Domain Name Disputes Essay Example for Free

Domain Name Disputes Essay A domain name is user-friendly way of expressing the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a web location. When the domain name of the web site is entered, it would provide a direct link to access the content located on the site of the IP address. The domain name has characters and numerals separated out by dots (. ) which suggest various levels in the domain name. A domain name can have anywhere between one to 63 characters, and can include certain special characters such as (-). The valid characters of the domain name include A to Z and 1 to 9 and 0. Capitalisation is not used as a method to distinguish from one domain name to another . Domain name has been a very user-friendly way of accessing content on the internet, and hence people often use it to search for businesses on the net. Today’s domain name system was earlier utilised by the network set up by the department of defence and academic organisations for research and communications purposes. This Domain name system (DNS) was initiated as early as 1984 and has been extended to all areas of the world where the internet is accessible today. The domain name would actually convert into an IP address, which would suggest a physical location of a computer or a system on the Internet . Since, not more than one site can have one address; there have been a lot of conflicts in the use of domain names. A particular domain name would have different levels. The various levels in the domain name are separated or recognised using the special character dot (. ) (to differentiate between the various levels). If you take the domain name abc. xxx, it is a second level domain name, consisting of 2 levels, abc and xxx. On the other hand, mno. abc. xxx, consists of three levels, namely mno, abc and xxx. The characters in the domain name are usually counted from the right to the left . The Internet protocol addresses, domain names, etc, which are utilised for internet management are today generally handled by an organisation known as the â€Å"Internet Assigned Numbers Authority† (IANA). In turn the daily affairs regarding the assignment of top level and second level domain names are taken care of by individual Internet Registries (IR) . There are several hierarchies of domain names including top level domain names (TLDs’), Second Level Domain names (SLD’s), third level domain names (3LD’s), etc. The management of the top level domain names are done by the ICANN at the international level. They also provide resolution of disputes at the international level through an arbitrary and simplified process known as ‘UDRP’ (Uniform Domain Resolution Policy) . The TLD’s are the domain name that appears after the last (. ) in the domain name. For example, in a general domain name such as abc. com, the . com is the TLD. Again, the TLD can be of two types namely, a generic TLD and a country specific TLD. The generic TLD’s include . com, . net, . info, . xxx, . org, . edu, . tv, . res, . mil, . gov, . int, etc. The country specific TLD’s include Top level domain names that are specific to certain countries such as . fr, . eu, . in, . my, . us, etc. For specific top level domain name types, a specific registry would be approved (assigned by the ICANN), to assign, manage and handle any issues that may arise for that TLD . TLD’s can be again classified as two types depending on the restriction imposed to register and assign, including restricted generic TLD’s and unrestricted generic TLD’s. Restricted generic TLD’s would require certain amount of eligibility to register in the registry. For instance, the TLd . int, requires that the body registering be an international approved organisation such as the WIPO, WHO, etc. No person can register under this TLD without eligibility. Verisign (an internet registry) would likewise permit registration of telecom organisations to register under the generic TLD . net. Only non-profit organisations, institutions, voluntary organisations, etc, can register under the TLD . org. Organisations that are governmental in nature, can register under the domain name . gov. Unrestricted domain names, do not require eligibility regarding organisation type or geographical location, and any person can register under such domain names without restrictions, on a first come first served basis. One such domain name is the . com, which accounts for about half of all the domain names registered in the world. People wanting a domain name under the . com TLD, need not demonstrate any eligibility, but can register a particular domain name on a first come first served basis . Many people site that the greater amount of interests by commercial organisations in the . com registry and the offering of registration on a first come first served basis, has created huge conflicts in the domain name allocation. Country coded top level domain names are assigned domain names based on country specifications. Only if the organisation is located in a certain country or provides business or services to a particular country would it be permitted to use that ccTLD. For instance . uk or . my are TLD’s belonging to the United Kingdom and Malaysia, respectively . The second level domain name is the portion of the domain name that lies before the (. ) of the TLD. This may include a unique name corresponding to an IP address or may be even suggestive of the geographical location of the business. For instance in abc. net, the second level domain name is abc. On the other hand, abc. uk. org, the second level domain name is . uk, and it suggests the country code. Abc, would then belong to a third level domain name (3LD). The United Kingdom is a country that follows a top-level country coded domain name. For instance, the domain of several organisations in the UK would be abc. org. uk and not abc. uk. org . Domain name and Intellectual Property Rights Many courts have tried to define what a domain name is. They consider it to be an address, which has to be selected by the user, and since one user would be using one address, it needs to be unique and not identical. The courts also give consideration that people would often try to guess the web address from the name, location and other features of the applicant. A domain name is more of a sign or a mark which can help to distinguish the goods and services of one trader from the goods and the services of another. Hence, a domain name can be having an intellectual value and can be given an â€Å"Intellectual Property Right Protection† . Following a rise in the traffic and popularity of the internet, there has been a rise in the domain name issues. Domain name were considered to be earlier more of addresses that helped to located the trader or an organisation on the cyber world. However, today domain names are turning out to be more of identifiers, trademarks, marks or indications of the goods, services, etc, of a particular trader. A domain name consists of alphabets, numerals, punctuation marks, etc, and hence possesses the characteristics of a trademark. For many companies, the value of the domain name is considered great as they would be using the internet for business . Today domain name rather than the name of the companies are considered to be identifiers and are often being used as advertisements. Hence, in many instances, domain names and trademarks are in conflict. It is important to note several special characteristics of domain names:- 1. They are global as once they are registered anybody from the world can use the address to gain access to the trader’s web site 2. They need to be unique as only one address can lead to a web site 3. Domain name are often guessed by the users, and hence minor changes or errors need to ensure that the user still is able to reach the intended location 4. An honest and current domain name user cannot exist as in the case of trademarks 5. Domain can cannot be given for style of writing, colouring patterns, use of images, etc Companies have moved their business over to the internet and this has created several conflicts with the traditional trademark owners. If a traditional trademark owner finds that a internet business company is using a name similar to the trademark’s owner, then he has to prove that the internet business is in fact using the name in bad faith, trying to dilute the name of the trademark owner, to create unfair competition or to create confusion in the minds of the consumer. Earlier, the NSI had a dispute resolution policy, but there was a lot of controversy in the processes, such that both opposing parties had to come to an agreement. The ICANN has implemented URDP that would be applied in all domain name disputes that are used in bad faith . Organisations concerned with domain name Issues When the internet was initially started and expanded for commercial and academic use, the non-military segment of domain name allocation was done by the NSF (National Science Foundation). This was followed till 1992, and in the year 1993, the Network Solutions Incorporation was formed which helped to register all the generic TLD’s, . net’s, . com’s, etc . Till the year 1999, the NSI ensured that all the registration and allocation of second level domain names for the major TLD’s was brought about. Considering that about half of all the domain names are in the . com segment, NSI had a major role to play in allocating domain names. They also had some amount of control over dispute resolution processes. However, the NSI did not have any official mediation processes, and was not responsible officially for domain name conflicts. Initially, the NSI provided registration to the domain names on a first come first served basis and did not check the credibility of the registering organisation. This according to many has led to conflicts regarding domain names across the world. The NSI did not check whether the domain name was a part of the party’s name . Slowly there was huge controversy regarding the manner in which domain names were allocated and provided registration by the NSI. There was a huge increase in the trademark disputes especially in the . com TLD domain. The IANA had no concern for legal issues over the domain name allocations. Hence, many nations including the US had concern over the allocation of domain names over the internet . In 1997, the management of several generic TLD’s were handed over to the International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC). The organisation helped in framing 7 new generic TLD’s and ensuring greater amount of healthy competition in the second level domain names . The NSI and the IANA were together concerned with the development of a set of rules and regulations for the assignment of domain names. They developed a corporation that would have jurisdiction for the assignment of domain names throughout the world. This organisation (ICANN) also helped in the development of rules and regulations for the internet domain names. The US DOC also played a major role in the development of the ICANN. The final version of the bylaws by the ICANN was released on October 2, 1998, and released by the DOC. On November 1998, the ICANN and the DOC decidedly to jointly design rules, regulations, mechanisms and methods to ensure Domain name functions. The DOC and other organisations were interested in bringing about better competition and ensuring stability. The role of the US government was slowly being transferred to the ICANN. The NSI also changed its name to Verisign. It was concerned with developing a shared registration system and provides services under the generic TLD’s such as . com, . net, etc. Verisign has to sell certain number of registers in order to have authority of the . com register in 2001. However, some of the registries of Verisign and ICANN still are shared from May 2001. Verisign would operate various registries such as the . org registry till 2002, the . net registry till 2005, the . com registry till 2007. The ICANN has allocated the . org registry from 2002 to 2008 to Public Internet Registry and Verisign for the . net registry from 2005 to 2011 . Public and social issues concerned with domain name allocation The domain name has turned out to be a huge business model for several companies. The ads-per-click policy, which would ensure that advertisements placed in the domain name would make more money than the domain itself, would ensure that the domain is continued. On the other hand, if the cost of the domain is more than the advertisements, then the domain is ceased for the next year. There is also a five-day grace period (following registration), which ensures that anybody who has registered a wrong domain can go back and correct his/her mistake. Today, domain names are created and dropped at a very fast rate, and hence, people are in huge confusions. This is happening at a very fast rate, even faster than the rate trademarks are picked up and dropped. To ensure certain amount of control at the rate at which the domain names are picked up and dropped, the ICANN is monitoring several registries. It has given certain number of its registries to companies that can sell out domain name. Such companies are known as ‘registrars’, and they would usually be working on the . com and . net TLD. However, the ICANN has introduced a 5 day window period, which would allow the registering body to make changes or take back the domain name registration within a period of 5 days. The ICANN can also recommend the owner to make modify or even remove certain domain names registered during the window period. This would ensure that any illegal activities or potentially abuse over the internet can be prevented. At the same time, healthy competition can be encouraged over the internet . Since January 003, there has been a shift in the management of the . org TLD from Verisign to the Public Internet Registry, which is an organisation created in 2002 keeping the public internet in mind . During the mid-1990’s, the US government decided to shift several infrastructure and governance that the US government and the military had over the internet over to private bodies. The government felt that the main