Bachelor Criminal Justice Degree Benefits and Rewards of a Crime Scene Investigation Emphasis 2019

Many workers get started in the field of criminal justice with a high school diploma or associate degree in criminal justice. However, opportunities for advancement and higher salaries more often exist for workers who have earned a criminal justice bachelor degree. Online criminal justice schools, such as Kaplan University, are giving current professionals the chance to reap the career rewards of a bachelor criminal justice degree while maintaining the demands and responsibilities of a job in the criminal justice field. Advanced study also affords students the opportunity to delve into specific topics within criminal justice, such as crime scene investigation. Spotlight on BSCJ Options at Kaplan University: Crime Scene Investigation in Criminal Justice One of the unique features of the Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice at Kaplan University is the choice between seven areas of focus within the field of criminal justice: BSCJ/Corrections. BSCJ/Crime Analysis. BSCJ/Crime Scene Investigation. BSCJ/Forensic Psychology. BSCJ/Fraud Examination. BSCJ/Law Enforcement. BSCJ/Private Security. .u426ac337b470c03c1c4662ffc5e53134 { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .u426ac337b470c03c1c4662ffc5e53134:active, .u426ac337b470c03c1c4662ffc5e53134:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .u426ac337b470c03c1c4662ffc5e53134 { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .u426ac337b470c03c1c4662ffc5e53134 .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .u426ac337b470c03c1c4662ffc5e53134 .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .u426ac337b470c03c1c4662ffc5e53134:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ The Perks of Joining the World of International Business DegreesStudents who choose to pursue the crime scene investigation emphasis practice how to identify, collect, and analyze evidence found at crime scenes. Crime scene investigation students also learn how to create crime scene boundaries and the appropriate process of searching for evidence within a crime scene. Kaplan boasts that its online criminal justice course options prepare students to work in investigative positions in law enforcement organizations. Earning Power with a Bachelor Criminal Justice Degree Online A brief look at data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the objective value of a bachelor criminal justice degree. More education means higher earnings and lower rates of unemployment for life. On average, a professional who has earned a bachelor criminal justice degree or a bachelor degree in another discipline earns $900 per week, whereas the worker with only a high school education earns just $554 per week. Going deeper into the data, that means the bachelors degree graduate earns 62% more than the high school graduate. Over a lifetime, this adds up to major differences in total earnings. Students interested in learning more about crime scene investigation and other specialties in criminal justice education may visit College-Pages.com, the education and career resource website. Prospective students will find an extensive list of available bachelor criminal justice degree programs as well as informative articles for making education and career decisions. .u29096bb5662f3309621370c61a44c17b { padding:0px; margin: 0; padding-top:1em!important; padding-bottom:1em!important; width:100%; display: block; font-weight:bold; background-color:#eaeaea; border:0!important; border-left:4px solid #34495E!important; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -o-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); -webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.17); text-decoration:none; } .u29096bb5662f3309621370c61a44c17b:active, .u29096bb5662f3309621370c61a44c17b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; text-decoration:none; } .u29096bb5662f3309621370c61a44c17b { transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; } .u29096bb5662f3309621370c61a44c17b .ctaText { font-weight:bold; color:inherit; text-decoration:none; font-size: 16px; } .u29096bb5662f3309621370c61a44c17b .post Title { color:#000000; text-decoration: underline!important; font-size: 16px; } .u29096bb5662f3309621370c61a44c17b:hover .postTitle { text-decoration: underline!important; } READ Career overview Retention Specialist - CounselorRelated ArticlesOnline Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice Benefits and Rewards of a Forensic Psychology EmphasisCriminal Justice Bachelor Degree Single Parents in Colorado Find Convenience at Kaplan UniversityFind Law, Criminal Justice, Social Science Degree ProgramsBachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Working Professionals in Iowa Find Convenience at Kaplan UniversityIs a Bachelors in Criminal Justice For YouSo You Have a Criminal Justice Degree, Now What

The Evolution Of Management Practice - 929 Words

The Evolution of Management The Origins of Management Practice and How They Play a Role Today The origins of classical management practices plays a role in today’s management beliefs due to the fact that they overlap each other. As a classical management skill was invented and exercised, the faults in a particular management skill were studied. As business evolved so did the managerial skills needed to perform the tasks needed. A new management field would be invented, using the best of the older system and the new practices, to eliminate the faults found. Our textbook Management by Bateman/Snell (2013) states â€Å"All of these historical perspectives have left legacies that affect contemporary management thought and practice.† (p.39). Management has been a very important part of our past, our earliest ancestors realized that management skills were needed. From the building of the pyramids to making automobiles, some of the same management skills are used today. Managers in the past and prese nt need skills pertaining to planning and leadership. As the planning and leadership tactics evolved from the past to present, the basic ideal of efficiency was a top priority. As times changed from slave labor or low-skill labor to the advanced labor force in today’s society, worker’s rights have been the most evolved. In the early years of management in the U.S., strict rules and guidelines were outlined for each hand. You pay could be severely docked if you had an unexcusedShow MoreRelatedThe Evolution of Management Practices and Theories Essay2306 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction With the rapid change of the world, thought of management, theory and practise keeps on changing. It has been transformed through innovation. Taking into consideration the uncertainty surrounding the construction industry, it is essential paying attention to how people work within an organisation that has set goals that needs to be achieved. To be able to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to understand management relating issues such as culture, motivation, leadership and issuesRead MoreThe Success And Viability Of U.s. Healthcare1170 Words   |  5 Pagesconsumers and payers (2007). This paper will provide a brief overview of the history of quality movement, outline key characteristics involved in quality evolution, discuss process improvement and its relation to quality movement, and investigate the impact that health information technology and Practice-Based Research Networks have had on quality evolution in the U.S. healthcare industry. History According to Chassin O’Kane, the primary objective of quality movement is the same for all industries- toRead Moretalent development Essay1625 Words   |  7 PagesTalent Development Your presenter Linda Elawar t: @lindaelawar SME Evolution Program Fall 2012 – Talent Development #SMEEP  © Potential.com Talent Development Explore content What Fuels your organization? Who are your Intangible assets? Do you know where your Talent is? SME Evolution Program Fall 2012 – Talent Development #SMEEP  © Potential.com Why is Talent Development important? Importance of Talent Development †¢ Increased competitive advantage Read MoreThe Evolution Of Business Ethics852 Words   |  4 PagesThe Evolution of Business Ethics Tim Bowles OMM-640 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Dr. Andree Swanson May 17, 2015 Abstract Just as individuals differ, so do their ethical concepts and value arrangements. Personal guidelines or policies for everyday ethical conduct. Like all policies, a code of ethics must be capable of being enforced. Just as if people, corporations and businesses too, have their ethical concepts, systematic science, and a business philosophy they must followRead MoreManagement Science Theory and Practice1284 