Friday, November 29, 2019

How Siddhartha Relates to Todays Culture free essay sample

An examination of past Indian society and caste system and its relation to todays society. This essay deals with the characteristics of civilization in India during the time of Siddhartha. The author focuses on how the values during the time period of Siddhartha deal with the values of our society today. `Siddhartha provides many examples of the civilization in India in the fifth century before Christ and parts of the Caste system, and many religious people. One of these characteristics of Indian civilization is the presence of Brahmins, very spiritual priests who were at the top of the Caste system pyramid. Siddharthas father was a Brahmin priest, and if Siddhartha chose to stay at home, he would have become one, too.`

Monday, November 25, 2019

High School Cliques essays

High School Cliques essays Every school has "cliques"; small groups of people with similar interests who hang out exclusively with one another. But are cliques harmful to the high school environment? The next time you walk into our school cafeteria, take a look around. If your school is like a lot of others in America, there are gaggles of kids sitting together in little groups, each group distinctly separate from the other. These cliques are the driving force behind social patterns in the high school setting; the clique you're in determines whom you associate with, what activities you're involved in, and whether or not your high school experience is a happy one. And if you're not in a clique, what do you do? The cliques in High School really seem to alienate a lot of kids. The athletes won't talk to the drama kids, or the skaters won't talk to the academic kids, it's like there's no unity, and we're not a real community. Cliques in high school seem to have a greater effect on the kids that don't fit into a group than those associated with a certain crowd. There are a lot of kids who seem really unhappy because there aren't a lot of people with similar interests to hang around with, Some people think that kids who aren't in a clique are in a little clique of their own. Usually those people aren't happy being by themselves, they're just lonely and they actually feel like outcasts. Student leaders agree that the growing lack of unity in schools is one of the most difficult problems they face. Our school has all these little cliques that compete with each other. It's really hard to get into one of them if you're a loner, so a lot of kids are just left out. Sure, the existence of cliques can decrease communication between students in a school, but can they really undermine a student's quest for happiness, or even cause violence, as the media suggested in the wake of school shootings like the one in Columbine? There are so many acts of violence in schoo...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

IS strategy development and implementation Essay

IS strategy development and implementation - Essay Example The IS strategy prioritizes the initiatives that are primarily designed to benefit the organization in the short run as well as investing in the long term projects. This IS strategy is like a plan or method that has been chosen in order to accomplish future goals of the organization. It helps in marshalling and planning resources for their most effective and efficient utilization. IS strategy defines competitive forces that determines the product or service ability of the organization to accomplish a strong strategic position in the market (Williams, 2007). For instance, the IS strategy in our case studies will determine competitive forces such as: entry, the ease of entry into the organizational market by other competitors, and whether they face some significant barriers. This will include barriers to market entry; threat of substitution, this will discuss whether there are particular services or products that can substitute the products and services of the organization in our case study; the bargaining power of the consumers, whether a small number of consumers are responsible for the better part of the organizational sales, and whether they can easily switch suppliers; the bargaining power of suppliers, whether the organization have various suppliers and whether there are substitutes to be used; and rivalry among the currently existing competitors, the intensity of the rivalry among the competitors and the way in which that competitors affect the ability of the organization to sustain profits. The developed IS strategy will deal with the above forces in both our case studies. According to Mr. Porter, a firm may take generic strategies in order to create much superior profits. Some of these strategies include: overall cost leadership, differentiation of products and services, and focus on the unique needs of the consumers. It is hence critical that organizations make clear strategy choices in their approach. This is what the implementation of IS strategy is l ikely to result in the organization. This paper therefore seeks to critically examine two main aspects of IS strategy development and/or implementation through the use of case studies to illustrate the arguments and conclusions. In so doing the paper will discuss how and why the IS strategy has been developed through the Venkatraman, and how and why the IS strategy has been implemented through ERP; CRM or MRP. The paper will do this through illustrating a literature review, explaining the two case studies and then giving a conclusion of the arguments in the paper. The case studies are of two different information technology firms that aim to address a serious economic organizational recession and plan the cuts in the public sector as well as the funding. The two firms are also looking up to achieving their long term goals using the IS strategy to be developed and implemented through the mechanism that will be described in this paper. Literature Review This section will illustrate ho w and why the IS strategy is developed as well as how and why the same strategy is implemented. According to the Strategic Alignment Model of Venkatraman, one determination that separates successful business from failed business is the ability to develop and analyze business strategy for success. Mastery of the steps of developing a strategy and creating a concrete business strategy approach to the business helps one to flourish with the business (Spinelli, 2005). The Strategic

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Literature For Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Literature For Children - Essay Example He knows when to make a change in the story and perfectly used it to his credit. Slowly his writing's changed to the dark side as against the usual happy endings. In those days William Thackeray was Charles Dickens' rival. His works used to have more of a satirical view and depicts situations of a middle class favour. Hardy's literary work used to show the plight of the rural life and sorrow and bitterness of the English countryside. Though many writes came into picture with their works but they contained unnecessary plots and only were meant to lure the audience to just read those books so that they can become famous overnight, which eventually drew flak. Since most of the children like fairy tales the authors used to write books on those perceptions. The authors used to imbibe super powers to their characters and produce them as saviours who fight the evil and prevail the truth. As compared to adult literature the authors used more fictitious characters that never cheat and abide by what they say. Where in adult literature all the tricks and dirty plots were used and change the plot when and where they wanted. But it isn't like in children's literature; they are soft like Peter Pan, adventurous like Huckleberry Finn and as curious as Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. One thing that always worked for the authors was to depict the story in pictorial view. They used art as a tool to make the story more enjoyable so that child of any age can understand the story and imagine their heroes in total graphical art. According to Anderson, "Even after children learn to read, illustrations continue to aid to their comprehension. Among the many components of a child's visual world, book illustrations are a beautiful medium through which to learn about their world" (p 47). 20th Century Literature As 20th century came by, the children's literature was becoming more and more popular. Early 20th century writers used science and adventure as their tools to fascinate the young hearts. Books like Charlotte Webb and Stuart Little by E. B. White were instant hits and liked by children. At the end of the 20th century the children' literature became a big boom in the literary business sector. Novels like Harry Potter and Narnia became so much popular that the brand is now worth Billions of Dollars in international market. J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has achieved the biggest success ever by any book in children literature. They are not only popular among children even the adult literary critics praise them as one of the greatest and successful work in literary world. Now children literary works are giving a stiff competition to the adult literary world. Bullying and racial harassment were the most dreaded things that most of the children experienced in the pre and post Victorian period even now it still exists. The major reasons to start bullying and racial abusing depends on the characters surrounding the respective environment (like parents, neighbours, etc.,), children will face the immediate effect since they are the immediate guardians to the children, if not this parents or teachers at school whoever are close to the children with respect to time get to influence them. Human beings develop or grow by observing the surroundings and so they are called as social animals. The madness of depression is the antithesis of violence. It is a storm indeed, but a storm

