Earth Formation

Kevin Navarrete Benham, Timothy ENC1101 Mon-Wed 9:30-10:45am 4-1-13 Formation of Earth and life on earth. About 4. 57 Billion years ago our planet earth was formed. Earth contains many things that allows us to live. How was the Earth formed and why do we live in it is a question many of us would like to find out, but there are many answers to these questions and we cannot come up with a conclusion. The theory that is said to explain the formation of our earth is called the Big Bang Theory.This theory explains that all matter in the Universe was, at one time, concentrated in a giant mass (a black hole) that blew apart about 10 to 20 billion years ago and is still expanding. Now a days, it is thought that our solar system had its first steps when, about 5 billion years ago, by some unknown process, a cloud of dust and gases collapsed and condensed. Some of the matter in the central mass compressed under its own gravity, condensed, and heated until forces were so strong that thermonucle ar reactions began. These reactions were the origin of our star, the Sun.The size of a star is related to the amount of fuel it has available to burn for energy and how fast it burns up that fuel. A star smaller than our sun would not contain enough fuel to last long enough for evolution to have occurred here on earth. A larger star would have burned its fuel too fast, and would have burned itself out long ago. It would also not last long enough for life to evolve on Earth. The center of the disk became the sun, and the particles in the outer rings turned into large burning balls of gas and molten-liquid that cooled and condensed to take on solid form.Four or five billion years ago, they turned into the planets that we know today as Earth, Mars, Venus, and the outer planets. A cloud with dust gases and many more particles grew together and condensed to form the planets, comets, asteroids, and many other things about 4. 6 billion years ago. It is thought that Earth began as a very co ld world. It is also thought that the very first atmosphere could have been of hydrogen gas. Since this gas is so light weight and very chemically reactive, most of it would have floated off into space or reacted with other substances.The first atmosphere is thought to be due to volcanic eruption and other chemical reactions taking place. It is thought that the inner four solid planets may have began with similar atmospheres of H2O, CO2, CO, and N2. It is thought that these chemicals made up the atmosphere of our planet for the first 1 billion years. It then provided similar atmospheres for the other planets Over the past few centuries scientists have been trying to answer the question: what was the origin of life? There have been a number of scientists who have produces a number of plausible theories.The currently most excepted theory is Oparin's theory, which states that the â€Å"origin of life on Earth was in nonliving chemical substances which spontaneously formed in Earth's e arly atmosphere and combined to make more complex chemicals until living cells were formed. † This maybe a possibility because Stanley Miller a student at University of Chicago, began experimenting to prove Oparin's theory. He created a device that dispersed gas's that were likely to be present in the early atmosphere, and then he pased an electrical discharge, stimulating the UV rays present in the early atmosphere.After allowing the experiment to continue for a week, the results were amazing. However, there have been other theories that do not support this experiment. The Cosmozoa theory which states that life was brought to earth from somewhere else, and the theory states that life can suddenly and spontaneously appear. All in all there are many perspectives and theories of the origin of life and the formation of the Earth. Each of these theories sound very good, but there is no proof that it really happened this way. Word Count 1207

Home video game Essay

1: Why the rapid growth of Atari? Why the 1982-85 collapse? How did Nintendo rebuild the industry? What was its strategy? After Bushnell settled on Atari, his first built was the simplest game, which people knew the rules immediately, and this game could be played with only one hand. Then, Bushnell talked his way into a $ 50000 line of credit from a local bank to start his business. By 1974, 100,000 Pong-like games were sold worldwide, and although Atari manufactured only 10 percent of the game, the company still made $3. 2 million that year. Atari had a rapid growth because it is a new industry, and Atari does not have any competitor at that time. So, Atari is the only company in this home video game industry, and it has a huge power of supplier with no competitors and substitutes. After 1976, about twenty different companies were crowding into the home videogame market, Atari still has more than 50% market share in the industry. Until 1978, Atari estimated that total demand would reach 2 million units. In 1982, Atari lost $500 in the first nine months of the year. Part of the blame for the collapse was laid at the feet of an enormous inventory overhang of unsold games. With more and more new games hit the market, the average price would goes down and the profits goes down as well. Nintendo established a commanding worldwide position by the end of the decade. The first step of Nintendo was to license video game technology from Magnavox. Then, Nintendo tried to develop its own video game machine (Famicom) that combined superior graphics processing capabilities and low cost. In the US, Nintendo established a subsidiary named as Nintendo of America (NOA) by 1980, and Nintendo repositioned the market in U. S. NOA spent about 2% of sales budget for advertising and also sought out promotion partner, and it practiced careful inventory management in releasing its new games. In conclusion, Nintendo made an innovative new game system which had some competitive advantages such as cheaper, superior image quality, faster hardware processing and a connector that can be used for future addition of a modem and keyboard. 2: How was Nintendo able to capture value from the home video game business? First of all, with the video game industry’s collapse, none of the company seems to have anything to do with the with the home video business except Nintendo. So, it was a big chance for Nintendo to monopolize the video game business, and it was a good chance to negotiate and license other companies to develop games for its system. Secondly, Nintendo has good market position and distribution in United Stated. Thirdly, Nintendo has good game designing and technology, and it uses the regulation, contract and patent license to limit the market share of other game companies. 3: How was Sega able to gain market share from Nintendo? With Sega’s first game Periscope, Sega built up a respectable export business. Then, Sega realized that great games drove sales and more powerful technology gave game developers the tools to develop more appealing games. Sega also licensed other companies to develop games for the Genesis platform, but asked for lower royalty rates than Nintendo. Despite aggressive marketing in the 80s, it wasn’t until the introduction of Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 as a direct competitor to Nintendo’s Mario character that Sega was able to capture a meaningful amount of the market with its Genesis console. The key point was Genesis does what Nintendo don’t, and Sega version out sold Nintendo’s two to one. 4: Evaluate the competitive strategy of 3DO. What flaws can you see in 3DO’s approach? The vision for 3DO was to shift the home video game business away from the existing cartridge-based format and toward a CD-ROM-based platform. The belief at 3DO is that the superior storage and graphics processing capabilities of the 3DO system would prove very attractive to game developers, allowing them to be far more creative. In turn, better games would attract customers away from Nintendo and Sega. The 3DO’s strategy was to license its hardware technology for free. However, only a few 3DO titles were available by the Christmas period where reports suggested 150 titles, and sales of the hardware were slow. As can be seen, 3DO did good at its software, but bad at its hardware. As a result, 3DO announced that it would either sell its hardware system or move into joint venture. 5: How come the Sony Play Station has succeeded where 3DO failed? Sony set up a retail channel separate from its consumer electronics sales force, and Sony has a good communication with retailers before the launch to find out how it could help them sell the play station. Sony targets its advertising for PlayStation at specific generation and age range. So, Sony focused on it retailers and customers, and it has a good market position. On the other side, 3DO only focused on its products but lack of the communication with its retailers and customers. 6: What drove Microsoft’s decision to enter the industry with its X-box offering? Because before Microsoft entered the home video game industry, it was no stranger to games. Microsoft had long participated in the PC gaming industry and was one of the largest publishers of PC games. X-box was based on Microsoft’s PC technology, and it would be much easier for software developers to write game for. Microsoft enter the industry because with annual revenues in excess of $20 billion worldwide, the home video game industry is huge and an important source of potential growth for Microsoft. 7: What lessons can be learned from the history of the home video game industry that has been used to help launch the Sony PlayStation II and Microsoft’s X-Box? Do Microsoft and Sony appear to have learned and applied these lessons? The lesson can be learned from the history of the home video industry was to focus on R&D, market positioning, cost leadership, innovation, technology and communications. Sony PlayStation II has consumed about 1. 3 billion in R&D, and Sony actually loses money on Sony PlayStation machine but gain from game CDs. On the other side, Microsoft’s X-Box cut X-box price over time but guaranteed a profit margin. There are three technical factors determined the quality of a video game: data width (in bits), clock speed (in MHz), and the amount of RAM (in bytes). Both Sony PlayStation II and Microsoft’s X-Box have their own competitive advantage in these technologies, and they also both are good game designers.

Conflict Between Reality and Illusion as a Major Theme of ‘the Glass Menagerie’ Essay

