Encyclopedia Britannica Inc Essay Example for Free

Encyclopedia Britannica Inc Essay By the time Britannica’s top management decided to stop producing bound sets of the iconic encyclopedia, the company had made sweeping changes to put itself at the forefront of the online education market. ne year ago, my announcement that Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica would cease producing bound volumes sent ripples through the media world. Despite the vast migration of information from ink and paper to bits and screens, it seemed remarkable that a set of books published for almost a quarter of a millennium would go out of print. But in our Chicago offices this wasn’t an occasion to mourn. In fact, our employees held a party the day of the announcement, celebrating the fact that Britannica was still a growing and viable company. They ate the print set—in the form of a cake that pictured the 32-volume, 129-pound encyclopedia. They displayed 244 silver balloons—one for each year the encyclopedia had been in print. They toasted the departure of an old friend with champagne and the dawning of a new era with determination. We had no need for a wake because we weren’t grieving. We had known for some time that this day was coming. Given how little revenue the print set generated, and given that we had long ago shifted to a digital-first editorial process, the bound volumes had become a distraction and a chore to put together. They could no longer hold the vast amount of information our March 2013 Harvard Business Review 2 This article is made available to you with compliments of Jorge Cauz. Further posting, copying or distributing is copyright infringement. How I Did It Britannica Then and Now customers demanded or be kept as up-todate as today’s users expect. The reaction to our announcement was interesting and varied. Some people were shocked. On Twitter, one person wrote, â€Å"I’m sorry I was unfaithful to you, Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia was just there, and convenient, it meant nothing. Please, come back!† Of course, we didn’t need to come back, because we hadn’t gone away and weren’t about to. But although most people seemed to know what was happening, some misunderstood. Commentators intimated that we had â€Å"yielded† to the internet. In fact, the internet enabled us to reinvent ourselves and open new channels of business. Reports cited Wikipedia as a disruptive force. In fact, Wikipedia helped us sharpen our business strategy. Our content model was dismissed as â€Å"vintage,† but it is actually anything but: We update our content continually, with community input, reaching tens of millions of people every day—and they pay for it. I relished the irony. If you relied on free, gossipy online channels to understand why we were ending the print edition, you got what you paid for: some jokes, some inaccurate observations about the state of our business, and maybe a 20% chance of seeing â€Å"Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica† spelled correctly. You may not have learned that by the time we stopped publishing the print set, its sales represented only about 1% of our business, that we have an increasingly significant presence in the K–12 digital learning space, and that we’re as profitable now as we’ve ever been. Whatever ripples the announcement may have made, from a business perspective the decision itself was a nonevent. It was just the final phase of a carefully planned strategic transition that had been 35 years in the making.

Necessary Sacrifice in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Essay -- The Lot

