Monday, September 30, 2019

King Arthur and His Knights Round Table Essay

We have read King Arthur and the knights of the round table. It’s a fantasy/history book. Here is a short summary: After Uther Pendragon’s death, Merlin the druid forms a stone, and in it, a sword. On this sword, it is written that anyone who can pull it out of the stone will become the new king of England. After many years, the young Arthur, (secretly the son of Pendragon), pulls this magical sword out of the stone, and becomes king. Together with Merlin, he constructs a round table, where only the best knights of England may sit. More and more knights come to join the brotherhood of the Round Table, and each has his own adventures After many years, The holy knight Sir Galahad, the son of Sir Lancelot, comes to the court of Arthur. With his coming, all knights ride throughout Europe for the search of the Holy Grail of Jesus Christ. Only four knights see the Grail: Sir Lancelot, Sir Percival, Sir Bors de Gaunnes and Sir Galahad. After the Grail is found, the last battle of the Round Table is close-at-hand. In this battle, many knights die and with them, King Arthur, his nephew Sir Gawain, and also, Mordred, the wicked son of King Arthur and his half-sister Morgana le Fay. King Arthur is buried at Avalon, the secret island of the druids and damsels. A remarkeble quote from the book was; ‘and herewith I make you a knight. Go forward as you have begun, and there will be a place waiting for you at the Round Table. And I hold that you will be one of the truest knights in all the Realm of Logres, and one of the gentlest and most valiant. Said Launcelot to Gareth of Orkney. ’ We decided to choose this quote because Gareth of Orkney was a kind of an outsider. When he came to Arthur’s castle, they were making fun of him, and bullied him. But even after everything he has been to, he made it to a Knight of the round table. Next thing you are going to see, are some pictures that deal with the book. We used some pictures from the movie King Arthur. We thought that these pictures were the most matching pictures we could find. You are going to see some pictures of the main characters and more.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Crips and Bloods

The movie Crips and Bloods: Made in America is about a cluster of neighborhoods in the heart of Southern California. It highlights young African American men in two separate gangs called the Crips and the Bloods. The Crips are one of the oldest and largest gangs in the United States and the Bloods are a street gang originating from Los Angeles, California. They have been involved in murders, robberies, and drug dealing in the Los Angeles area. The film interviews former gang members Ron, Bird, and Kumasi, while recount their experiences growing up in the neighborhood in the 1950s and discussing the dangers of their previous decisions. Throughout this movie, the director accurately demonstrated many social theories however the labeling theory and the differential association theory stand out in the film. Labeling theory â€Å"examines the ascribing of a deviant behavior to another person by members of society† (OpenStax College, 2013, n.p.). This theory applies to deviance situations, which is a violation that is a rule made up by society. For example, â€Å"a teenager who lives in an urban area frequented by gangs might be labeled as a gang member. Accordingly, the teenager might begin to behave like a gang member or become one† (Chegg, 2018). This labeling theory perhaps explains better why young black Americans fall into crime and criminal gangs and this theory is exemplified a number of different times during the movie. In the movie, young men were stopped by the police for no apparent reason. Black people were not even supposed to enter a white neighborhood. And if they saw a young white twelve-year-old boy they were expected to say â€Å"yes or no sir.† The black men did not feel as wanted or respected and caused them to do more criminal acts. ). Individuals that are arrested, punished or prosecuted are labeled as criminals and others view and treat the labeled individuals as criminals. And also the labeled people find it difficult to obtain any form of formal employment. This situation led them into drug abuse and trafficking for the sake of raising money for their daily needs. Differential association theory is â€Å"a theory that states individuals learn deviant behavior from those close to them who provide models of and opportunities for deviance† (OpenStax College, 2013, n.p.). Simply Edwin Sutherland's this theory proposes that people learn attitudes, techniques, morals, and motives for criminal behavior through their interactions with others. For example, â€Å"a child who grows up among professional thieves is more likely to learn to steal; such a person might learn not only to regard stealing as acceptable but also specific techniques for stealing. In this view, younger people are more likely to learn deviance than older people† (Chegg, 2018). Throughout this whole movie, most of the former gang members are describing their reasons for joining a gang. For example, any of the African American children were not allowed to be admitted to any type of youth organizations. Even though a mother of a former gang member tried to sign her son up for Boy scouts, he was also rejected. If they had let that boy sign up for the youth program that would have taken him out of gang-related activities and lives would have turned upside down.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

The Boy at the Window

The Boy at the Window is a poignant poem written by Richard Wilber. According to a statement made by Wilber, it was inspired by his five year old son being concerned about the possible danger his newly completed snowman was in due to a pending storm. Poetry is often recognized for its ability to evoke strong feelings in the reader and the beautifully innocent nature of Boy at the Window exemplifies this magnificently with skillful use of personification and beautiful use of metaphors. The story starts with painting a bleak and very serious over tone, seemingly from the overly dramatic perspective of a young boy as told by an omniscient outside perspective. The dire aspect of the snowman’s situation being a wholly terrifying experience to him, as seen in lines three and four of the first stanza, â€Å"The small boy weeps to hear the wind prepare/ A night of gnashings and enormous moan. † It is apparent that, to this boy, this is a huge menacing storm blowing in and threatening his snowman. It is further defined in the use of personification to describe the prediction of the storms violence, gnashing and moaning, both human qualities with tendencies of use in both pain and anger. Gnashing specifically paints an intense image of something being grinded between two forces until destroyed is extremely impacting. The line following in the poem is a description of the snowman’s facial aspects as seen by this young man, showing a desperation and betrayal as compared to the biblical story of a God- forsaken Adam looking into Eden for the last time. It adds a touching depth to the fear that this young man is in grips of and it is representative of the emotional transfer to the snowman in a young boys mind. The second stanza is written from the snowman’s perspective, which as a statement in its self shows personification. I find that the fact that the snowman experiences feelings in a very heartfelt way, showing a warmth of humanity and empathy. These traits come into a clear light in the 13 and 14th lines of the poem: He melts enough to drop from one soft eye/a trickle of the purest rain, a tear. This shows the depth of humanity portrayed in the snow man and the tasteful use of it within the story. The writing in the poem is elegant and beautiful, using a rhyme scheme and the occasional assonance to keep the flow while not maintaining a strict adherence to a set pattern, throughout the poem there are moments of striking imagery and powerful emotionally gripping perspectives which adds to the innocence of the child’s perspective and the humanity shown in the snowman; it is, in short, great writing. Great poetry is able to evoke strong feelings in the reader, making them think beyond the words on a page and take the images painted with the writers craft into their imagination and heart. The book says, â€Å"it is more accurate to say that poetry is an evocative response to ordinary life experience (Clungston, 2010)†. I think watching empathy grow in a child’s eyes and the personification of a snowman combine to paints a beautiful picture of the innocence of youth and the amazing experiences of watching someone slowly mature and grow before your very eyes. Reference Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education,Inc retrieved XX/XX/XXfrom https://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2/sections/sec9. 2 Wilbur, Richard (1952), Boy at the Window, Things of this World, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Friday, September 27, 2019

Can Christians disagree on a moral issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Can Christians disagree on a moral issue - Essay Example Moral issues can be created when an individual, a community or a firm is not in control of all the factors that influence the choices that they make. For example, there are differences in moral values and norms accepted by the individuals who are practicing different religions. Moral issues arise as the values and norms accepted by the individuals do not comply with each other. However, an individual who is devoted to a specific religion cannot force the others in the world to accept one set of values and norms accepted by that specific religion. Therefore, Christianity which is a specific religion does not act as a barrier to arising moral issues in the society. Clearly, two Christians can have different opinions on a given moral issue. Moral code indicates that individuals have a larger role to play in the society than just chasing dollars and cents. There are various moral issues that are often viewed as controversial by different people. The main reason why people tend to disagre e over certain moral issues is that they have different perceptions about their worldview. Even devoted Christians can disagree on different moral issues and there are several reasons why this trend is common because Christianity fails to create perspective that can be universally held. A devoted Christian is a person who is devoted to the teaching of Jesus Christ as written in the Bible. In my view the religious faith can discourage critical thinking on a specific moral issue. There are many disagreements regarding what is written in the Bible and who wrote them. Therefore, even the most faithful Christians can have different perception on specific moral issues. Wise people often think out of the box and view different moral issues in an analytical perspective. For instance, the same bible can be used by two Christians to defend or condemn the practice certain moral issues as they believe their own understanding on gospels as the absolute â€Å"truth.† However, is it rationa l to denounce perceptions of the other people just because they are different? No, it is irrational. Some devoted Christians may view critical thinking as inappropriate and readily condemn other people’s views. Therefore, two individuals can have different opinions about a specific moral issue. Some other Christians who are more open-minded can look into the same moral issue from different perspectives and consider the possibility of others’ understanding also being acceptable. In reality, different individuals in the society are enslaved by different perceptions. These perceptions are associated with the different levels of individual intellectual capacities, different enduring social experiences and differential exposure to cultural values and norms. Individuals can view their own perception as the â€Å"only† truth and haste to judge other human beings in the society. Therefore disagreements upon specific moral issues can arise between two different individua ls regardless of the fact that they are both devoted to Christianity and are educated. As a point of departure, it is important to note that each person has his or her own opinions. It is important to acknowledge the fact that having different opinions is â€Å"not wrong† but is inevitable. The strategy to deal with the different