Over the past century discoveries in physics have revealed a whole new paradigm for life – one that you can apply to your life right now to get extraordinary insights, intuitions and results. I believe knowing these principles is crucial for your ability to be ‘tapped in’ to the unseen world that surrounds you. To me quantum physics has always interested me. Since a child, I wanted to know what this world was about, and if I could go deep into understanding the nature of matter that makes up our world, and know what is it made of, then I could understand my own essence and the purpose of life itself. So I set off on an exploration into the area of science known as quantum physics. It is the branch of science that explores the universe at the very tiniest and the very largest of scales. What I found was science is really the new religion. For instance, no one has ever seen an atom even though scientists tell us that’s what all things are made of. Since we cannot see an atom, then we have to accept it from the scientific community based on faith. To me, when you involve faith, even an experimentally confirmed version, you also imply a new religion in a sense. In the past, the masses of people got their meaning of life from religious teachers who taught well-understood spiritual laws. The teachers of religion along with ancient myth tellers were the storytellers giving people the ultimate truth of reality. At some point in history, religion became political and was used more for state control of the masses rather than for providing the truth of reality. When Science was discovered all that changed. Over the past 300 years or so science has made an attempt to start from scratch and rebuild what is true. From Galileo to Darwin these rebels sought the truth yet paid the price for going against the inherent worldview. Inspired by these great leaders more and more people joined the scientific exploration for truth, which led to the forming of institutions and organizations. As with any good intention, when it becomes institutionalized, it can lose sight of it’s main objective and eventually become biased as well. In this case, our modern scientists have focused on what can be seen in the material world and have forgotten or downright ignored other unseen forces such as mind or consciousness as factors in the laws of nature. Most scientists have bought into a materialistic and lifeless universe. Even though there is evidence to the contrary, modern scientists do not want to acknowledge such a paradigm – despite what quantum physics shows. This may be because, if scientists go against the inherent worldview, they create the real potential of losing their reputation along with their university-funded careers, which has been know to happen all too often. Only a handful of open-minded scientists, who are willing to put their reputations and careers on the line, have pursued the truth of reality in spite of the consequences. â€Å"At present, of all the stories, it is the scientific ones that most define us,† writes Lynne Mctaggart, author of her book entitled â€Å"The Field†. She continues, â€Å"Our current scientific story is more than three hundred years old, a construction largely based on the discoveries by Isaac Newton – a universe in which all matter moves within three-dimensional space and time according to certain fixed laws. The Newtonian vision describes a reliable place inhabited by well-behaved and easily identifiable matter. The worldview arising from these discoveries is also bolstered by the philosophical implications of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, with its suggestion that survival is available only to the genetically rugged individual. These, in their essence, are stories that idealize separateness. From the moment we are born, we are told that for every winner there must be a loser. From that constricted vision we have fashioned our world. † The current scientific worldview is simple: We are all separate beings being influenced by random events, surviving from cradle to grave, and that’s pretty much it. There is no before life or after life for us. This reality is all we have, and it is based on random, or cause and affect relationships along an ongoing flow of time. â€Å"Although we perceive science as an ultimate truth, science is finally just a story, told in installments† writes Mctaggart. But the latest installment is quantum physics, which reveals a whole different paradigm. We are all not separate but rather interconnected – called non-local entanglement by these physicists. Unfortunately, quantum physics is considered an anomaly in the scientific community. Because it is such a variant to long held beliefs, most scientists have not incorporated these new-found principles into their respective areas of science let alone their own personal lives. If they did, we would have an updated version of biology, physiology, geology, medicine, psychology, sociology and even theology. We would have a whole new paradigm for life, thus impacting our worldview in every way. Instead, these principles stay isolated into the lonely branch of physics that explores the very tiniest of particles. This whole new view of life would say we are not separate at all, not from each other, not from the solar system we are part of, or the universe we belong to. We are all interconnected at the most fundamental aspect of our nature. We may appear as physical things, but we are more than that, we are processes intimately connected to our environment and to each other. Without awareness of these principles, things look random in our lives, but according to quantum physics they are not. If you would like to learn more about the principles of quantum physics and how to apply them to your life, then you may want to enquire about our monthly gatherings we have in Richmond Hill. This group aims to be the leading think tank for gathering answers to life’s most interesting questions, from the meaning of your life, to exploring hidden forces that heal the body and mind, to discovering answers to the riddles of ancient civilizations. Each gathering will be a special event consisting of a professional presentation followed by a short discussion on various topics of interest in order to explore the answers to life’s mysteries, learn the underlying unseen laws governing your everyday existence, and how to apply this wisdom to transform your life. Each event will enhance your sense of wonder and appreciation for you and the world in which you live. No previous knowledge is necessary and everyone is welcome.

Favorite childhood memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Favorite childhood memory - Essay Example They would come down to the shore at night with us and we would spend hours by the fire. I have eight cousins in all, and the beach was a loud place when we were there. The sea was our pool and we spent hours there. At least eight hours out of every day were spent at the beach. The men in the family would spend noon time at the beach bar where they had their time and fun with our moms while we kids would go down to the game area, coins in hand, for hours of fun and junk food and games. Our moms and dads came to get us at six p.m. sharp each night. My mom and dad would have me walk near and each of them would take one of my hands in theirs as we went back to our homes for our night time meal. We always rode in our own van where we all piled in atop each other and then head out to the Italian place where they swore they had the best food in town. That was until the next night. Then we did the same thing all over again. After the night meal we would leave the place and go out for a sweet end to the day at the local ice cream shop. I would oft order the ice cream I loved most, it was a waffle cone fruit dip. To this day, I still do not know what fruit dip that was. All that I knew was that it was the best ice cream I ever had. Since no one was tired yet, the beach was the last stop of the night. The adults would pick a corner at the food court and have their tea and talk, while we would grab hold of each other and get in line for the rides. The ride we liked most was the bump car, as we chased each other on the track and hit each other’s cars. We would go back to our mom and dad all tired, and we would want to eat and drink one more time. Then it was off to the hot dog stand for a hot dog for each child. We would eat and drink as we made our way back to the van for the trip home. I think my dad drove not fast all the time so that we would have more time as a group. That is why it took him an hour to pick them up for

Masks Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Masks - Term Paper Example This paper will get to review some of the reasons why people wear masks. Also, if it is something they want to do or want to stop doing. There are different individuals in the world. Some have been identified as the best while others not so much. There is the illusion that having friends is better than being alone. This may not be entirely true. When people find people to be around, they claim an undying friendship for each other. Very few people can identify themselves as having true or real friends. This is true wherever research may be carried out about this topic. When faced with problems, it is very easy to identify the real friends from the fake friends. Helping someone that may be headed in the wrong direction could make them feel wanted and cared for (Nutt, King, Saulsbury & Blakemore, p. 25). Having a friend with problems also comes with the territory. A friend may have problems depending on the way they are used to living. Drugs could be a very big problem if not taken care of at the earliest stage. The question many people may ask them is why they do it. The may not have a clear, concise answer for this. They might claim the feeling that comes with such way of living is comforting. What is the use of ‘good feelings’ whenever the use these drugs while bring health complications to one’s life? It is not worth the risk. One should rather be happy and live longer (Nutt, King, Saulsbury & Blakemore, p. 32). These are the types of masks that are present in society today. This mask is acquired at a very tender age. Usually people grow up thinking that life will be all that they thought of. This, they later come to find out, is not the case. When things do not go their way, they resort to such habits. There are many people in life that do not get to see some of the best things that life has to offer. This is because they

Freedom and Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freedom and Justice - Essay Example How affordable is higher education for Americans? What sorts of conflicts has higher education produced? These questions and many more will be addressed and applied to a holistic analysis of higher education in the United States. Conflict theory evolved from Marxism and focuses on what it perceives are inherent conflicts within society. Marxists perceive conflict to be endemic when resources are scarce and argue that our social system – capitalism – is the most unequal system when it comes to resource allocation and distribution. Private property, capital and social classes are all important characteristics of an inegalitarian society. An unequal division of labour and class exploitation is said to lead to conflict according to this theory (Wallerstein, 1974). A Conflict Theorist would immediately point out the inequalities surrounding higher education in the United States and would argue that higher education promotes class difference and exploitation of the masses. Seeing higher education as a tool for upward social mobility, Conflict Theorists would assert that the lack of accessibility of higher education in the United States maintains the unequal status between social classes, ensuring tha t the wealthy remain wealthy and the poor in America remain poor. Conflict Theorists point out that exorbitant costs to attend colleges and universities ensure that only the wealthy can access higher education and thus reaps the benefit of having a Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or PhD. Affordability, or lack thereof, essentially promotes the existing class structure to the detriment of the greater society. The implication is a society stratified by class and educational attainment. Those without access to the elite ivory towers of America’s universities and colleges will forever remain in the bottom rung of society. Conflict will exist between those who have the means to attend university and those who do

How did Industrialization change America between 1860 and 1900 Essay - 1

How did Industrialization change America between 1860 and 1900 - Essay Example Among the greatest changes that took place in the United States with regard to industrialization is improved living standards. Industrialization brought with it numerous issues and one of the positive issues is that it created employment opportunities. With the increase in industries, there was a basic requirement of workers and these people came from the surrounding areas. These people worked tirelessly with the aim of achieving the most for their industries. The consequent result of this is that people gained more income from the industries and improved their living standards (Meyer 74). Another change that took place is an increase in population. Two major factors that led to this and it is important to review both of them. One of the reasons as to why population increased is because people got comfortable with their lives and decided to multiply. Another reason is the fact that the United States became attractive to many outsiders and thus many immigrants came in from different regions. The reason as to why they came into the country is to look for employment in the upcoming industries at the time. The transport system is another that faced many changes during that period. This happened because people required an elaborate transport system through which they would get to work. Another reason as to why the transport system improved is that entrepreneurs required a fast method through which they would transport their products. With the advent of industries, the food production increased and thus the market widened (Meyer 106). One of the political changes witnessed because of industrialization is the rise of taxation. Prior to industrialization, the concept of taxation was rare but with the increase in goods doing rounds in the market the government found a loophole. The government decided to start taxing traders and this would lead to its accumulation of funds. Thinking in the economic line,

A regression analysis study on the relationship between oil price Dissertation

A regression analysis study on the relationship between oil price volatility and UK oil and gas companies' returns - Dissertation Example The findings of the regression analysis also support the evidence of oil prices volatility having no impact upon the returns generated by the oil and gas sector of UK. Strong but negative relationship between oil and gas sector returns and various other factors such as benchmark equity index i.e. FTSE100, exchange rate movements and short term interest rates are found in the study consistent with some previous other research findings as well. VARIABLE CHOICE Under previous studies of El-Sharif (2005) and Sardosky (2001), there are few variables taken into consideration to check the returns generated by oil and gas sector companies of UK. In study of El-Sharif (2005), this impact is studied through using four variables which are returns generated from oil prices volatility, returns generated by UK equity index, returns generated by foreign exchange rate movements, and lastly returns generated from short-term interest rate. Under the current study, one additional variable has been adde d in the overall model of the study i.e. returns generated from Natural Gas Prices Volatility. ... This variable is considered in this study as the chief variable influencing the oil and gas sector companies returns. Returns generated from Gas Prices Volatility Gas prices, is the second factor which has the influences upon the returns of the oil and gas sector companies returns besides oil prices volatility. Returns generated by Equity Index of UK This variable is taken into consideration to study the overall influence of the equity market of UK upon oil and gas sector. Returns generated by Foreign Exchange Rate Movement Since UK is one of the largest oil producers in the European Union, therefore, it also exports oil and allied products to other nations as well. With such exports, the oil and gas sector of UK is highly impacted by the foreign currency movements as a result this factor is also studied under this research. Returns generated by Short-term Interest Rate Short-term interest rate is included in the model because it provides the alternative investment horizon to the inv estors. It is assumed that variability in the short-term interest rates can direct the decisions of investors. 3.6 Research Methodology (Edited) This research follows the literature that uses the international APT model. Previous studies facilitated their empirical analysis to relate impacts of global factors on stock returns (see Jorion, 1990; Khoo, 1994; Faff and Chan, 1998; Faff and Brailsford, 1999; Sadorsky, 2001; Sadorsky and Henriques, 2001). The two-factor version of the model used in most prior related studies is derived from the multi-factor model shown below: Ri,t = ? i ?+ ?kFk,t +? ?i,t (1) where Ri,t is the stock market’s excess return

