Thursday, October 31, 2019

European Union Enlargment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

European Union Enlargment - Essay Example It will also discuss that the process of regulatory management has become more difficult, which entails greater emphasis on the principle of mutual recognition as the main tool for ensuring freedom of movement of goods and services. However, mutual recognition has its limits and is likely to be less effective the more diverse the countries involved. The challenge facing the Union with the start of the eastern enlargement, the first wave of which was decided at the end of 2002 and implemented during 2004-2006, cannot be underestimated. A region of about 100 million inhabitants was integrated into the EU. Populations deeply rooted in European history had become part of the continental polis, yet these same populations emerged from almost half a century of Soviet domination and planned economy only just over ten years ago. A complex net of similarities and differences make the eastern enlargement something quite different compared to previous episodes of EU expansion. The first point relates to the relative level of economic development in the Eastern European countries. The second point is a reflection of the particular historical circumstances of these countries. The second, third and fourth features are very much linked to the necessary conditions for successful re building of the EU and the steps that have been taken to meet those requirements. The previous two enlar... The second point is a reflection of the particular historical circumstances of these countries. The second, third and fourth features are very much linked to the necessary conditions for successful re building of the EU and the steps that have been taken to meet those requirements. Enlargement and the Level of Income in the Applicant Countries The previous two enlargements were, first, to the South, and then, to the North. The accession of Greece, Portugal and Spain in the 1980s brought relatively low-income partners in the Union, and this changed the economic geography and the budgetary structure of the EU. However, both the population dimension and the average income gap of the countries then involved in the southern enlargement were about half those relating to the newest members. The Northern Enlargement of the 1990s actually raised the average per capita income of the EU, and the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden brought a net positive contribution to the Union's budget. This time the picture is completely different. The incoming members of the EU are, and will be for quite a few years, significantly poorer than the existing members. Their average wages are lower than in the incumbents; hence there could be an incentive for workers to move westward, and for capital to go eastward. Their core inflation rates will be higher due to structural transformation and their net contribution to the EU budget will be persistently negative. Of course, all this will impact on a number of EU policies and institutions, in the fields of migration and border flows, financial and budgetary provisions, monetary policy and the working of the ECB and trade and investment flows.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Effect of financial crisis on consumer finance Essay

Effect of financial crisis on consumer finance - Essay Example The complexity of financial instruments that were involved in the crisis deepened the effects of subprime mortgage crisis (Ghoshi, 2006). The subprime crisis led to a number of problems in America’s as well as the global financial system. As home owners defaulted on payment of their mortgage costs, financial institutions were drained off liquidity necessary for lending. It also led to reduction of revenues generated by many financial institutions as well as other organizations whose operations were adversely affected by the turbulence on financial markets. This led to decline in economic growth rate, forcing the United States of America and United Kingdom of Britain to record negative gross domestic product growth. Ben Bernanke, a leading economist and the Chairman of Federal Reserve in US indicated that the Federal Reserve policies are not the main cause of the crisis and its subsequent reduction in access of consumers to credit. He noted that while the US financial policies are partly to blame, other countries policies such as currency management policies in China make the global economy more prone to financial crisis (The Washington Post, 2011). In a debate moderated by the char of economics department in Harvard University, important facts about the recent global financial crisis were revealed. The subprime crisis significantly reduced the willingness of financial institutions to extend credit to consumers.... In a debate moderated by the char of economics department in Harvard University, important facts about the recent global financial crisis were revealed. The people involved in the debate were economics professor Jeremy, and Professor Rogoff, both from the institution and a history professor Nial. Roggoff noted that while the lending policies were lax, the outsider attitude of customers equally catalyzed the 2007/2008 global financial crisis. This led to low cooperation between financial institutions and their mortgage customers, accelerating the rate of the 2007/2008 global financial crisis. Roggof had predicted the crisis one and half years earlier (Crimson Staff Writers, 2010). Analyses The subprime crisis significantly reduced the willingness of financial institutions to extend credit to consumers. Such institutions withheld liquidity as panic and loss of confidence spread in the financial sector. This led to fall in consumer lending since 2007 to 2008 (Bricker et al, 2012). The v alue of loans issued in US in 2008 last quarter of the year was almost half of the value of loans issued during the same period in the previous year. Lending declined across all credit lines, including that of short term and consumer lending. Majority of the banks that were vulnerable to bank run during the crisis cut on their spending. Banks with average level of deposits to assets cut on their loan originations by 36% between August and December in 2008 as compared to the same period in the previous year. The recent subprime mortgage crisis resulted to economic recession. During economic recession, the demand for loan able funds decline. This was evident in 2008 to 2009 when business activity declined and unemployment shot up in many countries. This reduced the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Natural Selection and Genetic Drift | Experiment

