A letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal Assignment

A letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal - Assignment Example If the customers trusted the banks with their personal information and not Bloomberg, their choice should be respected and not tampered with. Though Mr. Thomas Nides, the vice chairman for Morgan Stanley says that Bloomberg is â€Å"†¦assuring customers this was a mistake and that they are going to rectify that,† Bloomberg should do more than apologizing. It should even be sued for infringement on people’s privacy and pay the affected customers damages as determined by courts. This is to keep off other firms from repeating such activities in the future. Another thing that should be done is that the affected firms, among them Goldman Sachs Group Inc., should put into place measures that will ensure that no data is leaked from their databases to unauthorized parties. This case involved a firm (Bloomberg) that has taken measures to protect its name. Next time it could involve a hacker or any individual with criminal activities. Thank

Management Planning Paper Essay Example for Free

Management Planning Paper Essay The Boeing Corporation is the world’s leading aerospace company and is the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners as well as military aircrafts. Boeing has teams that manufacture missiles, satellites, defense systems, and communication systems. NASA turns to Boeing when they need something and Boeing operates the International Space Station. Boeing has a broad range of capabilities and skills, which is probably the reason they are the world’s leading aerospace company. With the Boeing headquarters in Chicago, more than 170,000 people in 70 different countries find themselves employed with the corporation and most of them hold a college degree (Boeing Corporation,  2012). It takes many hard working employees and managers to make Boeing a successful corporation. This paper will discuss the planning function of management, analyze the influence of legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility and their effects on management planning. I will also analyze factors that influence the company’s strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning as they relate to the Boeing Corporation. The planning function of management is the process of setting goals within the corporation that are expected to be achieved over a set period. Therefore, Boeing got to be the world’s leading aerospace company by setting such goals. The Boeing Corporation has engineer departments, sales departments, mechanical departments, and product testing departments among a few others. Each individual department will have set goals put in place by corporate and guidelines regarding how they should achieve the desired goal for each project. Each goal is designed for each department to become the most efficient in their levels. There are six steps in management planning. The steps listed in provided course materials are situational analysis, alternative goals and plans, goal and plan evaluation, goal and plan selection, implementation, and monitor and control (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). Step one gathers and summarizes information that is in question. It examines current conditions with an attempt at forecasting future conditions. Step two generates alternative goals that may be used as an alternate if the first desired plan does not ork. Step three evaluates the potential of the alternative goals and prioritizes/eliminates ones that might or might not work. Step four in management planning is the selecting of goals believed to be most appropriate and feasible by the managers. Step five implements the goals and plans into action by managers. Goal achievement is likely to be linked to the organizationâ₠¬â„¢s reward system to encourage employees to achieve the goals and implement plans properly (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). Step six is essential in making sure goals and plans are met. If the goals and plans are not monitored and controlled managers would not know if they were ever met successfully. Boeing the huge corporation that it is has had its fair share of legal issues. The corporation has to pay special attention to detail when it concerns obeying the laws and regulations in regard the manufacturing of aircraft. The planes must be tested for safety and flying ability before they ever hit the mainstream public. Notices on the aircraft tell passengers when they should be buckled and when it is considered safe to unbuckle. Engineers have to provide manuals for the aircrafts in case any issues may arise when in use. Ethical issues come into play when Boeing makes bids to other corporations like the military or NASA. They are not allowed to charge prices that people believe to be unfair or make any changes after things have already been agreed upon. This means that the sales department has to plan how much they want to sell their product for. The main corporate social responsibility that Boeing has is safety. They have to engineer items safe for the public to be on/use. With Boeing being the world’s leading Aerospace Corporation, millions of people rely on the use of their products. That means that engineers have to know the latest safety information and managers have to make sure that they put the safety information to use. Strategic planning is used by the Boeing Corporation when making new aircraft and other items. They have to figure out how to market their item just right so that buyers will be interested in it. This planning has led Boeing to make planes more efficient and comfortable for passengers to ride on. Tactical planning is organized for competition, such as Airbus and demand for product. Boeing is a competitor of Airbus, which is another aerospace engineering corporation. Boeing has to be aware of competitor’s new products and when they will be released. This means that they have to formulate and release products either better or more efficient than the competition’s. Operational planning identifies the specific procedures and processes required at the lower-levels within an organization (Thomas S. Bateman, Scott A. Snell,  2009). So within the Boeing Corporation this would be those who deal with the delivery schedules and human resources departments. Every plane that takes off or leaves an airport has to be scheduled and the arrival/departure times displayed so that the public is aware. Human resources is responsible for the hiring/firing of Boeing’s many employees and any issues consumers may have with a product or service. If someone believes that they did not have a good experience in the flight he or she would call the resource department, and the department would most likely do everything in his or her power to make the person feel better. Contingency plans are put in place in case of any challenges that may arise when making their products. A good example of Boeing’s contingency plan is in 2008 they were trying to produce 40 aircraft a year but the United States hit an economic crisis. This meant that Boeing had to cut back their number of aircraft being created so they did not feel the effects of the economic crisis. So Boeing did not become the world’s leading aerospace corporation by doing nothing. It took hard work, planning, and management. There are six steps in management planning that corporations follow to try to ensure their survival in a competitive world. Boeing has had its fair share of legal and ethical issues and tries to abide by the rules and regulations for safety set forth by the goverment. Boeing tries to keep a strategic plan when creating new products and a tactical plan on how to market their items.