Monday, November 18, 2019

New Pedestrianism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

New Pedestrianism - Research Paper Example The new urbanism approach’s ability to attain these goals of sustainability at the same time is its greatest strength. New Urbanism and its Principles For a long time, urban sprawl that is dependent on cars has been criticized due to its contribution to social isolation, degradation of the environment, and long term financial un-sustainability. Architects, beginning in the early 80s, started to fight this sprawl through new urbanism with significant developments coming up alongside the concept’s principles3. These neighborhoods started to take on a European and pre-war urban model, often resembling typical small towns or earlier inner city neighborhoods. For this reason, these neighborhoods are usually referred to as TNDs, or traditional neighborhood developments. These neighborhoods are built on several fundamental planning principles. The first fundamental planning principle of new urbanism is mixing of uses with institutional, civic, and commercial spaces located in community corridors, as well as centers, which are surrounded by close-by housing that provides service and job access sans use of cars4. This normally takes on the form of a town square or main street. The second fundamental planning principle is diversity. Urban sprawl can lead to separation of the populace by the level of their income. New urbanism seeks to provide for various housing in one area that range from high to low cost5. It is possible to accomplish this through townhouses, detached one-family homes, and mixed apartments in one neighborhood. This also promotes affordable housing inclusion. The third fundamental principle of new urbanism is that it should encourage walking6. This comes with increased benefits to the community and environment, while also creating supportive social networks through daily interactions with fellow local acquaintances and neighbors. The concept encourages those living in these neighborhoods to walk through a mixing of uses, while also making sure that there are plentiful and wide sidewalks with well designed streetscape, minimization of curb cuts, and compact blocks. Mass transit and bicycling connect pedestrians with other areas within the larger urban region and are, thus, important as well. The fourth fundamental planning principle of new urbanism is definition of public space7. Streets are normally considered as space that is vital for public life and are important for the occurrence of daily interactions of the community. To make the area attractive, landscaping, lighting, and materials must be detailed carefully. New urbanism also holds public squares and parks in high esteem. The fifth and final fundamental planning principle of new urbanism is complimentary architecture8. Public space is defined by the private property facades that abut it and new urbanism takes into account the importance of a street wall that is strongly defined by close-up and attractive buildings that offer spaces and services. Houses in tra ditional neighborhood developments are normally close to the streets, while they are built on lines in downtown areas. Because of the importance of public interaction in new urbanism, front porches are a common feature. Majority of traditional neigh

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Vygotskys Theory of Psychological Development