Strategic Issues For Information Security Managers Essay

Strategic Issues For Information Security Managers - Essay Example As on can see, there are various physical elements that go into information security. Information systems play a large role in this. Firewalls are common, as they protect PCs and laptops from viruses on the Internet. Virtual walls are important in order to streamline information and make it suitable for company use. Information systems are one of the key driving forces in information security. Without security there could be no systems. Most prevalent nowadays is the necessity of information security professionals to be on top of problems which deal with breaches of security. Perhaps heard about more recently was the hacker named HackerKroll, an individual who hacked into various corporate accounts at social networking site Twitter. This hacker found a pattern in Twitter's system, also related to Google accounts and Amazon.com accounts, that had an effect on how the system was operated. Passwords for these organizations, as well as Facebook chat, was regarded as unsafe after this uni dentified individual user HackerKroll revealed certain insecurities in not only Twitter's system but other systems as well. The TechCrunch web site displayed a letter written by HackerKroll which went into quite a bit of detail about the information security breaches at Twitter, now known as Twittergate. The reason this problem caused such a stir was because senior advisers at Twitter had had their Twitter accounts hacked, and this also led to a vulnerability in advisers' e-mail accounts as well. This undoubtedly angered many head honchos at Twitter and caused a scandal. The fact that TechCrunch allowed HackerKroll's open letter to be published on its site was widely criticized. "Why would TechCrunch openly give other potential hackers, a.k.a., the public at large, any potential opportunities to hack the system by letting HackerKroll's salient information be released" Technically, one wonders why indeed TechCrunch would have released such a document. Surely, one must think, this is a folly. Why would one hacker's comments about the very system he hacked be allowed to be publicized on the very web site that is supposed to be joined to Twitter at the hip One potential reason that TechCrunch allowed HackerKroll's letter to be displayed on its web site perhaps had something to do with the reason that perhaps releasing this information would somehow trick other hackers into following similar steps that HackerKroll did, thus revealing weaknesses in the system. Inversely, this could also affect potential hackers. If new hackers tried HackerKroll's old tricks, perhaps TechCrunch was phishing for hackers, practically inviting hackers to try what HackerKroll had done-precisely so that Twitter could find and prosecute anyone who had ideas about performing similar actions.

The end of a week Essay Example for Free

The end of a week Essay Basically, weekend, as the term suggests, is the end of a week. More elaborately, it is suggest that certain period between the close of one working or school week and the beginning of the forthcoming week. To be more specific, weekend for me, is that two consecutive days that stretches from Friday night to Sunday evening where you can go out on a long trip or go on shopping or just bum around because there is neither work nor school. Before reading the essay â€Å"Weekend†, it wasn’t my idea that the word and the day designated as weekend evolved since I thought it was a universal, time-old designation to end a week and a fixed day on any year or generation. Upon reading the essay, I was amazed on the way the author believes a weekend should be like. Also, the essay made me wonder who designates the days to be considered as weekend and how the idea of creating your own weekend came about. Author Witold Rybczynski in the essay â€Å"Weekend† focused more on the origin of the modern weekend. His main idea on the essay is about the development of leisure in our lives and the idea of taking the time off from work or school. In delivering his main point in the essay, Ryzbczynski discussed briefly the evolution of the word weekend and develops his thought of having genuine time-off from work by pointing out how our present weekend is designated or scheduled by people themselves or even by the state through proclamation of holidays that creates long weekends. The creation of do-it yourself holiday, meaning scheduling your own holiday for a trip or for a family or other recreational activities, to his mind takes away the real idea or the traditional meaning of weekends which is founded more on leisure and doing nothing, aimless and being just idle. To cite an example of the author’s main idea of the development of the weekend, Rybczynski first illustrate how the word weekend changed over the years. At first, it was a two word connected by a hyphen, then it loses the hyphen and slowly becomes a sort of metaphor in greeting people to wish the other of an enjoyable rest days. Another example given by the author showing changes to what is now known as the weekend is his discussion on how Sunday, which is then the beginning of a week, became the last day thereof in order to accommodate our work and other activities. Lastly, he also mentions how people nowadays designate or create their own weekend living the traditional designated weekend behind. In designating and creating their own weekend, the author believes that the weekend has lost its meaning making the same as just like a regular work day that has the same conformity of all-in-a-days-work. In this generation where people are driven by their interest and needs at the same time, I believe that the whole idea of the author no longer applies. The essay, to my mind no longer have relevance as people of today’s generation find jobs that are fulfilling and somehow provides leisure while doing their work. The present set-up no longer depicts a situation where people hurry are doing work just for the sake of money but rather at present times, people work because they are driven by their interests, hobbies and even beliefs thus making one’s work no longer burdensome and thus, people no longer rush to their houses for the weekend just to lie down and be idle. Idling, in its literal sense, I believe is no longer possible inasmuch as modern technology like computers, internets, game consoles and the like will often finds its way in our schedule during weekends. With regard to the author’s idea of designating or creating your own long weekend, I believe that there is really nothing wrong with that. People have comfort zones and if a certain day is the most comfortable day for him to relax and consider his weekend, then let it be. Focusing more on the idea of relaxation, though not necessarily by idling, than the day of weekend is far better to suit the taste of today’s world. Reference Rybczynski, Witold. Waiting for the Weekend (1991), pp. 321.