Thursday, September 26, 2019

A Secure Workflow for E-Government Application Essay

A Secure Workflow for E-Government Application - Essay Example Governmental agencies are providing services to their citizens and Foreign Companies via dedicated websites. Foreign users require services from the local department such as renewals of licenses and purchasing tenders. Providing a single secure portal that acts as a window to the various services is beneficial not only to these government agencies but also to their foreign customers. To get the full advantage of a workflow management system governmental agencies need a customized solution that fully corresponds to business and industry specifics. That is, a scalable platform for different tasks: This paper presents an approach for designing a secure workflow management system for e-Government portal, In section 2, we discuss some studies which are related to my research. In section 3, we briefly describe the overview of WFMS.The tools that will be used to improve the efficiency of workflow management systems in e-government portals and the advantages of utilizing these secure portals is presented in section 4. The onion routing technique is displayed in section 5and the methodology is discussed in section 6. Section 7&8 present the solution architecture and solution security, availability and scalability. We end this paper with section 9 that include future work and conclusion. Vijay Atluri from Rutgers University has claimed that Most of the commercial workflow systems provide minimal security features such as user authentication, Although some commercial WFMSs such as Flow Mark, Lotus Notes, and Chan engine can support role-based access control, they do not provide support to specify and enforce separation of duties constraints. They have to be implemented in an ad- hoc manner through a script type language [3].

Applied Analysis of the Carbon Price Mechanism in Australia Essay

Applied Analysis of the Carbon Price Mechanism in Australia - Essay Example The new Carbon Price Mechanism to be announced by Australian government will impact the social well-being of the consumers and will also affect the household budgets. However, the compensations proposed to be made by the government will reduce the adverse effects that these higher prices would have, otherwise, on the energy consumption patterns of the consumers. These effects may be well described with the help of Consumer choice theory. A basic assumption of Consumer choice theory is that the consumer wishes to maximize the utility. In other words, their decision making is rational. However, it is also assumed that the income available to a consumer to be spent is also limited. Subject to such available budget, the consumer seeks to maximize the total utility gained from consumption of goods and services. 1. EFFECT OF RISING PRICES ON ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF CONSUMERS: As explained earlier, consumers have limited incomes. With these incomes, they wish to maximize their satisfaction. This satisfaction is gained through consuming goods and services. However, with limited incomes, there is a limitation on the consumption of goods. Where the consumer has equal preference for two goods, he is said to be indifferent between these two goods. The income of an individual consumer is shown in the diagram below. It is assumed that this income is divided by the consumer for the consumption of two products, one of which is the energy source shown along the X-axis. The economic well-being of the consumer is in that he uses both the goods to his entire satisfaction with his limited income. To explain the effect of rising prices on economic well-being of households, assume that the consumer has a limited income which is represented by Budget line BC1. This budget line in the graph shows that the consumer can divide his income between the energy source and other goods by such income. The indifference curve IC1 shows different consumption options available to the consumer for co nsumption generate equal utility to the consumer. But all the points situated on IC1 are located above the budget line except Point A. so, the consumer will get maximum satisfaction by utilizing X1 units of energy source and Y1 units of good Y. With corresponding increase in the price of energy source, the units which may be consumed by the consumer become less. So, the budget line is rotated inwards. New budget line obtained is BC2. The new indifference curve obtained after rising the price of energy source is IC2 and the new equilibrium point which generates maximum satisfaction for the consumers is B. at this point, the consumer will get maximum satisfaction by consuming X2 units of energy source and Y2 units of product Y. It is to be noted that due to rise of price of energy source, the consumption of both the products has been reduced. Thus, this will adversely affect the well-being of the consumer as the consumer will have to sacrifice the units of both the goods in order to a ttain equilibrium for the consumption of both the units. EFFECT OF RISING PRICES ON ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERNS OF HOUSEHOLDS: The rising prices will also affect the energy consumption patterns of the households. It will specially affect the consumption patterns if the consumers have an alternative source of energy. In case of rising prices, the consumer consumption pattern will be tilted towards that alternative source of energy. The budget line is BC1 before the price change and the IC will show the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies Essay - 2

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies - Essay Example The organization represents the actual market penetration of 82%. In addition, the organization sells mobility of accurate voice and data through significant wireless services. Business Level Strategies of AT&T AT&T is one of the most popular telecommunications brand in global market place. The organization followed unique business level strategy to enhance their business performances. Business level strategy includes cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy and focus strategy. Implementation of effective business level strategy helped the organization to become one of the strongest global brands within the telecommunication industry. Business level strategy of AT&T has been described below. Cost Leadership strategy The organization focuses on the reduction of business operation cost in order to offer the products to the end customers in a reasonable price. This competitive pricing strategy helped the organization to achieve the leading spot in the US telecommunication indu stry. For example, the organization provides several effective services, such as Rollover Minutes and Family Unit Plan. The organization reduced the service processing cost to deliver the services in a low price level. Moreover, the organization has implemented several niche marketing strategies. The organization provides, TDMA, UMTS and GSM service in minimal price to their clients. Effective cost leadership strategy helped the organization to develop significant client base. Differentiation Strategy Effective product and service differentiation strategy helped AT&T to meet the market demand and customer satisfaction level. The organization collaborated with Apple Corporation. AT&T started to sell their GSM and Wireless services through the iPhones. The organization is successfully acquiring leading global clients. It is helping them to secure effective market share. Unique accord to the competitive global market place has effectively differentiated the brand from its existing glob al competitors (Brenton, 2007). Utilization of wide spectrum offers exclusive video conferring service to its target customers. Focus Strategy AT&T is the only telecommunication organization in US that committed effective customer service. The organization has implemented effective niche marketing strategy. People can get linked and connected with each other in any place through the efficient telecommunication and broadband service of AT&T. The organization effectively diversified their business operation in several emerging global markets. AT&T provides HSPDA, Voice PTT, Video Sharing and Voice-IP services to its global customers. In addition, exclusive channel exposure helped AT&T to achieve potential competitive advantages. Question 2 The successful story of AT&T portrays 130 years old history. The giant telecommunication service provider effectively served the US customers through exclusive telecommunication service. From the foundation of AT&T by Graham Bell to the modern era, the global telecommunication industry has astonishingly evidenced various key events of the organization. This part of the study will determine the corporate level strategies of AT&T. Corporate Level Strategies Telephone was introduced by Graham Bell in the year 1875. After the successful establishment, the organization has diversified their business operations in various emerging global market place. AT&T follows vertical integration structure in the organization.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Monsanto vs. Schmeiser Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Monsanto vs. Schmeiser - Essay Example From this study it is clear that governments around the globe are trying to create a regulatory procedure for examining the results of and authorizing novel kinds of genetically modified plants. Most government have made health testing of genetically modified foods mandatory. In addition, food labelling of genetically engineered manufactured foods is legally binding, with a specified limit for contamination. Regulatory authorities have been established to assess if genetically modified plants are environmental friendly, if it is safe to grow and consume the plant. Moreover, these authorities also regulate additives, pesticides, toxins that could ensue in potential damage to health or environment. State inspectors visit farms at regular intervals and evaluate conditions to ascertain compliance. Contravention of laws can ensue in heavy fines, cancellation of licences and even imprisonment. This proved to be a landmark case in the sphere of biotechnology. Monsanto sued Percy Schmeiser, a Candaian canola farmer for patent infringement when unlicensed Roundup Ready canola was discovered on his land. Schmeiser advocated that he had never planted biotech seeds; instead, they reached his fields by accident. Monsanto contended that they possess patent on the gene and the canola cells within it; hence, they can dictate its utilization. This entitled them to restrict replanting seeds from the genetically modified plants. As opposed to this, Schmeiser asserted that he could stock and regrow plants from seeds that accidentally flew in his field. The Canadian court declared that the â€Å"tests revealed that 95 to 98% of the 1000acres of canola crop was made of Roundup Ready plant.  