Vygotskys Theory of Psychological Development Lev Semenovich Vygotsky was born in Russia in 1896, the same year with Piaget. He attended Moscow University and graduated with a degree of law in 1917 just before the start of Russian Revolution (Driscoll, 2005). After a while the Russian revolution where the Marxism replaced, Vygotsky worked in psychology. The new philosophy of the Marxist stressed socialism and collectivism in society. So his views represented Marxist ideas of social change to language and development. Vygotsky also studied various subjects in school such as philosophy, psychology, literature and art. He worked as a teacher at a teacher training institution where he founded a psychology laboratory. His main entry into psychology started with the second Psychoneurological congress in 1924. Vygotsky presented a paper and criticized Pavlovs reflexology theory. After his brilliant presentation performance, Konstantin Kornilov who is the director of Psychological Institute of Moscow University invited Vygotsky for a po sition in university (Gredler, 2005). His dissertation, in 1925,The Psychology of Art, was accepted for the Ph.D. degree. Vygotsky completed manuscripts, articles, and books and edited a journal until his death in 1934 because of tuberculosis. His major writings are about the role of cultural signs and symbols in the development of attention, abstraction, language, memory and reasoning ( Gredler, 2005). Most of his writings were published after his death. His concepts of cultural historical development of cognitive development remained incomplete at his death. After his death some basic concepts fixed with his studies were added his theory. Basic Principles of Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory To understand Vygotskys theory, to look at political environment of his time may be helpful. In 1917, after the Russian revolution, Marxism penetrated all society and emphasized socialism. Sharing between people and co-operating was supported, and the success of any individual was thought as the success of the culture. Marxism also took place on history, believing that every culture could be understood only by examination of the ideas and events that had formed it (Vasta,R., Haith, M.M., Miller,S.A., 1995, as cited in Riddle, 1999). Vygotsky also influenced Marxist theory of social change to language and development (Schunk, 2008). His theory covered these elements in terms of human being development that has been called as a sociocultural approach. According to Vygotsky, the ones development is a result of his own culture and development refers mental development including thought, language and reasoning process. These mental functions were believed to develop through social interactions with people and so represented the shared knowledge of the culture. Vygotksys theory is also a form of dialectical constructivist theory that emphasizes the social environment as a facilitator of development and learning. His sociocultural theory emphasizes interaction between people and their environment. For him, the processes of the human cognitive development are the part of the process of historical development (Schunk, 2008). Briefly, Vygotskys theory is based on the idea that learning begins with social interaction and then knowledge is constructed individually. Vygotskys theory has three basic assumptions. These assumptions are i) nature of human intelligence, ii) biological and sociohistorical lines of psychological development and iii) nature of psychological processes (Driscoll, 2005; Gredler, 2005). Vygotsky thought about the differences between animal and human behavior in terms of psychological development and thought that the behavior of modern cultured adult is the result of two different process of mental development. Firstly, in the human beings, biological factors dominate the early months of life and physical growth is responsible for perception and simple memory, and involuntary attention. The emergence of these mental functions is referred to as primitive development. And sociocultural development is responsible for development of complex mental functions (Gredler, 2005). Secondly, Vygotsky also believed that human mental abilities develop through interaction with the world. Vygotsky investigated how these social interactions turns in to psychological principles In order to explain this phenomenon Vygotsky mention about the terms signalization and signification. According to Vygotskys perspective, a child does not touch a hot stove after putting his hand and feeling pain is an example of signalization (Gredler, 2005). Also, signification process that is a process of assigning meaning to an active stimulus differ human behavior from other animals. These processes are transforming from primitive humans to humans who use signs symbols to change own mental functions. So, Vygotsky believed that psychological development includes the transformation of primitive mental functions to higher mental forms (Gredler, 2005). Vygotsky stated that development does not proceed toward socialization; it is the conversion of social relations into mental functions (as cited in Driscoll, 2005). The social environment influences cognition through its tools such as cultural objects, language and social institutions (Schunk, 2005). According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from the surrounding culture such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments. So, culture gives opportunities the children with the meanings to, what to think and how to think. Initially children develop these tools to make sense of their worlds as social functions, ways to communicate needs. The tools, cultural signs and symbols, can be technological or psychological. Cognitive change results from; using these tools in social interactions and internalizing and mentally transforming these interactions (Schunk, 2005). Vygotsky also gave importance the emergence of speech in terms of distinguishing humans from other animals. In Vygotksys view, language was the most important psychological tool that influences childrens cognitive development. By acquiring knowledge a child is supported the means to think in new ways and obtains a new cognitive tool for making sense of the world. For Vygotsky, the analysis of thinking and speech was a major task for psychology, and the central problem was the relationship of thought to word (Gredler, 2005). He identified three different stages in childrens use of language. At first, language is primarily used for communication. It refers social speech. For Vygotsky, speech begins to develop independent of thought. And then, thinking becomes verbal and children begin to use egocentric or private speech to guide their own thinking. Both Piaget and Vygotsky observed that as in problem solving situations pre-school children talking to themselves. While Piaget referred th e self directed behavior as egocentric speech, Vygotsky labeled to it as a private speech. He claimed that private speech originated in the childrens interaction with other people and with these interactions; they start to use their parents instructional comments to regulate their own behavior. Private speech such as talking aloud or whispering while performing a task refers speech for oneself. Researches indicated that children tend to increase the amount of self-talk when facing more challenging tasks (Gredler, 2005). Children start using private speech to organize (plan, direct, or evaluate) their behaviors. The use of private speech peaks during  preschool  years and then decreases. For Vygotsky, this decrease with private speech turns first into inner speech and then into verbal thinking. At last stage of language development, egocentric speech becomes inner speech and children start to use inner speech to guide their thinking and actions. The inner speech is speech for one self, not for communication without words (Gredler, 2005). This transition of speech from social to self-directed to internalized reflects the Vygotsky ´s concept of development as a process of internalization. With the internalization of private speech intellectual development that is the path of all higher mental functions occurs. It was described by Vygotsky in his law of the development of higher mental functions. He stated law of the development of higher mental functions: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). (Vygotsky, 1978; as cited in Gredler, 2005). Acording to Vygotskys view, development of complex mental functions involves two processes; mastering of the external means of cultural development and thinking (language, counting, writing) and learning to use symbols to master and regulate ones own behavior. Briefly, every higher mental function was external or social before it became an internal mental function. And also Karpov and Haywood stated that; All higher mental processes are mediated by such psychological tools as language, signs and symbols. Adults teach these tools to children in the course of their joint activity. After children internalize these tools they function as mediators of the childrens more advanced psychological processes (Karpov Haywood, 1989, as cited in Schunk, 2008). Mediation is the key mechanism in learning and development from Vygotskys perspective. When mediation becomes increasingly internal and symbolic higher mental functions are created. Vygotsky stated that mediation referred that interposing tools between people and their environment, to modify it and obtain benefits (Schunk, 2005). And also mediators such as tools and language help to people to accommodate to their environment. From Vygotskys point of view, higher mental functions include categorical perception, logical memory, abstract thought and voluntary attention (as cited in Gredler, 1992). These are the products of the sociohistorical development. Vygotsky distinguished the higher mental functions from the primitive mental functions. Primitive mental functions are biological in nature and higher mental functions are the part of the social and cultural heritage of child move from social plane to psychological plane, from interpersonal to intrapersonal, from socially regulated to self regulated, from assisted performance to unassisted performance and from social control to self control (Gredler, 2005). Zone of Proximal Development Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a key concept for Vygotskys theory. ZPD defined from Vygotsky as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers( Schunk, 2008; Driscoll, 2005). Briefly ZPD refers the gap between what children can do individually and what they can do with assistance from more knowledgeable person. Also Bruner (1984) stated that ZPD reflects activity in which those who have more knowledgeable or are more skilled share that knowledge or skill to accomplish a task with who know less. Vygotsky claimed that learning occurs in this zone (Riddle, 1999). In ZPD teachers and students work together on a task. With the help of more knowledgeable partner the child can complete a task when he cannot do unassisted. Working in ZPD requires a good deal of guided participation. Learners bring their own understanding to social interaction environment and construct meaning by integrating those understanding with their experiences in the context (Schunk, 2000). Level of performances development shows a change from self regulation to social regulation. Gradually require to the assistance decreases and capacity for self regulation increases. The progress in ZDP is gradual from assisted performance to unassisted and self regulated performance (Moll, 1990). The process in the ZDP described as a stage model which includes four stages which focuses on the relationship between social control and self control. In stage 1 learner has very limited capacity to complete task and parent, teacher or more capable peers offer directions and modeling. Learner response is acquiescent and imitative. Learner gradually understands how related the parts of an activity to one another. Understanding develops with conversation (Moll, 1990). In stage 2, there is a change of mental activity from intermental to intramental. Learners start to handle task without assistance. However, performance is not fully developed. In stage 2, self directed speech reflects development of profound significance. Key mechanism of self directed speech is self regulation (Moll, 1990) In stage 3, assistance does not require and assistance is no longer need. Performance is already developed. Task have been internalized and automatized. Vygotsky described this stage as fruits of development (Moll, 1990). And finally in stage 4, it can be thought that learning is lifelong. However, although a concept can be accomplished by an adult, another concept cannot be accomplished (Moll, 1990). For Vygotsky, teacher direct students while scaffolding process in ZPD and try to provide assistance about how the learner can achieve his goal even without the assistance. A Vygotskian teachers aim is creating self-regulated learners. In Vygotskys theory, role of teachers is to provide the guidance required for learners to bridge the distance between their current skill level and a wanted skill level. Educational Applications There are many educational applications of Vygotskys theory. Instructional scaffolding, reciprocal teaching, peer collaboration and apprenticeship are some of these applications (Schunk, 2008). Instructional Scaffolding Although scaffolding is not a Vygotskian term, in order to it fit nicely in the ZPD, it added by Wood, Bruner and Ross in the theory (Schunk, 2008). Instructional scaffolding is also the process of controlling task elements that are beyond learners capabilities (Schunk, 2008). It is the condition of sufficient support to promote learning. Supports can include some resources, a compelling task, templates and guides and guidance on the development of cognitive and social skills. In scaffolding process, the instructor becomes a supportive tool for the student in the zone of proximal development. The characteristics of an ideal teacher are those of a scaffold: provide support, function as a tool, extend the range of the learner, permit attainment of task otherwise possible, use selectively only as needed (Schunk, 2008; Driscoll, 2005). In short, instructor creates a ZPD and provides the scaffolding for students to be successful (Moll, 2001 as cited Schunk, 2008). Moreover, for scaffoldin g process prior knowledge have an important role for Vygotskain teacher. Because, teacher need to give less assistance if there is more prior knowledgeable person. Reciprocal teaching Reciprocal teaching is an instructional activity that takes place in the form of a dialogue between teachers and students regarding segments of text. Teacher and students take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading this dialogue (Schunk, 2008). The purpose of reciprocal teaching is to facilitate a group effort between teacher and students in the task of bringing meaning to the text. The dialogue is structured by the use of summarizing, question generating, clarifying and predicting (Driscoll, 2005; Schunk, 2008). Peer collaboration Peer collaboration is the notion of collective activity. When peers come together to accomplish a task cooperatively, this social interaction can lead learning. If each student has assigned the responsibility, researches showed that cooperative work is most effective (Schunk, 2008). Apprenticeship Apprenticeship is another application of Vygotskys theory. The purpose of cognitive apprenticeship is to help learners to learn the cognitive processes that experts use to overcome complex tasks through guided experience. While operating in ZPD novices and experts works closely in joint work related activities. For instance, student teachers work with cooperating teachers in schools. It is an example of apprenticeship. Apprenticeship is also a form of dialectical constructivism that depends on social interaction (Schunk, 2008). Critics about the Theory Vygotksky seems social interaction as only way of learning. According to Vygotsky all learning is a social process begins as social activities by interacting with other people and people internalize these processes and can use them independently. But researcher states that as it is known that cultures are critical and needed to be thought while explaining learning it is not only constrained social environment (Schunk, 2008). And it is showed that children learn certain concepts which do not depend on social environment (Geary, as cited in Schunk, 2008). However I agree with Vygotsky in terms of explaning learning from social context to individual context. In my opinion, Vygotskys theory is based on the idea that learning begins with social interaction with other people or environment and then knowledge is constructed individually. Implications of Vygotskys theory are considered by researchers as not clear (Wertsch, as cited in Driscoll, 2005). It is thought that there is no answer to the questions how it is explained the differences between the ZDP of children who have similar history and how it is account for the changing relation between subject and child development. I think the effect of the culture and social environment on learning is important. The culture and social environment affect how children can learn. And also we construct meanings and common shared knowledge of a culture. So we affect and are affected from our culture and history. And our leanings can come from this social environment. But it has still not clear enough to understand learning with only sociocultural theory, and how the teaching should be. Conclusion Although new learning approaches appeared in education, since the earlier in the 20th century Vygotkss sociocultural theory has lost influence on learning. Because Vygotksys theory contributed to development of constructivism with Piaget, Dewey, and Glaserfields theories. Many teachers are still using application of Vygotskys theory such as group works, class discussion or guided discovery consciously or unconsciously. And as Vygotksy claimed children begin to learn in social environment in classrooms with social activities by interacting with other people such as peers or teachers and they internalize these processes and can use them independently. Even though researches showed that children learn certain concepts which do not depend on social environment, the sociocultural approach certainly could not explain all human learning alone. It can explain learning particularly in terms of a social environment. Therefore it is termed as dialectical constructivist theory. To sum up, although there are some criticisms to Vygotksys sociocultural theory, it is clear that the study of human development has benefited from this theory from twentieth century to nowadays. It is clear that although Vygotksys theory remained in complete because of his early death, researchers could not ignore his theorys importance for learning and they developed his theory as we know today.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