Words   |  6 PagesMANAGEMENT: SCIENCE, THEORY AND PRACTICE One of the most important human activities is managing. Ever since people began forming groups to accomplish aims they could not achieve as individuals, managing has been essential to ensure the coordination of individual efforts. As society has come to rely increasingly on group effort and as many organized groups have grown larger, the task of managers has been rising in importance. The purpose of this book is to promote excellence of all persons in organizationsRead MoreThe Evolution of Total Quality Management1630 Words   |  7 PagesThe Evolution of Total Quality Management A useful way to begin to understand the evolution of TQM is to link it to show how the industrial world was developing at the time TQM was evolving. Until the industrial revolution in the mid 18th century, most goods were custom made. Industrialisation brought about a fundamental shift from cottage industry production to large scale manufacturing. Simultaneously, industrial activity underwent extensive mechanisation. As explained by Ho, ‘craftsmen wereRead MoreClassical Managment1274 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿PART A Historical Foundations of management have been around for years and were first introduced by Fayol around the turn of the century . This essay will discuss three main points and questions around management, the first question will cover how modern management practices have evolved from the â€Å"classical approaches to management†. The second question will cover the challenges contemporary managers face in 2013 compared to managers in the era of the classical approaches and the third questionRead MoreHuman Resource Management As A Strategic Partner1705 Words   |  7 PagesHuman Resource Management as a Strategic Partner Generally, when one thinks of the role of Human Resources, many people will think first of the role that HR plays in important functions such as staffing, training, retention, and the development of workplace policies. While these are all important functions for Human Resource Management, the evolution of HRM is such that it is important to think of these functions in terms of the impact they have on the overall strategic vision for the companyRead MoreEvolution and revolution as organizations grow757 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Evolution and revolution as organizations grow Growing organization move through 5 phases of development, each of which contains a relatively calm period of growth that ends with a management crisis. Each developmental phase is strongly influenced by the previous one. Thus by knowing an organization’s development history it is possible to be more prepared for the next developmental crisis. These crises can be used in order to achieve future growth. Evolution- long periods of growth with no

Inflation and Consumer Price Indices free essay sample

A literature Review5 Methodology6 Statement Of The Problem6 Objectives Of The Study10 Summary and Conclusions10 Abstract Consumer price index has been confused by a lot of people in recent times. CPI, which is one of the most frequently used statistics to identify periods of inflation is also sometimes viewed as an indicator of the effectiveness of government economic policy. The government, business, labor, and private citizens uses price changes information provided by the CPI in the Nations economy to guide them in making economic decisions. The Consumer Price Index, as implied by the name is an index, or â€Å"a number used to measure change. Investopedia (Investopedia, N. D) defines CPI as A measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as transportation, food and medical care. This paper attempts to explain what inflation is, types of inflation and how it is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the most commonly used measure of inflation. We will write a custom essay sample on Inflation and Consumer Price Indices or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The paper also attempts to discuss the inflation behavior in Malaysia. Keywords: Inflation, Consumer Price Index, types of inflation. Introduction CPI and inflation has always been thought to be same because CPI is widely used as a measure of inflation. However the current rate of inflation is not given by CPI itself. To know the increase or decrease in the prices of goods nd services, the index must be used in the calculations. The Bank of Canada (2010) defined inflation as a persistent rise over time in the average level of prices in the economy. As demand for goods and services exceeds the economys capacity to supply those goods and services, prices tend to go up while an excess supply of goods and services tends to put downward pressure on prices. Its important to understand the difference between the many different types of inflation. When inflation is more than 50% a month, it is known as hyperinflation. There is no known history of hyperinflation in Malaysia, but it is known to have occurred in Germany (costantino bresciani-turroni, 1937) before World War II, and in Zimbabwe (michael wines, 2006) in the 2000s. Stagflation is when inflation occurs despite slow economic growth and the last time this happened in the U. S. was in the 1970s. When inflation affects different parts of the economy, its known as asset inflation because it affects just one asset. This occurred with stock portfolios when the Dow reached its peak (Google finance 2007) of 14,164. 43 on October 9, 2007. Asset inflation mostly occurs during oil-price shock. This is usually as a result of gas and oil demand predictions done by the commodities trader that the demand would go up during summer vacations. When traders become more concerned that oil supply would likely be cut off, just as during the Iran threat to close the Straits of Hormuz in 2012, (Aljazeera, 2012) traders will increase the price of oil. And as a result, price of food, which is usually transported long distances would likely be hiked. A literature Review Cheng and Tan (2002) examined in? ation in Malaysia using quarterly data over the period from 1973QI to 1997QII. The study used the Johansen (1988) cointegration, vector error-correction modeling, impulse response functions, and variance decomposition of the Sims (1980) approach. They included 11 variables in their analysis, namely CPI, money supply, interest rate, income, private expenditure, government expenditure, exchange rate, trade balance, capital in? ows, the rest of in? ation in ASEAN, and in? ation in the rest of the world. The empirical results of their study showed that external factors such as exchange rate and the rest of in? ation in ASEAN are relatively more important than domestic factors in explaining in? tion in Malaysia. Cunado and De Gracia (2005) examined the impact of various of oil price shock on in? ation in six Asian countries, namely Japan, Singapore, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia using quarterly data over the period from 1975Q1 to 2002Q2. The study also examined the asymmetries impact of real oil price change on in? ation. The study used the Johansen (1988) cointegration method and Granger causality test. The main results were that real oil price change has a signi? cant short-run impact on in? ation and becomes more signi? cant when real oil price shock is de? ed in local currency rather than in $US. Furthermore, the impact of real oil price change on in? ation is di? erent across economies in Asia. The real oil price change and in? ation relationship appears to be more signi? cant and more general than the real oil price change and output relationship for Asian countries. For Malaysia, the relationship between real oil price change and in? ation is less signi? cant. Moreover, there is no evidence of Granger causality from real oil price change in $US to in? ation. However, some evidence was found when real oil price change is measured in domestic currency. Also, some evidence was found for the asymmetric impact of real oil price change in $US and in domestic currency on in? ation. Methodology This paper uses data for a time span of 2005 to 2012 to analyze the inflation rate and also uses more data with a span of Jan 2011 to jun2012 to analyze the Consumer Price Index for that particular period in time. Statement Of The Problem The inflation rate in Malaysia has averaged at 2. 77 percent from the year 2005 to 2012. During this period, it would be noted from the graph below that, its highest inflation rate which is measured by Consumer price index was recorded at 8. 00 percent in July 2008. When compared to previous years, it is the highest recorded since 1986. Its lowest was also recorded at -2. 400 percent in July 2009. Exactly a year from the highest recorded.