Monday, September 23, 2019

Should Prisoners Be allowed To Vote Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should Prisoners Be allowed To Vote - Essay Example However, the ban is still not lifted in the country despite growing pressure from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to allow the prisoners to vote. This research paper presents evidence based discussion to illustrate the reality of the claim that â€Å"the UK prisoners should be allowed to vote because first, breaking a law does not deter a person’s right to vote and second, such a blanket ban is an infringement on ECHR.† ECHR works to preserve and promote human rights. This law was formed so that the suffering parties would be able to seek justice or plead for enforcement of rights. Now, the European Court has protested against the UK’s blanket ban on voting right of prisoners labelling it an unlawful action. But, the UK president, David Cameron, strongly opposed everything ECHR had to say on the subject. It is recently claimed by ECHR that â€Å"UK ban on prisoners voting ‘breaches their human rights† (Withnall 2014). This decision of the European judges is not respected in the UK because it is strictly believed by the parliament that prisoners should not be given right to vote. Previously, ECHR has released similar statements opposing the role played by the UK on prisoners’ voting rights. For example, a ruling passed by ECHR in 2005 based on a claim made by a convicted felon, John Hirst, said that all prisoners should be allowed to vote in the UK and no compensation shou ld be made to them by the government. In contrast to this, the UK parliament’s stand on the subject is that the powers of ECHR should be restricted because they have regularly become a hurdle in the imposition of ban on prisoners’ voting rights. It is claimed that the final decision must be made by the UK, not by the Europe (Press Association 2013). But, that condition should only be respected if it does not violate human rights. As the ban does in deed violate human rights, so the UK should not be given the freedom to prevent its prisoners from

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Universal rules of marketing Essay Example for Free

Universal rules of marketing Essay Describe any universal rules of marketing that might be applied to most products, markets, customers and situations.  All marketing activities have one thing in common and that is to give customers a reason to buy the companys product. One of the most important universal rules of marketing is that marketers need to find a way to break out of commodity status to meet customers needs better than competing firms. All organizations both for profit and non-profit require effective planning and a sound marketing strategy to do this effectively. The Internet has shifted the power to customers not marketers. The reason for that is, the customer has access to more information and is now able to do comparison shopping. Marketers often conduct and analyze research to see the needs, opinions, and attitudes of the customers. Marketing strategy helps companies to evaluate the usage of their strengths and capabilities to meet the needs and requirements of the market. Due to the customers constant new needs and wants, marketing is forced to continuously change and adapt to its dynamic environment. Having the right information is just as important as having the right product. Marketers have learned that by establishing a long-term customer relationship, they can increase customer sales and gain important marketing information about their customers. Having a good relationship with customers is a great benefit to have, then marketing is people driven and it is all fulfilling the needs of customers, shareholders, partners, society and the organization itself.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

How the Organizing of Work Influences Experiences of Work

How the Organizing of Work Influences Experiences of Work Consider how the organizing of work  influences experiences of work. Introduction The question of how the organization of work influences the experiences of work can take on many differing connotations depending upon the viewpoint that is being utilized to address the foregoing. From a dictionary point of view, work is defined as follows (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005): â€Å"1. Physical or mental activity that is directed toward the accomplishment or production of something.† As well as the activity of â€Å"†¦ looking for work†¦Ã¢â‚¬  one’s occupation, the production of some measured unit of accomplishment, as well as one’s occupation (American Heritage Dictionary, 2005). Watson (2003) indicates that work is an activity â€Å"†¦ in which everyone in the world is involved†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and utilizes the examples of those who are employed as well as one tending to their garden, the owner of a building as the landlord, investors and even those who have servants. Given the broad based meaning that can be and is associated with this word, as a concept in this connotation work shall be thought of as those activities one performs for compensation. Polanyi (1944) saw work as a creative activity whose goal is human development. And while in our modern society this view might tend to be slightly utopian its undertones nevertheless have merit. The very question of how the organizing of work influences the experience of work makes reference to, although indirectly, work as something that can be thought of as enjoyable, or to the contrary depending upon not only what is being done but how one views said activity. The experiences one has at work can run the gamut from inferior to exceptional, for want of more descriptive terminology. As such, we shall examine this question from the standpoint of the work experience as the feeling and or satisfaction one derives and thus how that work when organized either contributes to or diminishes from the foregoing. For those of us for whom work is a means to either earn a living, practice a profession or support oneself and their family, it plays an extremely important part of our lives in terms of time spend at said activity, as well as in terms of how the experience of this activity impacts upon, influences one and acts upon us outside of it. Maslow ´s (1954) hierarchy of needs provides us with a guide to exploring the realm of work and its influences on the individual as it contains compelling insights into the psychology of who we are and how we function internally. His theory of personality states that are contained in Maslow ´s (1954) hierarchy of needs is as follows: Physiological Needs This is the basic biological need for food, air water and warmth and represents those which come first in our search for satisfaction. Safety Needs After the satisfaction of safety needs, the needs for security take precedence. And after this need is met, we move onto the third need. Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness Maslow (1954) indicates that we seek to overcome our feelings of loneliness along with alienation, and this entails the giving as well as receiving of love, belonging and affection. Needs for Esteem This need addresses the subject of work organization as it entails the need for esteem. This aspect was also referred to by Polanyi (1944) in terms of work being an aspect of human development. Maslow (1954) refers to this need as self esteem emanating from within an individual as well as that which one receives from others, along with the need for a stabile relationship environment in which to thrive. This aspect is extremely important as to how one’s work organization is, and interacts with this key human personality quotient. Needs for Self Actualization When all of the preceding needs have been satisfied, then Maslow (1954) indicates that the self-actualization need becomes active. Simply put, this means that a person will gravitate towards doing what they were born to do. The short, yet important examination of Maslow ´s (1954) hierarchy of needs aids in the understanding of the deeper seated aspects of how the organization of work influences the experiences of work. From the preceding it should be evident that if one’s work is organized logically and contains a level of diversity and creativity as evidenced by changes of pace, then it will fit within Maslow ´s hierarchy and thus be more satisfying. Watson (2003) refers to the sociology aspects of work in that it aids in the employer, manager as well as employee to make â€Å"†¦better informed judgments†¦Ã¢â‚¬  concerning the work at hand and how to go about performing it. The foregoing is highly important in equating the question as one’s experiences at work might be deemed as satisfying if they can see it progressing towards a more fulfilling method or way of getting said work accomplished. This ongoing organizing and re-organizing, if conducted in an intelligent and pr ogressive manner, might be as rewarding as one who’s work experience is at a firm where the work flow organization is scientifically as close to perfect as can be humanly ordained. Varied levels of frustration are inhibiting factors which can and do affect our thinking as well as levels of performance. The elimination of such frustrations through insightful work organization represents a positive contribution to increasing one’s satisfaction experience in this regard. Techniques such as Just-In-Time, Total Quality as well as Lean Production techniques as referred to by Fiona Wilson (2004) in and of themselves do not produce or create job satisfaction as they are constructs from which to organize and customize work to fit the organization, management, the corporate culture and the individual. Lest we forget, all business enterprises are composed of flesh and blood individuals who all fall under Maslow ´s (1954) humanistic guidelines. As such, in constructing or organizing the work process we need to be mindful that repetition breeds boredom and boredom breeds discontentment (Noon et al, 2002). Within the context of work organization are all manner of su b routines and associated aspects that impact upon it. Ergonomics, aesthetics, colors, materials, light, sound, work space, distance between other workers, the amount of space one has to function in, the static or non static nature of the work all are factors in its organization. Thus, to think of the subject as one confined to office personnel belies its meaning and intent as it has applicability for factory, farm, forestry, management, field personnel and back office employees or executives. It entails how interesting, challenging, creative and diverse it is or can be made to be as a function of how it is organized or structured (Watson, 2003). Management in equating the production variables needed to be met in the attainment of work output must be mindful of exactly how said work is performed in order to create techniques that seek out and enlist the input of those actually doing said functions to aid them in structuring, modifying and upgrading work procedures and how it is organized. Those who perform the function on a daily basis can also be assisted by management taking part in said work functions to reach determinations on a first hand basis as to what potential modifications and or improvements can be made or added to make the work experience more pr oductive as well as satisfying. And work organization, as mentioned by Watson (2003), Wilson (2004), and Noon et al (2002) does not just consist of the work itself, it includes the social, contemporaries one works with, the working relationship manner in terms of contribution in a what is being done as well as job satisfaction. Understanding that work is something that is performed by human beings who all represent personalities under Maslow ´s (1954) hierarchy of needs is a foundational construct by which to accomplish making the experience one that translates into higher output and professionalism. Conclusion Hochschild (1997) helps to provide a level of understanding concerning the need to reduce work to human terms as he found that for most individuals their work takes precedence over their home life. While the foregoing is not universally true, as indicated by Jacobs et al (2001) the importance of providing within the organizational matrix a means to attain higher levels of job satisfaction is nevertheless a function that encompasses understanding that personal fulfillment along with our wants, needs, desires and individual goals are inner facets present in varying degrees in all of us. The corporate culture that understands the human equation in consort with the need of the company to generate profits and compete in an increasing globally influenced sphere is the organization that is well on its way to producing individuals whose contributions will exceed those of competitive companies who have not yet elevated their thinking to encompass the importance of their personnel as the key r esource driving the bottom line. Thus, the organization of work and its influence(s) with respect to the experiences of work is not solely about how many words per minute are being typed, or how many units being built, it is about the individuals performing those tasks and their personal levels of commitment to same. The higher their relative levels of contribution in the process from a work as well as suggestion point of view, the higher will be their commitment and contributions in terms of quality of work and performance. And this represents the experience that truly defines influencing the work experience through organizing it for the individual. Bibliography American Heritage Dictionary. 2005. Work. http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/work Hochschild, A.R. 1997. The emotional geography of work and family life. Pp. 13-32. Saint Martin’s Press, New York, New York Jacobs, J.A., Gerson, K. 2001). Overworked individuals or overworked families? Explaining trends in work, leisure, and family time. Pp 40-63. Work and Occupations, Issue 28 Maslow, Abraham. 1954. Motivational and Personality. Harper and Row, New Cork, N.Y. Noon, Mike, Blyton, Paul. 2002. The Realities of Work. Labour / Le Travail. ISBN: 0333984587 Polanyi, Kart. 1944. The Great Transformation. Beacon Press, Boston, MA. Watson, Tony. 2003. Sociology, Work and Industry. Routledge Publications. ISBN: 0415321662 Wilson, Fiona. 2004. Organizational Behaviour and Work: A Critical Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0199261415