Comparing Ursula K. LeGuin’s Forgiveness Day and Nicola Griffith’s Ammo

Comparing Ursula K. LeGuin’s Forgiveness Day and Nicola Griffith’s Ammonite   Ã‚  Ã‚   In Ammonite, Nicola Griffith tells the story of one woman’s encounter with and assimilation into the culture of an alien world.   Ursula K. LeGuin’s â€Å"Forgiveness Day† similarly recounts one woman’s experiences as she confronts an alien culture.   In both cases, these women, Solly in â€Å"Forgiveness Day† and Marghe in Ammonite, learn about themselves as their position shifts away from that of an outsider and they find their place in society.   Although there are similarities in the characters’ backgrounds, their journeys, and their quest for belonging, there are fundamental differences in the process the characters go through in order to find a place where they belong.   Specifically,   LeGuin and Griffith mirror one another in describing the causal relationship between accepting oneself and participating in a romantic partner relationship.   This difference is telling as it reflects the differing attitudes towa rds the role of romantic partnerships in one’s growth process as well as in society as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚   As these stories begin, both Marghe and Solly are striking in their lack of attachments to the outside world.   Moreover, they confident in their professional abilities and proud of their independence.   In their freedom, both are spiritual orphans.   Marghe’s mother is dead and she is not in contact with her father.   In addition, she has no real friends and is distrustful of her colleagues on Jeep.   Solly is also an orphan in a very real sense; she has spent most of her life in space, and the technical restrictions of travel mean that as she traveled she would skip â€Å"another half millennium in the process† (LeGuin 47).   Her parents, as well as anyone ... ...serve â€Å"with great distinction as a Stabile† (123).   Solly finds places to belong, and Teyeo finds he belongs at her side.   Marghe is only able to find a place and fall in love after she has truly come to know and understand herself.   She joins a family, helps to support it, and learns to belong.   Romantic love, instead of making her belong, becomes possible only after Marghe has taken significant steps towards finding her place rn the world.   Nonetheless, in both cases, the authors demonstrate their characters’ need for true human contact and companionship and their own belief that such contact is an important part of life.   To become whole, the outsider must come in.    Works Cited Griffith, Nicola.   Ammonite.   Toronto: Ballantine Books, 1992. LeGuin, Ursula K.   â€Å"Forgiveness Day.†Ã‚   Four Ways to Forgiveness.   New York: HarperPaperbacks, 1995.   Pp. 47-124.