Personal Reflection On Community Psychiatry And Mental Healthcare Nursing Essay

Personal Reflection On Community Psychiatry And Mental Healthcare Nursing Essay As a part of my clinical SSC, I had to do visits to a variety of mental health care settings: 1 visit to River House at Bethlem Royal Hospital 1 visit to Scutari Clinic at St Thomas Hospital 1 visit Cheyne Ward at Kings College Hospital 4 visits to 190 Kennington Lane Clinic These visits broadened my knowledge about mental health care and the services provided. In each placement, I observed at least one consultation and had an opportunity of talking to a variety of health care professions about mental health care services and patient care. This reflective account discusses my experiences in the mental health care and the things that I observed. A Brief History on Psychiatry Psychiatry can be defined as the study of mental illnesses, their diagnoses, management and prevention (Oxford Medical Dictionary) and when this is carried out in the community, it is called community psychiatry. Here is a brief timeline of transformation from mental asylums to community based care: In 1601 the Poor Law was established which stated that individuals who were unable to care for themselves should be supported (History of Mental Health and Community Care- Key Dates, Mind.org.uk). In 1800s, introduction of the County Asylums 1808 allowed the asylums and psychiatric hospitals to be established, treating mentally ill patients (History of Mental Health and Community Care- Key Dates, Mind.org.uk). The number of bed allocated to patients with mental health problems was at its peak in 1954 (152,000 beds). However, with the introduction of new treatment plans, such new anti psychotic medication, rehabilitation in community, the numbers of people being admitted to psychiatric hospital reduced (ABC of Mental Health, 2nd Edition and History of Mental Health and Community Care- Key Dates, Mind.org.uk). Mental health care centres were the one of the steps taken in terms of the implementation of mental health care policies in 1980s (Sayce et al. 1990). 1990s, mental health care in the community was reformed and implemented a form of community mental health team which is a team of professions including a psychiatric, psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist and care coordinator, manage people with mental illnesses in the community settings (ABC of Mental Health,2nd Edition). Community Mental Health Team and Other Services Mental health problems are normally managed by primary health care, e.g. GPs, and referrals can be made to either community mental health teams or secondary health care if needed (ABC of Mental Health Care, 2nd Edition and Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide: Community Mental Health Teams, 2002). The majority of the patients who use the services provided by community mental health care teams have time limited problems and will be referred back to their general practices once they have made the necessary recovery (Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide: Community Mental Health Teams, 2002). Reflecting back upon a consultation that I observed at Kennington Lane Clinic, a patient was discharged from the clinic after having used the services as there was a significant improvement in her condition. One of the reasons for the referral to community mental health care team is that primary health care may not be able to offer services such as cognitive behavioural therapy or rehabilitation, required for patients with certain mental disorders, for example obsessive compulsive disorder (Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide: Community Mental Health Teams, 2002). Once the referral is done, patient is risk assessed and assigned a care coordinator, who would support, advice and have a regular contact with the patient. At Kennington Lane Clinic, the care coordinator whom I spoke with stated that when one of his patients do not attend a scheduled appointment, then he would go to visit this patient at his/her home so in other words, providing a continuity of care and support. During my time at River House, a medium secure hospital, one of the doctors that I have met articulated the fact that medium secure hospitals fill the gaps that are created by both the psychiatric units of general hospitals and the high secure hospitals. Since the patients admitted to medium secure hospital are not suitable for both: high secure hospitals may not accept these patients because they are not dangerous or insane enough and psychiatric units of general hospital may find these patients dangerous enough to refuse the admission. Therefore, medium secure hospitals are solely developed to accommodate such patients. The same principle can be applied to community mental health teams as they are thought to form a bridge between primary and secondary health care (ABC of Mental Health Care, 2nd Edition). During the transformation to community based psychiatry, it was thought that the prevalence of homicide carried out by psychiatric patients after deinstitutionalisation was going up but in fact these claims were not accurate (Fakhoury and Priebe, 2007). Deinstitutionalisation and allowing patients with psychiatric problems to be managed and cared for in the community settings intended to lessen and curtail social stigma related to patients with mental health problems, to integrate these patients into the community, and importantly to reduce and prevent long term hospital stays (Fakhoury and Priebe, 2007). So, one can conclude the fact that Community health care teams allow patients with mental disorder to stay in the community and have a life that as normal as possible. However, Fakhoury and Priebe, 2007 stated that community psychiatry has not quite achieved its goal in terms of social integration as most of the psychiatric patients in the community are unemployed, live in a sheltered accommodation or even homeless. During my time at Kennington Lane Clinic, I met a patient whom I will be naming as Mr. A due to confidentiality code. This patient looked depressed and was complaining about having nightmares, unpleasant thoughts and phobia of using public transport. He also mentioned having thoughts of self harming and suicide. On further questioning, he revealed that he did think about committing suicide by overdosing himself with his antidepressants but could not do it as he could not find a place to do it: he is unemployed, homeless and lives with his elderly parents and occasionally with his daughters both of whom are married. In terms of what observed and felt at Kennington Lane Clinic, patients whose files that read or met were either using street drugs or having housing problems compared to the patients that I saw at Scutari Clinic in St Thomas Hospital, however this may not be the case in general since I cannot generalise what I observed during my time at both places to the rest of the country. One of the main difficulties experienced by the community mental health team is that the DNA (Did Not Attend) rates are very high in comparison to out-patient clinics at hospitals. I visited Kennington Lane Clinic four times in total but managed to observe only two consultations so I had to read the patient files and talk to their care coordinator instead. At the Scutari Clinic, I noticed that almost all the patients did attend their scheduled appointment with the doctor. I could not help but ask the duty doctors about the rate of DNAs both at the community based clinics and hospital based outpatient clinic levels and the answer that I received did confirm what I observed. I believe that one of good things about community mental health teams is that they facilitate home visits which are not normally offered for the patients attending out-patient clinics. I agree with William R. Breakey, the author of Integrated mental health services: modern community psychiatry, that home visits allow clinicians to see patients in their own surroundings and to allow them plan an appropriate care plan for a particular patient. Of course, there is a variety of services dedicated to patients with mental health problems: an appropriate choice of service would be chosen for the patients best interest. Reflecting back on my time at Kennington Lane Clinic, I came across Mr Bs file from which I read his past medical history and discussed this patient with a social worker who was involved with this particular case. On discussion, I found out that he was originally referred to the clinic by his GP and treated by this clinic quite a long time but unfortunately was relapsing and not compliant with his medication. When something like this is the case, patients can be detained at hospital against their own will under the Mental Act legislation (Rethink, Factsheet, 2010). This particular patient was going to be detained under Section 2 for 28 days. In order to carry this out, the patient had to be seen by 3 professions (2 psychiatrics and 1 social worker) in the presence of police. These three professions are specialise d in mental health care that would assess the patients mental state and make a decision. In addition, during my time at Cheyne ward, I shadowed a senior registrar who was on call in AE. I managed to observe a consultation which lasted about 30 minutes. Mr C was complaining about low mood and was self-harming. Having learnt that his father had a history of long term depression and his relationship with his father is not good, he was suggested to stay in hospital in order to carry out a full mental assessment. End the end of the consultation; he was happy to go ahead with this decision. As can be seen, the main difference between these two cases (Mr B and Mr C) is the way of the admission process: one is being admitted to hospital by force and the other one is giving consent. Mr C is an example of informal patient who is admitted to hospital with his own will and not detained under the Mental Health Act legislation, whereas Mr B is sectioned under the Mental Health Act legislation and cannot have the right refuse treatment. All in all, this revolution of change from hospital based treatment to community based treatment played an important role modernising the mental health services in the UK. Community mental health care provides help and support to those with mental illnesses at the community settings and appropriate patients are referred to this service. From what I observed and read, I can confidently say that community mental health services provide a care that is continuous and offer advice.

Labour Education And Extensive Employee Development Schemes Management Essay

Labour Education And Extensive Employee Development Schemes Management Essay I think its possible to examine both perspectives in this paper and then decide where you stand in the debate. In essence the assignment is asking you to consider how the various types of education that happen in unions (labour education tools courses, issues courses, etc.) and employment development schemes empower workers to participate in decision-making processes in the workplace (i.e. democratic systems). Do these types of education within unions facilitate a more equal relationship between employers and employees than the education or learning that happens in non-unionzied organizations? Is it possible for workplaces to be run democratically? How does education contribute to establishing equity, empowerment and democracy in workplaces (if it does at all)? Chapter 5 in Bratton et al. discusses many of types of education that unions offer, not only for stewards. While it might be difficult to go into detail about all these forms of education, the question is asking you to think about labour education broadly for workers and the labour movement. The topic of the strategic relevance of human resource management in organizational strategies and business ideals offers a deep foray into one of the main ingredient that successfully underpins the achievement of leadership and managerial objectives. This insight impels the ongoing scrutiny into one of the key leverage of our current human resource management identified as employee development schemes. This assignment begins with an examination of trade unions and strategic HRM issues, will continue with a snapshot description of labour education and workers empowerment as popular organizational initiative and its objective of combining education as a managements approach to workers empowerment. Trade unions and strategic HRM In the literature the new HRM model is depicted as unitary; it assumes that management and workers share common goals, and differences are treated and resolved rationally. According to the theory, if all workers are fully integrated into the business they will identify with their companys goals and managements problems, so that what is good for the company and management is perceived by workers as also being good for them. Critical to achieving this goal is the notion of worker commitment to the organization. This HRM goal has led writers from both ends of the political spectrum to argue that there is a contradiction between the normative HRM model and trade unions. In the prescriptive management literature, the argument is that the collectivist culture, with its them and us attitude, sits uncomfortably with the HRM goal of high employee commitment and the individualization of the employment relationship including individual contracts, communications, appraisal and rewards. Much of the critical literature also presents the new HRM model as inconsistent with traditional industrial relations and collective bargaining, albeit for very different reasons. Critics argue that HRM policies and practices are designed to provide workers with a false sense of job security and obscure underlying sources of conflict inherent in employment relations. According to Godard, historically a major reason for managers adopting progressive [HRM] practices has been to avoid or weaken unions. However, he does concede that it would also be a mistake to view progressive practices as motivated solely or even primarily by this objective (1994, p. 155). Yet other industrial relations scholars, taking a more traditional orthodox pluralist perspective, have argued that independent trade unions and variants of the HRM model cannot only coexist but are even necessary to its successful implementation and development. They argue that trade unions should become proactive or change champions actively promoting the more positive elements of the soft HRM model. Such a union strategy would create a partnership between management and organized labour which would result in a high-performance workplace with mutual gains for both the organization and workers (Betcherman et al., 1994; Guest, 1995; Verma, 1995). What is clearly apparent from a review of the literature is that this aspect of the HRM discourse has been strongly influenced by political-legal developments and the decline in trade union membership and power in the US and UK over the last two decades. Therefore when you read Chapter 12 and the literature, it is important to remember that the debate is set in the contextual developments in the USA and Britain. The idea of embedding worker commitment in HRM model has led to strong argument among writers, that, there is a contradiction between the HRM normative model and trade unions. In the prescriptive management literature, the argument is the collectivist culture, with them and us attitude, sabotages the HRM goal of high employee commitment and the individualization of the employment relationship. Moreover, critics argue that, high-performance-high-commitment HR strategies provide workers with false sense of job security, by hiding underlying sources of conflict, inherent in employment relations. However, other scholars with pluralist perspective argue that not only do trade unions andhigh-commitment HRM model coexist but are indeed necessary if an HPWS is tosucceed (Bratton and Gold, 2003: 60). In addition, other researchers like Sparrow and Hiltrop (1994: 25) in Morley et al., (2006)identified a shift from the HRM function and its associated terrain to a strategic role in other areas of HRM activity. Thus, the greater emphasis on the integration of the human resource function into strategic decision-making, a decentralization of much activity to line managers, and pre-occupation with industrial relations and collective bargaining, has made way for a more SHRM activities such as communications, human resource development, workplace learning, career management and human capital accumulation EMPOWERMENT Empowerment is a concept that gained immense popularity in the 1990s and looks set to continue as a popular organisational initiative in the twenty-first century. It is a managerial ideology in its own right as well as being used with other initiatives and strategies such as BPR, TQM and the learning organisation. It is strongly associated with culture change initiatives, delayering and restructuring, and usually involves devolving power and responsibilities to teams at workplace or customer level (Arkin, 1995). Defining empowerment Various one-dimensional definitions, of empowerment have emanated from the practitioner literature. Typical of this view is Cook and Macaulays (1997) definition of empowerment as a change-management tool which helps organisations create an environment where every individual can use his or her abilities and energies to satisfy the customer (p. 54). Its all-embracing nature skirts over issues of how employees use their abilities, and whether there are boundaries to responsibilities, the degree and type of power employees enjoy, power relations between employee, managers, individuals, teams, customers and the context of empowerment. Both Wilkinson (1998) and Lashley (1997) have commented that empowerment is influenced by historical, economic, social and political factors, and in attempting a definition the context in which it is practised must be considered. Wilkinson (1998) defines empowerment as a managerially led initiative: Unlike industrial democracy there is no notion of workers having a right to a say: it is employers who decide whether and how to empower employees. While there is a wide range of programmes and initiatives which are titled empowerment and they vary as to the extent of power which employees actually exercise, most are purposefully designed not to give workers a very significant role in decision making but rather to secure an enhanced employee contribution to the organisation. Empowerment takes place within the context of a strict management agenda. (p. 40) Empowerment is thus a managerially controlled phenomenon operating at a workbased rather than a strategic level within the organisation. Honold (1997) implicitly acknowledges this by seeing empowerment as control of ones work, autonomy on the job, variations of teamwork, and pay systems that link pay with performance (p. 202). She further divides empowerment into five groupings: leadership, the individual empowered state, collaborative work, structural or procedural change, and the multidimensional perspective that encompasses the other four categories. Multidimensional perspectives on empowerment Honolds (1997: 206) final category shows that one approach is insufficient for empowerment to be effective. Others believe that combining education, leading, mentoring and supporting, providing and structuring is more likely to enable empowerment systems to be successful. Human resource systems should also be fully supportive of these components, providing a contextual framework within which empowerment systems are able to operate. This means linking the empowerment process to the vision, goals and aims of the organisation, through HRD, reward systems and employee relations systems combined with adequate feedback measures. . Bratton John and Gold Jeffrey (2003) Human Resource Management: Theory andPractice third edition London: Palgrave Macmillan Morley Michael J., Gunnigle Patrick and Sullivan Michelle O, Collings David G. Newdirections in the roles and responsibilities of the HRM function Personnel Review Vol.35 No. 6, 2006, 609-617 Sparrow, P. and Hiltrop J. M. (1994), European Human Resource Management inTransition, Prentice-Hall, Hemel Hempstead https://ulib.derby.ac.uk/ecdu/CourseRes/dbs/manpeopl/hold.pdf

Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf as Heroic Archetype -- Epic Beowulf he

Beowulf as Heroic Archetype Monsters, their mothers, and dragons! The epic poem Beowulf, author unknown, includes all these mystical creatures and an impervious protagonist after which the poem is named. As the main character in the poem, Beowulf exemplifies the heroic archetype physically, spiritually, and ethically. Beowulf is superior to the average person in many areas, among them physical strength. Throughout the poem, Beowulf accomplishes feats that no other man would be able to survive and proves his boundless might. Beowulf is described to Hrothgar, king of the Danes, by a messenger as "...a mighty warrior, powerful and wise" (line 370). Beowulf himself challenges the insults of Unferth by saying, "...no strength is a match for mine" (line 534). Also, Beowulf tells Hrothgar and his company of a time when he had to face several sea monsters in the dark by himself, and still managed to kill them and swim to shore: ...nine was the number Of sea-huge monsters I killed. What man, Anywhere under Heaven's high arch, has fought In such darkness, endur...

Magua, the Byronic Hero of The Last of the Mohicans Essay -- Last of t

Magua, the Byronic Hero of The Last of the Mohicans      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Traditionally, heroes represented the ideal member of society, reflecting the moral compass of a culture. The "last great heroic tradition in our literature," the Byronic hero, rebels against society, questioning morality (Thorslev 185). The modern hero, or anti-hero, internalizes the struggle for reconciliation. Traditional heroes represent social order, Byronic heroes represent social rebellion, and modern heroes represent social upheaval. The melancholic, brooding, isolated Byronic hero thrives on rebellion, the traditional hero flourishes on optimistic goodness, and the modern hero grasps for purpose. Samuel Taylor Coleridge criticizes the "savage grandeur" of the rebellious Byronic hero (400). Magua, of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, presents fierce rebellion and indeed rises to "savage grandeur." The feared and scorned Magua represents an American version of the Byronic hero, seemingly presenting antithetical qualities of a traditional hero, exemplified in the Anglo-Saxon epic hero, Beowulf.    Representing the best their societies have to offer, traditional heroes possess characteristics of honor, bravery, loyalty, and steadfastness. They personify communal values and offer a reason to believe in the possibility of a meaningful life in an ordered, harmonious society. The epic hero journeys on a quest, experiencing difficulties along the way, and triumphantly returns to society. An example of a traditional hero, Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic hero, relies on his courage, intelligence, and superhuman strength as he slays the destructive forces that threatens the community. He accepts and embraces the social values, never questioning or ... ...York: Doubleday, 1977. Coleridge. Samuel Taylor. "The Statesmanà ¢s Manual." 1816. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 6th ed. Vol.2. New York: Norton, 1993. 398-400. Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Penguin, 1986. Gross, Theodore L. The Heroic Ideal in American Literature. New York: Free Press, 1971. Lieber, Todd. Endless Experiments: Essays on the Heroic Experience in American Romanticism. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 1973. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 6th ed. Vol.2. New York: Norton, 1993. 480. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Ed. Margaret Drabble. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1985. Thorslev, Peter L. Jr. The Byronic Hero. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1962. Wilson, James D. The Romantic Heroic Ideal. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1982   

Balanced Scorecard Study – Samsung

Kashun Davis TMAN 680 Fall 2012 Balanced Scorecard: Samsung Samsung is the technology-based organization that will be the subject for my Balanced Scorecard. Founded in 1938 in Seoul, South Korea, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of finished electronic products and device solutions worldwide. They offer consumer products, including mobile phones, tablets, televisions, Blu-rays, DVD players, home theaters, multimedia players; home appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, etc; Laptops and personal computers.The company also designs and manufactures integrated circuits for digital information storage in consumer electronics. It has operations in Korea, U. S. , Europe, Asia, Africa, Africa and China. Because of the large size of the Samsung Corporation, I will focus on Samsung smartphones, one of their technology-intensive business units. The vision of Samsung: â€Å"Samsung is dedicated to developing innovative technologies and efficient processes that create new markets, enrich people's lives, and continue to make Samsung a digital leader. Their mission statement, â€Å"At Samsung, we follow a simple business philosophy: to devote our talent and technology to creating superior products and services that contribute to a better global society. Samsung’s net sales have risen from 158. 9 billion in 2007 to 220. 1 billion in 2011. Their total assets grew from 280. 8 billion in 2007 to 343. 7 billion in 2011. Unfortunately their total liabilities went from 181. 7 billion in 2007 to 202. 6 billion in 2011. Stockholder’s equity almost doubled from 80. billion in 2007 to 141. 1 billion in 2011. Samsung’s net income also increased from 12. 9 billion in 2007 to 21. 2 billion in 2011. It’s also not strange to see their employee base increase due to their explosive growth over this five-year time span. They had 254,000 employees in 2007 and now have over 344,000 employees in 2011 (â€Å"About Samsung,† 2010). Their electronics division has 190,500 employees at the end of 2011. With respect to the Smartphone business unit out of the 1. billion mobile phones sold worldwide in 2011, Samsung accounted for 330 million of those units. Their Galaxy S II sold more than 20 million units since its launch in 2011. In 2012, Samsung launched the Galaxy S III and expects to strengthen their brand and increase market share in the mobile phone arena (â€Å"About Samsung,† 2010). The balanced scorecard is defined as a management system that maps an organization’s strategic objectives into performance metrics in four perspectives: financial, internal processes, customers, and learning and growth (NetMBA, 2002).The four perspectives mentioned above construct the balanced scorecard framework. To create a balanced scorecard for Samsung’s Smartphone business division this framework has to be applied. First, I will assess the mission, vision, c hallenges, and partners of the company. The vision of Samsung: â€Å"Samsung is dedicated to developing innovative technologies and efficient processes that create new markets, enrich people's lives, and continue to make Samsung a digital leader. Their mission statement, â€Å"At Samsung, we follow a simple business philosophy: to devote our talent and technology to creating superior products and services that contribute to a better global society. Samsung not only makes smartphones, but they also create components like displays and integrated circuits that also go into competitor’s smartphones, such as Apple’s iPhone. Samsung’s competitors in the mobile phone market are Apple, Microsoft, Google, HTC, Nokia, and Blackberry. Samsung doesn’t make their own proprietary software and hardware as Apple, Google, and Blackberry.Samsung exclusively uses Google’s Android Mobile OS for their phones. Another challenge Samsung faces, is that their mobile phon es are not only in competition with other phones that have different software platforms, but they are in even stiffer competition with other phones that also use Google’s Android Mobile OS. This market in itself is very fragmented from the fact that more than 4,000 distinct smartphone models exist that uses the Android operating system (Valazco, 2012). Fortunately for Samsung they command 25. % of the smartphone manufacture market putting them on top. LG, Apple, Motorola, and HTC own 18. 4%, 16. 3%, 11. 2%, and 6. 4% of the smartphone manufacture market respectively (â€Å"comscore reports July,† 2012). With respect to the balanced scorecard framework, a strategy map will assist with connecting the four perspectives and how they relate to each other. The strategic measures chosen for the Learning & Growth Perspective were chosen based on information listed in the Samsung’s annual report. Samsung’s employees have grown over the past few years. Samsung†™s social etwork presence is currently greater than their competitors, but there is always room for improvement. Samsung invested $8B USD in R&D, which this funnels down to organizational capital and learning from their competitors. With respect to the Internal Process Perspective $8B USD were invested into R&D for innovation. Customer Satisfaction is never perfect in any organization, thus leaving room for improvement. Not to mention customer satisfaction can translate into sales. Management of operations was chosen because process improvement is always needed in an organization.The customer perspective measurements are strengthening the brand, gaining OEM market share, and exceeding customer expectations. All of these links to financial success within the organization, thus focusing on these measures is vital to the growth Samsung expects to see in the future. Stockholder equity, net sales, and net income all affect the customer, internal, and learning & growth perspective measu res and vice versa. This provides a top to bottom and bottom to top flow balanced measures. Learning & Growth Perspective| Objective| Measure| Target| Initiative|Grow Human Capital| # Of Employees in Samsung Electronics Division| 200,000 employees| Aggressive Recruitment and Retention Program| Improve Information Capital| Social Networking Effectiveness| 6 Million Twitter Followers; 40 Million Facebook Likes| Aggressive & Interactive Social Networking Campaign| Build Organizational Capital| Submittal of Employee Ideas| 5,000 Employee Ideas Submitted| Conduct Organizational Learning Study of Samsung Mobile Division (Amiri, 2010)| Learn from our Competitors| Mobile OEM Market Share| Increase Mobile OEM Market Share by 20%| Analyze competitors customer base and meet the needs of that customer base through innovative mobile technology | Internal Process Perspective| Objective| Measure| Target| Initiative| Manage Innovations| Successful Research & Development Projects| Double R&D Project s| Allocate more capital to R&D projects and their implementation| Manage Customer Relations| Customer Satisfaction| Double and Sustain Customer Satisfaction scores| Aggressive ustomer service training for employees| Manage Operations| Value Added & Non-Value Added Operations| Increase Value Added Operations and Reduce/eliminate non-value added operations| Lean Six-Sigma Process Improvement Initiative (Qun, 2012)| Customer Perspective| Objective| Measure| Target| Initiative| Strengthen Samsung Smartphone Brand| Market Share| Increase Market Share| Aggressive Marketing Campaign| Gain Smartphone OEM Market Share| OEM Market Share| Increase Mobile OEM Market Share by 20%| Analyze competitors customer base and meet the needs of that customer base through innovative mobile technology| Exceeding customer needs and expectations| Customer Satisfaction Scores | Customer Retention| Double Customer satisfaction scores & retention | Customer Loyalty & Rewards Program | Customer Perspective| Obj ective| Measure| Target| Initiative|Increase Stockholder Equity| Stock Price| Increase from $489/share to $510/share| Increase Market Share| Increase Net Sales| Net Sales| Increase from 135B to 170B| Aggressive Marketing Campaign| Increase Net Income| Net Income| Increase by 15%| Make Operations Efficient and reducing costs| Sources About Samsung. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. samsung. com/us/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/ourperformance/samsungprofile. html Amiri, A. , Jandghi, G. , Alvani, S. , Hosnavi, R. , & Ramezan, M. (2010). Increasing the Intellectual Capital in Organization: Examining the Role of Organizational Learning. European Journal Of Social Science,  14(1/2), 98-108. comscore reports July 2012 U. S. mobile subscriber market share. (2012, Sept 04). Retrieved from http://www. comscore. com/Insights/Press_Releases/2012/9/comScore_Reports_July_2012_US_Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share NetMBA. (2002). Netmba business knowledge center.Retrieved from http://www. netmba. com/accounting/mgmt/balanced-scorecard/ Samsung Group. (2011). Samsung profile 2011. Retrieved from http://www. samsung. com/us/aboutsamsung/corporateprofile/download/Samsung_Profile_2011-EN-final-revise. pdf Qun, Z. , Irfan, M. , Khattak, M. , Abbas, J. , Xiaoning, Z. , & Shah, M. (2012). CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEAN SIX SIGMA IMPLEMENTATION IN PAKISTAN. Interdisciplinary Journal Of Contemporary Research In Business,  4(1), 117-124. Valazco, C. (2012, May 15). Techcrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch. com/2012/05/15/3997-models-android-fragmentation-as-seen-by-the-developers-of-opensignalmaps/