Friday, September 20, 2019

Partner Selection for International Joint Ventures (IJV)

Partner Selection for International Joint Ventures (IJV) INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES Partner selection is recognized as being very important to the success of any collaboration. Taking into consideration the lessons from the Collaboration Exercise, the course material and any publicly available information available to you, critically discuss the relevant issues concerned with partner selection for collaboration, specifically in the context of an International Joint Venture company. The questions provided below provide some guidance on the issues you could cover: What are the main characteristics to look for in a good collaborative partner? What would your selection criteria include? Consider also the strategic, political and tactical implications of your choice (30%) What factors are important in determining whether or not you and your partner are a good match, i.e., compatibility of culture? Again, what would your selection criteria include? (30%) What could you and your partner do to create good conditions for a partnership? (40%) Length: All scripts are subject to a maximum word count of 4000 +/- 10%, excluding references, tables of contents and appendices. The final word count should be included at the end of the script. COMPLETION DATE: To be submitted electronically using the appropriate web-form available from http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/ftmsc/postmodulework/submissions/ and following the guidelines provided in your handbook BEFORE 09:00 on 17/01/11 PLEASE NOTE PMW received after 09:00 will be stamped as having arrived on the next working day. Post Module Work which does not reach WMG by the due date will be considered to be late. Penalties for lateness may be applied at the rate of 3 percentage points per University working day after the due date, up to a maximum of 14 days late. After this period the work may be counted as a non-submission. Complete your assignment from here (heading styles have been set up to assist you in this work) (Delete the instructions in this font before you save and submit your work): MODULE TITLE Table of Contents International Join Venture 2 Environmental characteristics 3 Partner Compatibility Evaluation 5 Creating good condition for partnership 13 Conclusion 16 References 17 Enter a page break here and between each question Partner selection is recognized as being very important to the success of any collaboration. Taking into consideration the lessons from the Collaboration Exercise, the course material and any publicly available information available to you, critically discuss the relevant issues concerned with partner selection for collaboration, specifically in the context of an International Joint Venture company. The questions provided below provide some guidance on the issues you could cover: What are the main characteristics to look for in a good collaborative partner? What would your selection criteria include? Consider also the strategic, political and tactical implications of your choice (30%) What factors are important in determining whether or not you and your partner are a good match, i.e., compatibility of culture? Again, what would your selection criteria include? (30%) What could you and your partner do to create good conditions for a partnership? (40%) International Join Venture International joint venture between two or more companies has benefits of more resources and knowledge share as well as reward and risk share. Reasons that companies create joint venture could be initiated by new product development, opportunity to access wider marketing or expanding the company with at least one company headquartered outside country of operation (host country). The immediate benefits of joint ventures partnerships are access to a wider range of resources with complimentary set of skillsets and expertise, access to extensive market domain and ability to utilise a broader range of technologies. International joint venture partnership is one of the integral factors to grow and develop economics and the most beneficial approach is by engaging with and utilising local business with strong market connections and existing established business networks. Environmental characteristics Government and Politics One of the most important criteria in choosing an international joint venture partner is the environment where joint venture will operate in, as this can have direct effect on the performance of both parties. Host countrys political atmosphere and government policies are key factors to consider when verifying the suitability of the environment; any pressure could directly or indirectly restrict the foreign partners involvement and activities (Blodgett, 1991). According to Ozorhon et al. (2007) host governments unstable policies and regulations, regular changes in laws and restrictions on repatriations and imports, jeopardise the effectiveness of joint venture partnership. In authors opinion host countrys political procedures that disable effective IJV partnership needs to be identified prior to any attempt to start a joint venture. An example of a political issue effecting IJV is political mismatch and disagreements between foreign partners government and the host partners government. This will hugely impact business agreements from taking place even if partners skillsets, organizational policies and objectives match and work very well together. Stable economic situation, government policies and political relationships are crucial to a successful business partnership; the foreign partner needs to find an adequate environment before deciding on finding a matching partner, evaluating economic, political and financial aspects of the environment. Case study This case study will look at current situation of Irans International joint ventures and influence of Western countries political relationship with Iran on business partnership with other countries. The Current UN and European sanctions on Iran over claims that Iran is building nuclear weapons have affected new joint ventures as well as the ones that have been in place for many years. One example is Rhum North sea gas field in Scotland owned by BP (50%) and the Iranian Oil Company (50%), the joint venture started since 1970s. New European sanctions have forced BP to suspend this engagement and stop production in Rhum North Sea (BP, 2010). This demonstrates politics contention between countries, affecting joint ventures and ending related agreements with immediate effect, causing financial loss for both partners. Other countries that are in agreement with the United Nations regulations and countries with good political and economic relation and dependencies with the USA and the West could also consider limiting and ending their joint ventures with Iranian companies. This is to avoid any breaking the United Nation regulation as well as avoidance to jeopardising their relationship and dependency to western countries. A stable host government creates a suitable environment for IJV partners; this has long term positive impact on the courtiers economic and immediate positive effect on the partner companies, allowing the parties to concentrate on the inside organisational progress and improvements. Economic Environment A partners country economic situation can affect the business environment and performance, having stable economic elements provides the foreign partner a constant and secure investment climate (Ozorhon et al. (2007). In authors opinion economic climate could affect IJV partnership viability, economic fluctuation, foreign exchange rates and inflation, with direct impact on the partner selection process. Businesses start joint ventures in other countries considering economic perspectives that fit their needs. The host countrys currency compared to foreign countrys currency, gives an opportunity to investors from foreign countries to benefit from cheap investments (Low cost of capitals) and increased wealth position. Currency appreciation makes higher material and manufacturing cost in foreign country hence foreign partner moves the production to host country to benefit from lower costs and gain more opportunity to compete and be a leader in the related market. Market Power The market power is focused on how businesses can get stronger and develop their market domain through international partnership (Child Faulkner, 1998). In authors opinion, successful companies with high position in the existing local market could take advantages of other countries market, enter international sale and extend their marketplace by starting partnership with other successful company in different countries. Also companies with advanced technologies and skillsets could start a joint venture partnership with small companies in other developing country to benefit from the raw market and extend their domain. Dominant market network, using partnership advantageous creates an International joint venture with mutual benefits to partners, increases growth opportunities and market power for both parties. Business market power is an essential deciding factor in selecting a partner. It is also critical to review the business and economic history of the environment, current climate and future predictions. The regional and national business performance, quality of life and people expenditure on similar product and services help to indicate the partners economic environment suitability. Development and management of international joint ventures in different environments creates their own challenges, above all cultural differences between two partners from different nations adds additional complexity. Other related issues and challenges are language barriers and consequence communication issues, management relationship conflicts, unclear objectives, different objectives, incompatible expertise / facilities, lack of partner support and involvement. Partner Compatibility Evaluation Before making any decision on selecting a joint venture partner, extensive research and detailed study are required to be carried out to identify the partners business prospects, objectives and the environmental and organisational characteristics. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis is very beneficial and could be utilised to identify the potential partners weaknesses and strength and how they match the companys requirements. This would help to establish if two businesses complement each other (Barnes, 2010). During the International join venture module and the team exercises, author gathered a list of important criteria that are crucial in the partner selection process: Past reputation and positive track record of collaboration, good brand, culture (national and corporate culture), Organisation size, mutual benefit potentials, compatibility of CEOs and the senior management team, ability to work together in operation levels, government laws and regulations, strategic clarity and compatibility, management style, subject matter knowledge and skills, experience in the related market and assets (Barnes, 2010). In this assignment author is going to analyse and explore Cultural differences between partners and Compatible management style. Culture Why culture is an important factor? There should be a cultural fit between companies, for example it is difficult to match a bureaucratic culture to non-bureaucratic culture, as resources are not used to obey rigid rules (e.g. managers stamp or signature to process tasks). International joint venture partnership cannot avoid cultural differences; there will always be a case of hybrid structures. According to Swierczek (1994) majority of joint ventures partnership failures are caused by cultural related issues and mismatches. A study of 110 joint ventures between America and Asia shows 50% of failure is mostly affected by non-complementary cultures and incompatibilities. Partners culture influences commonly known assumptions, unrecorded rules and regulations and common understandings. It is important to evaluate the potential impact of the partnerships effects on the general skills, quality, resources and the company systems and organisational structure. Due to the cultural differences and the need of cooperation, there would be a need to compromise; however the effect of this needs to be analysed and the impact carefully evaluated (Swierczek, 1994). One important factor that determines the success rate of an international joint venture partnership is culture compatibility; without this partners cannot work together and conflict can occur. Compatible cultures can create same understanding and harmony between the partners. To understand cultures and the factors that could impact the possibility of their compatibility, author has evaluated different angles and viewpoints of culture. According to Hofstede (1984) core aspects of culture are: High power distance: Communication with higher positioned members and senior managers has formal process with hierarchy organisational system. Low power distance: Members feel equal, included in decision-makings and communication with senior members and environment is more relaxed and informal. Individualism: Contributor is focused on self-success, own benefits and objectives. Collectivism: Contributor has more interest in team success and group interest High uncertainty avoidance: Keeping away from risk and getting out of conflicts Low uncertainty avoidance: Comfortable with approaching risks and dealing with disagreement Femininity: In Feminine cultures values and approaches are modest, emotional and considerate. Masculinity: This culture is oriented by Competiveness, assertiveness and achievements In authors opinion it is evident that cultures with different values can face conflicts and disagreements, different nations can have different understandings and interpretations and culture as a foundation affects the conflict management style. In multicultural joint ventures, partners communication style will differ and could clash with each other; this could be very frustrating and create unsuccessful results. Different culture means different languages, different outlook, beliefs and problem solving approaches. According to Swierczek (1994) Asian culture generally avoids conflicts and when it occurs they seek help from senior members to suggest solutions but in European cultures there is less respect for hierarchy and when confrontation occurs, the negatives would be pointed out directly. In authors personal experience from Asian and European cultures, people with different cultures have dissimilar attitudes in business, partly because of the educational and discipline methods, that differs in cultural backgrounds. Partnership between two firms could be successful if cultural differences are realised and analysed in early stages. This would be by identifying the potential problems and conflicts with proposed solutions enabling partners to benefit from constructive aspects of multicultural approach. According to Swierczek (1994) building a correct and effective organisational culture and considering the involved cultures could reduce the possible conflicts. To make conflict management more effective two methods are introduced: 1. Compromise style To prevent any win-lose outcome, participants would negotiate and agree to give up their benefits partly so their partner would gain mutual benefits as well. Also when same objectives cannot be reached or more than one agreement is on the table, compromising needs to take place. 