Human Nature in Sebastian Faulks Birdsong and Arthur Millers The Cruc

Human Nature in Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong and Arthur Miller's The Crucible Both The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller, and the novel, Birdsong, by Sebastian Faulks, are pieces of literature based around historical events. Miller's play is set during the Salem Witch trials of 1692 and Birdsong concentrates primarily on characters involved in the First World War which took place from 1914 to 1918. Both of these periods in history are examples of times when human beings have displayed the darker side to their nature: the capacity to kill. Both Faulks and Miller have attempted to explore the reasons behind their character's actions along with the mechanisms and strong emotions within humans that make ordinary people capable of committing atrocities. However, the authors also highlight the positive aspects of human nature, the great love, courage and loyalty which manages to emerge unscathed out of the most horrific circumstances. As I have already mentioned both The Crucible and Birdsong explore man's capacity to kill other human beings. The two pieces, however, approach this subject in very different ways. Arthur Miller's play, set during the Salem Witch hunt, concentrates on the various emotions, such as fear, greed and revenge, driving individuals to accuse their friends and neighbours of witchcraft. Birdsong, on the other hand, depicts a much larger conflict and focuses more on the ability of the soldiers to withstand the horrors that they are witnessing and committing everyday. In his play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller illustrates a great number of human emotions and tensions within the Salem community which, when combined, result in the execution of many people on the grounds that they are... ...he dangers of forgetting the past. Elizabeth's life seems so tranquil compared to that of Stephen Wraysford but the fact that the Second World War followed so shortly after the First demonstrates how easy it is for mankind to repeat the errors of the past. Equipped with this knowledge the reader realises that even Elizabeth's comfortable, peaceful lifestyle is vulnerable and at risk. The Crucible and Birdsong, in their different ways, both highlight the complexity of human nature where love, loyalty and honesty co-exist with hatred, fear and suspicion. This means that even in times of conflict and slaughter people display the ability to love, trust and make sacrifices. However the greatest flaw in mankind's makeup is the ability to forget the horrors of the past, therefore allowing the continual repetition throughout history of the same, fatal mistakes.

Why Animal Testing Can Save Our Lives

Many years ago, people follow particular traditions that involves animal sacrifice. According to biblical history, animals were often killed to use as sacrifices to God. In Genesis, Abraham sacrificed a ram after he was stopped by an angel to kill his son as a sign of full obedience to God. Clearly, animal sacrifices has been accepted ever since our ancestors had developed various religions where they believed meat offerings were pleasant to the eyes of their God. As one of the most complicated ethical issues of today, animal testing can be viewed in the same way with the historical animal sacrifices. As humans in past were saved spiritually by offering animals, it is reasonable to conclude that animal testing is a kind of sacrifice that humans must do to save lives physically and emotionally. Why Animal Testing Can Save Our Lives One of the primary reasons why animal testing is considered helpful for the advance of man is the fact that it plays a significant role in the progress of medicine. Newly created drugs are safer to use by humans if they are tested on animals first. Some people believes that it is unethical and improper to use a drug if it has not been tested on animals before (Hayhurst, 20). They argue that it is the best possible way to determine if a drug is safe or not. They clearly have a point in this argument. Apparently, they believe that human lives are much important than animal lives. â€Å"Many people who argue for animal testing agree that it's unfortunate that animals must sometimes suffer, but they feel that the pain is a small price to pay if it advances science and produces new cures for deadly diseases such as cancer and AIDS† (Hayhurst, 21). On the other hand, people who are against animal testing argue that animal lives should also be treated with utmost importance and should not be used as sacrifices to attain something. One of the points of these people are the fact that some cosmetic manufacturers also engage in animal testing to try their products. They believe that such products are â€Å"unnecessary† for animals' health to be sacrificed (Hayhurst, 21). There is the blinding of mice to enable cosmetic manufacturers to produce a new kind of mascara and other. They also argue that animal reactions to drugs can be quite different from that of humans. â€Å"Because of the irreconcilable biological differences between animals and human beings, the results of animal tests cannot be applied to human beings with any degree of confidence† (qtd. in Lovegrove, 14). However, it is the issue of morality and ethics that is enveloping the entire argument against animal testing. Many people on this side believes that animals have the right to live and that humans cannot just treat them in any way just because they can. Apparently, both sides of the issue raises important points that should be considered to achieve a fair and justified treatment of the issue. Clearly, there is a lot at stake here whether in the morality or the medical advancement of human beings but both ways still considers what is good for man. Nevertheless, the problem with some animal rights activists is that, â€Å"there is too much emphasis on ethics and too little emphasis on what they perceive as scientific benefits† (qtd. in Connor). In our present situation where diseases are rampant, it is important that people must be receptive and open-minded enough to consider tough decisions such as supporting animal testing. It is also important that people weigh the circumstances of what animal research could do in the existence and survival of mankind in the future. The problem with some activists is that they focus so much on what is happening today that they tend to forget what could happen in the future. Conclusion Our world today is experiencing so many medical challenges such as the spread of A(H1N1) virus, cancer, AIDS and other diseases; therefore, it is important that we consider sacrificing something today to enable us to prepare for the future. In addition, these animals also benefit from the testing as their future generations also benefits from the medical progress to which they contribute. Hence, it is quite reasonable to conclude that some tough decisions and actions should be made to make this place better and safer for all of us. It is for the greater good that a few must suffer to attain something better in the future.