reason for implementing such policies were because the industry themselves can specialise in creating effective policies and ensure development and advancement through regulations and policies framed over internet. The US government also tried to install several institutional controls means to ensure that the private bodies that had certain governance over the internet. Several organisations such as the ICANN and the IAHC also felt that the international involvement was very important in developing a domain name policy. However, the US government was also concerned that the internet control may go out of US hands and hence framed certain principles in the form Green Paper and White Paper. The White paper included several characteristics such as dominant coalition, steadiness, competitiveness, private, bottom up coordination, representation, etc. The ICANN brought about a transfer of the DNS control from the US government to the global environment. The entire interest of the community was needed to be represented through the actions of the ICANN, which included organisations, society, communities, etc. The ICANN had a bottom-up approach of governance. Many people feel that the ICANN has made the internet very much suited for public interests and before the ICANN had any control over the internet, it was more of a private domain that was exclusively controlled by the US Federal Government. Many people say the internet developed from resources of the Federal government and the military. However, it is also important to note that neither the federal government nor the military had any role to play in the day to day policy-making, decision-making and management of the internet. The policy making and the management of the internet has developed through interactions between private organisations having certain authorities over the internet. Besides, users and institutions also play a very important role in giving feedback to these organisations. Whatever policies are being developed by the ICANN or Verisign are done considering public benefit. By handing over the internet governance to appropriate authorities, not only are the problems solved regarding usage, content, etc, but day-to-day management issues are also well sorted out . Many people consider that by handing over the internet to private organisations, the US government has not privatised the internet, but has handed over it to the private sector decision-makers that would specialise in framing policies and managing issues with regards to domain names. The NSI was the first private organisation to manage the Domain name registration and allocation. The NSI, ICANN and other such organisation gave a lot of importance to domain name as a unique method of accessing a web site. Hence, today domain name is considered as an important property by several organisations, which would often be using it as a trademark. The issue of cyber-squatting was also prevalent due to the importance given by these organisations over domain name . Many people consider that domain name is private properties. However, considering the oppositions laid by other parties over the specific use of domain names and the implementation of strong registry services, demonstrate that Domain names may not exactly be private property. The ownership of these registries lies with the appropriate organisations, but certain amount of information is available to the public. The ICANN has come out strongly that the information stored in the registry database lies specifically with the owner or applicants, and only the database as a whole is owned by the registration organisation . Property rights and Domain names Property rights help to delimit the extent to which the rights of the individual would apply and the rights of the public would end. Several policies such as endowment, approximation and institutionalisation were applied to ensure proper enforcement of property law. The owner of the property has the right to benefit from his property and reap the fruits. The owner of the IP has to benefit from his right by defending the economic benefits. The owner would be having a certain monopoly with regards to his intellectual property right, but at the same time his ownership cannot be guaranteed, as all intellectual property rights instruments are not perfectly efficient. They would and should ensure certain legitimate use by other parties within certain limits. The owner is left to utilise his intellectual property effectively such that he can exclude others and claim the most economic benefits. In certain cases, there may be certain excesses which would anyway land in the hands of other parties including public and the rivals . In the case of domain names, the IP application seem to be simple and straightforward, but over a period of time a lot of controversies have developed requiring a lot of legal control. Earlier it was even difficult to transfer a domain name used by one individual to another. However, following the implementation of several rules and regulations, it is now possible to transfer the domain registry from one person to another. However, there is still controversy regarding the . com registry agreement between Verisign and the ICANN. Verisign would operate the . com registry and provide registration for . com’s. On the other hand, it would follow the policies laid down by the ICANN, and pay ICANN for its services (of policy-making). Today several registries that carry information and details regarding the registration of domain names do not exactly specify who the owner would be. If such an agreement is missing, then the domain names would be owned by the registries or according to the ICANN it would be owned by the public. If one single organisation owns such a registry, then it would not help to meet the rights of the other parties. For instance, earlier, the NSI only managed the registry of . com’s, and slowly other organisations such as Verisign, ICANN, etc, have been involved. This would ensure greater stability and sustainability. Currently, the registry database has been owned by the organisation that has been merely allocated responsibility. This does not speak legitimately of being the owner of the domain names. Currently, the monopoly of the generic TLD lies with one organisation and the country code TLD rests with certain organisations that the government of the country has allocated to. The ICANN has freely encouraged the transfer and the reassignment of domain name rights from one party to another. The rights are transferred in such a way that they would end up with owners who are in a better position to make effective use of the resources. However, transferability of domain name registries is subjected to certain limitations. Several generic TLD registries and the ICANN have contractual agreements. Either of the parties should be able to transfer the rights to another party with a mutual consent. For example the NSI was taken over by Verisign and so were the registries. However, the person taking over the registry may not always make full benefit of the registry and may not full the responsibilities mentioned. In a dynamic internet environment, there is also the possibility that the new registry owner may not make full use and understand the importance of the contents of the registry. When one company would be buying over the other company, the registry would also play a very important role in the takeover costs. The free transferring of the domain name registries would create an instable domain name registry. In the generic TLD, the registries are monopoly, and hence if the information of the registry is not transferred during ownership transfers, the entire domain would be affected . Any property right instrument should ensure that the owner can exercise his right and also transfer his ownership to other parties freely. However, in the case of registries, as there a lot of problems with regards to stability and continuation of the system, the information of the registry is not a property of the registry organisation, but in the public domain. Domain Name Disputes and Arbitration The sudden explosion over the use of the internet in today’s world has placed domain names in direct conflict with trademarks. The use of a domain name would apply throughout the world, as the internet is accessible throughout the world. On the other hand, the trademark laws of a particular nation would vary with that of another, and hence, there is always a chance that trademark laws and domain name laws are in direct conflict with one another. Domain names would apply to the product and services of a service provider and hence ought to be given the same protection as trademarks . On the other hand, registries that register domain names give the importance of registering on a first-come-first served basis. Oppositions would say domain names contains alphabets and numerals, and hence, qualify to become a trademark. However, no rule is hard and fast. Domain name owners feel that the domain names are not protected under trademark laws as the internet is a global media having no offline limitation. On the other hand, the trademark owners feel that domain names are trademarks and hence are liable to file for dilution, unfair competition, etc . One of the main reasons as to why there is intense disputes with regards to domain names, is due cyber-squatting, in which somebody would register a particular domain name, and later try to sell it to the trademark owner. Domain name registries are accepting registration of domain names on a first-come first-served basis, and hence any person can register a popular trademark as a domain name and later plan to sell to the trademark owner. Often the prices quoted by the cyber-squatters are much more than what is paid of registration. Besides, cyber-squatters can misuse the trademark of the owner, and in turn wrongfully attract customers or tarnish the name of the original trademark owner . In the year 1995, the NSI framed a policy to settle disputes between domain name holders and trademark holders. The NSI is left out of the conflict and does not have the right to suspend the services of the domain name holder. Slowly, the importance of the trademark owners began to be felt. Trademarks owners can extent their services on to the internet, considering that it would be an ideal environment for business purposes. Customers on the other hand may also consider domain names being similar to trademarks for search purposes . One of the means of solving domain name disputes is by adopting the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy implemented by the ICANN in 1999. This is mainly to solve the disputes that arise between domain name owners and trademark owners. The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre would conduct the UDRP procedures. The process is much faster than the courts, and besides the decisions given is credible and impartial. The fees that are imposed are less than the routine courts . ICANN and UDRP The ICANN UDRP has been implemented for several TLD’s including . net, . com, . org, etc. However, it is not applicable to the country level TLD’s, such as . uk, . in, etc. The dispute resolution policy would occur between the domain name holder and the registering authority, such as country-coded domain registering organisation. The UDRP would set the terms and conditions that would arise in case of conflict arise between the domain name holder and any other party, except the registrar (ICANN). According to the ICANN, certain terms and conditions need to be followed when registering for a domain name. The registrant should ensure that all statements made are true, complete, and the domain name would not violate the rights of others. The domain name so registered would not be done for an illegal cause and would not be used to overcome any law. Any action done for the domain name would be lead to the owner being held responsible. The ICANN can transfer, modify or cancel a domain name registered if the domain name registrant requires so, if the court having a jurisdiction requires that the domain name be changed or cancelled or if a relevant administrative body requires that the domain name be changed or expelled. Depending on the situations, the ICANN would make a request to the domain name holder to perform such changes. The URDP procedure would be conducted before an administrative tribunal. Usually such tribunals would come into action whenever a third party has an issue with a particular domain name and files an application for objection before the ICANN. The three elements of conflicts arise include:- †¢ Domain name similar or confusingly similar to a trademark (and the complainant has filed an objection before the URDP) †¢ The registrant has no interests legally over a particular domain name †¢ Domain names which have been registered and utilised in bad faith Only if these three elements are proved during trial before the administrative tribunal (by the complainant) would the complainant be able to prove that the domain name registrant has registered the domain name in bad faith. During the course of trial, the complainant should be able to prove certain evidences:- †¢ The domain name registrant has primarily registered the domain name to sell, rent or transfer the domain name to the true owner later (who is the current trademark holder). †¢ The domain name registrant has registrant has tried to register the domain name with the sole purpose of selling the domain name later to a competitor of the complainant. †¢ The domain name has been registered to prevent the trademark holder from using the domain name for his usual business. †¢ Domain name has been registered for obstructing the usual trade of the complainant. †¢ The domain name registered has registered the domain name so as to create confusion in the public or to have an association with the original trademark holder and gain commercially. There is every chance that the people would get confused in such a situation and may get attracted to the domain name . The domain name holder however has certain rights over the legitimate claim and use of a domain name. Some of the legitimate