As Performance Studies Cross Arts Project :: Drama

As Performance Studies Cross Arts Project In small groups we were given a choice of stimuli such as poems, pictures and ideas. Our group chose the idea of ‘chaos and order’ as our stimulus because we thought that there would be many ideas to develop from this. We spent a lot of time discussing the idea of ‘order and chaos’ - they are opposites - there is never a situation where both occur at the same time yet you cannot have one without the other. Order is the way most people would like things to be, to keep order we use laws and rules so that everything should stay in control, without which there would be chaos. Chaos can be shown in many different ways such as riots or personal chaos e.g. a mental breakdown. There is no order in this kind of situation, if there were to be it would no longer be a riot but a march. We began by drawing out a spider diagram with the ideas we brainstormed about ‘order and chaos’. Using these ideas we decided to base our piece on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as it seem to express the idea of someone keeping order so much, to the point where their life becomes chaotic. In order for us to meet the criteria of this project we decided that we needed to research OCD so that we could base this piece on factual information. Our group gained a lot of useful information from the Internet and books. Fears, worries suspicions and beliefs come into everyday life but when these doubts start to emerge much more excessively e.g. spending hours washing clean hands or driving round and round making sure no road accidents have occurred, these worries start becoming classed as obsessive compulsive. A lot of people who have been diagnosed with this disorder can only describe it as mental hiccups, which cannot be controlled. The cause of OCD is a medical brain turmoil in which people have trouble processing certain information. It is also caused by a ‘weak’ or unstable personality. Usually people with OCD will suffer with certain obsessions as well as compulsions, but in some cases they may only suffer with one or the other. One of our group members new someone who suffered with this disorder quite badly. They had observed this person from the beginning before being diagnosed with OCD. As a group we decided that we could use this person as a basis for our piece. This meant that we had some first hand information on the disorder so we could give our piece some