When Shirley Jackson first published her short story â€Å"The Lottery,† it caused a great deal of controversy. It warranted high critical acclaim, but it also brought threats to Jackson’s life. The public was outraged that she would write such a violent story, which ended with the unmerciful killing of an innocent woman. The violence in response to the story ironically reflects the violence within, and reveals a darker, yet necessary, part of the human psyche. The characters in â€Å"The Lottery† require the violent ritual to live peaceful and happy lives. The violent tradition is beneficial to the town’s people because it supports a healthy group psychology, is a conditioned behavioral norm for every generation, ensures the majority’s well-being, and is integrated into their religious belief. The town’s collective mental state is kept in balance by holding a lottery each year. Human beings are capable of great things, but interlaced with the possibility for greatness is a capacity for destruction. David Livingston Smith, a professor of philosophy and the director of the Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology at the University of New England, discusses man’s history in his book The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War. He admits, â€Å"[Human beings’] noble achievements are only half the picture. They exist side by side with an array of less appealing characteristics,† (41). Violence and cruelty amongst the species is part of our most basic human nature and has proved to be unavoidable throughout history. A prime example of the capabilities of man against itself is the Holocaust, which has been theorized to be the symbolized subject of Jackson’s story. However, â€Å"The Lottery† shows a healthy, structu... ...eration, the majority’s welfare, and an adopted religious belief. Works Cited Cooley, Charles Horton. Human Nature and the Social Order. New York: Schocken Books, 1964. Print. Hoffman, Louis, John L. Hoffman, Joy L. S. Hoffman, and Heatherlyn P. Cleare-Hoffman. "Culture, Religion, and Spirituality: How Spirituality Saved Religion." The Healing Power of Spirituality: How Faith Helps Humans Thrive. Santa Barbara (Calif.): ABC-Clio, 2010. Print. Smith, David Livingstone. The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007. Print. Smith, Joanne R., Michael A. Hogg, Robin Martin, Deborah J. Terry. "Uncertainty And The Influence Of Group Norms In The Attitude-Behaviour Relationship." British Journal Of Social Psychology 46.4 (2007): 769-792. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. Necessary Sacrifice in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Essay -- The Lot When Shirley Jackson first published her short story â€Å"The Lottery,† it caused a great deal of controversy. It warranted high critical acclaim, but it also brought threats to Jackson’s life. The public was outraged that she would write such a violent story, which ended with the unmerciful killing of an innocent woman. The violence in response to the story ironically reflects the violence within, and reveals a darker, yet necessary, part of the human psyche. The characters in â€Å"The Lottery† require the violent ritual to live peaceful and happy lives. The violent tradition is beneficial to the town’s people because it supports a healthy group psychology, is a conditioned behavioral norm for every generation, ensures the majority’s well-being, and is integrated into their religious belief. The town’s collective mental state is kept in balance by holding a lottery each year. Human beings are capable of great things, but interlaced with the possibility for greatness is a capacity for destruction. David Livingston Smith, a professor of philosophy and the director of the Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology at the University of New England, discusses man’s history in his book The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War. He admits, â€Å"[Human beings’] noble achievements are only half the picture. They exist side by side with an array of less appealing characteristics,† (41). Violence and cruelty amongst the species is part of our most basic human nature and has proved to be unavoidable throughout history. A prime example of the capabilities of man against itself is the Holocaust, which has been theorized to be the symbolized subject of Jackson’s story. However, â€Å"The Lottery† shows a healthy, structu... ...eration, the majority’s welfare, and an adopted religious belief. Works Cited Cooley, Charles Horton. Human Nature and the Social Order. New York: Schocken Books, 1964. Print. Hoffman, Louis, John L. Hoffman, Joy L. S. Hoffman, and Heatherlyn P. Cleare-Hoffman. "Culture, Religion, and Spirituality: How Spirituality Saved Religion." The Healing Power of Spirituality: How Faith Helps Humans Thrive. Santa Barbara (Calif.): ABC-Clio, 2010. Print. Smith, David Livingstone. The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007. Print. Smith, Joanne R., Michael A. Hogg, Robin Martin, Deborah J. Terry. "Uncertainty And The Influence Of Group Norms In The Attitude-Behaviour Relationship." British Journal Of Social Psychology 46.4 (2007): 769-792. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.

