical impact did it have? The Magna Carta (a Latin phrase meaning â€Å"Great Paper† or â€Å"Great Charter†) was originally an English document issued in 1215. An army led by English barons forced King John (1167-1216) to sign it. The purpose of he document was to clarify the king’s power over the barons, the church, clergymen, and the free people of certain towns. How to cite Thomas Becket, Papers

Orca Whales- Greek God of the Underworld free essay sample

There are three different types of Orcas species documented to date; resident, transient and offshore pods. The resident pods are separated geographically speaking and have been documented living spring, summer, and fall near the Washington coastline and have been spotted as far south as the Central California coastline. They have been spotted in the Puget Sound, Vancouver Island, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Southern Georgia Strait. While little is known about their movements; genetic data does suggest that these whales do not usually mingle with those from the other species.The Southern Resident Pod is currently on the endangered species list and is protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and a distinct species under the Endangered Species Act. There are 88 whales currently listed on the list for the resident whales that researchers have documented using the whales saddle patch’s as a signature to name and number each whale. We will write a custom essay sample on Orca Whales- Greek God of the Underworld or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All whales have a distinct marking behind their upper dorsal fin that in reference to humans would be like their own finger print; no two are alike. The resident pod is usually led by an older and wiser female whale and they usually stay together in large pods.They swim and hunt together. The male whales on average can grow up to 24 feet in length and weigh between 7 to 10 tons. They typically live up to 30 years but can live up to 50 to 60 years. The females on average grow up to 21 feet in length and weigh between 4 to 6 tons. They typically live up to 50 years but can live up to 80 to 90 years. These averages usually vary if they are in the wild or captivity. The pods grow to large numbers as the young never leave their mother’s side; so there will be times when multiple generations will be swimming side by side.While resident whales prefer fish their counterpart the transient prefers marine mammals. The transient pods are not as reliable as their counterpart the resident in that they do not live in large pods and usually have a family of only ten whales or less. They do not rely on the mother figure to lead the group as the resident whales do. The transient pods diet is often geographically specific. They share their boundaries with both resident and the offshore whales. The offshore orca pods are typically smaller in size and they are less sexual dimorphism; both the male and female share the same features and appear less visually different.The resident pod and the transient pods have distinct differences between the male and female whales; not only is the male a larger mammal the male also has a top dorsal fin that can reach up to 5 to 6 feet out of the water while the female fin is not as profound. These different Orca species do share some common features as well; the orca is a highly sociable and curious mammal. They communicate with one another using clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Orcas prefer cool waters and rely on echolocation for navigation and discriminating between prey and other surrounding objects.Each species may have their own dialect as people do from different parts of the world. All three pod species also can share some of the same threats that are endangering their species all together. The Orca has no one to fear except for the human being; there is not an animal in the ocean that they fear. The threats that come can be from contaminants in the water, to depletion of their prey, a ship collision or oil spills. Whales can be threatened by noise, industry and even military activities. There is also the possibility of being caught in a fisherman’s line.