Free Essays on Formal Analysis Of Looking At Crab-apple Blossoms At Night

of Frank Lloyd Wright, â€Å"Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.† This is the relationship of form to function found in the Southern Song court painting, Looking at Crab-apple Blossoms at Night. Painted on a silk fan with ink and color, the piece serves a purpose beyond its artistic worth by functioning as a fan. The content of the fan’s imagery is a representation of a poem composed by Su Shi for the emperor Lizong. Looking at Crab-apple Blossoms at Night is, therefore, uniquely able to forge a marriage between not just form and function, but also content. Because the fan was painted mostly in ink, the silk was most likely covered in a glaze to prevent a diluting of the boldness of the ink due to absorption by the silk. Conversely, sizing silk makes the surface slick and more difficult to paint on. Such a surface requires meticulous and deliberate strokes. Therefore, the artist undoubtedly put a great deal of effort into the composition and content while maintaining a clean and intentional brushstroke. The scene portrayed on the fan serves two purposes. It illustrates the patron’s poem by prominently displaying imagery from the poem such as the flowers and silver candles. The formal style used by the artist unites content and form. The pictorial imagery serves the dual purpose of creating a mood of serenity. The serenity of the scene lends to the function of the fan, which is to induce comfort. One typically uses a fan when the climate is hot and harsh. The imagery of Looking at Crab-apple Blossoms at Night depicts a cool, spring night at a peaceful and organic structure in the midst of a tranquil and scenic landscape. Anyone who requires the fan’s function is thereby transported to a cool and serene resting spot. The serene tone of the painting is achieved through the use of several formal techniques. Sharp and angul... Free Essays on Formal Analysis Of Looking At Crab-apple Blossoms At Night Free Essays on Formal Analysis Of Looking At Crab-apple Blossoms At Night In the words of Frank Lloyd Wright, â€Å"Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.† This is the relationship of form to function found in the Southern Song court painting, Looking at Crab-apple Blossoms at Night. Painted on a silk fan with ink and color, the piece serves a purpose beyond its artistic worth by functioning as a fan. The content of the fan’s imagery is a representation of a poem composed by Su Shi for the emperor Lizong. Looking at Crab-apple Blossoms at Night is, therefore, uniquely able to forge a marriage between not just form and function, but also content. Because the fan was painted mostly in ink, the silk was most likely covered in a glaze to prevent a diluting of the boldness of the ink due to absorption by the silk. Conversely, sizing silk makes the surface slick and more difficult to paint on. Such a surface requires meticulous and deliberate strokes. Therefore, the artist undoubtedly put a great deal of effort into the composition and content while maintaining a clean and intentional brushstroke. The scene portrayed on the fan serves two purposes. It illustrates the patron’s poem by prominently displaying imagery from the poem such as the flowers and silver candles. The formal style used by the artist unites content and form. The pictorial imagery serves the dual purpose of creating a mood of serenity. The serenity of the scene lends to the function of the fan, which is to induce comfort. One typically uses a fan when the climate is hot and harsh. The imagery of Looking at Crab-apple Blossoms at Night depicts a cool, spring night at a peaceful and organic structure in the midst of a tranquil and scenic landscape. Anyone who requires the fan’s function is thereby transported to a cool and serene resting spot. The serene tone of the painting is achieved through the use of several formal techniques. Sharp and angul...