interests of the domain name holder include:- †¢ The domain name is being utilised for the honest interests of the domain name holder †¢ The domain name holder has created a separate identity for himself and is known most often by the domain name, even though a separate trademark does not exist. †¢ The domain name has been created for legal and non-commercial interests, meeting up to the fair use clauses. †¢ The domain name has not been created to confuse people with an association to a particular trademark or to tarnish/dilute the image of the original trademark holder . The complainant has the choice of selecting an administrative tribunal from the variety offered for handling that particular case. The ICANN would appoint a panel that would discuss the case and offer its decision based on evidence. The complainant or the respondent can file a single administrative hearing before the panel if multiple disputes are present. The administrative panel has the right to discuss all the cases as one or separate each out, depending up on the policy of the ICANN. The fees for the administrative procedure under the URDP would be paid by the complainant, and in case the complainant requires that the panel be increased from one member to three members, the fees would also increase and would be payable by the complainant and the respondent. The ICANN would not participate in any administrative procedure held in front of the administrative panel, and at the same time cannot be held liable for any decisions given by the panel. In case the complainant is able to prove his/her point, the domain name of the respondent would be cancelled by the administrative panel and would be handed over to the complainant. Once the administrative panel makes a decision, the ICANN would be informed, and the efforts would be made by the organisation to inform the public through the website. In certain cases requiring reasonable secrecy, efforts would be made not to publish such information . If the respondent wishes to seek justice, he can further go to the appropriate court and file his case before, it and the ICANN would not interfere in this matter. The ICANN would within 10 days cancel or transfer the domain name, but in case of a lawsuit, it would wait for then 10 days for the notice and not enable the decision of the administrative tribunal. The ICANN may also not implement the decision of the administrative tribunal in case a fair agreement has reached between the complainant and the respondent regarding the use of the domain name. The ICANN and the URDP cannot be considered as evidence in any case regarding a dispute of a domain name . There may be certain periods of time when a domain name cannot be transferred from one party to another. This may include during an administrative enquiry, ongoing court lawsuit, etc. All policies framed by the ICANN would be made known to the public at least 30 days in advance before the policies are implemented. If the policies of the ICANN are not suitable for a particular domain name, then the domain name holder can cancel his registration and reapply, when the rules are changed . The member who belongs to the administrative panel should provide an impartial and independent decision during the process of discussion. In case certain decisions have to be made in an impartial way, then the provider should be informed of the same. The URDP procedure is an instrument meant to ensure interests of the public and the society along with certain number of private interests. The URDP procedures are primarily arranged to manage cases in which domain names have been registered in bad faith, misappropriation or for a wrongful intention, so as to destroy the good name of the trademark owner. These cases would hence extent to situations in which the domain name are similar or confusingly similar to the trademark owner or have been registered in bad faith. The URDP would be doing case-by-case analysis and would be providing an appropriate decision based on the evidence and the facts

How To Revive Ijtihad And Reopen Closed Doors Religion Essay

How To Revive Ijtihad And Reopen Closed Doors Religion Essay This third chapter is to seek what caused stagnation in Ijtihad, than find answers for how to possibly revive and initiate a Revolutionary Contemporary Ijtihad? It looks also at its common misconceptions and finally cites the newly existing subjects; which need an urgent attention from current mujtahids. What Caused Stagnation In Ijtihad? Current Ijtihad is severely suffering crisis of thought and lack of prospective. Ijtihad à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦began to be viewed as limited to legal matters, rather than as methodology for dealing with all aspects of life. (Al-Alwani, 2005, p.65). And even the broad judicial matters that relate to methodology of all aspects of life become narrowed and confined into few legal matters. This limitation made Ijtihad to become more duplicate and unable to prompt solutions, or meet the current challenges. The causes of stagnation are actually at multiple levels; political, social, moral, but the most important for this project is that related to intellect of mujtahids and Ijtihad itself. The methods of reading and interpreting the Islamic heritage itself also suffered from serious lapsesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦reflected in doctrinal splits, political and intellectual muddles. (Tamimi Esposito, 2002, p. 153). There are serious debates and criticism that the Contemporary Ijtihad school has been initiated to oppose the orthodox schools which strictly adheres to Al-Shafi orthodox formulation of the principles of shariah Law, and criticise the Abbasids political coercion of what existed of Ijtihad outside the sphere of the four officially adopted Sunni schools of thought. These debates and criticism reveal the unbridgeable chasm between the adherents of classical schools and some modernist tendencies to seek  more flexible and liberal approach to Ijtihad. People seeking knowledge were thus caught between following alien contemporary thought or sticking to old traditional ways of thinking (Al-Alwani, 2005, p. 1). The core of dispute appears to be about the role and function of Prophetic Sunnah/ Hadith, in the equation of Ijtihad; bedsides to the revering grade of secondary sources such as; consensus, analogy, and Shafi principles! A healthy process of Ijtihad should seek continually for the best way to improve its ways and contemplate on what cause stagnation; rejection of each-others, chronic sectarianism, political oppression, social injustices, economic slowdown and nesting fanaticism. Regrettably  these negativities are even aggravating and running out of control; the Muslim nation lives in turbulence; Palestinian lands are still occupied, imperialist west and sectarian wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somali, Sudanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Muslims are turning against each others, dictatorships flourishing The tricky problem is what caused stagnation in the first place? Imam Shafi as the other early Muslim jurists set the foundation of Muslim classical jurisprudence principles; in order to wipe out the prevailing confusion and bring unity to the Muslims. In theory, Shafii distinguished simply between the argument taken from traditions and the results of systematic thoughtShafii created the usul alfiqh. (Semerdjian, 2008, p.16) He introduced the grade of precedence for the compiled testimonial Based-Hadith of the Prophet as well as the secondary conjectural sources of consensus, analogy, and logical jurisprudential principles, then empowered them to become as revered as the Quranic teachings. He might have a noble intention seeking Muslim unity, but his method is for sure erroneous; as his formulation of principles surely proved not always to be bright. He must have caused a significant problem for every generation, as creativity has stayed confined for over a millennium! The fear of traditionalist that theological debates may create havoc and uncertainty is groundless; as there is already a great deal of havoc and uncertainty because of the accumulated Ijtihad methods and absolute policies. The traditionalist school has to defend its position in free open theological debates, on the base of Quranic teachings that human are able to rationalise for themselves; as it is baseless to claim that such debated matters have already been argued and resolved along before. To advance positively the civilization; every generation need to revise and sift its heritage by retaining the good facets and discarding the bad ones. Within the shariah spheres; the theological debates have to be liberated again from Shafis traditional-blockade. There is prevailing concurrence asserts that the Muslim-thought continued to thrive luminously for three centuries after the Prophets death, introducing such top-calibre historian such as al-Tabari, mathematician such as Al-Khawarizmi, astronomer such as al-Battani, physicist such as Al-Biruni, and many others.  (Said Khan, 1996, p.44). The orthodox school with its anti-evolutionary and absolutist attitude is still the major obstacle for the modern school to re-conquest the Ijtihads territories that was owned once, in the early centuries! This liberal modernist relativist attitude does not wide-open the doors for revolutionary Ijtihad; it is just an add-on tension to the conflict where orthodox Muslims have sporadically labelled them as non-believers and issued death-religious-edicts against them! It will be better to have comprehensive outlook  where absolutism and relativism coexist and cooperate rather as a pair.   One of the key problems challenging the Muslim nation now is frequently swamped in nostalgia for long-ago glories and confined into the past customary approaches of Ijtihad. The hard-hitting equation that the past Muslim scholars paved the way for Western notions of reason which tended to be sophisticatedly categorised for example Western critique of reason is outstandingly segmented into various types of reasoning: critical reason, functional reason, instrumental reason, imperialist reason, abstract reasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ While the Muslim scholars of Ijtihad are still oblivious which definition should be given to reason whether analogical or consensualà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of seriously looking how to revive their Ijtihad and enriching it with the new scientific achievements! 02. How to Revive Ijtihad? The classical mujtahids in naÃÆ' ¯ve attempt to establish a uniting universal rules to solve the legislative problems of their time; they ended in abating the Ummah intellectual powers. A proper Ijtihad would not be initiated unless the call to Ijtihad becomes widespread intellectual (Al-Alwani, 1993a, p.234); emancipated from the existing traditional schools of thought while its religious institutions independent from the manoeuvring of political regimes.   What the Muslim Ummah should bear in mind; without the mean of Ijtihad; it will never rise to the Muslims inspiration, solve their problems, and earn a respectful place in the current world! Regarding the question of who is eligible to practice Ijtihad, Allah endowed every human with the right to reason for himself; it would be absurd to claim that access to reasoning in Muslim Ummah is the exclusive right of a few qualified? Ijtihad is not only open to the ones who displays moral excellence of piety and equity, further attained a high status in Arabic linguistics and branches of jurisprudence; deep understanding of the fundamentals of the original sources and Islamic historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦In fact, every Muslim has the full right to engage in creative and scientific reasoning, as he should not allow Ijtihad to be hijacked by legal scope, a political authority or handful of male jurists, whose Ijtihad achievement is private and suspending female and collective contributions?   Ijtihad should now confront, in Muslim societies, the reality of current circumstances and variations; which urge a serious study of the Muslim societal needs and aspirations for social justice, freedom of expression, economic prosperity,  and moral governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Hence, the required Ijtihad should be revolutionary and make the present-world patent in the light of Islam not rather Islam interpreted in the shade of the present-world as it is reflected indirectly in the tendencies and forms of liberal contemporary Ijtihad. 03. Revolutionary Contemporary Ijtihad: To escape this long lasting vicious circle, the Muslims should think outside the models of past Ijtihad! By going back to the simple basic Quranic precepts such as Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining the good (Al-Marà »f) and forbidding the wrong (Al-Munkar). And it is they who are the successful. (Quran, 3:104) You (Muslims), the best nation ever raised up to mankind commanding the right, warding off the mischief and believing in Allah. (Quran, 3:110) yet, so simple, but religious theologians mystified them by their inconsistent and idiotic offers such as Muslim would get blessing from Quranic recitals even if he might not grasp a word of what he recites; simultaneously, Muslims should not attempt to comprehend the Quran as it is beyond their comprehensions; in actual fact distancing the Muslims from the essence of Islamic message-the actual Quran itself. How it comes that the Sunni traditionalists have claimed for more revered secondary sources because the Quran for them contains finite rulings; whereas Allah himself certified in his Book that is complete: All the creatures on earth and all the birds that fly with wings are communities like you. We did not leave anything out of this scripture, to their Lord; all these creatures will be summoned.