Weaknesses and threat of apple free essay sample

Apple Inc. (Apple), is a multinational corporation that creates consumer electronics, personal computers, computer software, and commercial servers, and is a digital distributor of media content. Founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak effectively created Apple Computer on 1st April, 1976, with the release of the Apple I, and incorporated the company on 3rd January, 1977 in Cupertino, California. Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication gadgets and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players. The company’s products and services include iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings. Digital content and applications are also sold and delivered through the iTunes Store, App Store SM, iBookstore SM, Mac App Sore. Apple Inc. sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, and direct sales force, as well as third-party cellular network carriers, retailers, wholesalers, and value-added resellers. We will write a custom essay sample on Weaknesses and threat of apple or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Apple Inc. offers a range of mobile communication and media devices, personal computing products, and portable digital music players, as well as a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions and third-party hardware and software products. Furthermore, the company also offers its own software products, including the company’s mobile operating system, iOS; the company’s Mac operating system, OS X; and server and application software. iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, iTunes, Mac App Store, iCloud, Operating System Software, Application Software are the well-known primary products that marketed by the company. We have selected this company because Apple is a well-known brand that most people automatically know all over the world now. They are known for their innovative technology that is usually the first of its kind on the market and something that all people love to own and make their lives a bit easier with the advancements that they gave people. Besides that, Apple Inc. is the worlds second-largest information technology company in this present age. Therefore, in order to apply managing information system knowledge and skill into the reality, Apple Inc. is supposed to be an appropriate firm to analysis the issues. Types of e-commerce used by the company Ecommerce, a subset of e-business, is the purchasing, selling, and exchanging of goods and services over computer networks (such as the Internet) through which transactions or terms of sale are performed electronically. There are four main categories of ecommerce: B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C. Apple Inc. is using B2C ecommerce in their daily business processes. B2C is the commerce between companies and end users, involves customers gathering information; purchase for goods or services over an electronic network. The customer uses the products for his or her own personal use and is not interested in reselling the product. Apple Inc. sells their products directly to the customers through their own retail stores and online official website. Apple Inc. opened its own retail stores around the world, in part because they didn’t like how their products were being displayed and sold in other companies’ stores. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod media player, the iPhone smartphone, and the iPad tablet computer. Apple Inc. also comes out with the Apple App Store, an online store for their customers to purchase and download software applications and mobile apps for Apple computers and devices. The Apple App Store serves as the only way to download native iOS applications without jailbreaking the device, and apps can be purchased and downloaded directly to the device itself or they can be accessed through Apples iTunes software and then transferred to the iOS device. Besides that, Apple Inc. also using B2B ecommerce in their business processes. This type of e-commerce is the electronic exchange of business documents between businesses for the purpose of conducting commerce, rather than business to consumer. Apple Inc. offer opportunity for the individual developer or group of development team to create the iOS apps for distribution on the App Store by charging them $99 per year. The developers can random set the price or offer the apps for free toward the users. The users can browse through different categories and genres of applications such as productivity, multimedia, and games; view information and reviews of then; purchase it if necessary, and then download and install the application on their device. By using this B2B ecommerce, Apple Inc. able to enhance their business by increase the users’ enthusiasm toward the App Store. Types of information systems SWOT ANALYSIS Strength The invention of Touch ID. Touch ID is basically a biometric finger print recognition feature. Since Touch ID is both new hardware and software from Apple, its only available on the iPhone 5S. According to Marwan Boustany (n. d), fingerprint scanning for security, authentication and other purposes has always been a conceptually attractive solution in smartphones. It had been created for the sake of increasing the security of its user. Touch ID is built into the home button with laser-cut sapphire crystal to prevent Touch ID from working. The sensor will use capacitive touch to detect the user’s fingerprint. Apart from other competitive brands, like Samsung, HTC or Sony, those finger print scanning features are developed by third parties and in a software form. This software can be easily cracked which can probably lead their users into troubles. With Touch ID, it brings a lot of confidence to their users. Besides that, Touch ID allowing users to unlock their phone quickly by using one of up to five finger prints the user can store on their device. Partially, Apple used passcode or password system as a backup method incase users want others to do something for them in their phone or maybe the users are in skin disease. Innovative method building valuable new relationships Since Touch ID has been implemented, iPhone 5S made the users more convenient. Apple tend to improve their relationship and building potential relationships with their customer by making the authorization to purchases in the App Store, iTunes Store and iBook Store easier. That means now the users only need to place their finger on Touch ID which located at the home button instead of typing the Apple ID’s password again, and confirming the transaction. Despite saying this maybe risky for the users, but its a game-changing advancement that potentially saves time and paves the way for more innovation. Apple has been worked hard on searching ways to enhance their user’s experience as always. Acquisition decision to improve product quality Apple has been chosen as the most innovative business in the world for the 3rd time in 2012. Although Apple is being praised in technology sector, they never forget about their product quality. Steve Jobs always tell his design team, â€Å"Don’t worry about price, just focus on what the product can do. † This shows that he got the balance right, which is keep the focus on making user experience great and the profits will follow. During the sixth generation of iPhone, Apple developed and invented their own mapping service application called Apple Map/iOS Map. Unfortunately, Apple received quite huge number of complaints, for example like bringing users into the wrong road, ignoring warning sign and causing misdirection from their customers who relies on GPS. On November 2013, Apple acquired Prime Sense, and Israel Company which provided 3D sensors and quality mapping technology. According to research, the acquisition made by Apple is not for anything TV-related but combine the technology of both parties to improve its underrated iOS Map application. Refer to the sources; it claims that the acquired company is much more strategic for mapping. Apple attempt to overtake Google in the mapping sector by using Prime Sense’s mapping technology. Amazing operating system Despite being the pioneer of innovative in mobile phone