Online Gaming 7cs of Customer Interface Essays

Online Gaming 7cs of Customer Interface Essays Online Gaming 7cs of Customer Interface Essay Online Gaming 7cs of Customer Interface Essay Online Gaming Part A Online gaming has become a culture in its own, there is an entire industry for online gaming that incorporates itself in the console gaming, gambling and the pc gaming. Almost every game you buy in shopping centres will have an online gaming option whether it is a console game or a pc game. Online entertainment has become a form of human communication and is taking the internet industry by storm. World of war craft has hit the online gaming demographic with huge success and therefore is the best example of this ever growing industry. For my half of the website audit I investigated the online gaming craze as a whole industry and did not limit myself to a specific company or topic, I looked at children’s online gaming sites, manufacturer sites for the online the gaming option on consol game units, aggregate sites for free online games and a manufacturer site for the largest online game, world of war craft. The 7Cs of Customer interface Context In investigating the context of these websites navigation, ecommerce and promotion seemed to be the priority and general purpose of both aggregate and manufacturer websites. The manufacturer websites like, blizzard. com/ and xboxworld. com. au/games/xbox-360/show/b where very product based in the aesthetical side of the website, all of the images and themes for these website appealed to the larger demographic that uses this kind of entertainment. The aggregate sites are basically used as portals for the online games and are centred around ease of navigation and feedback on the services available. Content Apart from the popup advertising there was not much video or animation involved in any of the homepages for these websites. The home page seemed to be the centre unit for navigation and was essentially made up of still imaging and text. The only website that offered any kind of detailed background on the company was the wiggles website which had an about us option in the navigation toolbar. All of these websites are high stimulating and, depending on the end users, appealing to the consumer. It seems that online gaming websites are highly individual and highly interactive with the consumer and promotes pull advertising as opposed to push promotion. Each website offered a product in a different stage in its product lifecycle, blizzard offered a product well into its commitment stage where as xboxworld. com offered a new and innovative product that has yet to be explored. The wiggles websites is more into the exploration stage of its product lifecycle and therefore promoted easy navigation for easy exploration and as the targeted demographic for this site are children under the age of 10 it needs to be easy to use which they have accommodated for. Community Some of these websites offered user forums for members of the site to voice their opinions on the products and services available. Whereas others offered a rating system that foregrounds the previous users opinions of the services available Customization All of these sites have membership options for frequent visitors to the sites. Being a member allows the user to view in more detail the ratings for games and the popularity of the games available. Communication Mostly forums on the products and five star ratings are the only forms of cross user communicate. Connection Apart from blizzards slow connection time in the opening of the website most of the other sites seemed to be pretty efficient when it came to the riginal opening of the site. The two aggregate sites had navigation points and links to other sites containing the games available which meant a short wait before playing the games as the site had to connect with other websites. Commerce All these sites have membership options. Manufacturer sites offered discounted online purchasing for their products like xboxworld. com offered discount on games and the consols where as to become a member of blizzard you have to register with world of war craft game which cost money to set up your blizzard account. Webqual Evaluation There are four categories to the Webqual website audit; ease of use, usefulness, entertainment and complementary relationship. In applying this style of audit to these websites no individual website stood out conclusively. All seemed to excel in different areas. Shock wave was easy to use in that it was easy to read and navigate through the programs. Xbox world was the most useful as it catered for the consumer looking for info on available products and discounts instead of jumping straight into the online gaming. The wiggles and the blizzard website provided good form of entertainment in that it was innovative and had appropriate visual appeal for the demographic they were designed to attract. And all of them foregrounded the same kind of image the company behind them strives to achieve. Online Marketing Tool Out of the possible e-commerce option available to the users of these sites, the five star rating seemed to be the best form of ecommerce and consumer behavi our evaluation. This option allowed a user to give a game or a service a rating out of five. This allowed for user to administration communication and user to user communication. The administrators of the sites are able to see which services or games are most popular and which are not worth keeping on the site, this is a good way of understanding the consumer behaviour of a site majority target market between online and offline services and products. Online Gaming Part B The five websites that I evaluated were all aggregate sites of the online game known as ‘World of Warcraft’. I chose to do this in order to compare all five aggregate sites which provide similar types of service to assess which of them excels from the rest. The 7Cs of Customer interface Context Context is defined as the look-and-feel of a screen-to-face customer interface. The sites are all designed to focus on the navigational aspects rather than the use of excessive graphics or animations. All five sites feature a nice simple layout with minimal graphics and contrasting colours however thottbot. com is the only site that makes use of a clear white background which creates a sense of calm and draws the eye to the products. The information being provided by all the sites are all nicely categorized and broken down into smaller segments for a more organized presentation. The search tab is one of the most useful tools when gathering information as it enables fast and easy access to information which allakhazam. com, thottbot. com and wowguru. com makes use of. Content Since the primary role of the sites is to provide users with information, the main mediums used were primarily text and images via the offering mix however wowguru. com takes it one step further by adding audio and video aspects to its contents where users can actually view movies that others have posted on the site for additional information purposes. Most of the sites use promotions on their front page to advertise their content on the other