(Quran, 6:38). The Quran offers great comprehensive teachings and a right life-guidance to all mankind; as its moral aspects are potently reflected in the successful model of all Allahs Prophets and His last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon all of them). Onceas a source of Muslim creativity the proper theological debates and proper Quranic teachings are liberated, then Ijtihad as rationale and method will automatically rehabilitate and the creative intellectual activity will mechanically flow. On the basis of the universal dogma taught in the Quran; the contemporary Ijtihad should take two principal forms: the practical and the theoretical, In spite of the preservation about philosophy because of 12th century Ghazzalis eminent philosophy-refutation. Muslim societies should allow and encourage the Critical philosophical thinking for inquisitive thought according to the Quranic teachings. While the practical form of Ijtihad should not be just confined in rituals and the dichotomy of what is permissible and not permissible; it has rather to be bravely involved in all levels of legislations at the fields of politics, economics, and social life. Similarly the academic credentials should not be equalised to stern thought or an apprehension for society. Figure.05 summarises what contemporary Ijtihad, in my view, should encompass to stir a revolutionary move towards a fruitful Ijtihad?   All other sciences Challenge/ traditions Primary -Quran Imaginative impulse Qua creative Analogical/ legal Both genders Collective/ communal Consultative/ expertise Figure.05 The Essential Possible Components of revolutionary Ijtihad What Revolutionary Ijtihad should encompass! THE ENTITLED SEVERAL SOURCES CONSULTATIVE APPROACH THE SCOPE SPHERES Sciences Sphere Politico-Societal sphere Religious Sphere TOOLS of RATIONALE/ Rational inquiry Rational Criticism Theological debates In short, the Algerian scholar Malik   Bennabi in his book Les Conditions de la Renaissance (1948) has brought up, the foremost independence; is the mind independence from the lasting effects of both traditional Ijtihad tenets and Western colonialism which nurtured the Muslim feelings with inferiorities and shaped Muslim-mind with fluctuated ideologies. To realise this mind independency, the very basic concept of monotheism (tawhid) should be restored to its origins that a Muslim fears and bows only to Allah, all human are free intellectually and socially equal. From here He would seek and follow what Allah has already defined in His own words as the right-path, this is, in fact, the most significance step towards Ijtihad revival far from misconceptions of the Western influence and classical Ijtihad. 4. Misconceptions in Ijtihad: The aforementioned views concerning current Ijtihad are due to some key misconceptions that have slithered into mujtahids mindset: some scholars state that the Ijtihad-doors are closed because the early scholars have discussed every issue and settle it; simultaneously to practice Ijtihad you need to have the knowledge of one of those leading scholars such as Shafi; the scope of Ijtihad include only definite matters as shariah rule. Ijtihad is the field of only selected elite and only allowed in the absence of clear textà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ijtihad is not a private privilege of some religious or scholarly elite as it does not occurs only in legal areas; therefore Islamic evidences have to be discussed directly upon any novel issues. Ijtihad should be open for private and collective mujtahids based on autonomous ground; as it should cover all areas of a Muslim-life. Ijtihad is also an individual obligation of every Muslimwhether man or women with sound rationale to be involved in the contemporary Ijtihad that can reflect on different old and new subjects. 5. New subjects for Ijtihad: The subjects of Ijtihad are as multiple as the spheres of life; as well as its scope are so-broad and unlimited. Ijtihad subjects might envelop all simultaneous matters of a Muslim-life while its scope might encompass all matters that hold the Muslims interests. Indeed, Islam deals with all life-aspects and covers all human situations. It is therefore not true that Ijtihad should not stipulate upon the complex and far-attaining subjects which need now to be examined and investigated. 1. The mission statement of modern Ijtihad is to spread and imply the creator message of mercy and wisdom to benefit the whole mankind and globe, Islam hence as divine message is global and not monopole of tribe, race, or particular society in particular land. Message of Islam embeds a humanitarian and global spirit; Muslims therefore should reinterpret the classical narrow outlook to divide the world into what is world of Islam and what is world of no-Islam. Emphasis should be placed on responsible citizenship for the whole mankind in the whole globe with all its add-on aspects of other creatures and environments 2. Shariah objectives should be more explored; as its scope in the Quran go beyond the five universal tenets introduced by Al-Shatibiprotection of faith, intellect, life, property, and lineage to safeguarding morality and freedom, prevailing peace and mercy, establishing social justice and order, and protecting peoples stability and interests in all events. Hence; every Ijtihad should observe synchronically ihsan in all the shariah objectives whether universal or conventional; simultaneously eliminate their paradoxes of mental and physical servitude, tyranny, injustice, cruelty, disorder, immorality and harm. The modern Ijtihad should indeed preserve and observe the Shariah objectives and Shariah constitutes. 3. Political and social realities of Modern life have generated about countless and complex problems in the Islamic societies. Following this comprehensive broadened approach necessitates that the contemporary Ijtihads fields and scope should cover all the spheres of what the Muslim-life noticeably occupies and should not stay confined in the jurisprudential notions and their terminological implications; or confined into legal matters in the proficient notions, but they should also cover political, economic, social, administrative, medical, educational, scientific and circumstantial aspects plus any aspect associated in time with the Muslim society. 4. Islamic Economics today need radical U-turn to procure creatively novel Islamic economic theories fully binding to the Quranic ethical guidelines and far away from adaptation to western fluctuated secular economic theories and also far away from reconciling tendencies on the expenses of Islamic Shariah equitable aims. Indeed without denying the due process that incorporates modern elements of the existing economic theories. What cause the Muslim world impoverishment and how can it be altered? How could Muslims build correlation with world economics without compromising their equitable principles of Islam? 5. Muslims today are confronting many new issues that require urgently attention to be inferred such as: The role and rights of women in Islam has to be reconsidered carefully by examining the original scripture-the Quran. The Sunnis and Shiites doctrinal gap and that one existing in between various Islamic schools of thought need a well-devised system to promote similarities and eliminate prejudices; why not dissolve the sectarian spirit among Muslims through spreading tolerance and dialogue. 6. How to create a Unity among Muslim states despite their contingent differences, at the same time how to form Islamic political authority systematically without being subject to influence by the historically formulated Islamic political systems after the demise of the Prophet, and even far from the western doctrine of democracy. How can Muslim states collaborate together and how to create preliminary unity among Muslim states? How to create proper Ethical-based Islamic governmental system that could become even a model to promote democratic systems in the whole world. 7. Modern Ijtihad should look for better concept of formulating treaties whether among the Muslim or across the other humanitarian societies, in a way it preserves the universal ethics and looks for conventional grounds to manage conflicts and clash between mankind societies. Proper Islamic Ijtihad should be used to guide Muslims and to act as model for none Muslims. 8. Ijtihad should inevitably foster a better communication for mutual relations with people of diverse faiths and cultures to promote positive dialogue and peace among various groups and nations around the globe instead of encouraging the impression of a clash across cultures and civilizations. Conclusion: If the current Ijtihad remains unclear and our thinkers stay still captive to that restrictions imposed upon Muslims a long time ago; leaving them with a lot of misconceptions and little room for creative and incentive free thought; there would be never any change in the Muslim Ummah situation: Thus, Allah does not change the condition of any people unless they themselves make the decision to change. If Allah wills any hardship for any people, no force can impede it; for they have none beside Him as Lord and Master. (Quran, 13:11) Hence, all stratums of Muslim-societies regardless to their gender and sect; religious jurists and academic scholars should project mutual sincerity, tolerance, openness, and dialogue to make a change and build a fruitful Ijtihad with a greater Muslim world to represent the Muslim nation with an ideal-image of Islam; work also hand in hand to find an alternative approach for more effective creative Ijtihad which can cope with our current piling-up problems! Chapter IV: Is there any alternative approach to new effective Ijtihad? Introduction: This last chapter is devoted to seek for an alternative approach to Ijtihad where creative impulse and the faculty of imagination are employed to broaden the scope of Ijtihad beyond the narrow legal compass to include all the other subjects of modern life. Then it looks for the suitability of each type of Ijtihad, by pointing out the key points that risen a dispute among Sunnis and Shiite regarding opinionative Ijtihad, and what type of Ijtihad should be forbidden for mujtahids to engage in. Islamic Ijtihad is the sole legitimate device for intellectual rationale within the house of Islam; historically tracing its developments reveals three different modes: for Muslim Ijtihad as a interpretive and legislative tool, a type of technical reasoning for jurists; while for common Muslims Ijtihad was a creative and imaginative impulse. Muslim scholars are still speculative and imprecise about Ijtihad nature and generally the Ijtihad term implies either to an interpretive approach or legal analogical reasoning. Unlike the privileged jurists who knowledgably practiced their Ijtihad technicalities in their private auspices; ordinary Muslims before the nine century employed their initiative, imaginative and creative impulse to practice Ijtihad in their day-to-day life and environment to meet their life necessities within the framework of their Islamic set of beliefs, ethics, and Quranic notions. An Alternative Approach: Qua Creative and Imaginative Impulse: 1. An Alternative Approach: Creative Impulse The contemporary Iranian sociologist, Dr. Ali Shariati suggests an alternative approach to Ijtihad i.e creative impulse and imagination (Ibrahim, 2008, P.188); essentially to emancipate Muslim prospects and construct a new world that would stimulate the Islamic civilization to flourish. Earlier Muslim thinkers of the second period of the nineteenth centuries initiated such a trend of thinking, unfortunately such a refreshing wave was suffocated by the reputed jurists of the time; because for them it might create among the Muslims confusion and disunity which were already swamping the nation. In realty, they did not like the very idea of Ijtihad as creative` and imaginative impulse; because they were captives of classical technical Ijtihad; they also perceived this movement as a threat to their social status and even to their source of revenues. For example the Quran has a great creative impulse as inspiring force behind the birth of the flourishing sciences at a time when Muslim began reflecting on Quranic notions and its inductive reasoning. The dynamic notions of creation and universe in the Quran stirred evolutionary movements; the Quran knowledge also constitute of historical notions that urged its readers to rethink the cited experience of mankind in the Quran à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc Then in so being, by the fourteenth century, a new trend of theological, mathematic, scientific, astronomic and philosophical inquiries were initiated. Sadly this legacy did not last for long, and then the qua creative of Islamic thought endured rapid decline as a result of internal Muslim-turbulences such as the occurrence of rational conservatism Muslims, sectarian storms; sciences declined rapidly while more stiff theory of Ijtihad rulings and narrower prospectus prevailed. The door for Ijtihad was closed and never opened again? Any attempts to free qua creative of Islamic thought -have been tainted by the orthodox and dogmatic radical trends with cynicism kufr and innovations bidah up till now. It seems that the application of Ijtihad that was approved by the Prophet is qua creative thinking as he did not restrain it by methodology; similarly although there is no explicit Quranic text on Ijtihad, the Quranic plea to sensible enquiry and thinking is also not attached by certain attitude of Ijtihad. Hence, it becomes so clear that the Prophet, peace be upon him, also considered Ijtihad as a creative impulse rather than technical and legal reasoning which later was developed in affluence. Alas, the methodology of Ijtihad has been encapsulated in the scope of principle of jurisprudences while they are themselves an artefact of Ijtihad. In the course of time; this methodology has been dramatically shaped by several factors; such as sectarianism, political atmosphere of monarchic caliphate, figurative thought such as analogy (qiyas) and clustered accord such as consensus; and so resulted into an unpleasant cost for Ijtihad. It ludicrously imposes restrictions on thinking by construed culture and untouchable traditions; alternatively, free imaginative and creative reasoning would be enhanced and orientated with an ethical and innate Islamic approach of regulations. 