Alibaba: Competing in China and Beyond Essay

Introduction In this report I will examine the case â€Å"Alibaba: Competing in China and Beyond.† Alibaba under the leadership of Jack Ma, its founder has transformed into one of the most successful e-commerce companies in China. In the 2000s Alibaba had emerged as the largest e-commerce company in China. The company tailored its strategies to meet the needs of the customers and made a mark because of its understanding of the Chinese language and culture. However, some experts have also raised doubts over the sustainability of Alibaba’s business model. In my report I will critically analyze the factors that led to Alibaba sustaining its leadership position in the Chinese e-commerce market. I will Discuss the rationale behind Ma establishing Taobao.com. I will examine the factors that led to Taoboa’s success in the Chinese online auctions market. Furthermore, with Baidu’s entry into the e-commerce market, I will discuss the challenges that Alibaba faces with regard to sustaining its position in the growing e-commerce market in China. Finally I will critically examine Alibaba’s business model, possibilities of global expansion and the overall sustainability of the company. Questions 1. One of the most significant factors that lead Alibaba Group sustaining its leadership positioning in the Chinese e-commerce market was its ability to understand the Chinese market itself. Jack Ma, Alibaba Groups founder understood that Chinese consumers and their preferences distinguished them selves from those in other countries. Other companies such as eBay did not appreciate the local market circumstances in China; instead, they were using the strategies that were working in the United States. I believe for this reason Alibaba Group was able to sustain its leadership position. Many of the competitors lacked understanding of the Chinese language as well as the culture. Moreover, Alibaba.com made its services extremely easy for its customers to use. Ma, himself, was a non-technical person and this helped him keep the websites more user-friendly. In the article Ma refers to this stating: (Deresky, 2010). â€Å"If you follow Google’s way, you always be a follower†¦ We have to make the Yahoo! Search engine more human, more interactive†¦ something for the 1.3 billion people in China who aren’t technology-oriented, who don’t know how to ask the right question to a search engine — for people who are like me.† (p.320) An added factor is the services that Alibaba.com offered. The company believed that the first thing to do was to build a devoted customer base. Therefore, before adding any charges, a lot of the services were free of charge. Alibaba.com offered many services such as email and listings of products/services free of charge. In addition, e-commerce was vulnerable due to the fact that sellers and buyers did not trust the idea of sending money before receiving their products and the sellers wanted the money before they shipped their products. For these purposes, Alibaba.com launched Alipay in 2004, which was an online payment solution that allowed the users to make money transactions in an easy, quick and safe way. All and all Alibaba.com basically concentrated greatly on increasing costumer satisfaction even on the expense of not gaining maximum profitability. The company made its customer and getting to know what customers want its number one. Question 2. Jack Ma established Taobao.com in May 2003 to enter the profitable e-commerce market. Taobao.com also symbolized a part of Ma’s Alibaba.com business model of joining SMEs, customers together, and helping SMEs grow. Taoboa’s goal was to generate an online trading platform for both B2C and C2C models. Several factors lead to Taoboa’s success over the rival eBay in the Chinese auctions market. First, Ma managed to raise a substantial investment of 56 million dollars from Softbank and teamed up with Masayoshi Son the founder and CEO of Softbank who had previously helped to defeat eBay in Japan (which lead to eBay leaving Japan in 2002). Also again Ma decided to build a loyal customer base before really attempting to make a profit; he did this by offering free listings as opposed to eBay, which charged for listings (Deresky, 2010). A major factors in Taoboa’s success was Alibaba Groups better management of the trust factor involved in e-commerce trading and better understanding of the local Chinese market. eBbay positioned its standard business model that was used in the United States and other countries. Taoboa, instead, established its own payment escrow service. With AliPay buyers paid into an escrow account that did not pay the seller until the buyer noted he had received the product; therefore, making the transaction thrust worthy since the money was in escrow until the transaction was completed (Deresky, 2010). Furthermore, Taoboa offered e-mail and chat services between users unlike eBay, which concealed identities and only had an offline messaging system. Taoboa also advertised aggressively through websites and billboards in major population areas something eBay did not do. The final steps of defeat for eBay was when Taobao offered three years of free listings and when Taoboa launched its B2C services in 2006. Moreover Taoboa had a large list of companies supporting it and also Alibaba.com members that could join easily. Overall Taoboa’s success over eBay has been attributed its ability to know the local Chinese market and adapt to it as opposed to eBay’s strategies of using a inefficient model that could not adapt to the Chinese market (Deresky, 2010). However, now Taoboa is facing competition from a company that knows the Chinese market very well. Taoboa’s main competitor Baidu, is the largest search engine market share holder in China. Baidu has a large, loyal customer base to work with and has ability to advertise and link its own ecommerce website. Taoboa will have many challenges facing the competition from Baidu. Never the less Alibaba Groups strong and evident presence in the Chinese e-comercial market signifies the company’s ability overtake its competitors by combining all services and maintaining the user-friendliness of its services in B2B, C2C and B2C markets. Question 3. Absolutely it is sustainable. As Alibaba Group now further develops and expands its various web services, it must also additionally develop the various products within each website. Alibaba Group should have one department focusing one website development aspect and another department focusing on product development aspect. The company can still capitalize on his legacy sites that have millions of monthly subscribers. The intention for the company should be to find a way to raise the monthly run rate on each customer on a yearly basis, this would allow Alibaba Group to use these profits to fund the company’s efforts to expand. In my opinion Alibaba Group should focus on moving into Russia first, using their political ties to their advantage. Russia has many raw materials but few factory centers like China. If they could move into Russia, this would effectively provide geographical access to the Middle East and Northern Europe in the future. However, after Russia, I would mainly focus on expanding through Southeast Asia all the way down to Australia. This would fundamentally provide an ecommerce solution that can link B2B, C2C, B2C, sales across the entire Eastern part of the world. Conclusion After reading the case and answering to the questions it seems like the case is too good to be true. Even though Jack Ma had proven his capability of  being a good leader and business man it is impressive how he started from scratch and was able to gather good people around him and develop this successful multinational company. I truly believe that Ma’s and Alibab Groups key to success were the founder people in the company. Overall I see Alibaba Groups story as a big success. It is truly a inspirational story. In the words of Ma’s business partner Masayoshi Son: (Deresky, 2010). â€Å"If there’s a company outside of America that can introduce a new business model to the world, it is Alibaba.† (Founder and CEO of Softbank Corporation, in Japan 2005.) Reference: Deresky, H (2010). International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures. 7th ed. Pearson Boston. 310-322.

