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Effects of eBooks
Effects of eBooks
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Effects of eBooks
For at least two centuries, readers were people who read and, preferably, bought physical books. In an industry confronted with an intimidating array of challenges, digital technology clearly has a lot to offer. The industry response has been uneven and at times hesitant, perhaps understandably in view of lessons learned from the failure of earlier technology initiatives. Technological innovations, affordable prices of eBooks, and partnership between small publishers trigger eBooks to influence purchases and reading of fiction and non-fiction.
Small publishers of both fiction and nonfiction have entered into partnerships with eBook publishers, availing more books into the digital world. Independent publishers addressed their distribution problems by taking advantage of social publishing services such as Scribd (Chao, Hegarty & Stefanidis, 2012). Not only has Scribd entered into distribution deals with small independents but also partnered with such major publishers as Random House and Simon & Schuster. For small publishers, this arrangement offers access to a site with 50 million users every month, while authors not only enjoy a return of 50% on net sales but also can set their own prices if they are unhappy with the default level of $9.99 a title (Chao, Hegarty & Stefanidis, 2012). In general, independent online publishing has much to offer to authors when compared to traditional book publishing models. In digital publishing, the process takes a fraction of the time it takes to produce and distribute a book in the traditional fashion and authors have complete control over all aspects of the process, including rights and the prospect of much higher royalties at the end of it. The implication of this development is that authors of both fiction and nonfiction are motivated to avail more content as eBooks.
Technological innovations take credit for an increase in eBook availability and distribution. Many people prefer fiction and nonfiction content on eBooks because the rise in mobile applications eases availability and distribution. Today, when the activity of physical reading is itself in decline and potentially at risk, the concept of e-readers and indeed of e-reading is much more pronounced. People are reading on mobile devices, from Kindles to iPhones, and the content involved includes fiction and nonfiction. Reading devices, single and multifunction and the Smartphone- all of which continue to multiply in number, influence more people to opt for eBooks because of convenience. So far as dedicated readers are concerned, Kindle still dominates, although Sony and NOOK are major players and all face competition from the likes of Google editions and interestingly, Blio and Copia, the latter two offering a potentially potent combination of content consumption and purchasing with social networking (Tian & Martin, 2011). EBooks initiated the competition between the app developers, and eventually promote further availability of fiction and non-fiction in the digital market.
Affordable pricing of eBooks influences e-readers to purchase and consequently read more fiction and nonfiction content. While the agency pricing model seeks to mediate the new pricing challenges posed by the introduction of digital products, it also operates to circumvent the threat that book distribution middlemen poses to the role of publishers in the industry. Rather than dictating that publishers handover their hard-won content to online distributors like Amazon, the Agency model allows publishers to perform their core activities albeit within changing technological and market environments (Tian & Martin, 2011). This is distinct from the traditional wholesale model, in which retailers buy books from the publisher and can then the middlemen set whatever prices they wish for them. Under the agency model, the retailer acts as an agent of the publisher, which itself sets the retail price of the eBooks, with the retailer taking a commission. This approach contributed to the prevailing cheap prices of eBooks, making consumers tread more fiction and non-fiction.
It is clear that both across the publishing mainstream and within its indie segment, publishers are using a variety of digital publishing platforms to respond to a complex of external and internal forces. More fiction and non-fiction eBooks are available online because of technological innovations, affordable prices of eBooks, and partnership between small publishers.
Comments:
This is a native speaker. He or she is a competent writer who knows how to write with flow and clear organization. There were only minor issues in this paper: small punctuation mistakes, incorrect usage of terms, incorrect capitalization, and some typos. All the information he or she presented was easily accessible and written in a way that showed competence. I would give this paper an 9.5 out of 10, or a solid A leaning towards an A+.
References
Chao, C., Hegarty, N. & Stefanidis, A. (2012). Global Impacts and Challenges of Paperless Books: A Preliminary Study. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(11), 115-121.
Tian, X. & Martin, B. (2011). Impacting Forces on eBook Business Models Development. Publishing Research Quarterly, 27(3), 230-246.
Social studies (Human behavior in the social environment)11 wk3
Social studies (Human behavior in the social environment)11 wk3
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Introduction
In many parts of the world, consumption of alcoholic beverages is common in social gatherings (who.int). However, consumption of alcohol has adverse effects on the health, social and economic statuses of the individual and the society. Some of the most dreadful effects of alcohol use are the negative health effects such as liver cirrhosis and several cancers. Whereas millions of people can control their alcohol intake, millions of others are dependent and addicted to alcohol. The latter group abuses alcohol. Alcohol dependence or abuse is ranked in the DSM-IV or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The DSM states that alcohol dependence or abuse is the recurring use of alcohol in spite of the user being aware of its negative consequences.