2. An Alternative Approach: Imaginative Thinking to Ijtihad: Imaginative insight is not yet encapsulated by procedures and definitions framework of Ijtihad; Quran seems to provide symbols and markers of the unique thinking attribute such as innateness, imagination, and constructive criticism which inspire quite often the creative mind for new ingenious ideas. The thinking is one of the greatest Creators gifts and sign of His creation that can fit as divine example of Gods power of creation. The imaginative thinking of bien-fait mind of a Muslim thinker can be also glistened by sources and tainted by cultural and religious influence, it is therefore to be explored and explained adequately to avoid being trapped in its deceptive prospects! For instance, imagination is required to grasp the essence of these Sunnis Prophetic statements upheld in a famous hadith in which the Prophet instructed Pursue knowledge even to China, for its pursuance is the sacred duty of every Muslim. ( Al-Bukhari , V. 4, p.357} and in a further hadith explained that wisdom was the lost property of the believer; he was permitted to it wherever he found it. (Al-Tirmidhi, v.1, p.245) Hence, wisdom and knowledge must, therefore have been the ultimate achievements of human marvellous and creative thinking. The outcomes of creative thinking are often experienced in global spirituality and far beyond geographical settings or physical objects. Hopefully those sages of Muslim societies wisely adopt an imaginative thinking in their agendas of deliberations to inspire them into the genuine visions; caused them to narrow the remoteness and division between the intellect and the culture; commit themselves to better serving human fraternity, solidarity and g lobal civilization. Furthermore; Quranic verse which states that Good and evil cannot be equalised. Repel evil with goodness; those who are foes become your best friends. (Quran, 41:34), incite you to envisage a different future, reasoning on this verse without using imagination does not help to get near its essence. So imagination is here an input to a better future, it is also the input to a fine society. Imaginative Ijtihad must cooperate with legal reasoning without being hampered by it. Imaginative and creative Ijtihad should be therefore adopted by mujtahids to practice true Ijtihad, which cannot be a true Ijtihad unless scholars are free to express their opinions and others are free to criticize them if they make errors. (Smock, 2004, p.4) Novelty and success of Muslim nation necessitates the absolute involvement of the average Muslims in practice of a creative impulse Ijtihad to unravel their every day dilemmas. The Rationale is not the only legitimate way to revelation, theological debates should be also left open to average Muslims to express their alternate notions of reality within the given sense of human innateness, which enables them to morally sense what is right and what is wrong. Performing Ijtihad as imaginative impulse, creative thinking or legal reasoning accrues potential dangers that of being confined in the retrains of the past Ijtihad. For example although few Muslim scholars had attempted to ban slavery such as the Algerian scholar Ahmed b. Yahya al-Wansharisi whose famous fatwa described slavery as a humiliation and a servitude caused by previous or current unbelief, and having its purpose as to discourage unbelief(Clearence-Smith, 2006, p.28); most traditional scholars have failed to prohibit slavery, neglecting the essential universal Quranic teachings of human social-equality; since the slavery practice had always subsisted, the scholars were letdown by their poorer imagination and subdued them from accomplishing an insight-change as they could not imagine a world free of slaves, so-many Muslim scholars rather hold on the opinionative Ijtihad of there is nothing wrong with maintaining the evil institutions of slavery up-till- now! Dispute over Opinionative Ijtihad: Verily, the Muslim Shiites and Sunnis opinions are clashingly divided on the issue of what kind of Ijtihad is forbidden in Islam! Unlike fiqh Al-ather narrative based hadith approach to Ijtihad-that thrived in Shiite Jafari, Sunnis Malliki and Hanbali schools, fiqh alray developed in Iraq as (jurisprudence based on personal analogical efforts; This trend, which early on crystallized in the Hanafi School, fostered reasoning by analogy (Qiyas or Ijtihad Alray) and juridical preference (Istihsan). (Crow, 2005, p. 12). But how each school envisaged the trend of Ijtihad is a contradictory problem? This sort of Ijtihad is forbidden according to Shiite Islam and Hanbali School while it is permitted in other Sunni schools and considered as valid proof as Quran and Sunnah in determining Shariah rulings; believing that the Islamic rulings available in Quran and Sunnah are finite and limited while situations and actions are not. They therefore ruled out in the cases which had no ruling by divine text, the mujtahids must exercise his personal thinking to derive a new ruling. This permission has been grounded on some narrated ahadith from the Prophet and the most famous one is the Prophets hadith when he sent to Yemen, the companion Muadh Ibn Jabal, he question him on how he would issue rulings there. He replied: In compliance with the Book. And if it is not in the book? I will exercise the Sunnah of the Prophet. And if it is not in the Sunnah of the Prophet? I will exercise my own opinion (Ajtahidu ra yi) he replied. (Abu Dawud, V.3, p. 303) In fact, Sunni Muslims differ on what is Ijtihad al-ray and how is going to be envisaged as binding testimony in shariah? Al-Shafi`i maintains that the sole valid Ijtihad is qiyas. Nevertheless some other Sunni jurists see beside qyias as Ijtihad alray; finding judicial preference istihsan by jurists personal deliberations in quite independent cases on the base of justice and truth. Similarly with public-interest istislah as weighing one thing as more convenient than another some others counted too as an add-on in opinionative Ijtihad besides to the principles of jurisprudence. (Coulson, 1964, p. 53-64) In contrast; the Shiite Islam believes, that Quran and Sunnah are complete and adequate; it therefore rejects and prohibits both Ijtihad alra y, especially analogy. Shiite Jurists back up their view with so many relevant Quranic verses and ahadith from their Imams and reject the very idea of revering qyias as absolute; because it is a type of conjecture and misleading methodology that can generate various errors. Despite their anti-qiyas attitude, they anonymously adopted the aspects of the principle of jurisprudence. The right of such Ijtihad proved the Sunnis wrong in practice; if everyone is allowed to exercise and revere his own interpretive opinion, and then Islam as religion would be distorted. It might have been for this reason that the validity of independent Ijtihad was gradually cancelled by instructing Sunni mujtahids to exercise taqlid of the four Sunnis famous schools of thought, in the absence of the Abbasid political impulsion. Nevertheless, Ijtihad should not be left hijacked by classical sectarian schools fundamentals and special elite of Muslim scholars whether in Shiites or Sunnis, then what kind of Ijtihad should be forbidden in Islam? 4. The kind of forbidden Ijtihad: Whether is the narrow legal definition of Ijtihad as a struggle of intellectual process to interpret primary sources and derive rulings;

Consumer Behaviour: Apple Iphone4 Users Vs Samsung

Consumer Behaviour: Apple Iphone4 Users Vs Samsung Samsung started off in the year 1938 by Byung-Chull Lee as a small company that started their exporting business in Korea They had exporting of fish, vegetables and fruit to China. It wasnt long before Samsung made their presence in flour mills as well as confectionary machines. After many years of striving there company decided for as a cooperation company in the year 1951. It was then they rapidly grew placing foot in various diversified businesses from heavy, chemical and petrochemical industries in 1958 which then led them to enter into Electronics in 1969. Samsung has now transformed into a one of the Leaders today in the Digital Electronics industry. They have Headquarter in the Samsung Town a town in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung had majorly influenced in the South Korean market and effected the various sectors i.e from economic growth, politics, media as well as the culture. Samsung is responsible for almost 20% of South Koreas exports and revenues. They have grabbed a sort of monopoly place in the South Korean companies. Samsung has set a benchmark in international businesses today and is considered as a role model. Apple Inc. was formed in the year 1976 by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. They began business selling computers, Apple I personal computer kit. Apple is an American based company that has focussed there entire business in the designing, manufacturing and selling various electronic devices, computer software and personal computers. There headquarters is in a suburban city called Cupertino located in California. The company deals in the Macintosh line of computers which are the initial successful hardware products, the iPod, iPhone, iPad. Apple operating system the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media browser; iLife is the suite required for multimedia and creativity software. Apple recently considered as one of the prime company in view of market capitalization, and the leading company in terms of technology in the world. Apple was stated as the admired company that was published by Fortune magazine 2011. The state of the art design and innovation in features was what made Apple to reach heights even without much of investments into advertisements, Apple had achieved a top solo grade in the consumer electronics industry which completely boosted its brand image to heights never attained by any other.. This gained them a devoted customer base that are die heart Apple brand, especially in the USA. Product Overview Samsung Galaxy S2 Apple iPhone 4S SIZE Dimensions 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm Weight 116 g 140 g DISPLAY Type Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Size 480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches (~217 ppi pixel density) 640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches (~330 ppi pixel density) Gorilla Glass display Scratch-resistant oleophobic surface TouchWiz UI v4.0 Multi-touch input method Multi-touch input method Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate Three-axis gyro sensor Touch-sensitive controls Proximity sensor for auto turn-off Proximity sensor for auto turn-off Gyroscope sensor Internal 16GB/32GB storage, 1 GB RAM 16/32/64 GB storage, 512 MB RAM Card slot microSD, up to 32GB, 8 GB included, buy memory No CAMERA Primary 8 MP, 32642448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash 8 MP, 32642448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash Features Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization Touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, HDR Video Yes, [emailprotected] Yes, [emailprotected], LED video light, video stabilization, geo-tagging Secondary Yes, 2 MP Yes, VGA FEATURES OS Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread), planned upgrade to v4.0 iOS 5 Chipset Exynos Apple A5 CPU Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 GPU Mali-400MP PowerVR SGX543MP2 Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS No GPS Yes, with A-GPS support Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator No Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic MicroSIM card support only NFC support (optional) Scratch-resistant glass back panel TV-out (via MHL A/V link) Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic SNS integration Siri natural language commands and dictation Digital compass iCloud cloud service BATTERY Standard battery, Li-Ion 1650 mAh Standard battery, Li-Po 1432 mAh Stand-by Up to 710 h (2G) / Up to 610 h (3G) Up to 200 h (2G) / Up to 200 h (3G) Talk time Up to 18 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 8 h 40 min (3G) Up to 14 h (2G) / Up to 8 h (3G) Market and Competitor Analysis During Q2 of 2011 they had sales of 428.7 million units in the international sales of mobile devices to end users. A direct 16.5 percent increase from the second quarter of the previous year 2010 according to Gartner Inc. as shown in Table 1.1. Smartphones sales were up 74 percent year-on-year and accounted for 25 percent of overall sales in the second quarter of 2011, up from 17 percent in the second quarter of 2010. Consumers in developed markets are purchases midrange Android smartphones over feature phones, mainly seen due to carriers and manufacturers promotions. 