Genzyme Summary Essay

Genzyme was founded in 1981, Sanofi purchased the company in 2011. They went public in 1986, raising 27 million dollars. Genzyme startet as a start up Company by scientists studying genetically inherited enzyme diseases. Their strategy didn’t focus on the â€Å"blockbuster drugs† like other biotechnology companies but drugs for rare diseases. To developing a drug, it takes 10-14 years at the cost of around 800 million. But the blockbuster drugs had 1 billion dollars revenue. Genzyme has received several honor awards like â€Å"national medal of technology†. The food and drug administration established in 1983 the â€Å"Orphane drug act† giving seven years market exclusivity to developers of drugs for rare diseases. This gave Genzyme big advantage when it comes to clinical trials, advertising and sales, it does not requires a lot. Their first success was the â€Å"Ceredase† drug- to treat the Gaucher`s disease. It was sold to over 4000 patients, with annual revenue of 800 million dollars. They had different way of manufacturing and sales compare to other companies. They did not do licensing to large pharmaceutical company. Genzyme was the worlds third largest biotech company in 2006 only profiting of rare diseases. Reflection of the case * Avoided â€Å"blockbuster† market and good management Good strategic to focus on a niche market instead of the †blockbuster† market. The degree of existing rivalry and entry barriers was low. Henri Termeer took a risk in moving to a start up company but with his experience and expertise, the company went stronger and independent. * First ones to market and the exclusivity Genzyme entered a small, untapped market. Being the first biotech company that focus on rare diseases and having the market exclusivity made them leading biotech company. They had the ability to identify almost all customers. They had big advantage when is comes to clinical trials, restrictions, FDA and small numbers of test patients required.

The History of the Non-Commissioned Officer

OverviewThe origin of the non commissioned officer (NCO) developed early in the country’s history, actually before the country was a country.   In the late 1700s the mean worried about their rights of liberty and property at the hands of the English monarchy.  Ã‚   â€Å"These advocates of ‘the citizen-soldier’ called on free,   adult men of property to respond to their sense of duty, to their sense of political obligation, by serving for a period of time in the militia of their community. Thus military service, indeed, compulsory service in militias, was deemed appropriate under what has come to be known as the â€Å"consent† theory of government† (Karsten, 2001).Fisher points to a difficulty in distinguishing between commissioned officers and non commissioned officers.   He claims that it wasn’t until the early 1700s that a distinction could be made. He argues that by the Revolutionary War period, great confidence was place on the po sition of the non-commissioned officer, including the promise of some financial rewards (as high as $80) to those who made it through each designated segment of service.   However, there was still an undertone of lower status of the NCO at this particular time in American history (Fisher, 2001).Unfortunately, not everyone felt the need to serve his country in the face of all enemies.   Many founding essayists felt as if abandoning work to join in the military was an irresponsible action for husbands and sons alike.  Ã‚   Even though the American Army had the money to pay 75,000 men in 1776, it never got more than 37,500 to sign up at any one time (Karsten, 2001). Thus, the picture of the non-commissioned officer was less of a concerned and responsible citizen solder and more of a lazy, unfocused, displaced laborer.Between 1820 and 1850 the organization and training of these men was loose and unorganized.   The enrolled men met only once or twice a year for â€Å"militia mus ter and drill† as the law dictated.   â€Å"If one had ‘the common defense of the nation’ in mind when he came to view such musters, it was quickly dispelled as the day turned from muster to picnic to drunken brawl in rather too rapid succession† (Karsten, 2001).In addition to these men, the army also had a fair number of women.   Like most armies, the Continental Army included women and even their children who â€Å"followed the troops throughout the war, performing tasks that contributed to the soldiers’ welfare† (Rees, 1995).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1777, Valley Forge had 400 women enlisted in its army.   The number continued to rise and some units from areas closer to the coast had far more than average numbers of women (Rees, 1995).Training and DisciplineBlack describes training as â€Å"learning war through war†   Ã‚  (Black, 2002).   Training was generally poor or non-existent because it was very difficult to amass large numbers of people in one spot, and if they were amassed, they were nearly impossible to outfit with supplies and weapons due to the tack of transportation and supporting infrastructure. The lack of training reduced the confidence of the men to fight in certain situations, especially in the open, so they often broke ranks and ran (Black, 2002)Others disagree; Sheps and Pitcavage (1995) argue that the organization was as good as it could have possible been at that time in American history.   These state organizations had extensive codes which regulated personnel selection, training, etc.   These state organizations were hierarchical and geographical, sometimes electing officers and other times appointing them.   Further subdivisions included brigades, regiments and companies. In some states officers were elected; in others, they were appointed by the state. The entire state was usually organized into geographical divisions which then corresponded with a military division (Sheps and Pitcavage, 1995).In 1792, Anthony Wayne was one of the first great training generals for combat.   Training and discipline gradually improved through the early 1800s.   Large regiments increased confidence and better training led to more disciplined ranks. However, this training fell off in the years preceding the Civil War,   and the problems recurred for both the North and the South during the war (Black, 2002).Drills and operations slowly revived.   At the beginning of the Civil War two manuals describing the duties of the NCO had been published.   They were called Infantry Tactics by General Winfield Scott and Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics by Colonel William J. Hardee.   According to these manuals, the NCO was to keep military cadence and direction, act as general guides and to instruct new recruits.   In addition, they were to learn to give commands (Fisher, 2001)Even extremely specific instructions began to be printed.   IN addition to his two part expl ications on the care and cleaning of the musket, Alan Bowling wrote the following in his report on military drills around the time of the Civil War:â€Å"This is not meant as a criticism of anyone but as a way of standardizing our drill practices and helping the 5th look sharp at drill as from accounts I have read the original members of the Missouri Brigade were known for their sharp drill. At our recent Spring Drill I noticed there was some confusion on conducting the inspection of arms, particularly the proper way for a soldier to give and take his musket to and from the inspecting officer or NCO.† (2006).  Indeed other duties of the NCO were to make sure that all supplies, including helmets and weapons, were kept clean (Fisher, 2001).WeaponsEarly skirmishes saw the use of virtually anything as a weapon.   One example is the use of the pitchfork during Shay’s Rebellion in 1787. However, as more organized fighting progressed, aim and use of cover were more import ant than the weapons used.   The musket had only one real advantage over the bow and arrow, that being that the bow and arrow was more likely to be deflected by vegetation.   The musket was hard to repair due to a lack of equipment,   skill and experience,   and nearly all of the ammunition had to be brought from Europe (Black, 2002).The introduction of the mass produced percussion cap of the early 1800s made the rifle a little more dependable because of the reduction of misfires.   James H. Burton made an important improvement to the bullets used by theses NCOs by giving it a hollow base.   This bullet was less expensive, could be locally produced and was far more accurate than earlier bullets (Black, 2002).Developments in guns included the Union Repeating Rifle which eliminated the need to reload as often as they had to with the musket and early rifles.   The Gatling gun was one of the first machine guns, but it wasn’t utilized much prior to the Civil War beca use it ate up too much ammunition and was difficult to transport across the terrain (Black, 2002).FormationsThe early NCOs were to maintain formations that seemed more like Napoleonic warfare.   The leaders were more interested in establishing positions and destruction of the opposing army no matter where they were located.  Ã‚  Ã‚   They would often hesitate to use the bayonets and choose instead to fall back and fire from their muskets, which, as previously noted, were not at all accurate and forced the men to shoot, stop and reload over and over again. Even after the Repeating Rifle (AKA the Ager gun) appeared, the generals were reluctant to change their conservative ways and use them (Black, 2002).ConclusionThe NCO is considered the backbone of the US ARMY with two responsibilities: accomplishment of the mission and the welfare of the soldiers (NCO CREED). From its history in voluntary service in the revolutionary war to its intermediary services now, the NCO has always had a vital role in American historyReferencesBowling, Allen. (2006). Company Drill. Reprinted in 5th Missouri Infantry   Newsletter ArticlesAvailable from: http://fifthmo.tripod.com/id7.htmlBlack, Jeremy, (2002). America as a Military Power, 1775-1865.   Connecticut;   Praeger.Fisher, Ernest. (2001). Guardians of the Republic:   A History of the Non-Commissioned OfficerCorps. of the US Army. Pennsylvania:   Stackpole Publishing.Karsten, Peter.   (2001). The US Citizen-Soldier's Past, Present, and Likely Future. Parameters,Summer 2001, pp. 61-73.NCO Creed. (2006). Available from: https://www.army.mil/leaders/leaders/sma/ncocreed.htmlRees, John U.   (1995). â€Å"The proportion of Women which ought to be allowed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  An Overview ofContinental Army Female Camp Followers. The Continental Soldier (Journal of theContinental Line) VIII (3), Spring, pp. 51-58.Sheps and Pitcavage. (1995). The History of Militia in America.   Available from:http://archive.adl.org/mwd/fa q3.asp