Alcohol use is one of the major sources of most family and social problems experienced by people especially in the minority community. The social construction approach makes the assumption that all humans take part in the social construction of reality. This means what happens around us is because of our actions. This further implies that everything that happens around us is because we choose to exercise our will. Through this, people are responsible for creating their own destinies. In the social construction approach, human interaction is through symbols. These symbols include gestures, words and facial expressions. These symbols will depend on how humans perceive each other. Social construction approach differs from traditional psychology through a number of features (Burr, 2003). This includes anti-essentialism, questioning of realism as depicted in traditional psychology and the notion of language as an expression of thought.
Experience from the group
The differences in social groups are a public issue because individuals coexist in a social environment, which directly influences their living. Through sociological imagination, individuals are able to correlate their experiences in relation to their social environment including factors that affect their daily living. As a result, they are aware of the external factors within their social environment that affect their daily lives. Such factors may be similar for different individuals and thus causing their differences to be a public issue. These factors may be religious influences or government policies among others. Secondly, individual’s life cannot be understood without evaluating the history of their society. For instance, for one to understand a black as an inferior to a white, he or she must study the events that occurred in the society and which led to the collective setting of b Many Americans are of the opinion that their society gives equal opportunities to all people, and whenever issues of poverty arise, they tend to blame those issues more on the victims. For instance, there has been ideological suspicion over relief programs in the US. Sociologist Robert Bellah states that Americans’ belief in “hyper-individualism” or “self-made man” counteracts social welfare efforts (Smiley and Cornel, 2012).
Burr (2003) provides certain key principles of the social construction approach. One of these key principles is that social construction maintains that humans need to take decisive position in understanding the world rather than taking it for granted. This implies that humans need to view the civilization in such a manner that they can be able to challenge the usual knowledge of having an unbiased observation of the world. Consequently, this approach challenges the idea that the character of the world can be exposed by observation. In the process, the use of the social construction approach teaches humans to be wary of the theories we formulate about how the world appears to be. An example of this assumption is the issue of gender and sex. Burr (3) argues that, through social construction, one may challenge the idea of man and woman to be more than the differences in sexual organs. This makes us view the idea of male and female to represent different occurring human being types. Furthermore, social construction approach would argue that humans could also be grouped by their shortness or tallness or whether they have long noses or short ones.
In addition, there exists a correlation between personal problems and public issues. Public issues are social problems that affect a large group of people. Personal problems are individual hardships that are experiences individually. Social problems impact hardships on individuals in their daily living. Disparity on racial grounds attracts hardship on individuals. These forms of hardships include discrimination and inaccessibility to certain benefits.
Drugs and substance abuse causes most violence in Owensboro community. Most of parents in the community are normally involved in drinking alcohol than any other activity. This has resulted to the establishment of drug cartels that control neighborhoods in the various cities. Consequently, this has resulted to drug wars between the different gangs that seek to have power over the drug trade since it is a lucrative industry. Excessive alcohol use also leads to violence because most alcoholic drinks cause aggressive behavior in individuals resulting violence. Drugs and substance abuse generally causes a loss of self control to the user. This means that incidents of domestic violence increase in the homes of such individuals. Some drugs, which increase sexual virility, may lead to sexual abuse and even rape if abused. Alcohol use usually develops low self esteem, and this may induce suicidal thoughts. This means they pose some violent risk to themselves.
Financial problem, in a family setting, is another result of alcohol use in the Owensboro community. In most cultures, the man or the husband in a family is expected to provide financial support in the family. This establishes the husband as an authority figure in the family. However, in situations in which the husband is unable to provide for the family financially, the husband may opt to engage in violence towards the wife as a way of showing other people in the community that authority still lies with him (Newman, and Newman 11). Financial problems lead to frustration from the inability to fulfill parental duties. Violence cropping up in such situations may be directed towards the other spouse or children.
Poverty may lead to violent behavior in individuals. This is quite evident from the many violent incidents that occur in slum areas. This may be as a consequence of harsh living conditions and little or no illustrations of love as children grow up. Individuals stand a higher chance of joining gangs and other violent related groups. Military coups may also lead to unrest and civil strife. Political differences and differences in affiliations also lead to civil wars. These may lead to multiple deaths, destruction of personal property and internal displacement of people. Such wars also increase tension and hatred between ethnic or political communities (Smiley and Cornel, 2012).