2. Collaborative style All the participants need to get involved and identify roots of conflicts and assess the possible outcomes and damages then introduce solutions agreed by everyone (Swierczek, 1994) According to Al-Khalifa and Peterson (1999) in many failed international joint venture (IJV) cases, manufacturing process doesnt last very long and this is caused by the lack of understanding of the local cultural, political and economic environment. Cultures need to fit between the organisations, a lot of international joint ventures collapse because of cultural misunderstanding and differences; it is useful to research the local market first before entering the collaboration. An example of cultural difference is looked at by Lynn (2002) between Japanese and American companies, where Americans had the impression that Japanese are efficient and hardworking but were disappointed when saw different results after starting the international joint venture in America. In Japaneses view deadlines werent as important as it was for Americans, Japanese were more concentrated on what they want to achieve regardless of time but Americans aimed to finish the work by the deadline however possible. This was a big problem for Americans when they used one of Japanese suppliers and received the order six months late. In authors opinion the definition of hardworking and efficiency in different cultures differs where Japanese seem to be aiming for the best result and improving the quality and less concerned about the deadlines. This could be very frustrating to opposite partner with different attitude. It is important that companies find a partner that are compatible and have the same perspective and understanding. Culture awareness and a full initial analysis phase, to gather the required information, helps partners to evaluate the possibility of working together successfully and provide the bases so that parties design a framework and set a realistic plan that would work for both cultures. Partner complementary skill According to Zahra and Elhagrasey, (1994) majority of International joint venture failures are caused by selecting a wrong partner. Partner selection by their brand popularity or reputation is not enough and further research is needed to determine if the partners are compatible If Partners skills and strength matches or compliments the business requirements, the partnership objectives could be successfully met; these requirements could be market, skills or resource access related. The range of skills that each partner can contribute to a partnership varies. A purpose of a partnership would be to fulfill the business requirements where the necessary skillsets such as technical skills, market knowledge skills, production skills, management skills or resource access skills are not at a sufficient level. This could also be due to the associated costs or time limitations challenges with producing these skills locally / internally. When two partners skill sets complement each other, partnership can work well together, however if two partners have similar or identical skill, disagreements and competition could occur. Organisations can often learn from the skills and experiences offered by the partner in an international joint venture to enhance their offerings and abilities. This could reduce the needs of future partnerships. Management Style It is challenging to manage International joint venture (IJV) companies that have been created by two or more parent companies. These companies have different structures, goals, management style and organisational cultures. People management conflicts become evident when partners discuss how the organisation will be managed and who will be in charge. According to Matthews (1999) the problems with international joint venture that require control and structured management are: Different background and cultures Business geographical locations Inevitable IJV short lifetime Joint business political issues The opportunities where management style could have a critical impact include: Combination of technical and business skills Access to IJV parents staff Organizational learning According to Matthews (1999), developing ethnocentric mindset in organisations tends to concentrate on parent companys management methods, be narrow-minded and inflexible. Traditional IJVs used to concentrate on parent companys management procedures and problem solving process which mostly ended up unsuccessful but some chose to approach global mindset and try to understand different cultures, agree to diversity and apply different management approaches where needed. Multiple IJVs management style Within multiple IJVs it is gathered that decentralised approach is more successful than centralised approach. After forming IJVs in different locations and setting up the operations successfully each overseas IJV would plan and react to local market demand. This would improve efficiency and make them able to respond to local customers immediately. According to (Yan and Duan, 2004) matching partners need to have compatible management culture and strategy, consensus on strategies, control and operations management. In authors opinion compatible management style is about managers with efficient communication and skills in creating a balanced relationship between partners. Management control and strategy is the key to be agreed by both parties to prevent any conflicts during the IJV and management control to prevent problems such as rush growth, ineffective use of resources and autonomous goals. Within this process partners need to have a structured management system and build an independent organisational culture. According to Gil and Butler (2003) it is easier to work with an international partner when managers have international business experience and cultural knowledge, this awareness enables them to adapt to environment, have positive attitude, respect multicultural environment and identify business partners capabilities Therefore having multicultural market knowledge can create an opportunity for both partners to understand and respect cultures, agreeing on what is best for joint partnership. According to Gil and Butler (2003) the stability of the relationship depends on trust, conflict and dependenceÂÂ  influenced by management skills affecting IJV performance. Some of the important skills in managing IJV are: Negotiation skills: Compromise, exchange ideas and make decisions at different levels e.g. Engineers and Stakeholders Management Political skills: Negotiate and communicate with government members involved in IJV Diplomacy: Dealing with conflicts and resistance within the partner relationship Inter-partner skills: Managing partnership, communication, expectations and setting objectives Influential skills: Influence and motivate team members Managing ambiguity: Bringing objectives and vision as close as possible. In authors opinion in hybrid IJV organisations, it is difficult to avoid conflicts and control system with openness management style. First steps in IJV early stages are: To identify problems and related solutions agreed by everyone To plan and ensure that the management strategy matches the IJV environment Flexible management approach to adopt as changes happen Balanced relationship creates harmony and trust, successfulÂÂ  managementÂÂ  of an international joint venture mainly depends on a balanced partnership which is based on trust and shared ownership, where parties communicate effectively and clearly to help efficient move towards common goals and clear objectives. At the same time extra cautious needs to be taken when dealing with sensitiveÂÂ  culturalÂÂ  andÂÂ  regionalÂÂ  issues, withÂÂ  a certainÂÂ  degreeÂÂ  ofÂÂ  diplomacy, people andÂÂ  languageÂÂ  skills. Creating good condition for partnership Prior to start of any engagement when forming a joint venture partnership, it is essential for both parties to setup an agreement clearly defining expectations and scope. This will form a clear understanding between partners and helps with effectiveness of communications between parties (Barnes, 2010). In authors opinion to increase the chances of relationship survivor it is important to be open about every aspect of the business from beginning in particularly about financial matters to gain the partners trust. Agreements on goals, responsibilities and performance measurements (KPI) in early stages could indicate any problems and warnings, which could be resolved and prevented in early stages. In the meantime flexible relationship and atmosphere is essential to allow freedom of speech and involvement in suggesting improvements or even change of original objectives. Any partnership would encounter problems and disagreements, however looking at problems positively and promoting an attitude to create situations where win-win approach (Barnes, 2010) is applied is the key for creating a good condition for a successful partnership. There are a number of elements that would significantly impact the condition of an international joint venture experience and environments: Invest time and effort to get to know the partner In an international joint venture partnership it is important for the parties to take the time to get to know each others organisational structure, cultural habits and methods of work. Clear objectives Setting clear objectives and goals prior to any engagements is essential to prevent any ambiguity and conflicts. Management style IJV complex environment could create conflict and ambiguity between partners, compatible management skills could create balanced relationship. Roles and responsibility definition and assignment In a complex joint venture partnership with a large number of unknowns and a mixture of cultures, habits, structures and skillsets, roles and responsibilities ought to be defined clearly to avoid disappointment and ensure effective partnership condition. Expectation management Open and honest communications from start of the business to the end is essential, people involved need to understand what will be achieved and when this will be achieved. Everyone needs to understand the objectives and progress of them. Misunderstood or unrealistic expectations can make a successful process ending as a failure. Create Trust When an environment is stabilised and partners have agreed on compatible goals with set mutual benefits, both parties need to work on gaining each others trust to enable smooth process avoiding unnecessary red tapes to maximise efficiency and workforce effectiveness. Risk forecast, evaluation and prevention It is important for companies in a joint venture partnership, to identify and evaluate the risks related to the partnership program and the associated impacts. Identifying problems and risk evaluation in early stages would prevent any unexpected surprises during the process. Also this would give an opportunity toÂÂ  analyse issues and find solutions. Following are examples of potential risks with IJV partnership: Language barriers Multinational partnership involves different languages; a solution needs to be applied to overcome language barriers. Full reliance on interpreters and translators could introduce additional risks where individuals do not have the required technical and related business experiences. It is highly advantageous if the employee involved with the business strategy, have related knowledge, background as well as being bilingual. Culture Different cultures represent unknowns and risks. Respecting multicultural environment and having awareness could prevent future conflicts, create opportunities to utilise multinational benefits and minimize the level of disagreements between parties. Politics Government laws and regulations vary in different countries. Time need to be invested to fully understand the local policies where the venture is based. Organisational strategies Organisational strategies mismatch between companies could directly or indirectly affect the objectives. These inconsistencies are required to be identified and highlighted to be considered during the planning phase to avoid potential future issues. Geographic consideration Local and related market condition as well as work ethic should be considered and matching business environment appropriately applied. Communication Clear communication is crucial in IJV environment where a lot of conflicts and confusion could occur because of cultural differences. Setting an open networks and freedom where employees can approach management levels easily could create an opportunity for everyone to get involved. Conclusion For countries to develop, create new technologies, use new facilities market and products, joint venture is very beneficial. Joint venture is an opportunity to boost businesses and continues to occur in more countries. Every international joint venture starts with different cultures and because of its multicultural nature it is unavoidable to experience disagreements. Creating mutual benefits and harmonious environments with common objectives and agreed values can overcome the cultural differences and create common culture which benefits partners and uses the positive side of multicultural partnership. It might be more effective to invest in countries that have similar cultures because it would be easier to understand the business networks, market needs and to resolve problems. With countries developing to be multicultural and expanded communication network reaching further distances, it is getting easier to approach new opportunities. People are interested to know other cultures and learn about others. The challenges and complexity in different cultures is unavoidable but nations awareness is very high hence their approach to each other is very positive and relaxed. While achieving strategic fit is more fundemental to the viability of a partnership,a good cultural fit optimises the potential of the partnership and helps to avoid the threats to its continuation which arise from misunderstanding and antipathy. While it is important for partners in an IJV to establish a strategic fit to help improve feasibility of a partnership, an effective cultural match between the companies creates opportunities for a stronger relationship. This helps to avoid misunderstanding, risks and potential issues that could cause damage the partnership. Partners need to establish trust, honesty and priorities to understand elements of successful IJV, structuring relative management style, which is independent from parents company strategy and assigning partners management responsibilities according to their expertise promises positive outcome at the end of the partnership. Partners require creating a relationship based on honesty trust. It is vital for the parties to invest time and resource to understand fundamentals of a successful IJV partnership. Reforming and creating a relative management strategy, which is independent from partner companies are key to a successful joint venture partnership.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay --

Sam Culleton March 9, 2014 Research paper Jesse Owens was a very important man. He was amazing at track and went to the Olympics. He was the best in college. Even though his childhood was not really good. Jesse Owens was born on September 12 1913. He was born in Oakville, Alabama and was born with the name James. Jesse had nine siblings. His family was very poor. They were all sharecroppers which means they were owned by white people but got little money. Even the kids and to help do the job. Every Winter Jesse would get pneumonia and had to work through it. Also every year he would get a big bump. One time it got so big his mom had to get a knife and cut it off. When Jesse was nine hid father found out that the landlord was cheating them out of their money. So once they had enough money, they moved to Ohio. His father found better work there and so did a lot of his family members. Jesse had trouble in school there. On his first day, his teacher asked him what his name was and he said his nickname which was J.C. but with his southern accent it sounded like he said Jesse. That name stuck with him for the rest of his life. When Jesse was in the fifth grade, the track teacher there saw him running and asked him to join the track team. Though with all the jobs Jesse had he could not do track in the afternoon so his coach made him get there before school so he could practice track. /jesse set Junior high records in the high jump with a 6 foot jump and he set another one in the broad jump with 22 feet 11 inches and 3/4. In high school, Jesse won all his major track events. He set records in the 100 meter dash with 9.4 seconds which also tied the world record. Also in high school he set two world records. He ran the 220 yard dash i... ...rld record in the 100 yard dash and won the 220 low hurdles all in under forty five minutes. In the Olympics he competed in the 100 meter dash, long jump, 220 meter dash and the 400 meter dash. In the Olympics he got four gold medals. Jesse Owens was a very important man. He set world records in high school, the Big Ten Conference Championships, and he won four gold medals in the Olympics. He also set records that stood for twenty five years. He impacted athletes by showing no matter what you have went through as a child sand no matter how bad of a life you had you can still do great things that you will be remembered for. He impacted racism by showing no matter what race you are you can still do amazing things, face racism and compete in the Olympics just like white people. He also showed that if you work hard enough and dream big good things will happen for you.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Separate Peace Essay: Analysis of Marxism -- free essay writer

A Separate Peace:   Analysis of Marxism  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A Separate Peace is an impeccable paradigm of critical mythology interpreted by philosophers such as Marx, Engels and Hegel.   The philosophy of Marxism serves as a basis for socialism and communism and is explicitly demonstrated by means of power, the understanding of human nature, and alienation.   Finny demonstrates authority and control over a lonely, alienated friend Gene, however, unitedly they discover friendship through the individuality possessed by one another.   Finny and Gene agonize with these eminent responsibilities and endeavor to uncover an inner peace within themselves as they evolve into young adults waking to the realities of life.   Their entity follows the social formation of their lives,   â€Å"men enter into definite relations that are indispensable and dependant of their will, relations of production ...development of their material productive forces.† (Tucker, 1978, pg.4) Therefore, by means of growth to maturity the two young men exemplify the challenges of manhood.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Power is an extremely dominant element that illustrates authority and control between the two young men Finny and Gene.   Throughout society, â€Å"the social power, i.e., the multiplied productive force, which arises through the co-operation of different individuals, since their co-operation is not voluntary but has come about naturally, not as their own united power.†(Tucker,   pg.161) Finny conducts himself as an authority figure, and an individualist with distinct and domineering characteristics.   He emphasizes his power as a perfect individual that is not concerned what other people conceive of ... ...monstrates his advantage to take control over every individual without any sincere emotions of any kind.   However, the companionship developed through the nature of man, although agonizing, has formed a special bond between the two boys.   Gene, nonetheless contends with feelings of alienation and self-estrangement indirectly generated by Finny.  Ã‚   The two young men persevere these responsibilities to initiate a sense of inner peace that transpires from adolescence to adulthood.   Their experience’s prove to be a symmetric accomplishment of manhood.      Works Cited Knowles, John. (1959) A Separate Peace London: Secker & Warburg Limited    Tucker, Robert. (1978) The Marx-Engles Reader (2nd ed.) New York: W.W. Norton & Company    Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. 1998 Microsoft Corporation      