Jesus as the Founder of Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Jesus as the Founder of Christianity - Essay Example In their work, there is a clear indication on the basics of Christianity, thus making it easier for students and scholars studying theology have a justified ground to base their arguments. From Sinclair & Bowman’s (2006), work, it is evident the stand they take in regard to the foundation of Christianity. Their values conform to those of other scholars and analysts who believe that the Bible is the basis of Christianity, and Jesus take the upper hand. Just like indicated in the Holy book, Sinclair & Bowman (2006), indicate that the good news has come to the human race and will be continue to prevail in order to guide Christians on the right path in life. From this indication, therefore, it is evident that the Bible indicates that Jesus is the root of Christianity through His messages to the human race. From the view that Jesus died for the sins of human kind, it is apparent how much He had and still has love for the human race. Apart from that, we are justified to argue that J esus Christ existed in the world before and from his existence, Christianity found its way into the lives of human kind. The word ‘Christians’ emanate from ‘Christ’ to mean followers of Jesus. This is the more reason why Jesus Christ is referred to as the founder of Christianity. ... 1.1. Body 1.1.1. An analysis of textual sources In an attempt to understand the foundation of Christianity, the Holy Bible cannot be alienated from the picture. As discussed earlier, the Bible is the blue print and reference to Christianity, and in this study, therefore, constant reference has to be made to the book. Sinclair & Bowman (2006), undertake a study of the Bible in an attempt to prove the view that indeed Christianity has its basis on the Bible. Sinclair & Bowman (2006) indicate that the Bible consists of both the Old and New Testaments that relate to the foundations of Christianity on Jesus. They seek to emphasize on the New Testament’s view on Christianity for its rich ideas on the theme. The books of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John emphasize on Jesus’ life while on earth. It is from these books that Christians borrow the aspect of a good life based on Christian virtues from the example of Jesus. It is justified to argue that the Bible leads to many Christians base their belief in Jesus as the founder of Christianity from the readings. It is these texts that parables are explained in broad detail. Jesus plays the role of a servant that was sent by God to save the human race. Jesus is seen more of a servant to the people that the king. According to the Christian values, humility is one of the virtues that all people must embrace. In line with this context, Jesus may be regarded as the founder of Christianity from the example that He set on the human race. In fact, studies indicate that it is from His mission on earth that many people learnt to emulate good virtues from him. Were it, not from Jesus’ mission on earth, Christianity would not have a strong foundation that it has today. At that

US fiscal deficit Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

US fiscal deficit - Annotated Bibliography Example "Long Term Fiscal Imbalances, Us External Liabilities and Future Living Standards". The Long-Term International Economic Position of the United States. By Bergsten, C. Fred. 1st Ed. New York: Peterson Institute, 2009. 11 - 23. Print. This chapter of the book focuses on the rising deficit of USA , decreasing savings among corporate and households and increasing external debt liabilities of USA. It explores the interrelationship among the three. It warns that exports from USA are continually decreasing with the rise of China which makes our external debt huge. This external debt coupled with fiscal deficit can cause problems for the economy in future if the saving rate does not increase. Conason, Joe. "Dick Cheney was right : Deficits dont matter and Republicans who are complaining about Barak Obamas spending are hypocrites." 2009. Web. 19 Mar 2013. . This article is about 2 major points. The first point which has been raised is that although Republicans are having been responsible for raising most of the United States debt. The second point mentioned is that national debt does not really matter provided that it is incurred to create long term growth for the country. Productive debt which kick starts the economy is much more beneficial in the long term which more than covers the short term negative effects of the debt. Concordcoalition.org. "Understanding the Federal Debt Limit | The Concord Coalition." 2013. Web. 19 Mar 2013. .

Attitudes of Arabic (Saudi) speakers toward learning English language Research Proposal

Attitudes of Arabic (Saudi) speakers toward learning English language - Research Proposal Example The attitude of Arabic speakers towards leaning the English language is normally influenced by positive and negative factors. The positive factors influencing the attitudes of Arabic speakers in learning the English language include; motivation, which plays a crucial in the attitudes developed by Arabic speakers in learning the English language. Motivation is essential in the development of attitudes by Arabic speakers towards the English language in that; the lack of motivation for speakers normally result to the loss of interest by Arabic speakers in learning the English language. The lack of motivation, therefore, normally affects the success of the Arabians in learning the English language (Derwing, Et al, 2004). Pedagogic factors also tend to influence the development of attitudes by Arabian speakers towards learning the English language. The learning environment normally plays a crucial role in the development of attitudes by Arabic speakers towards learning the English language. When the learning environment is favorable, it is evident that Arabic speakers are likely to develop positive attitudes towards learning the language. If the learning environment enhances a better understanding of the English language by the Arabic speaker, then it is evident that Arabic speakers will develop a positive attitude towards learning the language. However, unfavorable learning environments normally result to the development of negative attitudes by Arabic speakers towards learning the English language (Edwards & Giles, 2006). The teaching programs also play a role in the attitudes of the Arabic speakers in learning English. To enhance the development of positive attitudes by Arabic speakers towards the English language, it is essential that the learning curriculum is designed in a way that it favors the understanding of the English language by the Arabic speaker. If the curriculum does not favor the

Natural Gas Boiler Plant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Natural Gas Boiler Plant - Essay Example Stack gas analysis sought to find the composition of the stack gas, proportion of excess air, the average capacity of stack gas heat, composition of fuel, inlet and outlet temperatures and air to fuel ratio. A gas combustion analyzer was used to achieve this objective together with computation of various equations as follows. A bomb calorimeter could be defined as a device for measuring energy which combusts a specified amount of fuel in excessive air, comparing it to a baseline fuel which is of known calorific value. This would be achieved by measuring the change in temperature after a settling time in a given quantity of water. From this, the fuel calorific value would be computed from the ratio difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures. Determining the overall efficiency of the natural gas boiler called for arranging the collected information numerically. Efficiency was first determined using the input vs. output method. In this method, the energy input into the boiler (making use of fuel mass flow rate and calorific value) and that output from the boiler (making use of steam and feed water enthalpies and steam mass flow rate) would be compared. This method yields equation (ii). Alternatively, the efficiency of the boiler could be determined through the heat loss method. This has two major components: the first employs stack gas heat capacity together with the input and output temperatures; while the second uses the heat lost through radiation and convection. Equation (iii) represents this method. After weighing the fuel, it would be placed inside a crucible. This would then be dipped into an oxygen-filled bomb under a pressure of about 35 atmospheres. This bomb would then be placed into a container with predetermined amount of water. This container would then be placed inside a jacket. The impellor on the lid of the jacket ensures that heat is evenly distributed throughout the water while the thermometer

The Importance to Teach Through the Standards in Science Curriculum Essay - 2

The Importance to Teach Through the Standards in Science Curriculum - Essay Example Science curriculum should be taught by following the standards that must be designed according to the environment of students so that they can make use of their science knowledge in their practical lives. The development of science education has structured more and more recently. So, by looking back at the last century, the curriculum of schools was very basic and everybody used to think about multi-curriculum from his own angle. More in-depth, teaching strategies were clustered around the teacher himself, and he was the center of the classroom. In the beginning, scientists were the one who used to control the science curriculum, and they had the authority for choosing the content to be taught in schools. Thus, it was hard for teachers and students to handle the science subject based on the scientists’ perspective rather than science educators’ perspectives. However, the reformation that was called for by Dewey had taken place in the late 1950s. The development of teaching science as the inquiry has taken place in the 1950s, nevertheless, the years 1955-1974 were called the Golden Age in Education. Numerous findings were poured into education in order to develop curriculum. The 1960s were even enriched with more science projects toward the science curriculum but the reformation was not very clear, until late 1960s when studies showed some achievements and attitude toward science. During the 1970s, the focus of NSF (The National Science Foundation) was on exploring the impact of the new science curriculum such as improving science methods, working in labs and discovering inquiry learning. In the 1980s and 1990s, the development of technology, computer and the World Wide Web were enough to call it a new reformation besides that the beginning of 1990s, it was the beginning of something new, it was the standard era. The complexity of the lifestyle after the 1990s was not only sensed in the States but globally too and the science education became a field for competition through many different

Ethics and Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics and Leadership - Research Paper Example The ethical issue concerning the employees of global fashion plant was that the owners and management of the company were observed to render insignificant consideration to think about the volatile effects due to their actions. The leaders of that plant were observed to lack in terms of awareness regarding ethical managerial conduct that states the minimum behavior required from them towards the employees. The code of conduct can be classified as Deontology which can be defined as actions that are in accordance with moral principles or certain rules. It further states that rules or principles are derived from rationality that is justified to each and every employee. In Kathie Lee’s fashion plant there were various rules which directly created a negative impact on the working environment of the organization inhibiting the moral conscience of the leaders. For instance, the women workers were asked to raise their hands for taking permission to use the bathrooms that were kept locked. They were allowed to use the washrooms two times a day only, once in the morning and again in the evening. Furthermore, the women were searched physically as the company prohibited from bringing any snacks that could stain the garments. The employees were also tortured mentally to work faster and produce as many apparels as possible within a limited working hour. It was observed that in eight man-hours, a group of sixty-five women stitched nearly eight hundred pairs of Kathie Lee pants (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights).... In Kathie Lee’s fashion plant there were various rules which directly created a negative impact over the working environment of the organisation inhibiting the moral conscience of the leaders. For instance, the women workers were asked to raise their hands for taking permission to use the bathrooms that were kept locked. They were allowed to use the washrooms two times a day only, once in the morning and again in the evening. Furthermore, the women were searched physically as the company prohibited from bringing any snacks that could stain the garments. The employees were also tortured mentally to work faster and produce as much apparels as possible within a limited working hour. It was observed that in eight man-hours, a group of sixty five women stitched nearly eight hundred pairs of Kathie Lee pants (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, 1996). Thus, it can be observed that the process performed by the management at Kathie Lee’s plant violated the standards o f human and labour rights in its Honduras plant where they made the workers work more than the standard time specified by the labour organisations, only to meet the orders demanded by Wal-Mart. The ethics imbibed in the behaviour of the superiors play an imperative role while motivating or maintaining a happier working environment. It can specifically be described as a character trait of a human-being that is required to flourish and lead a healthier life which can also be quite beneficial to facilitate a productive working environment encouraging employees to participate in the overall growth of the company (Hindman & Smith, 1999). Thus, a leader of an organisation should possess virtuous skills in their behaviour towards the subordinates. In the case of Kathie Lee’s