1(Gatner) Since we are focussing on the smart-phone segment, we have considered companies such as Nokia, Samsung, Apple RIM. Nokia is still leads in market share in the overall industry. But we can see that in smartphone segment the sales is low due to the highly competitive market that reduced the customer demand towards Symbian. Samsung, attained a rapid growth in the Smartphone segment during the recent years. Galaxy-S2 sold about nearly 10milion units by end of November. The strong performance in smartphones helped in achieving a good crunch of market share to become the third best vendor in this segment. Apple, iphone 4S received a overwhelming response from the consumers as it had 4 million pre- orders. The growth mainly came from 42 new carriers and 15 New countries in Q2 2011. Total Apple sales coverage is in around 100 countries. RIM, market share in smart phone declined by 12% by Q2 2011. It had lost its position No.5 in the international mobile device to a Chinese vendor called ZTE. Among all the smart-phone segments our major focus is between iphone (4/4S) and Samsung Galaxy S2. From the below table of SWOT analysis it is seen that both have a threat of intense competition and highly developed market. Apple iphone(4/4S) is having a advantage of first mover. Samsung Galaxy S2 is considered to be a price-value product which is its major strength but lacks the Brand value in comparison to the Apple iphone. Samsung Galaxy S2 Strengths Price-value product Good Distribution channels Variety in Product Line for all segments 4G is available in S2 Rich User Interface Wide Screen, Gorilla glass Weakness Looks not impressive Lacks Brand value Opportunities Google Support Independent Hardware Unit New status symbol Threats Intense competition Highly Developed Market Apple iphone 4 Strengths First Mover Style/ Brand Rich User Interface User Base Hype Opportunities Existing Applications Loyal customer base Distribute itune content Siri Market Positioning Apple has already established a place in the minds of the people that it is a very high value product and is portrayed as a sign of perfection. Apple iphone quickly jumped the starting phase and straight away went to growth by their rising sales, growing number of competitors and strong awareness. This is made possible only by understanding the unrealized needs, design and ability to operate with any computer operating system. After the launch of iphone a new era of touch was created that made the other competitors to launch similar kind of product in this segment. Samsung being one of the major player introduced Corby which became a hit among the value consumers, and then in order to gain market share of the high end consumers they launched the Galaxy series. Targeting the females Samsung had launched Galaxy S2 in Pink colour which also gained a lot of new customers for them. In Q2 Q3 Apple had a sale of 38million worldwide whereas then Samsung had a sale of 10 million in the same quarters. Company Focussed Competition Focussed Pushes the Boundaries Leader: Apple Challenger: Samsung Stays within the Boundaries Niche: Lava/Spice Follower: LG/Motorola/HTC Apple: Prelaunch Strategy Public Relations Blogs Sneak Peak on RD info Buzz Viral marketing Launch Strategy Print Media TV Outdoor Media Social Media Apple.com Post Launch Strategy Carrier handled advertisement Apple.com Independent review websites Digital Campaigns Samsung also have push pull strategy for the product launches and promotion of the products. Compare to Apple, Samsung creates buzz among the consumers by showcasing their products in trade shows exhibitions. Samsung also launches the teaser videos and print media information to promote the product before the launch. In Dubai there are no banners or print media advertisements for Apple, however there are many banners available for Galaxy S2 at different places. Samsung have many official You Tube channels for the different geographic locations. To compete with Apple in USA Samsung launched an official signup page for Galaxy S2 where potential buyers can login to understand the various features of the phone and chat with the official customer support centre. As a challenger strategy Samsung is into aggressive advertisement against the Apple with series of new advertisement especially for US market in which they have shown the new technology innovation of 4G which is currently not su pported by any iPhone. For Samsung: Prelaunch Strategy Public Relations Exhibitions Trade shows Teaser Videos Print Media You Tube Videos Launch Strategy Print Media You Tube Videos Intense TV Advertising Outdoor Media Social Media Samsung.com Post Launch Strategy Banners Promoters Dealer Advertisements Offers Independent review websites Trade shows/Exhibitions Pricing Strategy iPhone is available in three different versions of Phone memory: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB whereas Samsung is only available in 16GB only. Both are available in Locked and unlocked versions. Locked versions are normally available in 2years contract in USA (ATtT), UAE (Etisalat du), India (Airtel Aircel). The below table gives the pricing of the two smart-phone giants in three different regions: In terms of pricing Apple has come up with many following strategies: To reach out to the Maximum consumers they have launched locked and unlocked versions with significant price differences in some countries. Their pricing differs depending on country to country in Asian countries they have positioned as a Luxury product. Prices are higher than their competitors because of people perceive them as the state of the art technology. Apple has fixed pricing strategy, changes in pricing occurs only when a newer version of the product is launched. In terms of pricing Samsung has come up with many following strategies: To reach out to the Maximum consumers they have launched locked and unlocked versions with significant price differences in some countries. Samsung provides a normal pricing structure irrespective of the geographical location. Samsung maintains prices at a competitive price with their competitors. Samsung is now gradually reducing prices in order to maximize sales and attract new customers to improve their market penetration. Consumer Behaviour Methodology We have conducted the consumer behaviour survey by framing a questionnaire and distributed it to the users of iPhone Samsung Galaxy S2 in DIAC(Dubai International Academic city). We have considered a sample size of 40 constituting of 20 Samsung Galaxy S2 users and 20 Apple iPhone 4 users(as iPhone 4S has not been officially launched in Dubai yet). With the feedback we have received through our survey we are conducting our statistical analysis and the results are as given below: The two main objectives of this survey was to understand the decision process of the consumer before purchasing the phone. The 2nd objective is to measure the level of consumer satisfaction among the two smartphone users. Product Attributes influencing the decision making in buying the phone: The three basic attributes which came as an important factor after analyzing the data are Brand value, Performance Features/Specifications. Brand Value is very important among the consumers of both Galaxy S2 iPhone4. It has been seen in our survey 59% were Apple users who got more influenced by Apple Brand to purchase their phone compared to Samsung that is 41%. Performance is an extremely important factor for both iPhone as well as Galaxy users. As shown in the piechart the S2 users were more influenced by performance of the phone as this one of the attribute that led them to prefer Samsung smartphones to the iPhone. Features/Specifications is an extremely important influential factor for purchasing phone for the users of iPhone and Galaxy S2. For Galaxy S2 it is inferred that 54% users were influenced by this to purchase the phone compared to iPhone which is just 46%. Medium of Attributes that led to this decision: This is to understand the various medium which has played a important role to facilitate the decision process. In both Samsung Galaxy S2 and iPhone4 word of mouth and advertising played a crucial role where as industrial publications and trade show events were not that impactful. As seen in the pie chart Samsung has 64% and iPhone 4 has just 36%. Being a challenger Galaxy S2 and shown above having high influence for its performance and specifications word of mouth has become an important factor. Samsung has been more influential with its advertisements compared to Apple as seen in the chart towards the left. They used Teaser videos and was more aggressive in their Advertising strategy for Galaxy S2. Inferences of the product through Advertisements: There were certain attributes shown in the Ad for the two products. After watching the Ads consumers had perceived that these attributes, Product is of High Quality, Brand Awareness, Were the Claims made believable are important than other attributes. Inspite of the aggressive advertisements strategy that Samsung had shown, Apple still managed to portray their product as a High Quality product from very few of their official advertisements. As we have seen the Brand value is a high influential factor while purchasing iPhone. This must have been generated through brand awareness in which advertisement is one of the factors. As we have seen from the Unique selling proposition, Apple had always shown advertisements stressing more upon their Applications. This claim made by them is more believable, as seen from the pie chart. Customers who relied on Internet Research for their Decision of their Phone It is seen from the people we surveyed that there are high number of people who use Internet to understand the overall specifications of the phone. From this we can infer that Internet is a major factor for making their decision for the product. From the results we derived its been seen that Review websites played a major role in the customers who bought Samsung Galaxy S2 whereas You Tube and Company websites were most influenced in the buying process of iPhone4 users. Its quite clear from the chart that most of these two smartphone users have experienced the phone prior to purchase. From the bar chart we interpret that the highest number of people using the Samsung Galaxy S2 got inspired by using their friends phone which led them to the purchase of the same. However, in the case of iPhone both friends phone and company showroom both play a vital role. As the major dealers like Sharaf DG and Jumbo they have a exclusive section for iPhone. Its clear from the bar charts that majority of iPhone users are all Die-Heart fans whereas Galaxy S2 users are all Inspired users who experienced the phone and then decided to have it. In this we can see that Apple has a strong Brand Loyal customer Base. Now we arrived to the final phase of our survey where we measure the customer satisfaction post purchase of the Phone From the Survey we inferred that majority of the users in both the brand smartphones are very` satisfied and agreeing that the phone is fun and easy to use. However, the iPhone4 had a higher count in the number of people who found it more fun and easy. We inferred from the pie chart that majority of the users of Galaxy S2 as well as iPhone4 were Very satisfied about the Quality made of the phone. However, the iPhone4 had a higher count in the number of people who had said has a better quality make of the case. The majority of consumers were very satisfied with the features which were suiting there need in both the smart phone as we can see from the graph. However, the Galaxy S2 had a higher count in the number of people who had the opinion that it suited their needs. The internet experience is having more satisfied consumer for iphone compare to Samsung galaxy S2. Nonetheless majority of the mobile users were very satisfied about their Internet access experience. When it comes to application majority of the two phone users were very satisfied with what their phone provided them. But then when we compare between the two phones we see that iPhone4 had more number of people who were very satisfied with their online Application store as they have an app for almost anything. Both the phone users had majority users who were very satisfied with the photo and video clarity their phone had, but comparing between the two phones its seen in the piechart, iPhone has more very satisfied customers in respect to Photo and camera clarity. Sound Performance was ranked very satisfied for both the phone user in majority, Galaxy S2 has more very satisfied customers compared to iPhone4 as we can see from the pie chart. Clearly from the bar chart its visible that iPhone users are not happy with the Battery Backup the phone provides, whereas for Galaxy S2 its having an uneven distribution so what we understand is the phone gives different battery backup depending on the purpose of what the user does the most. SWOT Analysis on basis of Consumer Behaviour Survey On the basis of our consumer behaviour survey we have redefined our SWOT Analysis Apple iPhone 4 Strengths First Mover Brand of High Quality Awareness Loyal User Base Photo Video Clarity Application store Use Internet Access Experience Weakness Limited Distribution channels Less Advertisement Less Word of Mouth Opportunities Existing Applications Loyal customer base Threats Gorilla Attack Intense competition Highly Developed Market Samsung Galaxy S2 Strengths Feature/Specification Performance Good Distribution channels Sound Performance Suiting Customer Needs Battery Backup Satisfaction Opportunities Word of Mouth Advertisement Recommendations For Samsung Samsung should focus on brand building strategies. Samsung should tactically plan and rectify, to create a feeling among the customers that Galaxy S2 is a reliable product of high quality. That company needs to focus on to influence people to opt their product in the coming future through internet and social media. For Apple Apple should focus more on advertisements. Apple should make their product available by opening more company stores. Apple should focus on the product availability on the global scale after the product launch. Conclusion It is seen from our studies that this industry is having a strong competitive scenario and technologically innovative segment. Due to its high aggressive nature there is a constant change in the innovation of the products within less span of time. In both the product Galaxy S2 iPhone4 having an edge over each other in some or the other attributes for e.g. Apple is known for its brand value where as Samsung is known for its performance. Samsung being a challenger is more aggressive towards its marketing strategy and in recent times they have started Gorilla attacks especially in American European Markets. Compare to Apple Samsung have wide range of distribution across worldwide which is their major strength. The major strength for Apple is its large loyal customer base without any effective marketing they are able to maintain it. There is a belief that the challenger may soon will become the leader in this segment but as we have seen in past that Apple has always brought innovation in their product and with this they have gain first mover advantage and able to capture high market share. So in future we believe that there will be a fierce competition in the smart phone segment not only between these two companies but with other companies coming in the picture to gain significant market share.

