E-commerce :: Business and Management Studies

E-commerce Unless you have been living under a rock for the last two years, you have heard about e-commerce! And you have heard about it from several different angles. For example: You have heard about all of the companies that offer e-commerce because you have been bombarded by their TV and radio ads. You have read all of the news stories about the shift to e-commerce and the hype that has developed around e-commerce companies. You have seen the huge valuations that web companies get in the stock market, even when they don't make a profit. And you may have actually purchased something on the web, so you have direct personal experience with e-commerce. Still, you may feel like you don't understand e-commerce at all. What is all the hype about? Why the huge valuations? And most importantly, is there a way for you to participate? If you have an e-commerce idea, how might you get started implementing it? If you have had questions like these, then this edition of How Stuff Works will help out by exposing you to the entire e-commerce space. Let's have a look! Commerce Before we get into a complete discussion of e-commerce, it is helpful to have a good mental image of plain old commerce first. If you understand commerce, then e-commerce is an easy extension. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines commerce as follows: com.merce n [MF, fr. L commercium, fr. com- + merc-, merx merchandise] (1537) 1: social intercourse: interchange of ideas, opinions, or sentiments 2: the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place 3: sexual intercourse We tend to be interested in the second definition, but that third one is interesting and unexpected - maybe that's what all of the hype is about! So commerce is, quite simply, the exchange of goods and services, usually for money. We see commerce all around us in in millions of different forms. When you buy something at a grocery store or at Wal-mart you are participating in commerce. In the same way, if you cart half of your possessions onto your front lawn for a yard sale, you are participating in commerce from a different angle. If you go to work each day for a company that produces a product, that is yet another link in the chain of commerce. When you think about commerce in these different ways, you instinctively recognize several different roles: Buyers - these are people with money who want to purchase a good or service. Sellers - these are the people who offer goods and services to buyers. Sellers are generally recognized in two different forms: retailers who

MS 13

The MS 13 Gang has become one of the most notorious street gags in the United States. Like most gangs, MS 13 has a number of distinguishing features which can identify the gang and separate it from the various other gangs that exist in the modern urban landscape. The average age of an MS 13 gang member is 16. This comes as a shocking fact to many people since that would peg the gang as primarily a teenage gang. While the average age of the gang may be 16 there is a great deal of diverse ages throughout that gang as a whole. That is, there are members of the gang who range in age from 13 – 38. Many of the older members are those who have been gangs for life. The gang is also well known for its propensity to cover themselves in tattoos. However, there are those who are moving away from this because the tattoos have a tendency to identify members of the gang easily. MS 13 also uses a hand sign known as the â€Å"devil's head.† This is similar to forming an upside down letter â€Å"M† with the fingers. The gang's colors are blue and white which are in honor of the flag of El Salvador. The hierarchy of the gang is well organized having a number of chapters all over the United States. This shows significant growth from the early days when the gang was initially only based in California. This shows that the stage the gang is in is that of one that operates internationally as it has a presence in the United States and Latin America as well. MS 13 stands for Mara Salvatrucha which essentially means Salvadoran Gang Member. The number 13 is used because it is representative of luck. The gang has become one of the most powerful and well organized of all the gangs in the United States. The roots of the gang in the United States date back to the early 1980's. There was a major civil war occurring in El Salvador and during this time period many Salvadoran immigrants fled their native land during the war torn unrest that was occurring in their home country. There are two origins for the gang's early days. One version states that the Salvadoran immigrants mixed with the other Hispanic gangs at first. Later, they would eventually form their own gang – one which more clearly displayed their country of origin's roots. The other version of the origin of the gang centers on the notion that the Salvadoran immigrants formed their own gang so as to protect themselves from other gangs in their neighborhoods. MS 13 is heavily involved involved in drug trafficking and immigrant smuggling. The gang is also involved in protection rackets, contract killings and other criminal activity. The revenue fueled by these pursuits has allowed MS 13 to grow in numbers and influence. This has occurred despite significant efforts by law enforcement to curtail the gang's activities and growth. The gang's primary geographic strongpoint is southern California where it has always maintained a strong presence. The gang, however, has grown in numbers and influence and has spread to many other regions of the United States. It is believed that the total number of MS 13 members is roughly 130,000 Bibliography Walker, Robert. (2004) â€Å"MS 13† GANGS OR US. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from http://www.gangsorus.com/MS13.htm                     