History of Photography Culture

History of Photography Culture Executive Summary Photography is a culture that has been present since the 19th century. However, the advancement in technology has greatly changed the manner in which the society regards photographs. During the analogue era, photography was used to store family memories.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on History of Photography Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, in the digital era, photography is used as a means of personal identification and communication. To expound on this, this paper focused on the theories, background and the perception that the society had on both analogue and digital photographs. The paper also expounded on the impacts that social networks and digital manipulation have on digital photographs. This brought about a deeper understanding of the changes that are being experienced in photography. Introduction Photography can be regarded as an art as well as a science that aims at creat ing long lasting images. Images are usually created with the help of a lens that focuses the light that is either emitted or reflected by the object into a light sensitive material (Hirsch, 1997). During the early days, a photographic emulsion of the latent image was created on a film. However, this film needed to undergo several chemical processes for the final image to be arrived at. However, with the advancement in technology, photography has developed. The quality of modern images is better, the process of creating images is much more effective and fast. Therefore, the resultant effects of photography have changed over time. Photography can be traced back to the beginning of the 19th century. During the 1820s, Joseph Nicephore, a French inventor managed to create a photograph with the use of a camera Obscura (Dijck, 2008). However, he destroyed the image that he created while attempting to create a duplicate. However, several years later, he was successful once again to create a permanent image. This marked the beginning of modern photography. Due to its success and efficiency, this new technique managed to replace traditional methods of creating portraits and images such as painting and carving. Photography was capable of capturing more details and information as compared to traditional methods of creating images and portraits.Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The stop capability of a photograph therefore played a critical role in determining the manner in which the society regarded photographs. During the early days, the society used photography as a means of storing memories. Unlike their analogue counterparts, digital photographs are easy to make. Their characteristics allow them to be easily manipulated to please the eye of the user. With these differences, the question of whether the main purpose of a photograph is to safeguard a memory or represent the identity of an individual is always inevitable. To answer this question, this paper will focus on the history and development of photographs. It will compare and contrast analogue and digital photographs and determine the impacts that they have on an individual and to the society. Photography during the Analogue Era Photography commenced during the 19th century. However, before photography came into play, several strategies had been advanced by man to capture images. Painting and carving are perhaps one of the main methods that man used to represent himself in a virtual form. However, these works of art were not precise. They did not expressly represent the original object or field of view that they actually resembled. Photographs on the other hand were capable of actually duplicating and representing the exact image of the object in focus. This characteristic led to the development of the concept of photographic truth (Hirsch, 1997). Several theories have been adva nced by scholars to explain the relationship that exists between the image developed from photographs and the real world. A photograph always represents the image of an object exactly as it appeared. The capability of an image to have a stop action that actually represents the truth of a given object at a given time played a critical role in increasing the credibility of photographs and photography at large. Thus, as a result of the credibility, reliability and realism of photography, the development of photography was closely related to the industrial revolution, the scientific revolution and advancement in philosophy (Dijck, 2008). During this era, the world was experiencing a transformation that led to the emergence of modernism.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on History of Photography Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thus, to capture the change in culture, industrialization, politics, and science, photogr aphy was used. Photography has played a critical role in presenting the visual representation of the development of the western world from the Renaissance period up to the modern era. During this time, photography was highly related to the elite individuals of the society (Dijck, 1995). This included scientists, politicians, merchants and so on. However, things took a different turn during the second half of the 19th century. George Eastman developed the film as a replacement for the rudimentary photographic plated in 1884 (Dijck, 1995). As a result, the size of cameras gradually reduced. Developing pictures using the film technology was relatively easier and the resultant images were of superior quality. Most importantly, the cost associated with taking a photograph was reduced. During the beginning of the 20th century, Gabriel Lippmann developed the Lippmann plate that was capable of producing colour photographs. With this advancement in photographic technology, the concept of pho tography slowly moved from the elite to the general population within the society. With this advancement, families relied on photography as a form of technology that enabled them to store their memories and experiences in material form for future reference (Dijck, 2008). Photographs were used to show the growth and development of a given family. By the end of the 19th century, almost every family in the United States and Europe has a photo camera (Mitchell, 1992). This was the main tool that families used during the 20th century to display their growth, development and connectedness. It is inevitable for any family during the second half of the 20th century to lack a photo album. Photo albums were always regarded as a means through which a family can reach out to its memories and reminisce. Thus, photographs were mainly used to represent the pictorial heritage of a given family.Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Consequently, during the 19th and 20th century, photographs were used as a means of communication. During the 20th century, tourists took photographs of various scenarios and sites from all around the world. The photographs of the Grand Canyon, the Taj Mahal, Pyramids of Egypt, the Eifel tower and so on are good examples. These photographs not only portray the memories that the tourists had while visiting these areas but it also communicates to the viewer the beauty of the scenery that they were in. This concept has gained wide application up to the modern era especially in marketing (Castells, 2009). Many advertising campaigns use photographs to pass their main message. By viewing the picture, the target audience ultimately gets the message being conveyed. Photography in the Digital Era Technology is dynamic in nature. Thus, as photographs replaced carvings and paintings as the main mode of representation, since the 1980s, digital photographs have replaced analogue photographs. As a result, a lot of arguments have been presented for and against this change. In analogue photographs, the light reflected by the lens from the object was captured in a chemical film that was inside a camera. It is the film that was processed to give the actual picture on an analogue image. Thus, the final image could not me modified or altered in any way whatsoever. Digital images on the other hand are created using a different technique. The images are developed with the help of digital cameras that convert the light that is reflected from an object into digital code (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). Unlike in the analogue technology where the image was inferred on an analogue paper, digital images can be inferred on a variety of components. These include components such as digital screens of camera, computers, cell phones and so on. Despite the sophisticated technology behind the creation of digital images, the costs incurred are minimal. Technological advancements have made digital came ras to be reduced in size. As a result, cameras are available in most gadgets including cell phones. Thus, unlike in the 1970s where almost every home owned a photo camera, in the 21st century, almost every teenage and adult as his/her own digital camera. This has greatly increased the ease at which individuals take photographs. Consequently, digital photographs are stored in codes. These codes can be interpreted in the form of algorithms. Thus, any component that can read these algorithms will have the capability of interpreting the image that it contains. It is as a result of this fact that many components are capable of interpreting and displaying digital images (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). This capability enables the manipulation of digital images. Thus, users have the option of modifying or altering the content contained in digital images. Finally, the algorithms have made it possible for digital images to be compressed as well as being stored in different formats. This attribute has greatly increased the portability and transmission of digital images over vast networks of media. Digital photographs came about as a result of the advancement of the computer and developments in information technology (Binkley, 2003). As a result of computer imaging and the use of sophisticated softwares, man is now capable of generating digital photographs of almost any object within his field of view (Binkley, 2003). Thus, as the development of analogue photographs was in line with the industrial and scientific revolution, the development of digital photographs has always been in line with the advancement in information, communication and technology. Thus, the computer and its accompanying components and softwares have replaced optical lenses, mechanical cameras and films (Castells, 2009). At the present moment, people store their images on memory cards and CDs. Very few people use photographic films to produce photographs. The digital modes of storing images enable the users to view their pictures on their computers, televisions, cell phones or any other digital media. This has slowly led to the facing off of family albums that were quite common in the homes of many families during the 20th century. Implications of Digital Pictures The trend that is related to digital photographs has brought about a lot of arguments with regards to the ethical and social implication that digital pictures have as compared to their analogue counterparts. Digital images have always been regarded as the main factor that led to the decline of analogue photographs. Many scholars regard digital photography as the main factor that led to the death of an era of analogue photography that lasted for over 150 years (Stewart, 2008). To many, this phenomenon has brought about the end of a photographic culture that has been present in the west from the 18th century to the 20th century. This culture was mainly dominated by the maintenance of family memory with the help of photographs. However, due to their nature of application, digital photographs have been regarded as tools that support the personal identity of an individual. The motives behind photographs have gradually changed with the emergence of digital