sector, Apple is also expert in developing their own operating system, Macintosh Operating System (MAC OS). MAC OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating system by Apple for their Macintosh line of computer. The most significant part of MAC OS is it does not require installing any anti-virus. For other OS like Windows, you need to install anti-virus manually and run the anti-virus manually to scan the computer. Sometimes, anti-virus software makes the computer operate even slower than having no anti-virus. However, MAC OS is very nature sandboxed because it is Unix-based operating system. It’s having a series of fire doors inside the machine. The malware could not spread to the heart of the machine even though the malware gain access to one’s Mac. Make use of their website to collect feedbacks from customers. Apple Company not only emphasize on their product quality and profitability, they value customer’s opinions and feedbacks too. Apple used their main webpage as a platform to conduct survey in order to obtain customer’s experience while visiting their retail store around the world. Based on the surveys conducted, Apple knows what to do next to increase their customer’s satisfaction and fulfill their needs and wants. By then, this shows that Apple is always keep their goal: â€Å"delight the customers† within their organization. Weaknesses Security Weaknesses in Apple’s iOS There are few security weaknesses related to data protection can be found in the Apple company latest mobile operating system, iOS7, which runs on its popular smartphones and tablets. The security issues are related to the control centre of the operating system. The control centre is a convenient new feature in iOS 7 that gives us quick access to Airplane Mode, the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, media controls, and a handful of other features by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. In principle, this lets you perform many common configuration tasks without diving deep into the phones settings. By default, the control centre is always one swipe away, whether we are on the lock screen or in an app. The problem coming when the phone is stolen, any thief can easily access the control centre, even without any passcode. From there, they can enter airplane mode, which makes it impossible to use any of the â€Å"Find My Phone† features, which include playing a sound remotely, tracking down the phones exact location or wiping the contents remotely. Besides, someone also can access to our photos without any passcode. This hack also targets the control centre but requires some finger gymnastics to pull off. Incompatibility One of the weaknesses comes to the operating system of the iPhone company. Basically the iOS and OS X are quite different from other OS and uses software that is unlike the software used in Microsoft OS. Due to such differences, both in software and hardware, users often choose to stay with their accustomed software and hardware for the example Microsoft OS and Intel hardware. The problem come when making a transition is always difficult for anyone at all. Not all iOS users would be willing to switch immediately to the new version. On the other hand, the new iOS 7 though compatible with the iPhone 4 that will causes the devices runs very slowly. Many users of the iPhone 3G and older iPhones and iPods are generally unwilling to go in for the latest smartphone model. Developers who create apps exclusively for the latest version would end up losing out on a considerable customer base and more risky. For the example, designing apps that are compatible with multiple OS versions would prove to be an expensive proposition for app developers. The earliest developers would be taking a massive risk investing in apps, which may not turn out to make a decent enough profit for them. Weak relationship with Intel and Microsoft Apple is exploring ways to replace Intel processors in its Mac personal computers with a version of the chip technology it uses in the iPhone and iPad, according to people familiar with the company’s research. Meantime, Apple’s success in mobile computing has been central to the rise of ARM technology and its expansion into larger devices, such as tablets, that have challenged the role of larger computers running Intel chips. In addition, Apple’s technologists have grown more concerned in recent years about Intel’s ability to create lower-power chips. As a result, Apple was working on thinner versions of its MacBook line, featuring its power- hungry high-resolution retina display, and Intel had failed to convince Apple executives it was serious about focusing on lower-power chips. Propriety and Controlling Apple would not open their operating system to outsiders to develop hardware to work with other company products, keeping hardware sales to itself. Apples central weakness may simply be its ideology. Open systems are what have made the internet the powerful tool it is today and remains the mantra of companies such as Google and Microsoft. The diversity and specialization of competing open products highlight this issue. Individuals who are not already hooked on the Apples ecosystem or swayed by any social encouragement can usually find exactly what they are looking for with another brand. Besides that, Apple’s Intel computers will run a full-blown installation of Windows just as easily as they can run a copy of Mac OS X. Moreover, it’s not really Apple’s own hardware which comprised largely of countless components from third-party vendors. Basically, it’s not the hardware itself that’s proprietary, nor is it necessarily the software of the operating systems. Apple’s chosen to restrict the types of machines that its operating system can run on for the example Mac OS X can indeed run on non-Apple hardware. Slower pace of innovative One of the major concerns for Apples recent sell-off has been the companys reduced pace of innovation. The company hasnt introduced game-changing products for a while now. The yearly product apple offering of the iPad, iPhone and some MacBook products is a cause for concern for consumers and Apple also. When new products are expected to be released, Apple experiences a major decline in sales for that particular product which is expected. In most instances, consumers will be polarised in their opinions of new releases. Some customers can justify making a yearly purchase of a gadget which is useable just to get faster processors, while other consumers may not agree and find a product better for them elsewhere. Recently, the iPhone segment of the company has innovated in some aspects such as speed but lacks feature which is found on various other mobile products made by competitors. Features such as near field communication (NFC) and better resolution cameras have been present in products other than Apple smartphones. Apple needs to ensure that they can innovate enough on a yearly basis to justify a new contract renewal or upgrade from older handsets. Oppurtunies Take music player technology into new era As Apple is expert in technology sector, Apple has the opportunity to make it very own music player, iTunes technology into a mobile phone format. Apple can design an application for its iTunes to make the music player to not only usable on computers, but also usable on mobile phone. With iTunes on mobile phone, users can control the tracks they had purchased effortlessly. Once that application are invented, users can purchase and download song they desire anytime, anywhere with their credit card saved inside their Apple ID. Besides that, side features like song tracker, auto pause system can be implementing too. Song tracker is when users heard of a song from radio or somewhere else, they can use the song tracker to look for the song from iTunes if they want to buy that particular song. Auto pause system is a feature that automatically pauses music when a phone call comes in while in handset mode. Strong growth of mobile advertising market. In the era of technology today, mobile devices are a necessity for the whole world. According to statistic, it shows that more than 70% of the world population owns a mobile device. By this, we can foresee that mobile advertising is