The Cost of Computer Literacy Essay Example for Free

The Cost of Computer Literacy Essay What are the costs of computer literacy? Some people argue that there are no such costs, but I believe there are a few which may be relevant. Does computer literacy affect the way we communicate, and if so, is this necessarily a bad thing? What is our future, as computer literacy becomes a necessity? What are the personal, financial, and social costs, as computer literacy becomes a necessity? According to Websters New World dictionary, literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. There is definitely more than one interpretation of the word literacy as we have seen in class discussions and from reading many essays on the subject. The world has grown beyond the understanding of literacy as the ability to read and write- we now have many diverse understandings of the word. But there is a new literacy emerging around the world that will soon demand the immediate attention of everyone. I am referring to computer literacy. As our society becomes increasingly dependent on computers to take care of our daily needs, it creates a high demand for skilled professionals to maintain as well as take advantage of this technology. The computer job market is like a wave, a technology wave. I had the choice to ride the wave and possibly make a lot of money at the age of only 18. But if I had not decided to go to college now, instead of working full time, there is no guarantee that I would have a job when that technology wave breaks. Last year, at the age of 18, I was working in a computer software company as a network administrator and making more than some people that have a college degree. Some may look at this as a tremendous opportunity, but I saw it as a possible pitfall. At first, I saw taking advantage of my high computer literacy as having no costs whatsoever, but what I was reluctant to see was that I was not taking any college classes to further my education. This would have proved to be a significannot mistake if I had not seen the possible negative aspects of not having a college degree to fall back on. How do you measure that cost or its cost to society? The degree and education that I get by going to college may prove to be a very important part of my future. As new technologies are developed, your job in the market may not be in demand. This is the case with network administration. Novell was a hot networking software package and then Microsoft came along and engulfed the network operat! ing system market with NT Server. Employers are going to be looking for people specialized in the hot fields. I have learned that a job is never permanent, but no one can take your education from you. Its about having options on your road in life and from what I have seen your education does just that. Have computers hindered our ability to communicate effectively? The question refers to our ability to fully express ourselves. Many times we just send e-mail that is very brief and doesnt reveal what we really want to say. We are increasingly taking old-fashioned ways of conversing for granted. The day of telephone calls, faxes, and just good old letter writing are almost phased out. Lets face it, its much easier and efficient to send internet mail that can be there in less than 10 seconds than having to hand-write a letter and put it in the mail. It costs you 32 cents and you have to wait days for the other party to receive it. But what will this cost society? New jobs will be created by technology but there is also the unemployment cost to those who lost jobs to technology. What kind of behavioral cost will come from this? What happens when we cant negotiate and have no people skills? What are the costs of these skills? Take a look at the way we now communicate with our co-workers. We are merely feet from each other in the office, yet we no longer stand up and walk over to talk with someone face to face. Why? Is it easier to send them e-mail and await a response? We lose many forms of communication this way. We dont get that one-on-one interaction with each other, we cant see gestures and body language, and this may even be ground for miscommunication. To me it often seems that we can put aside many of the things that we would not be able to if there was some type of face to face meeting. We can say that we havent received that mail, or that we havent checked our mail yet. Computers are making communicating easier, but are they making it more effective? Is there a cost to the technician working with no personal contact? Instead of calling on the phone to report a computer problem, there has been the advent of the e-form. This is yet another alternative to the phone call or talking with someone. The e-form is comprised of a template with data fields that give all the relevant information an administrator or technician would need to come and fix a problem or answer a question. This is a wonderful idea for 3 reasons: (1) You no longer need someone to answer a phone, (2) No lost information between the caller and the technician, and (3) you have the ability to log it in a database to keep track of problems which also allows you to analyze the data to prevent future occurrences. So, conceivably, your computer problem or question could be fixed or answered without ever having to talk to a single person. Communication is very important to our world. This is how we interact with each other, and ultimately succeed. We need to be able to share information in a smart and efficient manner. The computer lets us do this in many ways. For some though, the computer is financially out of their reach. With the price of computers hovering around the fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred dollar price range, this is not easily attainable for many. The monetary cost of a computer, ironically, seems to be the main cost of becoming computer literate for many people. The best thing about computer literacy it that once you have it you can keep on applying it. Tomorrows technology will evolve from todays hardware and software. Do you have all the options that you will need in your life? Computers are simply that, another option for your career and your life. It has changed the way we communicate some see it as better and some as worse. As computer literacy becomes a necessity we are faced with the facts that we are an ever-changing society that demands the use of technology. We will keep putting aside the costs of this literacy as long as we only see the positive aspects of a technology-centered future.