Diversification
The Owensboro community is a diversified society. The alcohol taking group forms the best representation of drug use and abuse in United States. Statistics by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) state that in 2012, 87.6% of US citizens aged more than 18 years had taken alcohol at some point in their life with 56.3% indicating that they had taken alcohol within the past month (niaaa.nih.gov). In the same year, 24.6% of US citizens aged more than 18 years admitted to binge or moderate drinking within that month. 7.1% of people admitted to engaging in heavy drinking in the past month (niaaa.nih.gov). Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) state that more than 3.3 million people (5.9% of all deaths) die annually due to the harmful effects of alcohol consumption (who.int). WHO also states that alcohol abuse causes more than 200 health conditions and that 5.1% of diseases globally can be attributed to consumption of alcohol. The consumption of alcohol is the fifth leading cause of premature death as well as disability among people (Alcohol Facts and Statistics, 2014).
Conclusion
The high rate of alcohol use by the group affects their social representation. The fact that almost all countries in the world have legalized the production and consumption of alcohol complicates the efforts to curb its abuse. Although there exist numerous laws to ensure responsible consumption of alcohol, loopholes abound in equal measure that people exploit for business or pleasure purposes. Studies into the adverse effects of alcohol on the cognitive, the physical, as well as the social developments can aid in the formulation of deterrence measures to alcohol abuse.
References
Alcohol Facts and Statistics. (2014). National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA). N.p. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. <http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics>.
Austin, Michael Bay. (2006). Area Social Services Consortium Understanding Poverty. From
Multiple Social Science Perspectives. A Learning Resource for Staff Development In Social Service Agencies.
Burr, Vivien. (2003). Social Constructionism. East Sussex: Routledge.
Smiley, T. and Cornel, W. (2012). The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto.
Carlsbad, Calif: Hay House, Inc.
Effects of drug abuse on the society
Effects of drug abuse on the society
There are various definitions of drug abuse which have evolved over centuries. According to the Columbia encyclopaedia, (2008), drug abuse is the habitual use of any chemical substance to alter the state of the body or mind for reasons other than medically warranted purposes. The definitions have kept on changing as new aspects on the practice are established. These new dimensions include introduction of new drugs and also the increasing abuse of prescription drugs. In a policy discussion paper, The Health Officers Council of British Columbia (2005), sought to broaden the scope of the term drug abuse to emphasize the role of society, culture and availability of the illegal drugs. Rather than accepting the ambivalent terms alcohol or drug “abuse,” many public health professionals have also adopted phrases such as “alcohol and drug problems” or “harmful/problematic use” of drugs. However, all available definitions imply a negative implication which goes against the moral or accepted values of society. According to the Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary (2002) , some of the most commonly abused drugs include HYPERLINK “http://misc.thefullwiki.org/Ethanol” o “Ethanol” alcohol, HYPERLINK “http://misc.thefullwiki.org/Amphetamines” o “Amphetamines” amphetamines, HYPERLINK “http://misc.thefullwiki.org/Barbiturate” o “Barbiturate” marijuana, HYPERLINK “http://misc.thefullwiki.org/Benzodiazepine” o “Benzodiazepine” benzodiazepines, HYPERLINK “http://misc.thefullwiki.org/Cocaine” o “Cocaine” cocaine, meth and HYPERLINK “http://misc.thefullwiki.org/Opioid” o “Opioid” opium alkaloids. The negative consequences of drug abuse affect not only individuals who abuse drugs but also their families and friends. In short, the society at large bears the larger part of the blunt arising from an individual’s substance abuse. There are several major ways in which the society is affected by the vice.
The first effect of drug abuse is family breakups. When drug users spiral into addiction, they lose all focus in life including their responsibilities. The need to support the habit comes before the welfare of their families in most cases. Eventually, they are not able to support their families and their spouses walk out of the relationship. The victims are the children who are not able to grow in a supportive family environment. The National Drug Intelligence Centre of America (2006) posited that children whose parents and other family member’s abuse drugs are physically or emotionally abused and often lack proper immunizations, medical care, dental care, and necessities such as food, water, and shelter. The same report indicated that 4.3 percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 confessed to having used illicit drugs in the past month. Children from such families might end up as reserved and are most likely to fall into the same pit of drug abuse to escape their despondence. This might lead to destitute children or homeless families thus straining the relevant to authorities’ resources.