a very good opportunity which Apple could be seized on. Apple has developed iAd advertising platform, which allow third-party developers to directly embed advertisements into their application for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad line of mobile devices. iAd allow advertisements to mix into applications that sold on the iOS App Store, which means if the user taps on an iAd banner, a full screen advertisement will appears within the application. It is differ from other advertisements that direct the user into Safari web browser for advertising. In this case, iAd promised their advertising services are more interactive than others, and users can simply close the advertisements whenever they want thus returning to where they left their application. Increasing demand for cloud based services Nowadays, people are more affiliated with better graphic and quality experiences. Thus, many developers tend to make their software and application more attractive with better graphical display. On other side, these quality graphics need to sacrifice your devices storage usage. Since the economy status is fluctuating for the past few years, many people couldn’t afford larger storage device so they choose to buy cheaper devices to fulfill their wants. However, Apple has iCloud. iCloud is a cloud storage and cloud computing service from Apple Inc. iCloud allows users to store music, photos, applications, documents, bookmarks, reminders, backups, notes, iBooks, and contacts, and provides a platform for Apples email servers and calendars. Nevertheless, with cloud based services, it allows users to store their media into the online storage. By then, they can simply move their media out whenever they want to, it is like copy paste on computers. Thus, demand for cloud based service is getting higher day by day. As an opportunity, Apple can expand its iCloud service and software as the demand for cloud-based services is expanding. So far, only Apple and Nokia have their own cloud-based services. If Apple could figure out innovative way to penetrate the market, they may become the long term winner in the cloud-based services market. iTV Exclude Apple, some of its competitors such as Samsung and Sony, already launched their own branded Television. Based on studies, in Steve Job’s biography which wrote by Walter Isaacson, we knew that Steve Jobs claimed he has figured out how to solve the problem of an integrated television. This means Apple is making a TV – a TV called iTV that would change another media industry. â€Å"It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it. †, said Steve Jobs (n. d. ). With the launching of iTV, it will create opportunity for Apple to boost its existing product, Apple TV sales and the product’s ecosystem. Threat Android OS growth Googles Android and Apples iOS are operating systems used primarily in mobile technology, such as smartphones and tablets. Android, which is Linux-based and partly open source, is more PC-like than iOS, Android OS is the main competitor for iOS in mobile device market. The domination of Android decreases iOS power over influencing consumers to join Apple. For the example, Android can get apps from Google Play easily, which currently has 600,000 apps available, most of which will run on tablets. Many originally iOS-only apps are now available for Android, including Instagram and Pinterest, and Google’s more open app-store means other exclusive apps are also available, including Adobe Flash Player and BitTorrent. Android also offers access to Google-based apps, such as Youtube and Google Docs. The second example, apple iOS uses Siri as a voice-based virtual assistant to understand and respond to both dictation as well as spoken commands. On the other hand, Android OS also designs and offers a similar assistant â€Å"Google Now† which features the above abilities, plus can keep track of your calendar and give verbal reminders when it is time to leave. It allows for voice search and dictation. This may become of the biggest treat for Apple. Rapid Technology Change One of the most severe threats Apple and the other tech companies are facing is rapid technological change. Companies are under the pressure to release new products faster and faster. The one that cannot keep up with the competition soon fails. This is especially hard when a business wants to introduce something new, innovative and successful. Apple was able to bring very innovative products to the market so far but for the moment, even Apple hasn’t unveiled any plans for the new products and may lack new introductions to keep up with competition. For the example, in the computer hardware division, there are many competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell. Dell produces low-budget computers and products that appeal to economically cautious consumers. Apple has a higher stock price than Dell and HP but Apple’s market share and total revenue are significantly lower. It is imperative for Apple to consistently create new products that set financial and technological standards for the computer industry in order to follow up the market. Competitive products more features In addition, threats are usually considered to focus on the external factors, in the case of Apple, it’s the competition. The largest smartphone manufacturer Samsung is making it harder and harder for Apple to keep its customers. This is mainly done by the different features Samsung offer on their smartphones. As a result, The Galaxy Note II is due to arrive with a massive, 5. 5-inch display that puts the iPhone 5s 4-incher to shame. Further, the number of features and capabilities Samsung has been putting into its devices is astounding. The Galaxy Note 2, in particular, has more camera options than some digital SLRs used. .Even Nokia can boast the fact that they are creating smartphones for the developing market with their Asha range of phones which are available out of contract for a cheap price relative to the cheapest Apple product. Besides that, Sony can use their imaging division to create smartphones with great cameras to entice photographer enthusiasts that want something compact which still produce compact camera quality images. Microsoft gaining market share As the consumers use iOS and Android tablets more and more they are starting to realize the limitations of those devices. For the example, Windows 8 was launched to be the first system to work both on a PC and a touch-screen mobile device, and the demand for more complex capabilities will grow as the tablet market grows, Flores says, touting the tablets ability to work with printers, Skype messaging and the X-Box game system. The new Windows screen for tablets irked some consumers because it was a departure from the traditional interface, so the 8. 1 upgrade made the screen simpler and brought back the traditional start button. This system could solidify its share of the PC sector and gain momentum in the tablet market. Furthermore, Microsoft Corp is cutting the price of Windows 8. 1 by 70 percent for makers of low-cost computers and tablets as they try to fend off cheaper rivals like Google Chrome books. Apple is facing the effects of being a high-end PC maker during a recession. Because of the tough economy, consumers have been buying low-cost PCs and this causes the Microsoft gaining the market share easily. Online Streaming Music Service It over a decade since the first Apple iPod emerge don the scene, disrupting the music industry and prompting the inevitable shift towards digital. And since that, iTune and iPad hardware software co-design has evolved as the MP3 industry’s dominant design model, while motivating other competitors to understand and mimic its ecosystem. Through endless efforts by designers in the industry, the process innovation eventually brings up the new type of business model, the online streaming music services, provided by companies, such as Spotify and Pandora. Streaming music services offer a lower cost structure, which allows them to compete in this industry as the market evolves. Apple will need to compete by opening up its architecture and perhaps allowing an iTunes streaming service with competitive pricing as the results this will eat into high margins.