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SUMMARY: â€Å"Vinnie Ream†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article â€Å"Vinnie Ream,† from the August 2000 issue of Smithsonian Magazine, tells the story of a woman in the 1800’s who was chosen to sculpt statues of prominent Americans, including Abraham Lincoln, despite having little experience. The article gives both an overview of the life of Vinnie Ream and an account of the political battles that arose from her commissions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article opens by talking about how the government had decided to commemorate Civil War hero David Farragut with a statue. While many people expected congress to choose well-known sculptor Horatio Stone for the work, they instead picked a 26-year old woman who had only done one large statue in her life. This episode is used to illustrate how Vinnie Ream caused a great deal of controversy, with a strong split between supporters and detractors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a brief recounting of her childhood leading up to her interest in sculpting, influenced by an artist named Clark Mills, who encouraged and taught Ream. She was then given permission by Abraham Lincoln to do a small statue of him. After he was assassinated, congress decided to pay $10,000 to commission a larger statue of the president. Ream wrote letters and made friends with members of congress in an effort to secure the commission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This effort led to a ferocious debate both in congress and among the general public. Many were swayed by the girl’s charms and enthusiasm, while others saw her as lacking both experience and talent, claiming that she was being considered only on the basis of her personality. She was eventually chosen for the work, and the statue she made met with the same mixed response.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Having made friends in high places, she later sought the commission for the Farragut statue. With the help of people like William Tecumseh Sherman, she was able to get this prestigious work as well, though many were bothered by the apparent politicking involved.

Marketing Plan for Langkawi

Executive summary Langkawi, such an amazing island, attracted a lot of people from all over the world. Unbalanced regional development, domestic and foreign tourism competition make Langkawi cannot get a development very well, that is the reason why Langkawi cannot be the world-wild attraction. A right marketing plan can make Langkawi give full play to its advantages and make up for weakness, and then get a good development of marketing. Setting marketing objectives, confirm target markets, use marketing strategies to develop a marketing plan for Langkawi is the focal point of this article.Introduction Langkawi, â€Å"The Island of Legend† is located 108 kilometers northwest of Peninsular Malaysia, the border of Malaysia and Thailand. Comprising a group of 104 islands, the biggest one is Langkawi, it is a place for those seeking tranquility and refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life. The area is about 526 square kilometers. The main island spans about 25 kilometers fro m north to south. Two-thirds of island covered forests, hills and natural vegetation. It’s a biggest cluster island in Malaysia, constitute of 99 limestone islands.Langkawi Island is richly blessed with a heritage of fabulous myths and legends. As a natural paradise, this island perhaps is incomparable anywhere else in Southeast Asia. The country beauty of the island makes itself a compelling attraction. Langkawi, a drooping part of Malaysia, attracted no tourists until 1987. In 1997, there are 1. 7million tourists visited Langkawi and the number reached 2. 38million in 2009. Most of the development is in the main town of Kuah and in isolated beach resorts around the coast.The airport is located on this island as well hotel resorts, restaurants and shops. The two main beaches, Pantai Cenang and Pantai Kok, are on the island's western coast, with Pantai Cenang being the most popular as the place for hotels and restaurants. Dotted along the northern coast are the more luxurious resorts. With the only intention to promote tourism, the island was granted a tax-free status. Government has come up with special developments to promote the tourism industry in Langkawi.Tourists are also requested not to bring any cars or other vehicles to go to this island, so it can save this city far from pollution and then make it as a green tourist destination. The Northern Corridor Economic Region development program is a Malaysia Government initiative to promote the economic growth in the north of Peninsular Malaysia . In order to improve the Langkawi’s position as a world-class tourist destination, the Northern Corridor Economic Region is trying hard to attract further world-class hotels and holiday resorts to this island.In the folk custom aspects, the entertainment service development in Langkawi is not a patch on Phuket Island, the rich of history and culture is not as good as Bali Island, but it has abundant