Conservatism Is Merely A Ruling Class Ideology

Conservatism has three strands: Traditional, New Right and Post New right conservatism. It serves in the interest of the rich and powerful and it serves in the interest of every social class, including the poor. Marxists in particular would argue that conservatism is a class based ideology. They would also argue that ideologies reflect the interest of a particular class. Burke was a traditional conservative and he believed in the organic state. Traditional conservatives are motivated by the organic state they believe that the society is a living entity, rather than a mechanism. They consider society as a pyramid and command structure, which serves in the interest of the rich because society is fixed and the rich will always be at the top. Society can never have social equality because of hierarchy. They do not believe in meritocracy and individualism, they believe that society is more important than the individual, therefore they believe in collectivism. People may believe that the ideology is good but in reality it is not because people do not have rights they have duties and conservatives only recognize equality of status. Socialists believe in economic equality, this is the only equality that does not keep people down. Conservatism was reaction against Liberalism (French revolution). Burke was against the French revolution. Disraeli was also motivated by class interest. He introduced One-nation conservatism, which was about keeping social cohesion between the rich and the poor. Disraeli gave the vote to the urban working class male because if he did not the Liberals would have done so. Burke once said that he ‘the palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy' meaning that the rich are not happy when the poor are not satisfied. If the poor is not satisfied then there will not be social stability, because there will be a revolution. Burke introduced social reforms to stop a revolution. Randolph Churchill formulated ‘Tory democracy' which stated that in order to gain the support of the working-class they have to develop the empire by making them believe in it. They did not want to do too much for the poor, but rather to help them enough to keep them happy. Conservatives voted against the NHS, which was brought in by Labour, because it is a ruling class ideology. They only decided to accept the NHS because they are pragmatic and they did not believe in nationalized industries because it took power away for the poor. They believed in the mixed economy. They disliked nationalization and wanted to privatize most nationalized businesses. They introduced the minimum wage and it was popular and a vote winner. In 1979, Thatcher became Prime Minister and she also served the interest of the rich. She privatized industries such as British telecom, British railways. Liberal New right believed in and rolling back the state, hence the belief in laissez-faire economics. They believed in the non-interventionist state, that the state will not intervene in the economy to help the poor. For example: the Battle of Orgreaves, the miner's strike; the government refused to subsidize what they called the uneconomic picks. Thatcher setup grant maintained schools which got more money. Schools were a two tier system and the ‘better-off' benefited from this. This basically suggests that Thatcher reeks of the rich. Society was more differential because people had more respect. Disraeli introduced one-nation conservatism, and he was genuinely concerned about the poor, evidenced in his quote, ‘there is a gap between the rich and the poor' and his Crystal Palace speech. Disraeli detested capitalism because it creates inequality and exploits workers. He did what he had to do to stop a revolution, the invention of One-nation. Burke believed in the organic state and this was not just about the rich and the poor, as a traditional conservative he believed that everyone should be valued equally. The whole of the ideology was paternalistic meaning that conservatism like a father cares for the people, not just in the interest of the rich. This is confirmed in the quote, â€Å"Society is a partnership between†¦ † it suggests that we are all valuable. All traditional conservatives believe in social reforms because of the rule of One-nation. In Harold Macmillan's ‘Middle Way' (1938), he advocates the mixed economy. After the WWII, they realized that there was a new way to help the poor by accepting the welfare state, they also accepted Keynesianism by reflate the economy. Conservatives were very Keynes on grammar school, after all Thatcher went to a Grammar school. As Liberal New right Thatcher believed I meritocracy, individualism and embourgeoisement. Individualism means you can make it and meritocracy means that you can make it on merit. For example, selling councils houses; buying it means that it is now our property, owned democracy. People could buy shares, share owning democracy, not just the rich and the powerful, but also the poor. Post-New right, neo-liberal leaders: Hague, Smith, Major, Howard and Cameron, all have business interest. Cameron has adopted and fused neo-liberalism with elements of One-nation. Cameron believes in social responsibility. This means that society has to work together to look after and care for each other, however if we care for each other the government will not help us. For example: Jamie Oliver; it was not the government that improved school dinners. Social responsibility is a way of saying ‘rolling back the state', Cameron uses One-nation rhetoric, though he still wants a smaller state, he does not want to regulate the state. He wants to take politicians out of the NHS. He fused neo-liberal elements and one-nation because he cares about the economy, example targeting families who have to pay child-minders; instead they pay money to family relatives to look after your children. This is One-nation because keeps social cohesion. In 1979, the working-class voted Thatcher in because in 1983, the Conservatives promised that people could buy council houses and Labour said they would nationalize the banks. Thatcher would win because she had taken on the Falklands war and found victory.

Why Teachers Should Have Guns - 798 Words

There was a fire in the science class room today. Luckily the teacher had fire extinguishers in the class room which, stoped the fire in a few minutes. Should the school call the fire department and do nothing causing people to get hurt? Or should the teacher stop the fire? Of course the teacher should of stop the fire with a fire extinguisher. By stopping the fire it did not get bigger worse and no one got hurt. There was a kid brought a gun into school today and, pulled out during class. Luckily the teacher had a gun in the class room which stopped the kid in a few minutes. Should the school call the police department and, do nothing causing people to get hurt? Or should the teacher of stop the shooter? Of course the teacher should of stop the shooter. By stopping the shooter it did not get worse and no one got hurt. Teachers should have guns in school to protect the students. Part of the reason why teachers should have guns is what causes school shootings. What is the cause scho ol shootings? Who is to blame? Is it the broken homes, the lack of god or, the fact that there is to many guns? â€Å"Should we blame the government or blame society or should we blame the images on TV?† The thing to blame is fear. Everyday America lives in fear of each other and everything. They fear each other because of their skin, religion and where they live. A foot ball player from Missouris said â€Å"I mean, people were looking at us like we were aliens.† They were looking at him because theyShow MoreRelatedShould School Guns A Weapon Of Self Defense?1000 Words   |  4 PagesThe debate of whether or not teachers should be allowed to carry guns in school is very heated and continues to dilemma the minds of many. However, both the supportive and opposing parties have good grounds that can be used to choose. 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