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Für Elise

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Fà ¼r Elise SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips From its first repeating notes, Fà ¼r Elise is instantly recognizable. It may even be the most famous melody ever written! But did you know that when Beethoven first drafted this short piano piece, he stuffed it in a drawer, never to be seen in his lifetime? Curious how it went from forgotten trifle to universally known? Wondering what exactly makes it such an unforgettable earworm? Need some tips on learning to play this piece? Then keep reading for everything you've ever wanted to know about one of Beethoven's best-known masterpieces. Fà ¼r Elise: The Basics Ludwig van Beethoven wrote Fà ¼r Elise 1810 as a small piece for the piano, and then put it aside with his many other draft works. We only have it because a musicologist found it and published it in 1867! And it's a good thing for us that Fà ¼r Elise was finally found! Its first five notes (alternating E and D-sharp) have become as famous as the booming da-da-da-dum first notes of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Why has this piece been so popular ever since its publication? Musically, Fà ¼r Elise is deeply melodic and full of nostalgic feeling, with a relatively simple harmony that makes it very accessible and not overly intellectually demanding. At the same time, because its first part is easy even for a beginner piano player to learn, but is also beautiful, it is often assigned by piano teachers the world over, perpetuating its fame. And finally, the romantic and mysterious possibilities of its name make us wonder about the identity of Elise and the love life of its composer! Where Can I Listen to Fà ¼r Elise? Before diving into the history and background of this piece, here are some versions that will give you a great sense of the range of interpretations out there. Start with this straightforward Fà ¼r Elise piano recording: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8ECRYcXtEg[/embed] Then, you can explore interesting takeoffs, samples, and modifications. On the piano, there is a great blues-imbued version, as well as a ragtime version. At the same time, the piece's arpeggios make it a popular choice for classical guitar interpretations like this one. Because Fà ¼r Elise is so incredibly popular, there are a million and one versions of it on YouTube. Do a quick search and check out the versions played by wildly talented four-year-old prodigies! I wouldn't be surprised if there's a cat-playing-violin version out there somewhere. The History of Fà ¼r Elise In 1810, when he was 40 years old, Ludwig van Beethoven was already renowned as one of the greatest composers of all time. He was also already plagued by the horrible tinnitus that preceded his eventual deafness. Although the very next year he stopped performing in public altogether, he never stopped composing. On April 27th, 1810, Beethoven drafted a bagatelle - a small, unimportant song - and jotted the label "Fà ¼r Elise" on it in his famously messy handwriting. But he never published this piece of music. Instead, it sat in a drawer until 1822, when Beethoven revised it slightly, and shoved it back into the same drawer. In 1827, Beethoven died, and his bagatelle never saw the light of day. It was only in 1867, 40 years after Beethoven's death, that a musicologist named Ludwig Nohl found the piece of music and published it. Who Was Elise? Remember how I told you that Beethoven jotted the words "Fà ¼r Elise" on his final draft of the sheet music? Well, it turns out that we only know this from Ludwig Nohl, the man who found and published the piece. The actual final draft itself is missing! Not only that, but no distinct records, letters, or accounts from people at the time make mention of an "Elise" in Beethoven's life. So who was the mysterious Elise that Beethoven apparently dedicated this music to? There is no conclusive answer to this question. There are several theories, however, which I will lay out in order of most to least likely. Theory #1: "Elise" Was Beethoven's "One That Got Away" Beethoven had a doomed love affair with a woman named Therese Malfatti. She was his student, and he fell in love with her right around the time of the composition of Fà ¼r Elise. We aren't quite sure exactly how they broke up, but we do know that he proposed, and she either said no right away, or strung him along for a while and then said no. Either way, Therese then married someone else. So, the most popular theory is that our friend Ludwig Nohl misread Beethoven’s messy handwriting, and that in reality, the piece was labeled "Fà ¼r Therese" not "Fà ¼r Elise." Theory #2: "Elise" Was Beethoven's Opera Singer BFF A few years before writing Fà ¼r Elise, Beethoven became friends with an opera singer named Elisabeth Rà ¶ckel, whose nickname may well have been Elise (Elizabeth to Elise doesn't seem to be that much of a stretch, but we don't have any documentary evidence that anyone actually did call her Elise). Beethoven and Rockel were close friends until she married Beethoven's frenemy, Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Perhaps Fà ¼r Elise was written in the midst of this friendship - or as a way of saying good-bye. Theory #3: "Elise" Was One of Therese Malfatti's Friends The least likely scenario is that Beethoven wrote the piece for another woman nicknamed Elise - Juliane Katharine Elisabet Barensfeld, who used "Elise" as a variant first name. She was a musical child prodigy who was Therese Malfatti's neighbor and conceivably could have been her student. This theory holds that Beethoven was willing to do anything for his one great love, Therese, including writing a quick piece of music for one of her favorites. Since there's not enough evidence to prove it conclusively, we should probably use Occam’s razor for this one. To whom is a sad, longing love song dedicated? Probably to the lost love of Beethoven's life, Therese. What Does the Title of Fà ¼r Elise Mean? The full title of Beethoven's piece of music is Fà ¼r Elise: Bagatelle in A minor WoO 59. In reality, the stuff after the colon is the official title, and "Fà ¼r Elise" is just a nickname for the piece. This is because musical compositions have a specific naming system that references type, key, and a numbering system. Let's unpack each of the components of this title separately. Fà ¼r Elise. The words â€Å"Fà ¼r Elise† mean â€Å"for Elise† in German. Bagatelle. This is the piece of music's type (other types include sonatas, etudes, symphonies, and so on). A bagatelle is a short, lighthearted, and generally frivolous piece of music. Similar words have also been used to describe this piece. Sometimes the title uses the word "Albumblatt," which means "album leaf" - a short, pleasant, usually solo piano