natural and geological beauty, simplicity and peacefu l country life, leisurely and comfortable tourism atmosphere, it can be developed as an ecological, geological and leisure tourism island. That makes Langkawi not only have a unique style with neighboring famous islands, but also an intellectual tourism trend for satisfy tourists yearning at present.Langkawi is surrounded with many legends that could be used in the marketing of the island. In addition to the natural and social resources, Langkawi has many other resources that could be developed into visitor attractions such as rubber fields, factories, fishing villages and the Hindu temples. The change of the future is expected to the attentive planning and decision by Lembaga Pembangunan Langkawi (LADA). Marketing objectives Langkawi is a potential island for coastal tourism. Coastal tourism has been the world's largest tourism hot spots and important pillar.With the development of the economy and coastal tourism in the context of the global is developing quickly, coastal tourism d evelopment of real estate has become an important component. In order to develop coastal tourism reasonable, the marketing plan should be suitable for langkawi. Vision To become a world-class agency in the efficient and creative development of langkawi's infrastructure and tourism industry. Mission To develop langkawi's specialized attractions (such as theme park) objective 1. To protect natural resource in order to obtain sustainable development. 2. To improve entertainment facilities in langkawi. . To create a theme park for eco-tourism. 4. Promote Langkawi as an international tourist destination. The island has an abundance of potential, especially in eco-tourism. They could build a theme park that co-exists with the environment and encourages eco-awareness. (Jimmy Leong ). only focuses on ecological protection, and to obtain sustainable development. The international success coastal resorts all pay attention to ecological protection principle. Target markets From region, the fig ure shows that more than 70% of visitor in langkawi is from Malaysia, that means main visitor market in langkawi is domestic market.However, Thailand, Singapore is Langkawi's largest market for foreign tourist. And from demography, family and couple prefer to go langkawi. Because langkawi is a quite beautiful and reasonable coasts for destination. Couple choose langkawi as honeymoon destination. The family go vacation because of amazing landscape, and also duty free shop. According to statistics released by the Tourism Division of the Langkawi Development Authority, that there were 2,461,455 visitors stayed on the island during 2009 which nearly 25% were from overseas, All in all, Langkawi's target market is couples and families both in international and domestic.Marketing strategies Product pricing The price that tourism enterprises set need to conform to the certain standards, if the price is too low, customers may thought those products are not worth to buy, tourism enterprises a re hard to get a profit, and if the price is too high, customers have no ability to consumption, there will be no demand on it. In Langkawi, some luxury hotels, restaurants and entertainment industries can use high price strategy to approaching market and it is good for market positioning.Travel agency, local attractions and hotels can offer discount for visitors when they reaches a certain amount. Some hotels, motels or airlines can provide seasonal discount in rainy season, international flights can adjustment the price according to the size of demand, and the purpose is to attract customers, make sure they can get a profit. Pricing can be based on competitors, it is a kind of methods that pricing according to the price of competitors. Price variance remains unchanged and always be a little higher than competitors or a bit lower. So ompare to other islands, Langkawi can pricing according to its dominant position and give a higher price, for inferior position, we can give a discoun t for customers, in order to attract them to come. Promotion Promoting the tourism development of Langkawi is very necessary. Promotion can be used in various ways. Public relations is a good way to promote it, we can make people pay attention to the propaganda by special events or public service activities. There are a lot of people from all over the world, looking for the information of Langkawi on the Internet.These potential visitors want to know the interesting places in this island, where they can stay, which restaurant offers the best meal. We can build websites about Langkawi’s detailed information, shows the travel and accommodation arrangements and let people know what the suitable choice is for them. Hotels can offer special discount for attracting tourists to stay in Langkawi, whatever people come to Langkawi for business, vacation or conference, Langkawi has different kinds of accommodation types to serve customers, discount hotels can attract more tourists to st ay because most of them want to save money.Airlines can provide cheap flights, make everyone can travel by air. Travel agency can promote the preferential