Absinthe Essay -- Exploratory Essays

Absinthe Since its introduction to the drinking community, absinthe has the most compelling history of any liqueur. The drink, nicknamed the green fairy, gained popularity in the artistic social circle. Among its devotees were Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Dowson, Edgar Allen Poe, Verlaine, and Vincent Van Gough. As time continued, absinthe soared in popularity, reaching the everyday, working-class man. By 1910, French refiners produced thirty-six million liters of absinthe a year (Kiffel). As the drink became increasingly popular, questions concerning the safety of the drink arose leading to bans by almost every European nation between the years 1912 and 1915. While its reign was short, absinthe signified early twentieth century counterculture, leading people to refer to it as â€Å"the drink of Parisian abandon† (Walsh). Absinthe’s two main components were alcohol and thujone, a substance similar to THC. It was made out of a combination of aniseed, fennel, hyssop, and lemonbalm along with lesser amounts of angelica, star anise, dittany, juniper, nutmeg, and veronica (Baggot). These ingredients were mixed with wormwood plants and water. The mixture was then distilled. Dried herbs, including more wormwood, were added to the distillate, which was then diluted with alcohol to give it a concentration of seventy-five percent alcohol by volume (Walsh). If done correctly, the finished product had a mild green color and an extremely bitter taste. In 1792, Pierre Ordinaire concocted absinthe as a cure-all. The potion remained in relative obscurity until Major Dubied bought the rites to the elixir. Within ten years, he established the Perrod-Fils absinthe company. In 1844, the French military purchased an immense ... ...nd a threat to European culture. Starting with Sweden in 1912, absinthe was banned from almost every nation, ending with France in 1915. Works Cited Walsh, Don. â€Å"Absinthe & Thujone†. www.chem.ox.ac.uk/mom/absinthe/absinthe.html. This source provided information about the chemical makeup of absinthe. It also talked about the reasons for its ban and the possible health effects of the drink. Kiffel, James. â€Å"Absinthe†. www.sepulchritude.com/chapelperilous/absinthe.html. (1997). This source provided a good historical view of the drink and its relation to the times in which it was popular. Baggot, Mathew. â€Å"Facts about Absinthe.† www.sepulchritude.com/chapelperilous/absinthe/absinthe-faq.html. (1943). This source provided general information about absinthe such as its main components, the way it was drunk, and its relation to other alcoholic drinks.

The Empirical Reality of Walden Two of B.F. Skinner Essay -- Psycholog

The Empirical Reality of Walden Two B.F. Skinner’s Walden Two is the fictitious account of an eclectic group’s visit to a modern utopian community started by psychologist T.E. Frazier. Authors often depict â€Å"perfect societies† in novels, as the subject holds wide appeal and great creative opportunity. Aldous Huxley envisioned a Brave New World; Lois Lowry wove the tale of The Giver. What sets Walden Two apart from such books? Simply stated, Skinner’s work truly does not seem as if it belongs in the fantasy or fiction genre, as the others do. The novel reads as an actual experiment, albeit one performed in a text-only version of the world. The author perfectly follows the steps of a scientific investigation throughout the plot, meeting nearly all goals of the scientific enterprise. This approach leaves readers practically incapable of brushing the novel’s bold statements off as fiction: to do so feels equivalent to denying a proven reality. For a positive future, it is only common sense that a generation of healthy children must be raised. A stable family unit and personal attention seem logical ways to rear successful young people. Yet statistics show that in 2003, approximately 37,000 marriages and 21,000 divorces occurred in Kentucky; other states showed very similar ratios, such as Ohio, with about 73,000 marriages and 40,000 divorces (NVSR, Pg. 6). Clearly, many students already have â€Å"broken homes† as obstacles, but the homogenous treatment of children in schools adds even more difficulty. Despite pre-existing differences in personal preferences, subject aptitudes, and upbringings, for instance, the system calls for children to move along a determined national curriculum of academic acceptabilit... ...hiatry Vol. 8, No. 1. 2003 . United States. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports Vol. 52 Num. 22. â€Å"Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2003.† 10 June 2004 . WebMD Health. Health Guide A-Z: Stress Management. â€Å"Effects of Stress.† Page 2. 4 Nov. 2002. . Weiten, Wayne. â€Å"The Research Enterprise in Psychology.† Psychology Themes and Variations. 6th ed. 2005. The Empirical Reality of Walden Two of B.F. Skinner Essay -- Psycholog The Empirical Reality of Walden Two B.F. Skinner’s Walden Two is the fictitious account of an eclectic group’s visit to a modern utopian community started by psychologist T.E. Frazier. Authors often depict â€Å"perfect societies† in novels, as the subject holds wide appeal and great creative opportunity. Aldous Huxley envisioned a Brave New World; Lois Lowry wove the tale of The Giver. What sets Walden Two apart from such books? Simply stated, Skinner’s work truly does not seem as if it belongs in the fantasy or fiction genre, as the others do. The novel reads as an actual experiment, albeit one performed in a text-only version of the world. The author perfectly follows the steps of a scientific investigation throughout the plot, meeting nearly all goals of the scientific enterprise. This approach leaves readers practically incapable of brushing the novel’s bold statements off as fiction: to do so feels equivalent to denying a proven reality. For a positive future, it is only common sense that a generation of healthy children must be raised. A stable family unit and personal attention seem logical ways to rear successful young people. Yet statistics show that in 2003, approximately 37,000 marriages and 21,000 divorces occurred in Kentucky; other states showed very similar ratios, such as Ohio, with about 73,000 marriages and 40,000 divorces (NVSR, Pg. 6). Clearly, many students already have â€Å"broken homes† as obstacles, but the homogenous treatment of children in schools adds even more difficulty. Despite pre-existing differences in personal preferences, subject aptitudes, and upbringings, for instance, the system calls for children to move along a determined national curriculum of academic acceptabilit... ...hiatry Vol. 8, No. 1. 2003 . United States. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports Vol. 52 Num. 22. â€Å"Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2003.† 10 June 2004 . WebMD Health. Health Guide A-Z: Stress Management. â€Å"Effects of Stress.† Page 2. 4 Nov. 2002. . Weiten, Wayne. â€Å"The Research Enterprise in Psychology.† Psychology Themes and Variations. 6th ed. 2005.

Mcmaster Children’s Hospital Essay

â€Å"Mcmaster Children’s Hospital is a caring for our future, one child at a time. † It was distinguished as one of the hospitals who provided the best care for patients and is also awarded with Profiling Excellence in Family-Centered Care in 2008. Aside from receiving various awards and recognition for the quality of their services it is also one of the largest pediatric hospital in Canada and ranked second busiest in Ontario. It also has 40 pediatric clinics with diverse specialization which can treat illness of almost any kind. It is like a one stop shop wherein all that you need in child care treatment, child care specialists and medicines are all there. In addition, it has also specialization on child care disorder. Because of its size and specialization a number of clients and patients can be accommodated immediately once they approach the lobby area. Superior care can be given to children because of it advocates the â€Å"inherent worth of youth and children†. Another characteristic of Mcmaster that set it aside from other hospitals is that it does not surpassed the opinion of patients (the youth and the children) as well as their families in deciding for their welfare. Before deciding for a certain treatment and the like they consult first the concern people. As it is best for children it is also recommended for babies because of its newly installed intensive care units for neonatal. It best fits pregnant women for the superior caring of their unborn children because it can give thorough care to the pregnant women beginning from pre-natal stage to post-natal stage. As it advocates innovation, one may experience an extraordinary hospital treatment because of its innovative facilities. As it advocates quality service, a patients, clients, or visitors are surely to experience a comfortable stay in the hospital. The nurses and medical practitioners are all very accommodating and are very helpful in any way possible. For the families, the Mcmaster hospital is an absolute safe alternative haven for your children and relatives who happened to visit or to be confined in the hospital. All of the staff has proper identification and name tags, likewise, the patients, have identification bands. In case that someone needs assistance whether in rooms or bathrooms, call bells are available to inform nurses. As for the hospital’s organization, the structure is formal with moderate degree of bureaucracy. The decision making process is participative, with the patients, clients and residents as partner in decision making. Although, the Mcmaster organization is generally stable and the functions can be considered as highly effective and efficient there are also some improvement that can be done to the organization for superior achievement of goals and better-quality satisfaction of customers. First, the Mcmaster organization may opt to post more and detailed information on their websites regarding their facilities and services. The customers can generate more information and knowledge about their services if this can be done. Another change that can be implemented is the adaptation of modern medical record technology. Several years ago, technology adaptation in medical recording has hailed a tremendous welcome from medical practitioners and health care providers. The goal of this is to ensure a secure exchange of health matter information through out the national system. The basic assumption of the electronic medical record directive is to secure accessibility to patients’ health information, whenever and wherever needed. Improving the quality of service requires a change in the system that will also bring forth efficiency which is the very heart of the so called EMR. The modern way of recording can be more protective for patients’ information. It will serve as a tool in promoting a more secure environment. Even the staff is assigned to l00 patients; he/she will be able to enjoy a hassle free recording because of the automatic commands in computer that will speed up the process unlike the manual recording. The EMR will help decrease errors in medical recording. The medical attendants to patients’ time will be also increase because there is no longer need for checking on the time consuming paper records and correcting on the misreported patients information and diagnoses.