photographs. Members of the new generations now use photographs to portray their individual images, interests and identities unlike the members of the older generations who used images as a means of storing memory and reminiscing (Stewart, 2008). Several studies have been conducted to determine the reasons why teenagers take photographs. In most of these studies, it has emerged that teenagers take photographs as a means of social communication. However, the teenagers believe that they are taking photographs as a means of permanent record for their lives. The disparity between their beliefs and actual behaviour significantly reveal the impact that digital photographs have on individuals and the society at large. During the analogue era, photographs were tak en to show family lineage and bonds in families. However, during the digital era, photographs act as a means of social communication through which an individual uses to reach out to his/her peers or members of a given group (Harrison, 2002). From a closer analysis, it is evident that teenagers interact more with their peers and individuals from their social circle as compared to how they interact with their parents and other family members. With this realisation, a lot of individuals and scholars have argued that the culture of photography as it was known in the last two centuries has ended (Lindsay, 2004). The 21st century has witnessed the development of a new mode of socialization, interaction and communication in the world; social media. Social networks are virtual organizations on the internet that have been created with the use of sophisticated computer softwares and commands. These networks enable individuals to interact with each other irrespective of their physical location , culture, background and origin. With the use of these networks, people can share a lot of information with their friends, create and interact with new friends and discuss about several issues of concern. All this is possible without having physical contact with one another. Examples of social networks include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, MySpace and so on. Social networks enable its users to interact with each other and through direct communication, sharing of information, pictures, videos and other forms of media files. However, the level and extent in which users access and share files is questionable. This is because, a user can download, share or manipulate another user without his/her own consent. For instance, Facebook has the share option. Thus, your friends can share your pictures and videos without your consent as if they were originally theirs. To some extent, this can be viewed as copyright infringement (Bennett and Charles, 2006). These trends are quite normal in the social network world and they question the morals and ethics behind digital photographs and the confidentiality and privacy that digital photographs and social network sites have. Another issue that has raised questions about the ethics, morals, and reliability of digital photographs is the concept of digital manipulation. Analogue photographs were always associated with truth, realism and evidence of the physical world (Dijck, 2008). This is because their images were actual representations of the objects they portray. Digital images also have the same capability. However, due to their digital nature, users can modify, copy, compress or network a digital image. Thus, man can alter the emitted light that has been digitalised to come up with an image that fits his needs and desires. With the help of computer components and softwares, a digital photograph can be modified even further. Adobe Photoshop can be used to modify the digital codes and quality of an image. This concept is widely common in social networking, journalism, advertisement, and design (Stelzner, 2012). However, critics argue that modification of an image eliminates its element of reality since it does not Conclusion The transition from analogue to digital photographs has always been characterised by a lot of debate. Analogue photographs have always been used to store family memories while digital photographs are being used as tools for expressing personal identity and communication. Despite the criticisms that might be present, it is evident that digital photographs are in line with the prevailing culture and technology. However, to ensure that this advancement is effective and sustainable, the privacy of digital images needs to be guaranteed especially while being used in social media. This will ensure that the rights of users are not infringed while they are trying to achieve their social goals with the use of images. References Bennett, C. and Charles R. 2006, The governance of privac y, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA: Binkley, T 2003, Refiguring culture, BFI, London. Boyd, D. and Ellison, N. 2007, ‘Social network sites: definition, history and scholarship’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communications vol. 13 no. 1, pp. 210-230. Castells, M 2009, Communication power, Oxford University Press, New York. Dijck, J 1995, Manufacturing babies and public consent: Debating the new reproductive technologies, New York University Press, New York. Dijck, J 2008, Digital photography: Communication, identity and memory. Web. Harrison, B 2002, ‘Photographic visions and narrative inquiry’, Narrative Inquiry vol. 12 no. 1, pp. 87–111. Hirsch, M 1997, Family Frames: Photography, Narrative, and Postmemory, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Lindsay, S 2004, ‘True photographs and false memories’, Psychological Science vol. 15 no. 3, pp. 149–54. Mitchell, W 1992, The reconfigured eye: Visual truth in the postphotographic era, The M IT Press, Cambridge, MA. Stelzner, M 2012, ‘Social media marketing industry report: how marketers are using social media to grow their businesses’, Social Media Examiner vol. 1 no. 4, pp. 12-30. Steward, T 2008, Photography: A critical introduction, Sage, New York.