piece that friends could easily share by pasting into each other's musical albums. More rarely, you might find Fà ¼r Elise labeled as a "Klavierstà ¼cke" which is simply German for "piano piece." A Minor. "A" stands for the music's key, indicating the scale - the set of notes divided by regular intervals - that the piece uses. In this case, Fà ¼r Elise is based on the scale that is anchored by the A key. Keys are divided into major and minor, depending on the intervals between the notes used in the scale. Here, the minor key is a technical way to convey which notes should be played higher or lower than the corresponding natural notes. It also tells us about the musicality of the piece. In Western music, music in a minor key sounds sad, helping with the sense of longing and wistfulness that characterizes the melody. WoO 59. Usually, composers number their published pieces of music, using the Latin term "opus" (which means "work") and whatever number followed in sequence from the last piece of the same type. However, not only did Beethoven not number Fà ¼r Elise, but he really only gave opus numbers to his most significant published pieces. Because of this, much of his work has been assigned numbers by later publishers, using the German term "werk ohne opuszahl" (meaning "work without opus number" and abbreviated as WoO) and a number in sequence. So, in this case, WoO 59 means that Fà ¼r Elise was the 59th bagatelle to be published that hadn't been given a number by Beethoven himself. Fà ¼r Elise Musical Analysis Now that we've explored the history and romance behind the work, let's check out what's under the hood. How is Fà ¼r Elise Structured? As we already saw from its title, this piece is in the key of A minor. It's time signature is 3/8, so there are 3 beats in each measure and each eighth note (â™ ª) gets 1 beat. Fà ¼r Elise is a rondo, with a A–B–A–C–A structure. In other words, its first section (main theme A) is repeated between its other sections (themes B and C). The first section is the famous melody that everyone knows, with the right hand playing the melody itself and with the left hand playing arpeggios (chords played note by note instead of all at once). The other sections are more challenging, incorporating the keys E major, C major, G major, and F major. The repeated central theme's A minor key builds a melancholy, longing mood. However, Fà ¼r Elise's other themes are in complete contrast to the main theme, creating a sense of whimsy, unpredictability, and playfulness. What's the Musical Style of Fà ¼r Elise? Fà ¼r Elise is part of the Romantic music movement that developed in the late 18th and early 19th century in Europe along with Romanticism in the arts in general. Note that capital-R Romanticism has nothing to do with small-r romance. Instead, Romantic music was characterized by ideas of revolting against Industrial Revolution and the perceived triumph of hyper-rationalism. Romanticism instead embraced a preoccupation with nature, an imagined glorious past, and beautifully terrifying and unknowable spiritual and emotional experiences. We can see some of this in the way Fà ¼r Elise shuttles back and forth between the forlorn plea of the repeated main theme and the sudden, mercurial shifts in tone of the B and C themes. Romanticism is like a storm: moody, unpredictable, wild, and dominating puny humans. 8 Tips for Learning to Play Fà ¼r Elise Have you decided to learn how to play Fà ¼r Elise on the piano? Here are some things to keep in mind! Are You a Beginner? Because the most famous part of Fà ¼r Elise - the main theme - is reasonably easy to play, many piano teachers assign just that first part of the piece to their students early on in their piano learning. Not only is it not technically difficult, but it also provides a good basic exercise for piano pedaling technique. Here's some advice for mastering the piece: Watch out for tricky fingering. In this piece, precise finger position is key to the flow of the right-hand melody and the support of the left-hand arpeggios. You may want to write out each note’s fingering in your score to help you articulate the music well. Legato, legato, legato. Think of the left-hand’s arpeggios as almost-chords. You should play them as smoothly as possible, gliding each note into the next. Imagine playing the piece as if you're trying to demonstrate perpetual motion. Your gently flowing tempo and legato should unite to let the melody shine. Imagine a conversation between right and left. Start by practicing hands separately. Then, when you're combining them, listen to the way the left and right hands reply to each other - it's almost a series of call-and-response questions, or a plaintive conversation. To articulate this, carry your legato over from the right hand to the left and vice versa, and do not privilege one hand over the other in volume or tempo. Don't rush. Even after you've learned the melody, you have to keep your tempo slow to convey the wistful and sad mood. Beethoven marked the tempo as "molto grazioso," meaning a deeply graceful and even speed. Are You Playing at an Intermediate Level? If you're learning all three section of Fà ¼r Elise, here are tips to help you: Learn the sections in order of difficulty. As we've already seen, theme A is the least technically challenging. The most technically difficult section is the B theme, so you may want to save that one for last. Learn each section on its own, phrase by phrase. Rely on repetition for easier memorizing. The rondo form makes learning the piece by heart much easier, since 3 out of 5 sections are the same. Focus on the transitions between the sections to confidently go in and out of each. Stress the contrast. Fà ¼r Elise is marked by the shifting tones and moods of its three sections. Maintain the contrast demanded by the different sections, and connect your playing with the mood you want to convey. Are You an Advanced Musician? At this point in your musical career, you're no longer as worried about physically being able to carry the piece from sheet music to keyboard. Instead, here are some thoughts about your main challenges: Proper wrist placement. For an even smoother performance, you may want to rethink the way you hold your wrists and how to relieve tension in them while playing. This blog post has some very helpful pointers. Make your mark, find your voice. The biggest challenge for those who can readily overcome the technical challenges is that Fà ¼r Elise is everywhere and has been interpreted many, many times over. How do you bring your own quality to such a widely known work? You may want to simply avoid other interpretations while working on a piece, so that someone else's vision doesn't influence your version. Think deeply about what you want to convey, and which aspects of Beethoven's music you want to illuminate. Let these ideas be the guiding