Monday, November 11, 2019

Global Warming Essay

Global warming pertains to the increase in temperature of the atmosphere based on the entrapment of gases that are emitted from activities on the surface of the earth. The increase in temperature is a direct result of the greenhouse effect, which involves heat that originated from the sun, which is entrapped within the atmosphere due to several factors. Scientists have determined that the atmosphere’s temperature has increased since the industrial revolution, which has maximized the use of chemicals in manufacturing various kinds of materials in industry. There are four principal gases that have been identified to be primarily responsible for the onset of global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is accountable for approximately half of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Pearson and Palmer, 2000). This gas is a by-product of fossil fuel combustion, which involves burning of coal, natural gas and oil. It is also generated from deforestation activities, which have increased for expansion of industrialization areas. Trees utilize carbon dioxide in their photosynthetic reactions, but it there are fewer trees in the environment, less CO2 is removed from the atmosphere, leaving the environment with excess amounts of CO2. Another gas that has been determined to be responsible for global warming is chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are the primary constituent of plastics and aerosols, as well as refrigerants in air conditioners. Chlorofluorocarbons make up approximately 25% of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Thirdly, methane gas (CH4), which comprises approximately 12% of the greenhouse gases, is also accountable for global warming. Methane gas is released during the decay of organic matter, as well as in the stomachs of cattle, sheep and termites, yet, most of the gas is currently generated by industrial companies. Lastly, nitrous oxide (N2O) is responsible for approximately 6% of the greenhouse gases. It is a by-product of industries, as well as nitrogen fertilizers, volcanic eruptions and livestock manure. Global warming may result in regional changes in the weather, which will be more obvious if the weather were compared from one decade to another, and not on a daily basis. However, scientists have hypothesized that when the temperature of the surface of the earth has reached a highly critical level, such high temperature will cause severe and drastic changes to the atmosphere, affecting the oceans and will severely alter the weather patterns in a matter of years. Changes in the weather may include increasingly hot days and less cool days. The water levels will go down, exposing more land surface during the summer. Even higher latitude regions will be warmer by 40%. In addition, the amount the precipitation, be it rain or snow, will also increase, in the form of stronger storms and very intense typhoons and hurricanes. The El Nino events may also be more increase due to global warming. Global warming not only affects the weather, but it will also affect natural habitats. Higher levels of CO2 may facilitate the growth of forests, facilitating them to flourish and bloom. The warmer ocean waters will be helpful to fish and algae in the high seas. However, those organisms in higher elevations will find difficulty in surviving in warmer environments. Higher temperatures in oceans may kill corals, which are the nurseries for fishes and other aquatic organisms. For the human population, global warming may cause more incidents of infectious diseases such malaria, as well as systemic health problems such as heat stroke and respiratory diseases. Currently, the world is confused as society is ignorant of the detailed effects of global warming. Society is aware the summers are now longer and more intense and winters are envious of summer’s wrath, unleashing a fury that rivals the intensity of the heat. This is actually what global warming does. It confuses the world and now currently has also succeeded in confounding scientists. From a scientific point of view, global warming can be understood as a global environmental phenomenon which is characterized by an increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans (Smith and Reynolds, 2005). There is certainly no doubt that global warming has a very detrimental effect on the environment as it causes rising sea levels and alters the amount and pattern of precipitation that areas all over the world get. These environmental changes are also the projected causes of other ecological changes such as increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events which in turn creates changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors. Based on the current scientific projections, the temperature of the world is expected to increase by 1. 1 to 6. 4  °C (2. 0 to 11. 5  °F) between the years 1990 and 2100. While most of the studies and projection models that have been utilized for these estimates cover the period up to the year 2100, global temperature warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a millennium even if no further greenhouse gases are released after this date (Haigh, 2003). This is due to the melting of the polar ice caps which is estimated to continue due to the changes that have already occurred in the world’s temperature. One proposal to answer to the problem of global warming is a lot simpler in theory than it is in practice. Given the rate of economic growth of many of the developing countries and the shift of production to the lesser developed countries, the implementation of any global protocols is easier to imagine than to implement (Torn and Harte, 2006). Greenhouse gases, which are cited as one of the main causes of global warming, are most commonly emitted from the highly industrialized countries and the less developed countries which rely heavily on industrial machinery for production. The problem in this scenario is that by cutting back on the emission of greenhouse gases, a majority of the world’s production of most major goods will be affected. The economic costs not to mention the technological impediments that preventing the shift to more environmentally friendly methods make the reduction of these greenhouse gases extremely difficult (Rudiman, 2005). There have been steps that have been taken to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases. In order to address the situation of global warming, many countries have participated in the world’s primary international agreement on combating global warming which is the Kyoto Protocol. An amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol binds signatory countries to reduce their emissions of CO2 and five other greenhouse gases. In the alternative, it allows these countries to engage in emissions trading if they are able to maintain or increase emissions of these gases. The problem with this protocol, however, is that it exempts developing countries from meeting emission standards in Kyoto. Some of the countries that have been excluded from this list are China and India, who are ranked as the second and third largest emitters of CO2, behind the United States. It is clear therefore that even despite these actions much more work is needed in order to address the problem. The implementation of international protocols and requiring countries to meet certain environmental standards is certainly a big step towards addressing this issue. More intergovernmental cooperation is also another prospective answer to this problem. The more developed countries should also take the lead in encouraging the shift away from more traditional methods of production towards more environmentally friendly methods through the award of grants and exchange of technology (Torn and Harte, 2006). The creation of a body that is designed to not only specifically develop policies regarding this issue but also be given the power to enforce these policies will allow for the more efficient reduction of these greenhouse gases. It is unclear just how effective these policies may be but the fact that is clear is that in order to address this issue, each and every person in the world must take part in reducing the emission of these greenhouse gases which is the main cause of this problem (Gore, 2006). Simple steps such as taking the public transport or walking instead of taking carbon monoxide emitting vehicles will go a long way. There are many things that people can do in order to contribute to the improvement of the current environmental condition. It does not take a lot and it all starts with the awareness of the gravity of the situation. While the general scientific consensus is that global warming is real and its overall effects are detrimental, there are still some prominent scientists who feel that the severe effects of global warming have been sensationalized. Certain members of society take the idea of global warming with the normal temperature and that the temperature of the surface of the Earth has not severely increased over the last one hundred years. They claim that the temperature data collected in the 1970’s were taken in urbanized areas using different kinds of thermometers, hence the temperature readings were influenced by human error and do not precisely show drastic temperature changes in the surface of the Earth as well as in the oceans. It is therefore important the satellite data be acquired for the coming next decades in order to generate robust and reliable temperature readings that society and the scientific world will acceptable without any doubts on its credibility and efficiency. It is also of prime importance that scientific and legislative bodies prove that global warming does actually occur as a result of carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere. Geological scientists have gather substantial fossil evidence that prove that carbon dioxide concentrations have increased on the surface of the Earth, which thus results in a warmer surface, but the direct connection between the increase in carbon dioxide and the temperature increase at the actual in situ settings should still be observed. Most of the information and generalizations that scientists have collected were based on laboratory conditions where most of the components of the setup were easily regulated and controlled, such as humidity and temperature. There are currently a number of models that may be used in forecasting average surface temperatures on the Earth, but there is still a need to also design a model that could predict the amount of human-made emissions that could trigger the same features that cause global warming. There is quite a huge number of people in society that still do not understand the climate changes and what triggers such disturbances in our current weather. Every country is now aware of the causes and effects of global warming on the ecosystem. There has been great speculation that global warming is both a natural and a man-made phenomenon. Whatever the cause is, it is imperative that every citizen understands what global warming is and what measures can be taken in order to minimize, avoid or prevent the increase in accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. References Gore A (2006): An inconvenient truth: The planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. Rodale Books. Haigh JD (2003): The effects of solar variability on the Earth’s climate. Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. A: Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 361(1802):91-111. Lean JL, Wang YM and Sheeley NR (2002): The effect of increasing solar activity on the Sun’s total and open magnetic flux during multiple cycles: Implications for solar forcing of climate. Geophys. Res. Lett. 29(24):2224. Rudiman W (2005): How Did Humans First Alter Global Climate? Sci. Am. , March 2005 issue. Smith TM and Reynolds RW (2005): A global merged land–air–sea surface temperature reconstruction based on historical observations (1880–1997). J. Clim. 18(12): 2021-2036. Torn M and Harte J (2006): Missing feedbacks, asymmetric uncertainties, and the underestimation of future warming. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33(10):L10703. Global Warming Essay Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦.Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a  solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦.Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of  Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦.Climate scientists tell us that global warming is a very serious matter and the world has to make firm decisions to try to slow the warming and eventually to reverse it. Some politicians agree, but many lack the political will to press for urgent changes. Many scientists believe it is already too late to stop a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature. Already there have been changes. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Heat waves have been happening. Famine is worsening in Africa. Sea levels are rising and the Pacific Island countries are desperate for a solution. Glaciers are melting and the rivers in Asia and South America that rely on the glaciers for a steady supply of water for the millions of people downstream are in danger of drying to a trickle. A: It could (someday) destroy the earth and we would all die and there would be nothing living on the earth! A: Global warming causes an increase and decrease in temperatures in the world. Some cities will experience a hotter climate, some would experience a colder climate. This generally affects the habitat, ecosystem, ocean water levels, etc. In other words, a little increase in temperature would have a disastrous effect for residents living near/on coastal regions. This would mean flooding and also playing an influential factor as to the organisms that survive within a temperature/pH (power of Hydrogen) range, resulting in possible extinction. because polar bears enjoy life not death in the cold ocean†¦ .