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

â€Å"The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless† was written by David T. Z. Mindich was former assignment editor at CNN, has placed his roots back into the show era, and published in Spring of 2005 as an article in a magazine, Wilson Quarterly. Mindich’s article spoke about the decline of reading newspapers and watching the news and his reasons behind this conclusion. He used his article to inform and educated his audience. He claimed that if people become more informed about the world around them that they will be able to make better choices about who and what they vote for and therefore the people will have more control. Mindich shows that ethos, pathos; through his audience about the collapse of the newspaper and generation is losing interest in the news. David T. Z. Mindich is currently a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Michael‟s College in Colchester, Vermont. Due to his past experience with CNN he has a lot of experience with what goes on in the news world and this qualifies him to write about this topic, the decline or collapse of the media. â€Å"The Young and the Restless† draws the attention of a specific audience. They are those who viewed the popular soap opera called, â€Å"The Young and the Restless† in the 1970s and 1980s, or those who are in their 50s and 60s age range today. He also refers to time specific events that generation would be familiar with such as the Cold War and newscasters that they would know, like Walter Cronkite and Peter Jennings. He mentions this age group as the â€Å"median age of network television news viewers† (Mindich 174). He is speaking to those people. The author is appealing to the readers mainly through their logic and emotion. Though, he does appeal to them through ethics as well. To appeal to the logos part of the readers he uses many statistics to help them see how big the collapse in media or news viewing really was. Almost three-quarters of the age of 34-37 year olds read the newspaper in 1972.Today only a third of people that age read the newspaper daily. The capability of parents to monitoring what their children are watching has decreased. Mindich has states that, â€Å"in 1970, six percent of all sixth graders had TVs in their bedrooms; today that number is an astonishing 77 percent. If you are in sixth grade and sitting alone in your bedroom, you’re probably not watching Peter Jennings†. Between 1944 and 2001, news and politics that interest young people had changed greatly, and when major events occurred, such as the Vietnam War and the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, draws interests from young people. Mindich shows how extensive this lack and declined in civic involvement through the news is when he discusses a survey conducted in 2004 during the presidential elections in which people were asked the question, â€Å"Do you happen to know which of the presidential candidates served as an army general?† â€Å"42 percent of the over-50 crowd could name Wesley Clark. Only 13 percent of those under 30 could.† (Mindich 127).† The author makes his readers or audiences feel (pathos) bad for the editors and publishers in the media because of the declining trends: â€Å"When they aren’t reassuring themselves, editors and publishers are lying awake at night thinking about the dismaying trends of recent decades† (Mindich 174). By this he brings them back to their past experiences and emotions by remembering events from their pasts such as Walter Cronkite’s news report on the Vietnam War in February 1968 that â€Å"shook the nation† (Mindich 175) and captivated his audience. Those who heard that news report would remember exactly how that particular report influenced their lives and realize that not watching the news does leave one in the dark. He really draws them in through emotions by explaining that if we no longer need mainstream news media then we are losing what they have to offer. Through the media we get to see various points of view on world issues. We get to weigh the options presented and make educated decisions based on what we have learned. Mindich has similar concerns regarding the television news viewer ship. In the past, the news was of the most interest among the people who had TV’s in their household. That’s not the same trend anymore. It is then assumable that many of the modern era people might be getting the news from the internet. However, in a survey, only about 18 percent of Americans post their primary news source as online according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project and Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. And it is suggested that if someone is not in agreement with the above research, they only need to wander into a computer lab at the local college, high school, or libraries to see what the students have on their screen. The author is convincing the audience his creditability source that is worth listening (ethos). Mindich used a lot of research and statistics to get his point across to his audience. He used startling facts that compare the public interest of the 1970’s right after Vietnam, and to public interests of now. With the statistics that are provided, it helped play a powerful portion of the article achieve its point. One such statistic is that, â€Å"in 1972, nearly half of 18-22 year old read a newspaper every day. According to research conducted by Wollfram Peiser, a scholar who studies newspaper readership. Today, less than a quarter doâ€Å"(Mindich 174). The author wants the audience to become more informed in political news, and gives some ideas as to how it can incorporate that in with our family life. With the decline in the news audience it is a cultural crisis. The state of news is how we obtain an interesting place. Many news executives see the change in the number of people who watch, and read the news, and are scared. The author also says that the news industry is relying on the home, that one day the kids will hopefully comeback around. If the cut in the news audience continues, who will knows where we can get our information from. If we make change something slightly, and try not to become so worried with reality television and other things, than we could still perhaps have a staring place of reliable and informational news later on. The author has both strengths and weaknesses. Mindich makes an excellent point throughout his essay, one with which many people would agree, majority of his argument is well reasoned and well worded. Some of his greatest strengths are the statistics he uses. He presents a picture of the past to help the reader to see how things truly compare to the present. He talks about up events that happened throughout time that has impacted our nation and the world in very huge ways. With this it really helps the readers to bond and picture how the downfall in the media can really affect the world. On the other hand his weakness is his inability to connect with young readers. It is the young adults that are the problem and yet he is writing to the generation that already watches and/or reads the news regularly. This is ineffective since his purpose is to increase awareness of the importance of the news and get people to begin taking interest in the news and media so that they can make more informed choices. The degrading health of news media is a threat to political life itself. In the modern democratic era, majority of Americans, young and old have little interaction with mainstream news media that are building blocks democratic society. Mindich assures that from a collective effort of reporters, editors, producers, and media business executives will change the fate of the American democracy about the value and necessity of vigorous news media. Works Cited Mindich, David T. Z. â€Å"The Collapse of Big Media: The Young and the Restless.† Comp. Lester Faigley. Backpack Writing. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008. 174-78. Print.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Theories that Withhold Normative Ethics

Normative Ethics is a theory of ethics that is based on what ought to be morally right. Most ethical theories are based from a normative base. Normative ethics are based on what ought to be good or bad, right or wrong, and just or unjust. The ethical principles are ways to describe the actions and behaviors that we perform. There are several theories that apply to normative ethics like utilitarianism, pluralism, and rights based ethics. Utilitarianism is a principle, which approves or disapproves of every action according to whether it increases or diminishes the amount of happiness or good of the interested party. This issue is deeply imbedded in the ever-expanding world of information technology. New technologies like personnel monitoring hit this issue directly. Employers may see short-term benefits of monitoring employees, such as insider trading, efficiency, or performance. But, employers must consider what effect that the monitoring will have on the employees. The overall happiness or good for all the parties involved are not always addressed. The company may see results from their end but the employees may receive an adverse effect. To successfully make a utility-based decision managers must take in to consideration who is going to be influenced by the decision to be made. Pluralism or duty based ethical principles outline some different ideas. Immanuael Kant say the worth of an action is not found in what the person is trying to accomplish but rather the intention that they had. People must perform actions as a function of duty regardless of the consequences. Duty is an obligation to follow universal moral laws. These moral laws are outlined to make sure that projects or objectives do not superceded the worth of human beings. An important IT example would be the use of private customer information in a negative manner. Managers have a right to ensure that customer information especially financial information like credit cards or asset holdings. The managers have a duty to the customers to respect their privacy of information. Companies that provide hardware and software solutions to companies have a duty to provide a quality product. Reliant companies need those systems to run the companies. Manufacturers have a duty to balance profit maximization and quality to ensure that the product is functional for everyone. Rights based ethics focuses on the rights of individuals and respect of people†s rights. There are two different types of rights in this theory. Negative rights are rights that are free from outside interference. Therefore these rights allow people to have certain rights without someone interfering. Positive rights on the other hand are rights that people are entitled to. Examining ethical aspects using this theory people consider whether the action will impede on human or legal rights. Information management has great rights implications. Consumer†s information is located on many databases throughout the nation. Companies have to ensure that consumer†s rights to privacy maintained. Companies often sell information to marketing organizations who put you on other lists that they may sell. Many organizations make a point of telling consumers that their information will remain private. Consumers also want their information to be current and accurate. Information about peoples credit histories and financial information need to be accurate otherwise the customer may be negatively impacted. People make ethical and moral decisions every day. But, what really influences people when they are making decisions. Family has a large part to play in the way that a person views the world. Values and moral are instituted in children by their parents as they grow. The structure of the family may influence the way that children view the actions of their parents and others. Also integrated with the aspect of family are the areas of religion and culture. There are certain practices in different religions that may shape the way an individual view a decision as either moral or ethical. Subjects like sex or drugs may be accepted in various forms from one religion or culture but not another. This may determine how a person may view a decision in the future. Practices vary from country to country. Therefore, a practice like corporate spying my be acceptable in one culture but is frowned upon in ours. Companies may endorse sweatshops in other countries but it is not ethical to do it in the US. Other factors that may influence how someone makes a decision may be based on their socio-economic position in life. A person desperate for money or food my have a different outlook on some moral or ethical decisions. Personal crises alter a persons view on the world and what should be done. Age also plays an important part of how situations are solved. Younger people may view moral and ethical issues lightly because they don†t understand the consequences of the actions. As people grow older their outlook on life becomes altered. Experience makes a person view the whole picture when a decision needs to be made. People†s values change making their moral and ethical instincts stronger. While people age education level varies. Educated people have a different outlook on life than an uneducated person. Having more tools to access allow people to make a more informed decision. All of these different ideas shape the outlook that people have on the world. Individual views of society shape the moral and ethical decision-making process. The factors outlined above and some of the ethical theories we can speculate how ethical dilemmas might be resolved. Ethical dilemmas need to be examined in various steps. First of all you need to assess the ethical issues in the problem. Determine what issues will become a factor in your decision making process. Decide what your moral intuition says on the issue. How do your own personal views shape the issue? Once you have determined your personal stance on the issue, you must examine the ethical frameworks to decide how the issue can be applied. What course of action do the theories point you to? You must decide what conclusions should you follow as well as considering public policy implications. The actual decision needs to be a very informed one. Every side of the issue needs to be addressed from the different ethical theories. The informed decision will create a better outcome because the pros and cons have been addressed before a solution is designed.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