principles of your interpretation. All together now! Where Can I Find Fà ¼r Elise Sheet Music? For beginners. If you'd like a version that has only the first section, clearly labels each note with its corresponding key, and leaves out the sustains, check out this easy piano rendition. For more advanced players. If you're looking for sheet music to learn to play the piece, you can use this printable very cleanly edited PDF version. For research and study. If you are curious about the first printed version that has the D in the 7th measure instead of the E as we now accept, explore a PDF of a potentially misprinted publication. Or you can check out the draft in Beethoven’s hand that informs how we play the piece now. Fà ¼r Elise in the World I wasn't exaggerating when I said that Fà ¼r Elise is now everywhere. Here are some of the more and less unlikely places it has turned up: Garbage trucks in Taiwan use the tune, as part of that country's completely revolutionary approach to dealing with waste. Check out the 99% Invisible podcast for more of this great story. American rapper Nas built his 2002 song "I Can" around samples of this piece. Elephant, Gus Van Sant's 2003 movie about teenage alienation, used Fà ¼r Elise as a haunting refrain. The Peanuts character Schroeder performs the piece in A Charlie Brown Christmas. The Takeaway: 9 Amazing Fà ¼r Elise Facts Fà ¼r Elise was lost for over 50 years until a musicologist found it and published it after Beethoven's death. And then that final draft copy was lost again and has never been found. We do still have an earlier draft copy of Fà ¼r Elise in Beethoven's hand, but that one isn't labeled "Fà ¼r Elise." No one knows who Elise really was! But most likely, she was Therese Malfatti, the woman who broke Beethoven's heart. Fà ¼r Elise is versatile enough to have been musically reinterpreted as blues and ragtime, and used as a sample in a Nas song. There are actually three separate sections in Fà ¼r Elise: the first, most famous section repeats between two other sections. As part of the Romantic music movement that explored beautifully terrifying and unknowable spiritual and emotional experiences, Fà ¼r Elise contrasts the sad wistfulness of its main theme with the unpredictable wildness of its other two themes. Part of the reason Fà ¼r Elise remains so popular is that piano teachers the world over assign its first section to their beginner students. Because there are so many versions of Fà ¼r Elise out there, it can be very hard for professional musicians to put their own spin on this work. Garbage trucks in Taiwan use Fà ¼r Elise to let people know that the garbage pickup is happening, in kind of same the way ice cream trucks use tunes in the U.S. to get people to line up for frozen dessert.

The Education of a WASP essays

The Education of a WASP essays The idea that racism is a thing of the past is a hard concept to document, from either side of the argument. Today in America there is more opportunity, and more freedom to move from one social class to another than there ever has been. However, just as there is a "glass ceiling" in some career paths that have been traditionally dominated by white males, there also exists evidence in our country that racism is still a problem, and must be addressed in positive, proactive terms in order to create true equality. How we measure and define equality, if there is such a thing, will be the most difficult aspect to developing a strategy to eliminate Written in the mid 1960's, the racial picture in the country was significantly different at that time. While 1963 brought court mandated end to the Separate - but - Equal treatment of black Americans, the attitudes and social prejudices which remained in tact created a significant glass ceiling, and glass walls, fences, and barriers which black Americans were not allowed to cross. In Lois Stalvey's book, she lived in narrow, white anglo saxon protestant neighborhoods for the first years of her marriage. Her life has been cut out of a magazine, which described the typical American family with a couple kids, a father who worked and a mom who enjoyed staying home. However, after becoming aware of some of the prejudices on their Omaha, Nebraska home town, they chose to become active about the racism they saw, and moved to resist its injustices. They developed and nurtured friendships with persons whose racial identity and culture differed from their own. Eventually, their behavior caused a demotion and transfer for Mr. Stalvey. When they resettled, they sought housing that allowed them to live in a neighborhood of varied races and cultures. They sent their children to a school where they were a minority race. Overall, the S...

Marketing case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing case - Essay Example that expands patronage and appeal from sports enthusiast all over the world; (2) employing players from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds that represents the universal appeal and representation from different countries (there are currently 64 players from 34 different countries outside the USA who plays in the NBA); (3) bringing the game to other countries through pre-season games (Europe, Asia, Latin America) and building modern arenas to expand and promote the global appeal of the NBA; and (4) expanding visibility of the NBA through rock concerts, tours, records, and designing an online website that could be viewed and accessed by viewers worldwide. Promoting basketball as a universal game has been an evident capability of the NBA as the organization was able to attract awareness and patronage from different kinds of people from diverse cultures and races. Promoting the game to a wider audience entails talent, skills, and abilities of the organizers and of management; as well as the players involved to make the organizational universally appealing. Employing players from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds is another capability that has been exhibited by the NBA through effectively sources players from other countries with the right qualities and skills (height, enthusiasm for the game, and skills in playing). As the case facts revealed, talented players like â€Å"China. Yoo Ming, the seven foot five inch center piece of the Houston Rockets, has a personality that appeals to fans around the world. Others include the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki,and seven footer from Germany, Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies, a native of Spain and also seven feet tall San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker from France,Denver Nuggetsa forward Nene Hillario from Brazil, Orlado Magic guard Gordon Giricek from Croatia, and the newest import, Darko Milicic a seven foot teen ager from Serbia, now playing for the Detroit Pistons† (Case Facts, par. 2). Expanding