Friday, November 8, 2019

Timeline of Battles and Treaties in Peloponnesian War

Timeline of Battles and Treaties in Peloponnesian War Theyd fought cooperatively against the Persian enemy during the prolonged Persian Wars, but afterward, relations, strained even then, fell further apart. Greek against Greek, the Peloponnesian War wore both sides down leading to a state where the leader of Macedonia and his sons, Philip and Alexander, could take control. The Peloponnesian War was fought between two groups of Greek allies. One was the Peloponnesian League, which had Sparta as its leader. The other leader was Athens, which controlled The Delian League. Before the Peloponnesian War (All dates in the 5th Century B.C.) 477 Aristides forms Delian League. 451 Athens and Sparta sign five-year treaty. 449 Persia and Athens sign peace treaty. 446 Athens and Sparta sign 30 years peace treaty. 432 Revolt of Potidaea. 1st Stage of the Peloponnesian War (Archidamian War) From 431-421 Athens (under Pericles and then Nicias) successful until 424. Athens makes little forays on the Peloponnese by sea and Sparta destroys areas in the countryside of Attica. Athens makes a disastrous expedition into Boeotia. They try to recover Amphipolis (422), unsuccessfully. Athens fears more of her allies would desert, so she signs a treaty (Peace of Nicias) that allows her to keep her face, basically setting things back to how they were before the war except for Plataea and Thracian towns. 431 Peloponnesian War begins. Siege of Potidaea. Plague in Athens. 429 Pericles dies. Siege of Plataea (-427) 428 Revolt of Mitylene. 427 Athenian Expedition to Sicily. [See map of Sicily and Sardinia.] 421 Peace of Nicias. 2nd Stage of the Peloponnesian War From 421-413 Corinth forms coalitions against Athens. Alcibiades stirs up trouble and is exiled. Betrays Athens to Sparta. Both sides seek the alliance of Argos but after the Battle of Mantinea, where Argos loses most of her military, Argos no longer matters, although she becomes an Athenia Ally. 415-413Â  - Athenian expedition to Syracuse. Sicily. 3rd Stage of the Peloponnesian War From 413-404 (Decelean War or Ionian War) Under the advice of Alcibiades, Sparta invades Attica, occupying the town of Decelea near Athens [source: Jona Lendering]. Athens continues to send ships and men to Sicily even though it is disastrous. Athens, which had started the war with the advantage in naval battle, loses his advantage to the Corinthians and Syracusans. Sparta then used Persian gold from Cyrus to build her fleet, stirs up trouble with Athenian allies in Ionia, and destroys the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegosotami. The Spartans are led by Lysander. 404 - Athens surrenders. Peloponnesian War Ends Athens loses its democratic government. Control is put into the Board of 30. Spartas subject allies have to pay 1000 talents annually. Thirty Tyrants rule Athens.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Freedom of Speech in China Essays