travel project, save money and time for visitors. We can also advertise Langkawi through media, newspaper, magazine, television or â€Å"giveaways† such as calendars and training packages, print and send out brochures, provide travel reservation service and use publicity to build a positive image of Langkawi, let people see them in their daily life. People Only find that demand can satisfy the demand. The process of finding demand needs to realize by employees.Tourism enterprises need to arouse the enthusiasm of the employees, let them seeking for potential customers according to the demand of them. The employees with high quality and comply with the requirements are very important. Training the industry professionals, make sure travel agency employees can let visitors have a good experience in Langkawi, and get satisfactor y services from hotels, restaurants and other entertainment industries, because their service attitude and level is one of the key factors which decided to customers on the tourism enterprises satisfaction, a not professional employee may be adly affect Langkawi’s image, leading to the loss of customers, reduce the economic income of travel enterprises, affect the development of tourism industry in Langkawi. â€Å"People† not only those of the employees, but also customers. The feeling of customers on the service quality may be affected by the opinion of other customers. The marketing goal is getting loyal customers those whom believe in tourism enterprises and think they are worth to spend, and they are also willing to recommend Langkawi to other customers, thus to improve the popularity and positive image of Langkawi. ProcessesWhile producing and service delivering at the same time, process management can guarantee the availability of service and stable quality. Othe rwise, it is very difficult to balance the supply and demand of service. We must find the way to handle the peak demands, seeking the method in different level to maximum satisfy the different needs of different customers. In the implementation process of Langkawi’s marketing planning, it might happened some accidents because of the change of the market, we must do our best for the supervision, regulate and control in the whole process, to achieve the best effect of marketing.To sum up, in the marketing strategies combinations of Langkawi, in addition to the human factors are uncontrolled, other factors are controllable. We should adapt to the external environment actively, give full play to Langkawi’s advantages and make up for weakness, and then get a good development of marketing. Physical evidence Physical evidence is making the invisible services of products as much as possible becoming visible products, let consumers fell that the service product is exists, and i mproving visitors enjoy the value of the service products process.Germany has a successful businessman said: a simple reception is better than a detailed manual. For example, the first time a visit goes to the langkawi restaurant, before entered the restaurant, the restaurant’s appearance and signs has made him an initial impression. If the impression is good, he will go into the restaurant, and then the internal decorate, how clean the desktop is and the waiters’ etiquette image will directly to decide he will repast here or not. If management and utilization t well, it can help customers experience the characteristic of langkawi, improve the service when you get to enjoy the benefit and contribute to create a good image for langkawi, to support the implementation of the marketing strategy. Conversely, it may send wrong message to customers, influence the customer's expectations and judgment to langkawi, it will damage the image of langkawi. Physical evidence should f ocus on object factors, human factors and atmosphere factors and it also can improve physical evidence from outdoor billboards, TV advertising and the promotion activities in public places.We can add the local customs and features to langkawi’s guideposts and signs, on the other hand, service personnel should dress the same uniform, intensify efforts to make slogan and publicity material. Conclusion Langkawi is a romantic, beautiful island which has richly natural resources, where nature itself also has many excellent conditions, making her a paradise in Southeast Asia. Walking on the main island of Langkawi, an oasis of Rubber Forest and paddy fields are in front of you, dotted with the traditional tall houses (Ganlan), coconut waves, two or three Islanders who make a living by fishing and farming pass by.All these form a very laid-back screen. On this island which is full of ancient legend, the earth fell asleep in a lullaby of insect croak piping. In addition to  the bea utiful  natural scenery, Langkawi also  has a long  history and  traditional culture. Langkawi  is a  duty-free island that you  can buy  a lot of  duty-free products. As the famous internationally archipelago of 99 tropical islands in Malaysia, Langkawi is the absolute holiday paradise which offers modern accommodation facilities and amenities set against the natural backdrop of sun-drenched beaches and ancient