hand worldofwar. net takes advantage of the appeal mix creating emotional reactions to promote their site. Thottbot. com is the only site that struggles in this category not because it lacks content but due to the fact that the information it provides is inaccurate or out of date. Community Forums are the most used type of medium for user-to-user, user-to-admin and admin-to-user communications. Most of the sites aside from thottbot. om and worldofwconline. com makes use of forums and breaks them down to simple categories for more convenient communications. Additional features were provided by allakhazam. com where IRC chat was used for instant communication between users and admin. Customization All the sites that has access to forums enables personalization by creating login registrations primarily used so that users can post on forums and also to receive personalized e-mails through the sit e however further personalization are offered by allakhazam. com and worldofwar. et through upgrading of membership which means that users that upgrade their normal membership to premium membership for a small amount of fee have access to more additional features and customization. Communication Hybrid communication makes use of both broadcast which is a one-way information exchange from organization to user and interactive communication which is a two-way communication between the organization and the user. All the sites use this form of communication aside from worldofwconline. com which only uses broadcast communication. The main medium for hybrid communication is via the forums or IRC chat option through allakhazam. com. Connection Load times of the sites are fairly quick depending on the internet connection speed of the users however thottbot. com always loads the fastest due to its simple layout and design which consist mainly of a search tab located in the middle of the page. All the sites have links and affiliates to major online stores and other online gaming sites as well increasing traffic and user base. Commerce Worldofwar. net and allakhazam. om are the only two website where registration, security and credit card approvals are utilized via paypal. This is mainly due to the users wanting to upgrade their regular memberships to premium membership for additional features and more customization. Webqual Evaluation Most of the sites featured a very nicely designed layout with navigational options arranged and categorized neatly having said that the site that excels the most is allakhazam. com d ue to the consistent balance of both text and graphics. On the other hand worldofwconline. om uses too much text with small fonts making it hard to read and understand. Users would find sites that use the search tab to be more convenient to operate and navigate. The most useful site would probably be allakhazam. com as it provides all the relevant information accurately in a secure environment. The response time however varies in all the sites as post in the forums would only be answered when members log in. Wowguru. com dominates the entertainment category as it is the only medium that features audio and video aside from the text and graphics that all the rest of the other sites posses. All the sites have a good complementary relationship as there is good synergy between the internet and the company images. Online marketing tool The online marketing tool that is chosen to evaluate the sites is the forums as it is the best form of ecommerce and consumer behaviour evaluation criteria for these sites. The number of posts and user profile accounts were the main determinants in determining which website was the best. With over 1,358,243 user profile accounts and still growing allakhazam. com clearly dominates this field as the closest rival to it which is worldofwar. et only has 172,873 user profiles. The Comparisons Part C A combined effort SWOT Strengths * Most sites are compatible with a large amount of other websites and software. * Well organized forums and ecommerce options * Visually appealing * A large amount of loyal consumers * A good depth in user customization Weaknesses * Majority of sites lack audio and video capabilities * Differentiation is difficult as a lmost all of the services are available through other companies * Hard to establish steady cash flow * Must keep up with technology and updates. Opportunities Possible target market for services are ever growing * Innovative games and services are easier to promote due to a larger demographic learning to use the internet, innovation in online games is not hard to create awareness for Threats * Increasing of competing companies providing similar services * It is easy for a company to become obsolete in this industry as technology is always advancing. * It is easier for companies to commit reverse engineering on a service or product and provide generic copies. Porters’ Five forces 1 Competition between rival companies is a constant issue for the online gaming industry. It is hard for any one business to get a competitive advantage over their competitors. A lot of companies are even teaming up in order to cope better with the increasing amount of competition. This will always be a negative force on a online gaming site. This force cannot be avoided as competition is evident in ever industry. The best that can be done is to offer competitive prices and incentives for consumers to continue to use the company’s services or products. 2 The threat of new entrants and innovation with both the technology and reativity of the products available will make it increasingly hard even for a well established company to stay on their feet. The online gaming industry is not a safe industry to penetrate and will never be. The best way to avoid this force from effective the possible success of any one company is to use people’s creativity and continue with good e-commerce and market research that way a company can stay on top of possible incoming trends and fads. 3. Reverse engineering is a constant problem in the electronic world and the online gaming industry is no exception. The threat of the competition copying your services or products and offering generic products to consumers that could have created cash flow for the original creators is a constant issue. The best way to deal with this negative force is to use the government and protect your company’s ideas and innovations with copyright. 4. Suppliers are always looking to charge more for their products whereas consumers are always looking to get a cheaper price; it is a loose, loose situation for any one company and can only be tackled by either sacrificing the customer satisfaction or risk loosing your supplier and having to find another. A balance between the two is the most opportune way to handle this dilemma. The rules of supply and demand come into particular focus here. Proper market research and preparation work can help to avoid this issue. 5. As was discussed in the previous issue; consumers are always after a lower price, and ounce again the best way to handle this situation is to conduct decent consumer behaviour research and market research to avoid missing the next big opportunity in the market.