A Trip To Space mountain

It was a hot sunny day, when my parents finally took us to Disney World. My brother Bradley, my sister Kylie, and I endlessly asked my parents to show us the Wonderful World of dreams with Mickey Mouse and Snow-white walking by and greeting us as if we were royalty as well. Somehow these fairy tale creatures made us ecstatic without and true presents; such as a new house for my Barbie’s, or a new racing track for my brother’s Hot Wheels. Therefore, my parents thought that Disney World was the best choice for their loving children.However, my parents can ensure anybody that Disney can turn out to be a remarkable place for adults as well as children. Although that trip was all the way back in 2008, none of us could ever forget our experiences at the roller coaster with a mysterious name â€Å"Space Mountain†. As my parents and eldest sister grew tired of the smell of sweet popcorn and them always seeming to wash the ice-cream off Bradley’s bright green shirt , they decided to change the settings. Along with Bradley, Kylie and I pleaded to go to the roller coaster, and, having no other better idea, my father finally had to give up.I thought that my mother would be proud of him. Besides, they always had talked of have never had such an experience before, and thought of having such a ride was quite interesting at least. When we finally arrived at Space Mountain, the feeling of doubt started to crowd my mind. Being as I was only 9 years old, I felt uneasy seeing the all black coaster zip down the track as if it were flying. I tried to convince my parents and siblings to just go back to the cafà © and eat ice cream, but I was the only one up for that. My siblings were too preoccupied over the fascination on this ride to even consider my request.The most excited was Kylie, who voluntarily climbed into the seat as Bradley followed after her. I figured that it was too late to turn back now; I climbed into this â€Å"metal box of death† and awaited my fate. As the workers made their round trips; checking seatbelts, and telling us to enjoy the ride, one old man stopped by and asked me if I was okay. I bit my tongue and nodded with a slight â€Å"yes† coming out of my mouth. At that moment, the only sibling who looked excited was Kylie. Bradley and I both gave the same look as to decide which one this contraption eats up first.I was not entirely sure of anything anymore. The only thing I was sure of what that I could feel my pulse drop into my stomach and my heart rate as is sped up. I was so fearful at the fact that this entire mechanism could stop working at any time. By then I could object to nothing, I closed my eyes and held them as if I were escaping back into a peaceful place with princesses and tea parties. As the ride took off I heard many different forms of both screaming and laughter, but I did not open my mouth for the duration of the whole ride.As the coaster came to a halt, I opened my eyes to se e that the pain and torture was now over. I quickly looked at my brother who had the same expression as I did. Knowing that going on that ride could’ve gone much smoother without us. Looking back on that day in Disney world, I still faintly remember the smell of the â€Å"Magic† in the air (or nearly stale cotton candy). However, a certain thought has always haunted me in decided to go back or not. If I had never gone on Space Mountain would I be afraid of roller coasters today? I guess contemplating will do nothing. I guess until next time, Space Mountain.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Promote learning and development Essay

Understand the purpose and requirements of the areas of learning and development in the relevant early years framework 1.1. Explain each of the areas of learning and development and how these are interdependent. Personal, social and Emotional Development Children must be provided with experiences and support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others; respect for others; social skills; and a positive disposition to learn. Providers must ensure support for children’s emotional well-being to help them to know themselves and what they can do. Communication, Language and Literacy Children’s learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, being read to and beginning to read and write must be supported and extended. They must be provided with opportunity and encouragement to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes, and be supported in developing the confidence and disposition to do so. Problem solving, Reasoning and Numeracy Children must be supported in developing their understanding of Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding. They must be provided with opportunities to practise and extend their skills in these areas and to gain confidence and competence in their use. Knowledge and understanding of the world Children must be supported in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. Their learning must be supported through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations; undertake practical ‘experiments’; and work with a range of materials. Physical Development The physical development of babies and young children must be encouraged through the provision of opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of coordination, control, manipulation and  movement. They must be supported in using all of their senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between new information and what they already know. They must be supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food. Creative Development Children’s creativity must be extended by the provision of support for their curiosity, exploration and play. They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example, through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology. It is important to remember that these six areas of learning do not work in isolation but are in fact interlinked. Good quality activities will cover more than one area of development. For example, allowing children to access the outdoors will not only support their physical development, but encourage their communication and exploration of their environment. Where a child experiences a delay in one area, it is likely to limit their learning and development in the other five†¦a child with cerebral palsy who experiences hand-eye coordination difficulties is likely to find completing a puzzle difficult therefore hindering her problem solving, reasoning and numeracy. It is therefore vital that settings recognise each child’s individual needs and plan holistically in order to help children achieve their full potential across the six areas of learning. 1.2. Describe the documented outcomes for children that form part of the relevant early years framework. These are the goals and targets for children to meet throughout early years, for example communication language and literacy linking sounds. These are documented through observations that are carried out by their key person through day to day, which they then just to develop children’s development with carrying out different activities and adapting or changing them for an individual needs. 1.3. Explain how the documented outcomes are assessed and recorded. Planning for children’s development start’s with observations in order to find out the child’s previous knowledge, their interests and needs. There are many forms of observations that can be carried out to allow us to collate the evidence we need to plan appropriately for the individual child. Each method of observation has advantages and disadvantages of recording the child’s development, so it is important to use a variety of methods of observation for each child to gain holistic knowledge and understanding of the child’s development. In our workplace we do this when activities are taking place observations to see if the child is meeting their development with the six areas of learning and development and to see how they can help to maintain their learning and development. In our workplace we fill in forms regularly for each activity that meets the outcomes. We change activities regularly so children can progresss according to age. These forms are stored and accessed by keyworkers when doing a child’s progression plan. 2. Be able to plan work with children and support children’s participation in planning 2.1. Use different sources to plan work for an individual child or group of children. OBSERVATION 2.2. Engage effectively with children to encourage the child’s participation and involvement in planning their own learning and development activities. OBSERVATION 2.3. Support the planning cycle for children’s learning and development. OBSERVATION 3. Be able to promote children’s learning and development according to the requirements of the relevant early years framework. 3.1. Explain how practitioners promote children’s learning within the relevant early years framework. Practitioners promote children’s learning within the guidance of the EYFS by offering a balanced of child initiated and adult led play based activities, practitioners will use their own guidance on the age and stage of the child using their knowledge that they have on the children that they care for and decide on the correct balance, however we should realise the amount of time that is already taken up with adult led activities such as registration, lining up, snack time, circle time. We should ensure that the same balance should be applied outdoors as well as indoors. Child initiated means a child that engages on a self chosen activity and is allowed to play freely. The adult led activity is usually a group of children that participate w ith adult support, the activity is chosen by the adult. The  adult would have picked the time and the aspect of a particular topic. This could be sewing as a child originally needs help to achieve this and gradually the adult’s involvement will decrease in time. Organisation and management making sure that we provide opportunities to extend play for children, key worker system is in place for legal and responsibility of learning and development of each child, thinking about to the children use the space indoors/outdoors, observation and planning system which meets individual needs and interests. We have a very good balance of adult and child led play we try for a 50% we follow children’s interests by observations and asking the children what they would like in the planning and what activities they would like to do that day. Sensitive intervention is trying to intervene without disrupting or changing the focus on the play. Watching to see if the child wants you to participate or not, so enhancing play but not taking ownership of the play away from the child. Supporting and facilitating when you have a positive relationship with the children they will seek your help doing something like building dens they might need materials and resources or helping them reach their aim. Modelling when children watch an adult they might try to model that action by repeating actions, words or skills. Coaching children do and learn more when given encouragement and support of an adult by making a child feel confident they might try to do or develop something a little further this is linked to the Vygotsky theory (Core 3.1) of proximal development getting children to do something just outside their comfort range. 3.2. Prepare, set out and support activities and experiences that encourage learning and development in each area of the relevant early years framework. OBSERVATION 4. Be able to engage with children in activities and experiences that support their learning and development 4.1. Work alongside children, engaging with them in order to support their learning and development. OBSERVATION 4.2. Explain the importance of engaging with a child to support sustained shared thinking. Using a topic a child is really interested in can allow for sustained shared thinking it can be talking about something or doing something which encourages conversation like we have done planting with our  children this has really captured their imagination the children are talking about what they think seeds are going to grow into what happens as the plants grows, what might the plant produce. We are getting the children to reach conclusions, and explore concepts at a deeper level. The children are thinking about processes and are making connections to things they have already learnt and new information. Processing the information we have given them making them think. 4.3. Use language that is accurate and appropriate in order to support and extend children’s learning when undertaking activities OBSERVATION 5. Be able to review own practice in supporting the learning and development of children in their early years. 5.1. Reflect on own practice in supporting learning and development of children in their early years. OBSERVATION 5.2. Demonstrate how to use reflection to make changes in own practice. OBSERVATION Reflective account covering observations 2.1 2.3 5.1 and 5.2 While at work I organised an activity for all the children to do cooking. We were making fairy cakes. Before the activity the children chose what they wanted on their fairy cakes and went got this from the Tesco opposite our work. Some children got butter and icing and others got chocolate and smarties there was a variety if things that each children chose. To help the young people do the activity we printed a recipe sheet out and also a sheet with pictures for those young people who cannot read some children needed help with the activity more than others. The children did mixing with electric mixers and some used a whisk. We put the cakes in the oven for 20minutes we then waited for the Cakes to cool. We decorated them with the things we bought from Tesco the children had lots of fun. We have done this activity before  and after reflecting on this I think the children are getting better with mixing the cake mixture and decorating the cakes. If I was to do this again I would do everything the same but do it regularly so the children learn the step by step making of cakes.