Secondly drug abuse has been associated with an increase in crime level in different communities. In a survey by the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program (2009) there was a reaffirmation on the strong link between HYPERLINK “http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-cities-fund-needle-exchange-programs” drug use and HYPERLINK “http://www.opposingviews.com/topics/crime” crime. The research’s findings were consistent with various studies on the correlation between drug abuse and the rates of criminal activities in most countries. The rational explanation for the trend is that most substance abusers involve themselves in crime to support their expensive habits. In other cases, their crime involvement comes when they lose jobs due to drug dependence or at the point when their resources are depleted by the practice. Casavant. L. and Colin.c, (2001) in a paper presented to senate special committee on illegal drugs, argued that the scientific studies conducted over the past two decades provide evidence which tends to show that drug use is one of a number of factors that may explain why some people commit criminal acts. They continued to add that many people who have developed an addiction to expensive drugs such as heroin and crack/cocaine and cannot afford their habit will commit crimes to buy drugs. The rise in crime is costly to any society. There is less economic investment in communities plagued with insecurity. The government is also hard pressed to fight crime which strains resources that would have been used in provision more important social services.
Another negative effect of drug abuse in society is the link between the vice and an increase in sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. According to the National Drug Intelligence Centre of America (2006) the most obvious effects of drug abuse–which are manifested in the individuals who abuse drugs–include ill health, sickness and, ultimately, death. Of particular concern in this is the contraction of needle borne illnesses including hepatitis and HIV/AIDS through injection drug use. Some risky behaviours such as needle sharing and unsafe sex are common among people who abuse drugs. This is because most of the substances altar brain functioning and also impair decision making individuals leading to life threatening activities. In addition most of these drugs also weaken the immune system. The lethal combination increases the likelihood of acquiring HIV-AIDS, hepatitis and many other infectious diseases. In a study aimed at the youth by National Institute on Drug Abuse (2009), the poor judgement was mostly observed among alcohol abusers. The study concluded that such actions could lead to unsafe sexual practices which could ultimately lead to HIV infection. A lot of resources are used to research on eradication of these diseases and drug use negates any gains made so far. Moreover, personnel management studies have shown that a healthy society produces a better workforce. The resources used to curb the spread of the diseases could be used in other development projects to aid the larger society.
Lastly, drug abuse affects the productivity of the individuals. Many companies suffer due to inefficient services provided by their employees who abuse drugs. According to The National Drug Intelligence Centre of America (2006), many substance abusers are unable to fruitfully hold on to their jobs. In addition, those who do pose a great treat especially in sensitive job positions where a minor degree of impairment could be catastrophic such as airline pilots, air traffic controllers, train operators, and bus drivers. The businesses also suffer as most of these employees have a proclivity to pilfer company materials leading to significant losses. The issue of absenteeism also arises and it affects the company’s productivity and ability to return profits. Employees who are addicted are also prone to use higher insurance and medical covers to cater for various illnesses that emanate from their drug use. When businesses are not able to break even, job cuts ensue leading to even more problems in the society.
In conclusion, we can comfortably say that though drug abuse affects the individual first, the ripple effect is felt even more by the larger society. The effects discussed above are just but a few among myriad others. The bottom line thus appears to be more resource dedication to fighting the vice. Most families try to avoid stigmatization by turning their back on affected members. However, as earlier observed, this will just deteriorate the problem further. There is also the need for legislation and more research in all societies regarding the issue of drug abuse and addiction. In Kenya for example, an alcohol control law has been passed to try and stem the tide of alcoholism. The law also incorporates research and compels the government to create more awareness on the same. The resources needed might be enormous but the alternative is even more costly. According to Volkow. W, (2007), drug abuse and addiction are major burdens to society; economic costs alone exceed half a million trillion dollars annually in America …and however staggering those numbers are, they provide a limited perspective of the devastating effects of this disease,”. It thus behoves all authorities to proactively create awareness on the dangers of drug abuse in the society to avoid wastage of resources in curing ailments related to the practice.
References:
Casavant,L. and Colin,C. (2001), illegal drug use and crime; a complex relationship, retrieved from, HYPERLINK “http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/library-e/collin-e.htm” http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/library-e/collin-e.htm , November 2010.
“Drug addiction and drug abuse” the Columbia Encyclopaedia, sixth edition 2008, Encyclopedia.com
Hogan, D. (1997). The Social and Psychological Needs of Children of Drug Users: Dublin.The Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College.
Mosby’s Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary, Sixth Edition. Drug abuse definition , p. 552. Nursing diagnoses p. 2109. ISBN 0-323-01430-5.
The Impact of Drugs on Society, retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs11/18862/impact.htm” http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs11/18862/impact.htm, November 2010
Volkow.W, (2007), a call for an expanded science–based drug abuse strategy, retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.cpdd.vcu.edu/Pages/Index/Index_PDFs/TransitionPaperOctober20081.pdf” http://www.cpdd.vcu.edu/Pages/Index/Index_PDFs/TransitionPaperOctober20081.pdf, November 2010
World AIDS Day, HYPERLINK “http://www.worldaidsday.org” t “_blank” World AIDS Day (http://www.worldaidsday.org). Retrieved November 2010