rainforests teeming with exotic plant and animal life.For its beautiful geological heritage of stunning landscapes, Langkawi is a really good place to go, it is absolute a fantastic travel destination. Experience the beautiful countryside and the peaceful landscape of paddy fields, pass by some small villages with wooden houses which build by palm trees, and children pedaling their old bicycles on the road. Beautiful scenery, great adventures, five-star conveniences and an international airport make Langkawi a great place for a holiday. An agro-based econom y of padi and rubber cultivation and fisheries is being ast overtaken by a tourism-driven economy, taking into consideration the natural, unspoiled, ecological beauty of the island and major governmental emphasis. The largest and most developed island – known as Langkawi – is the focal point for most visitors. Traditionally the islanders have relied upon the farming and fishing industries for their livelihood, but in 1987 they were awarded Duty Free status, and the subsequent increase in visitors has promoted tourism to the point of being the islands largest industry.Tourism is one of the most important industries in Malaysia's national economy, and it has an important effect on promoting national economic and social development. Malaysia is richly in natural tourism resources and culture tourism resources. Since the 1960s, tourism resource advantages are gradually translated into the real economic advantages. With the rapid development of Malaysian tourism industry, d uring the past 50 years, remarkable achievements have been made in the number of tourists to Malaysian, foreign exchange income, tourism infrastructure construction, the opening and protection of tourism resources, and some other aspects.Langkawi has rich tourism resources. Develop Langkawi tourism market is good for the local economy,it can provide more jobs for local people. So develop a good marketing plan for Langkawi is very necessary, it can promote the development of tourism industry, thus promote the development of entirety economic in Malaysia. References Jeremy, A. (2002), The rough guide to Southeast Asia, Rough Guides Ltd,Mohamed, Z. H. I. (2000), The legends of Langkawi, Utusan Publications & Distributors Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur. John, S. Michael, T. (1998), How to prepare a marketing plan: a guide to reaching the customer market, MPG Books Ltd, Great Britain. John, W. (2010), How to write a marketing plan, Replika Press Pvt Ltd, India. Malcolm, M. & Hugh, W. (2011), Mark eting Plans: How to prepare them, how to use them, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, United Kingdom. Simon, R. (2007), Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei, Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd, Australia. Susan, B. (2001), Successful tourism marketing: a practical handbook, Kogan Page Limited, London.

Due 11Th January.To What Extent Are We Influenced By The

DUE 11th January To what extent are we influenced by the media? Mass media can be defined as communication that transmits education, information, entertainment and news to mass audiences. Whether it be print media, such as newspapers and magazines, audio visual media, such as television, or cyber media, there has been debates on the impact and to what extent it can influence the populations behaviour, thoughts or actions. Print media, such as newspapers have an agenda. People trust newspapers as a reliable source of news and information, however journalists have been caught fabricating stories in the past, e.g. fake headlines published by the ‘Sun’, regarding the Hillsborough disaster, which seen the fans of Liverpool FC being branded as†¦show more content†¦73*). The cultural effects model, associated with Neo-Marxism, believes that media has a powerful influence on the audience as it aims to transmit capitalist values and norms. Marxists believe that messages created by the media heavily reflect those who own, produce and create it. It can be argued that the ideological messages produced by the media may have long term effects on the population, leading to cultural hegemony, which is where the public gradually adapts and unconsciously shares the views of those who contribute to the broadcasting, (Revision World Networks Ltd., 2007*). This can be seen through those who share the thought that materialistic possessions are a necessity to be happy. Marxists further believe that television content has purposely been simplified, resulting in a decline of educational programmes, such as documentaries, which may give the audience knowledge to think and make educated critical analysis on events occurring in the world. For example, the media has conti nuously stereotyped those on benefits as scroungers, this may eventually lead to the elder generation not claiming the benefits they are entitled to out of fear of being stigmatised. Who the real scroungers are is a distorted topic, with many believing it is the banks as they take from the economy for themselves or those who claim benefits. Statistics also prove that only ?% of people are on benefits for more than ?