Freedom of Speech in China Essays Freedom of Speech in China Essay Freedom of Speech in China Essay Due to the increasing popular consumer societal networking platforms, Chinese â€Å"netizens† are sing freedom of address like they neer have, and despite heavy censoring, the thrust for freedom of address is greater than of all time. Currently one of the most popular societal media platform in China is Sina Weibo, a domestic micro-blogging service, which is embraced by many Chinese citizens, as a medium that allows persons to show their sentiments and positions without the barriers such as censoring that exists for traditional media ( Sullivan, 2014 ) . However its popularity raise the concern that while consumer societal media platform can alter the political scene of a state, it will besides finally see heavy limitations like traditional media platforms. This essay will be focused on the Chinese consumer societal media platform, in respects to measuring the effectivity of societal media at act uponing the push for freedom of address. : Started during the 1970s, China experienced rapid economic growing and contact with western political orientations, as a consequence it lead many persons to go progressively vocal sing their sentiments of the Chinese authorities. However, the cyberspace like all signifier of media, is to a great extent controlled and regulated by the authorities. Presently, multiple legislative, administrative and technological barrier are in topographic point as a consequence of Chinese government’s need to forestall the spread of unwanted information. This â€Å"Great Firewall of China† is celebrated for barricading off Chinese’s entree to many foreign societal media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. On top of active authorities intercession, Chinese societal media suppliers self- censor their ain sites as portion of the legislative barrier the authorities put in topographic point to cut down the figure of unwanted information. Despite the apparently deficiency of co nnexion to the World Wide Web, the Chinese internet in itself is a big market, which many section that entreaty to ‘netizens’ of different demographic. Presently China have over 500 million active cyberspace user, and about all of them take parting in activities such as blogging, instant messaging and societal networking on a day-to-day footing, Weibo is one of the many societal media platform in China. It was release in 2009 as a microblogging service, overtime, maps such as messaging, private message, remark and re-post were added to promote communicating between users. Presently, it in one of the biggest micro-blogging site with over 100 million users, every bit good as over 5,000 companies and over 2,000 media organisations. Due to its popularity, it is frequently used by vocal persons to distribute political orientations, positions and political statements and information that the Chinese authorities position as unsafe to its authorization and stableness of its gov ernment. However, with the increasing popularity of societal media, it developed into a platform that is non merely as a method to link with people, but besides as a beginning of intelligence and information. In the modern society, information is highly of import as facts, histories, addresss, thoughts, narrations are of import purchase for autocratic authoritiess to keep their claims of authorization ( Sullivan, 2014 ) . Before the popularization of societal media amongst the Chinese â€Å"netizen† , the media plus is purely limited to the authorities, as the autocratic governments choice and command entree to the information that citizens are exposed to. Mass media platform such as telecasting and newspaper are particularly utile in information use, where alternatively of the imperativeness and the media reflecting world of society, they filter and shape it in a manner that is conformity to government’s docket, as â€Å"citizens rely upon the docket of outstanding objects and properties in their heads, the docket that is shaped to a considerable grade by the mass media† ( McCombs, 2002 ) . On top of this, the province owned media provide no manner for the citizens to pass on its involvement back, as such efficaciously doing media unidirectional ( Luo, 2014 ) . This ensures that public attending are focused on peculiar capable affair, and by pull stringsing the understand and point of views of citizens on the subjects, it ensures that the authorization of the authorities will non be destabilized, every bit good as guaranting its political legitimacy and its control over society. However, the addition in internet activity within the Chinese population besides basically changed the power distribution of the Chinese society. With societal media been a bipartisan communicating method, where the audience is provided with a huge sum of information and synergistic chances to prosecute with the content Godhead. The synergistic communicating capacity and de centralised nature of the Internet give more power to people whose dockets would non usually be reported by the major mass media. Anyone with entree to communicating engineerings can describe an event straight to the Web, thereby short-circuiting the hierarchal and elite-controlled traditional intelligence media.As a consequence the ‘top down’ construction where information are distributed by province owned media administrations is been easy removed, replaced by the co-creation of information, and sharing of thoughts, ‘news’ and information between ‘peers’, this lead to netizens jointly promote for attending on a popular subject, ensuing in a powerful sentiment discourse amongst the society, this increased force per unit area from its citizens forced the authorities to turn to their concerns and as such influence the policy determination procedure. Due to this displacement in power, the Chinese authorities is happening increased trouble in comm anding the dispersed political sentiments and point of views that are against the government’s docket. This redistribution of power in the Chinese society lead to many â€Å"netizens† to go progressively funny sing many of government’s actions, and societal media provides the perfect platform for the distribution of this information. This issue is discussed in Ethan Zuckerman’s â€Å"Cute Cat Theory† . Zuckerman province that societal media is ideal for Chinese citizen to voice their sentiment, as it is hard for the authorities to put censoring without impacting guiltless content, as due to the graduated table of affect, may really pull more attending to the capable affair and cause wider media attending ( Zuckerman, 2013 ) . This is particularly true in the instance of China, where despite the government’s best attempt to cut down the figure of content that put negative positions on the authorities by filtrating words and taking down articles and images, it merely increased the sum of attending these narratives are acquiring due to wonder. There are many cause to the ground why traditional censoring are inefficient in societal media communities. First, the velocity of information transportation is increased on societal media resulted from the ability for users resonate with certain topics and increases latent capacity, where the â€Å"users are inspired to make and portion content amongst preexistent audience in the signifier of friends and followers† ( Zuckerman, 2013 ) . Under traditional media platforms, many societal issues would neer be noticed on a big graduated table due to its slow rate, leting the easy control by the authorities, therefore leting them to pull less attending. However, over the past several old ages, on-line communities have increased attending sing issues such as corruptness within the Chinese province authorities, every bit good as extra societal issues such as income inequality and prejudice in the development of rural countries, because these issues are relatable by many persons, and been presented on a platform that consists of a wide user base, leting important latent capacity to happen. Second, traditional authorities censoring are mostly uneffective on societal media due to the assortment and fluidness of information transportation. As mentioned above, censoring frequently including filtrating of words, as a consequence, many people have come up ways to short-circuit this system. One such illustration is â€Å"River crab† , which in Chinese Mandarin is a homophone â€Å"Harmonization† , a mention to the Chinese censoring. Since the word is frequently filtered from public web paperss, â€Å"River crab† is adopted by many ‘netizen’ as a replacing, since authorities can non ban it due to its usage as a noun ( Gary King, Jennifer Pan and Margaret E. Roberts, 2013 ) . Overtime, these homophones become memes due to rapid spread every bit good as latent capacity mentioned earlier, ensuing in them rapidly deriving popularity. Memes such as â€Å"River crab† are frequently used by â€Å"netizens† in a satirical manner to knock the government’s actions, therefore non merely deriving unsusceptibility from censoring, but besides allow person who antecedently have small involvement in the subject to go involved in the affair. As mentioned earlier, due limited control the authorities can exercise onto the cyberspace, every bit good as increased handiness of cyberspace, societal media allows persons to link with other like-minded people over big distances, this belongings allows information to distribute on a much wider graduated table than traditional province controlled media platforms. When this is combined with the nature of societal media that allows â€Å"netizens† to freely show their positions in a timely mode, promoting the community to interact with each other sing positions, attitudes, feelings and emotions, precisely fulfilling their privation of self-expression. These qualities have brought many alterations to the Chinese society. Traditionally, Chinese society would seldom actively seek justness due to barriers and ruddy tape that are placed throughout assorted degree of the authorities hierarchy. However with the popularity of societal media, when people discover issues within the auth orities, they would turn to microblogs such as Sina Weibo, and organize communities to use force per unit area to the authorities, administrating some gloss of justice’ . This action have been referred to as ‘surrounding gaze’ , traditionally it would be mentioning to the indifference of crowds at public eyeglassess, nevertheless, non it is frequently used to depict a state of affairs where everyone is now a informant to the province and its agents’ actions. These claims are supported by legion illustrations of where on-line, citizen-led news media has generated political force per unit area via on-line public sentiment. Due to the changeless â€Å"surrounding gaze† societal media placed, it lead to a of the major alteration, which was the freedom of information Torahs which was put in topographic point to let citizens to entree certain antecedently censored information, which gave user entree to Web-site publication of authorities informations or publication of proposed Torahs in paperss such as the Federal Register or Congressional Record. This jurisprudence was made on the footing that the government’s information belonged to the people, as such a degree of transparence must be displayed by the authorities. As a consequence from this, more action were put in topographic point to supply cheque against authorities maltreatments. Together these Torahs have nourished democracy by curtailing authorities powers to keep back of import information. This information is accessible by both physical authorities offices, every bit good as published on the official web site and bulletins of assort ed authorities bureaus. As a consequence of these this increased transparence, authorities sections are besides became accountable for citizens enquiries sing their actions. While China is still in ownership of one of the most rigorous censoring system in the universe, there are big members of the society who are willing break the traditional barriers that restrict them from their right of free address. Due to the assorted advantages offered by societal media platform such as Weibo, these persons have eventually found a voice that allows them to show their sentiments and positions that are unpopular with the authorities, every bit good as an audience that can and willing to listen. The consequence is phenomenon, as Chinese authorities for the first clip in a long clip, provided a method that allows its citizen certain degree of transparence. In decision, societal media is an of import medium for speed uping the push for freedom of address, despite the assorted obstructions it may confront, every bit long as the flow of information is non been restricted, alterations will be made.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Porters Strategy and the internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Porters Strategy and the internet - Essay Example Economic value is important because it influences consumer decision to buy a product even above its production cost. Secondly, potential profitability is higher if a company sets itself apart from other businesses as much as possible from the benefits it offers, to the conduct of its business and to the necessary trade-offs it decides to make. A company’s ability to set itself apart from the rest in the market is also reflected in the way it makes and adopts business choices and practices that are integrated into and interdependent with the rest of the system making itself virtually difficult to duplicate. All of the above, however, is only feasible if the company adopts and maintains a continuity of direction repudiating if need be, emerging business practices that tend to veer it away from its established reputation and practices. 2.0Criticisms of the Strategic Positioning View There are several perspectives that conflict with the strategic positioning view of Porter. Barney (1991), for example, although essentially echoing Porter’s six-point formula for strategic positioning especially with respect to good value, uniqueness and inimitability, leans towards resource-based perspective rather than the market-based perspective of Porter (1996) (1991 p 106). On the other hand, Prahalad (1990) subscribes to the idea that a company that can easily adapt itself to the changing market boundaries by an ability to invent or enter new markets or swing customer choices has the more competitive edge.... A company’s ability to set itself apart from the rest in the market is also reflected in the way it makes and adopts business choices and practices that are integrated into and interdependent with the rest of the system making itself virtually difficult to duplicate. All of the above, however, are only feasible if the company adopts and maintains a continuity of direction repudiating, if need be, emerging business practices that tend to veer it away from its established reputation and practices (Porter 2001 63-78; Porter 1996 61-78). 2.0 Criticisms of the Strategic Positioning View There are several perspectives that conflict with the strategic positioning view of Porter. Barney (1991), for example, although essentially echoing Porter’s six-point formula for strategic positioning especially with respect to good value, uniqueness and inimitability, leans towards resource-based perspective rather than the market-based perspective of Porter (1996) (1991 p 106). On the othe r hand, Prahalad (1990) subscribes to the idea that a company that can easily adapt itself to the changing market boundaries by an ability to invent or enter new markets or swing customer choices has more competitive edge. This dynamism essentially conflicts with Porter’s advocacy for strategic continuity to preserve firm identity and reputation. For Prahalad, core competencies or a firm’s collective learning is the heart of a company’s competitive advantage as opposed to Porter’s strategic positioning. Pitt (2001) likewise believes that changes that are now taking place are too fast and the best thing that companies can do is not to rely only on tangible assets but more on intangible assets such as