Wild Swans Three Daughters Of China By Jung Chang

Michael Accurso The book, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang, is a intimate memoir and a piece of history that shows life through generations. This book shows us the change and evolution of China through the lives of three women. Allow me to give a brief synopsis of who these women are so that it is easier to understand the story. The first woman that we live through is Yu Fang. Yu Fang’s father is looking for a way out of their miserable life so he arranges for her to be a concubine for the general. The general leaves her for many years and in his absence, she is lonely and constantly worried. Once the general returns, she gets pregnant with her daughter whom the general’s wife tries to take as her own until Yu Fang†¦show more content†¦As the book went on, I slowly began to lose a lot of interest, and I really was just hoping the book would end. My interest mostly began to dwindle at chapter 15. This chapter talks about the Cultural Revolution and Mao. They begin to talk about how Mao felt threatened, so he banned 39 artists, writers, and scholars for denunciation. (page 277). I don’t see really how this plays an important part in the main characters’ lives. It then goes more into detail about how Mao organized his own personal chain of command, and how people, like Mr. C hi, were arrested for denunciation. (page 282). I really couldn’t find the will to continue reading this book after this chapter. I want to hear more about the personal family struggle that the main characters had to endure. The reader probably doesn’t care much about Chairman Mao’s fears of unloyalty or strict laws that he had created. At this point in the book, it starts to feel more like a factual history book, not an account of family history and struggle. I personally have never been a fan of politics, and I have never been interested in politics, so, in chapters 16 and 17, when I started to read about the reds, blacks, and grays, I was very uninterested and confused. In order to keep the reader going, especially in a book this long, you need to make sure that you are engaging your audience with things that they want to read. Chang does a poor job of doing this, in my opinion, when she switches overShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Jung Chang s Wild Swans : Thre e Daughters Of China1793 Words   |  8 PagesJung Chang’s â€Å"Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China† is a biography of three generations of women growing up in an era of China where the continued change in leaders and their politics contributed to their struggles as women. Women were seen as second class citizens in every aspect of their lives. Jung Chang begins the story with the life of her grandmother who was a warlord’s concubine, her mother’s life as the wife of a communist party leader, and her coming of age during the Cultural RevolutionRead MoreThe Book Of Wild Swans : Three Daughter Of China1234 Words   |  5 PagesQuyen Nguyen IB World History 11th Grade In the book of Wild Swans: Three daughter of China by Jung Chang tells about the experiences of the life of Chang’s Mother, Grandmother, and Chang herself. The book starts off with Chang’s Grandmother Yu-fang. She was forced to be a concubine for a warlord general at a young age. She eventually escapes with her child after marrying a wealthy doctor, she continue to raise her child even rejected by her husband’s family. De-hong a happy girl whoRead MoreAnalysis Of Ung Chang s Wild Swans1072 Words   |  5 Pagesung Chang’s Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China follows three generations of woman in China through live and political struggles. China’s transformation between 1910s and 1970s, was one of radical change and caused great suffering. The importance of Chang’s book is its in a women s point of view by showing the suffering and healing that occurred and to educate about the history of China through the Warlord, Japanese, and Mao rule . The book is laid out through three generations: grandma, mom,Read MoreWomen s Attitudes Towards Women1538 Words   |  7 PagesWomen in China: An Exploration of Women in Chinese Society as told through Wild Swans The Chinese have long been noted for the objectification and discrimination of women in their society. From foot binding, to paying for brides, to the view of women as second-class citizens, the Chinese have maintained a poor relationship in the way they treat women. Wild Swans examines China’s attitudes towards women by demonstrating the different social, political, and moral standards her (Chang’s) mother,Read MoreBook Review Wild Swans3272 Words   |  14 PagesBook Review Author: Jung Chang Title: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Publication: Simon and Schuster, London, 1991 1. Main Thesis In Wild Swans, Jung Chang describes the life of three generations of woman in her family. Beginning in the year 1909 and ending in present time, it gives an insight into almost eighty years of the cultural history of China. Jung Chang has said in a interview that her intention in writing Wild Swans was to show how the Chinese people, and in particular the womenRead More Wild Swans, by Jung Chang Essay1123 Words   |  5 PagesWild Swans, by Jung Chang The Chinese people have experienced rapid change, in government and culture in the 20th century. Although the common people seemed to have risen up against oppression from the ruling class, liberty and equality often remains out of their grasp. For centuries the dynastic cycle has dominated the culture and collective consciousness of the Chinese people. This process is characterized by unification, followed by prosperity and success, followed by corruption and instabilityRead MoreEvolution of China’s Gender Relations in Jung Chang’s Wild Swans2047 Words   |  9 PagesRelations in Jung Chang’s Wild Swans Christina Ku (Student ID: 050788207) Yunxiang Gao HST 555: Section II: History of Modern China I (1644-1949) Wednesday, November 14, 2007. As China faced new international pressures and the change to a communist society, gender relations transformed women from servants of men to full independent workers, who finally became soldiers of the communist state. In Jung Chang’s novel, Wild Swans, the three women – grandmother Yu-Fang, mother Bao-Qin and daughter JungRead MoreWild Swans : Three Daughters Of China1153 Words   |  5 PagesWild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang provides a thoughtful and beautifully painful chronology of three generations of women through some of China’s harshest periods in history. This book review will proceed in two parts. The first will address the significant themes present in Chang’s novel. The second will go beyond literary analysis and delve into identifying the author’s own bias, and comment on the structure and perspective of Chang herself. This review will overview the themesRead MoreEssay on The Qing Dynasty1945 Words   |  8 Pages12/2 /11 World Civ. China 9:55 Mon, Wed Part A , Number 2 The Qing Dynasty, like all the Chinese Dynasties, began with an expectation of success. The Zhou Dynasty found such success within the â€Å"100 schools of thought†, while the Qin found success within trade and exploration which in the end, unified China (Russ). However, the Qing Dynasty found a different way to make their mark with the development of the Chinese Dictionary, forming Banner systems and population increase. Nevertheless, whileRead MoreMao Zedong1151 Words   |  5 Pagesmodernize China, but the results of this audacious move were horrific. He rebounded from his failures time and again, and used his influence to eliminate his enemies and to purge China of its old ways. Mao saw a brighter future for China, but it was not within his grasp; his Cultural Revolution was not as successful as he had wanted it to be. Liberator, oppressor, revolutionary, Mao Zedong was the greatest emancipator in China’s history, as his reforms and actions changed the history of C hina and of