Childhood Memories

In every human life, there is an unforgettable childhood experience. There could be many experiences or just one. These journeys can be good or bad and possibly end up beneficial or not. I have had a few bad ones. However, they occurred around times when I was trying to fit in and find my inner-self. In a sense, these experiences help to define my personality. In one way or another, bad experiences can lead to great success. Now I can talk about my experiences and what they led to. This is my story. Over the years between the third grade to the eighth grade, I have tremendously struggled with friendships. To be popular was a big need during the late 1990's and early 2000's. Kids were hanging out at basketball and football games, going to school dances, starting to date and have crushes on other students, and earn reputations throughout the school. Some students already had a reputation of being very `popular' while some were trying to fit in. I was one of those students. However, as time went by, I started to fit in more with cliques and different groups of friends. It sounded great however; being popular also comes with consequences. There are rumors that could be spread about you or someone else with your name in it.  Like read about memories? Read also  Flashbulb memory! Well, that's what happened to me. I was a friend of a student named Lorena. Our friendship was really good that we would hang out after school with other friends after riding the school bus home. As our friendship grew, so did our trust between each other. She told me that she had a crush on another student. I felt so special and popular but my 15 minutes of popularity would not last long. One day, Lorena and I had an argument. I threatened to tell people about her crush on another student. In reality, I never told anyone about her crush. One day, I was threatened verbally by some of her friends and I felt so bad. From that point on, I learned that being popular is not a big deal. Its consequences can put a damper on people's lives and can put people under pressure such as my situation. That means, people will remember or you will remember how you used to be. In addition, people will see how you will handle situations under pressure. If you don't come out strong, you will go from extremely popular to unrecognized. My 15 minutes of popularity was good to experience, but I'm glad the time was up. The consequences of being popular were more effective than the popular feeling itself. My last experience came with not being alert to public dangers. The cause of this experience was partially my fault. I will never forget that day. I was in the 7th grade and it was either a Tuesday or Wednesday night at the Wizards game. I was with my after-school group. Some of us had separated and looked around the stores inside the MCI Center. I went into the Discovery Center with one of the students from the program. We looked around and enjoyed some of the scientific display models. On our way out of the Center, we happened to encounter these young teenagers or younger in the elevator with us. There were 3 of them who were from either DC or Maryland. They looked sort of troubled but I was not giving them much attention. While in the elevator, one of them asked us for a dollar. I responded with saying of five dollars, which was larger than they asked for. From this moment, I was not street smart at because I was raised with out any street troubles and had no knowledge on how to be safe while you some talks to you that you do not know. My friend jumped out the elevator on purpose and left me in with the other guys. The three of them decided to tackle me and held me on the ground. Then, one of them reached in my pockets and took a dollar. I had realized I was just robbed. After 5 seconds, the elevator made it to ground level. When I got exited the elevator, security and my after-school chaperones came and made sure everything was all right. I was in complete shock and people asked me about what happened and I said to them that they took a dollar from me. In my mind, I was thinking of what I could have done to make the situation better. The reminisce lasted several months. This incident put a major effect in my life and it changed my personality. I am much more cautious of my surroundings and whom I hang out with. I definitely learned a lot from this situation. Those were my unforgettable experiences. I learned that being popular is not the best thing. If you just be yourself, people will accept you for who you are and not for what you are trying to be. Also, the elevator incident warned me that I need to be more alert of my surroundings. I should of never told those guys I had money in the first place. Secondly, I could have founded another way to get to the ground level once I saw those guys of what they're appearance looked like. I really learned from these situations. It's hard to predict when you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unless you use your senses, you definitely can determine what can happen. These were great experiences for me to go through. If it were not for these experiences, I would be a fake fool and a mess. Now, I have a great personality and street smarts. I have made remarkable achievements. I am one of many people who probably went though experiences like that, that made a change for the better. This experience had a good and bad part of it, but there was a lesson learned from it. There will always be a lesson learned from any experience and they are a good way for people to look at if they are having problems themselves. Experiences are part of life. Childhood Memories In every human life, there is an unforgettable childhood experience. There could be many experiences or just one. These journeys can be good or bad and possibly end up beneficial or not. I have had a few bad ones. However, they occurred around times when I was trying to fit in and find my inner-self. In a sense, these experiences help to define my personality. In one way or another, bad experiences can lead to great success. Now I can talk about my experiences and what they led to. This is my story. Over the years between the third grade to the eighth grade, I have tremendously struggled with friendships. To be popular was a big need during the late 1990's and early 2000's. Kids were hanging out at basketball and football games, going to school dances, starting to date and have crushes on other students, and earn reputations throughout the school. Some students already had a reputation of being very `popular' while some were trying to fit in. I was one of those students. However, as time went by, I started to fit in more with cliques and different groups of friends. It sounded great however; being popular also comes with consequences. There are rumors that could be spread about you or someone else with your name in it.  Like read about memories? Read also  Flashbulb memory! Well, that's what happened to me. I was a friend of a student named Lorena. Our friendship was really good that we would hang out after school with other friends after riding the school bus home. As our friendship grew, so did our trust between each other. She told me that she had a crush on another student. I felt so special and popular but my 15 minutes of popularity would not last long. One day, Lorena and I had an argument. I threatened to tell people about her crush on another student. In reality, I never told anyone about her crush. One day, I was threatened verbally by some of her friends and I felt so bad. From that point on, I learned that being popular is not a big deal. Its consequences can put a damper on people's lives and can put people under pressure such as my situation. That means, people will remember or you will remember how you used to be. In addition, people will see how you will handle situations under pressure. If you don't come out strong, you will go from extremely popular to unrecognized. My 15 minutes of popularity was good to experience, but I'm glad the time was up. The consequences of being popular were more effective than the popular feeling itself. My last experience came with not being alert to public dangers. The cause of this experience was partially my fault. I will never forget that day. I was in the 7th grade and it was either a Tuesday or Wednesday night at the Wizards game. I was with my after-school group. Some of us had separated and looked around the stores inside the MCI Center. I went into the Discovery Center with one of the students from the program. We looked around and enjoyed some of the scientific display models. On our way out of the Center, we happened to encounter these young teenagers or younger in the elevator with us. There were 3 of them who were from either DC or Maryland. They looked sort of troubled but I was not giving them much attention. While in the elevator, one of them asked us for a dollar. I responded with saying of five dollars, which was larger than they asked for. From this moment, I was not street smart at because I was raised with out any street troubles and had no knowledge on how to be safe while you some talks to you that you do not know. My friend jumped out the elevator on purpose and left me in with the other guys. The three of them decided to tackle me and held me on the ground. Then, one of them reached in my pockets and took a dollar. I had realized I was just robbed. After 5 seconds, the elevator made it to ground level. When I got exited the elevator, security and my after-school chaperones came and made sure everything was all right. I was in complete shock and people asked me about what happened and I said to them that they took a dollar from me. In my mind, I was thinking of what I could have done to make the situation better. The reminisce lasted several months. This incident put a major effect in my life and it changed my personality. I am much more cautious of my surroundings and whom I hang out with. I definitely learned a lot from this situation. Those were my unforgettable experiences. I learned that being popular is not the best thing. If you just be yourself, people will accept you for who you are and not for what you are trying to be. Also, the elevator incident warned me that I need to be more alert of my surroundings. I should of never told those guys I had money in the first place. Secondly, I could have founded another way to get to the ground level once I saw those guys of what they're appearance looked like. I really learned from these situations. It's hard to predict when you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unless you use your senses, you definitely can determine what can happen. These were great experiences for me to go through. If it were not for these experiences, I would be a fake fool and a mess. Now, I have a great personality and street smarts. I have made remarkable achievements. I am one of many people who probably went though experiences like that, that made a change for the better. This experience had a good and bad part of it, but there was a lesson learned from it. There will always be a lesson learned from any experience and they are a good way for people to look at if they are having problems themselves. Experiences are part of life. Childhood Memories In every human life, there is an unforgettable childhood experience. There could be many experiences or just one. These journeys can be good or bad and possibly end up beneficial or not. I have had a few bad ones. However, they occurred around times when I was trying to fit in and find my inner-self. In a sense, these experiences help to define my personality. In one way or another, bad experiences can lead to great success. Now I can talk about my experiences and what they led to. This is my story. Over the years between the third grade to the eighth grade, I have tremendously struggled with friendships. To be popular was a big need during the late 1990's and early 2000's. Kids were hanging out at basketball and football games, going to school dances, starting to date and have crushes on other students, and earn reputations throughout the school. Some students already had a reputation of being very `popular' while some were trying to fit in. I was one of those students. However, as time went by, I started to fit in more with cliques and different groups of friends. It sounded great however; being popular also comes with consequences. There are rumors that could be spread about you or someone else with your name in it.  Like read about memories? Read also  Flashbulb memory! Well, that's what happened to me. I was a friend of a student named Lorena. Our friendship was really good that we would hang out after school with other friends after riding the school bus home. As our friendship grew, so did our trust between each other. She told me that she had a crush on another student. I felt so special and popular but my 15 minutes of popularity would not last long. One day, Lorena and I had an argument. I threatened to tell people about her crush on another student. In reality, I never told anyone about her crush. One day, I was threatened verbally by some of her friends and I felt so bad. From that point on, I learned that being popular is not a big deal. Its consequences can put a damper on people's lives and can put people under pressure such as my situation. That means, people will remember or you will remember how you used to be. In addition, people will see how you will handle situations under pressure. If you don't come out strong, you will go from extremely popular to unrecognized. My 15 minutes of popularity was good to experience, but I'm glad the time was up. The consequences of being popular were more effective than the popular feeling itself. My last experience came with not being alert to public dangers. The cause of this experience was partially my fault. I will never forget that day. I was in the 7th grade and it was either a Tuesday or Wednesday night at the Wizards game. I was with my after-school group. Some of us had separated and looked around the stores inside the MCI Center. I went into the Discovery Center with one of the students from the program. We looked around and enjoyed some of the scientific display models. On our way out of the Center, we happened to encounter these young teenagers or younger in the elevator with us. There were 3 of them who were from either DC or Maryland. They looked sort of troubled but I was not giving them much attention. While in the elevator, one of them asked us for a dollar. I responded with saying of five dollars, which was larger than they asked for. From this moment, I was not street smart at because I was raised with out any street troubles and had no knowledge on how to be safe while you some talks to you that you do not know. My friend jumped out the elevator on purpose and left me in with the other guys. The three of them decided to tackle me and held me on the ground. Then, one of them reached in my pockets and took a dollar. I had realized I was just robbed. After 5 seconds, the elevator made it to ground level. When I got exited the elevator, security and my after-school chaperones came and made sure everything was all right. I was in complete shock and people asked me about what happened and I said to them that they took a dollar from me. In my mind, I was thinking of what I could have done to make the situation better. The reminisce lasted several months. This incident put a major effect in my life and it changed my personality. I am much more cautious of my surroundings and whom I hang out with. I definitely learned a lot from this situation. Those were my unforgettable experiences. I learned that being popular is not the best thing. If you just be yourself, people will accept you for who you are and not for what you are trying to be. Also, the elevator incident warned me that I need to be more alert of my surroundings. I should of never told those guys I had money in the first place. Secondly, I could have founded another way to get to the ground level once I saw those guys of what they're appearance looked like. I really learned from these situations. It's hard to predict when you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unless you use your senses, you definitely can determine what can happen. These were great experiences for me to go through. If it were not for these experiences, I would be a fake fool and a mess. Now, I have a great personality and street smarts. I have made remarkable achievements. I am one of many people who probably went though experiences like that, that made a change for the better. This experience had a good and bad part of it, but there was a lesson learned from it. There will always be a lesson learned from any experience and they are a good way for people to look at if they are having problems themselves. Experiences are part of life.