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Evaluate the outcomes that are used to measure progress towards Assignment

Evaluate the outcomes that are used to measure progress towards meeting the Milenium health goals - Assignment Example The goals set should be SMART that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Actually, Nursing’s role in helping achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development goals is theme for this year’s International Nurses Day. Since Nurses are the only professionals in the world who are available to several people in their lifetime thus they are the key to the achievement of the millennium development Goals. Additionally, Nurses are the largest health care profession in the world thus play a major role compared to other health professionals. Moreover, nurses are well placed and often the most innovative in reaching the disadvantaged and underserved populations. Nurses help in reducing child mortality, combating malaria, HIV/AIDs and other diseases, and improve maternal health. According reports from ICN, the global children mortality (five years and below) has reduced and the deaths that occur could be prevented via affordable and effective interventio ns (United Nations 2008). The number of women who die during pregnancy and child birth has been halved with regional variations. Nurses also help in issuing of anti-malarial treatments and treating the multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Since nurses interact with residents more Oftenly than not they are able to advice on how to prevent oneself from acquiring tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. Health settings in any community should have their intentions majorly as quality patient and resident service delivery during the phase of care. With maintained health data the health care personnel are in a position know that the outbreaks in the community. Occurrence of any outbreak means a campaign should be carried out and if need be vaccination administered. For example if there is an outbreak of polio children, children in a particular age range should be immunized against the polio (Geneva health 2013, April). Therefore, when the community receives quality services the economy of a nation rises since the costs that are incurred in ordering drugs are diverted and utilized in other areas for development. Professional in the health care setting inclusive of the nurses should ensure that they understand the patients and the customer service is improved to proactive. The essence of the system being proactive is to ensure that the patients’ history is not repeated in the event that they go back to the hospital for check-up. In the event the patient is unconscious and is taken to the hospital by strangers the nurses are in a position to retrieve the patient’s records easily thus ease in diagnosis. This also helps them in managing the data and with the same they are able to deduce when there is an outbreak. Otherwise, with no records it is may be difficult to tell which area is experiencing an outbreak and of which disease. It is part of offering quality services to help the patients when nurses help patients with prevention of diseases and advice on how to attain the same. This impacts to a nation since deadly outbreaks are eradicated as a result of the advice from nurses to patients. Therefore it is in order to say that â€Å"happy employees, happy patients hence happy residents† (Rebecca McNeil 2013, February 15). The nation may benefit directly or indirectly. Nurses educate the patients on the dangers of some of the unhealthy activities they are involved in such as smoking and the kind of diet they