Star Death Leads to Cosmic Enrichment

Star Death Leads to Cosmic Enrichment Star Death in the Southern Hemisphere Sky Stars, like every other object we can see in the universe. have a definite life cycle. Theyre born in clouds of gas and dust, they live their lives, and eventually, they come to an end. This is true for every star we know about, no matter its size or mass. Some very massive stars die in cataclysmic explosions called supernovae. Thats not the fate of our star, which will have a more gentle ending. Sun-like stars (those that are around the same mass or age as our  Sun) come to the ends of their lives and become  planetary nebulae. These are objects in the sky that once appeared almost planetary looking to astronomers of a century or more ago who had low-power telescopes compared to todays observatories. They have nothing to do with planets and everything to do with the evolution of certain kinds of stars. Astronomers suspect that our own Sun may end its days as a planetary nebula, if conditions permit. If it does, it will lose much of its mass to space and what remains of the Sun will heat the surrounding cloud of gas and dust and make it glow. To anyone looking at it through a telescope from another planet, the dying Sun will resemble a cosmic ghost.   Observing the Owl Nebula The European Southern Observatory caught a view of one such ghostly remnant, nicknamed the Southern Owl Nebula.  The expanding cloud of gas and dust measures about four light-years across and contains materials that once were created  inside the star and its atmosphere. Now, those elements (such as hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and  others) are being spread to interstellar space, possibly to enrich a new generation of stars. The Southern Owl (which has the official name of ESO 378-1) is a relatively short-lived phenomenon. It will probably  last only a few tens of thousands of years before the cloud dissipates completely. All that will be left is a fading white dwarf star.   What Makes a Planetary Nebula? For a planetary nebula to form, an aging star must be the right stellar type: it should have a mass less than about eight times that of the Sun. Stars  that are more massive will end their lives in dramatic fashion as supernova explosions. They, too, spread their material out, enriching the space between stars (also known as the interstellar medium).   As the less-massive stars age, they begin to lose their outer layers of gas through the action of stellar winds. The Sun has a stellar wind that we call the solar wind, which is a gentler version of the tempests emitted by old, dying stars. After the outer layers of the dying star have dissipated, the remaining hot stellar core heats up, and begins to radiate ultraviolet light. That UV radiation energizes (ionizes) the surrounding gas and causes it to glow.   The Long, Last Breath of the Sun Once the planetary nebula has faded away, the leftover stellar remnant will burn for another billion years,  consuming all its remaining fuel. It will then become a tiny - but hot and very dense - white dwarf that will slowly  cool over billions of years. The Sun could produce a planetary nebula several billion years in the future and then  spend its twilight years as a white dwarf emitting visible and ulltraviolet light, and even x-ray radiation.   Planetary nebulae play a crucial role in the chemical enrichment and evolution of the universe. Elements  are created inside these stars and returned to enrich the  interstellar medium. They combine to form new stars, build planets, and - if conditions are right - play a role in the formation and evolution of life. We (and the rest of Earths life) all owe our existence to the ancient stars that lived and then transformed to become white dwarfs, or blew up as supernovae that scattered their elements to space. This is why we can think of ourselves as star stuff, or even more poetically- as star dust memories of the ghostly death of a star.