Natural Selection and Genetic Drift | Experiment Camouflage Lab Eduardo Pà ©rez Introduction In 1859, an English scientist named Charles Darwin published his book, On the Origin of Species. This book described his Theory of Evolution, the process by which populations of organisms change over time to adapt to their environment. Over the years, the Theory of Evolution has become one of the most well-supported and widely accepted scientific theories out there. The main purpose of this experiment is to show how natural selection and genetic drift look like when they are put into play. According to Dennis ONeil, anthropology professor at Palomar College, natural selection is a series of events by which some organisms are born with random variations of a specific genetic trait that gives those organisms an advantage in staying alive long enough to survive and successfully reproduce. [HS1]Over time, these organisms will have more offspring, causing a shift in the population to that trait (ONeil 2013). An example of natural selection is the finches of the Galapagos Islands. Each island has different food sources, and each species of bird has slightly different beaks that are better suited for consuming their food source. In his book, Life: The Science of Biology (2014), author David Sadava describes genetic drift as the random fluctuation of gene frequencies in a population due to chance events. An example of genetic drift would be an oil spill in a river populated by fish. The surviving fish will repopulate the river with their offspring who share the same genetic variations. In this experiment, small beads were put on a colored mat to represent mussels in their environment. In the first part of the experiment, one team member was assigned as the Oystercatcher and they selected beads one by one and removed them from the environment to represent natural selection. In part two, beads were randomly removed by a pencil wrapped in tape (a piece of driftwood calling with mussels and killing them) which represented genetic drift. Both parts of the experiment were repeated for three generations after the surviving mussels repopulated the environment. The question being tested in this experiment was: How do natural selection and genetic drift affect populations of organisms? I hypothesized that the blue and red beads would be the most commonly selected and removed in the first part of the experiment, and that the beads would be removed in equal numbers by the pencil wrapped in tape. Materials and Methods The two most important materials used in this lab were the small colored beads, and the mat. Blue, white, green, and purple beads were used to represent mussels with different traits. Ten beads of each color were placed in the environment to start the experiment. The environment for the mussels was represented by the mat with a random background printed on it to camouflage the beads. For the second part of the experiment, a pencil was wrapped with masking tape (sticky side out), and used to represent a log crashing into the environment. The pencil was rolled along the mat to randomly pick up beads. To start off the experiment the person designated as oystercatcher removed beads one at a time from the mat and placed them in petri dishes (independent variable). The oystercatcher was instructed to pick the first beads they saw, and to look away from the mat between selections. After 30 beads were removed and placed into a petri dish, the survivors were counted (dependent variable). The numbers of each color of bead was recorded, and that number of beads (x) plus 3x beads were added back to the mat to represent the repopulation of the species based on the number of survivors. These steps were repeated two more times, and the data recorded each time. In part two of the experiment, the pencil wrapped in tape was rolled along the mat to randomly select and remove beads until 30 beads were removed (independent variable). Then the same procedure used in part one to repopulate the environment was used in part two (dependent variable). These steps were repeated two more times, and the data was recorded. Results I. Population of mussels over 3 generations after natural selection from Oystercatcher. Oystercatcher Data Survivors Total Generation 1 7 green 73 = 21 21+7 = 28 28 0 blue 0x3 = 0 0+0 = 0 0 2 white 63 = 18 2+6 = 8 8 1purple 13 = 3 1+3 = 4 4 Generation 2 10 green 103 = 30 30+10 = 40 40 0 blue 0x3 = 0 0+0 = 0 0 0 white 0x3 = 0 0+0 = 0 0 0 purple 0x3 = 0 0+0 = 0 0 Generation 3 10 green 103 = 30 30+10 = 40 40 0 blue 0x3 = 0 0+0 = 0 0 0 white 0x3 = 0 0+0 = 0 0 0 purple 0x3 = 0 0+0 = 0 0 When the beads were removed by the oyster catcher, the blue beads were completely removed from the map in just one generation, and the purple and white beads were also driven extinct, but not until the second generation, leaving only green beads at the end of the three generations. II. Population of mussels over three generations after genetic drift from log colliding with habitat. Oystercatcher Data Survivors Total Generation 1 2 green 23 = 6 6+2 = 8 8 2 blue 23 = 6 6+2 = 8 8 2 white 23 = 6 6+2 = 8 8 4 purple 43 = 12 12+4 = 16 16 Generation 2 2 green 23 = 6 6+2 = 8 8 1 blue 13 = 3 3+1 = 4 4 4 white 43 = 12 12+4 = 16 16 3 purple 33 = 9 9+3 = 12 12 Generation 3 1 green 13 = 3 3+1 = 4 4 1 blue 13 = 3 3+1 = 4 4 7 white 73 = 21 21+7 = 28 28 1 purple 13 = 3 3+1 = 4 4 When the beads were removed by the log, the survivors were more random and more equal than when removed by the oyster catcher. By the end of the experiment however, a majority of the survivors were yellow beads. III. Population of mussels over 3 generations after natural selection from Oystercatcher. IV. Population of mussels over three generations after genetic drift from log colliding with habitat. Discussion In part one of the experiment, where the beads were selected and removed by the oystercatcher, the blue beads were immediately driven extinct, and the white and purple beads were driven extinct in only one more generation. This left only green beads by just the third generation. These results show that in natural selection, organisms chances of survival are based on how fit they are to survive in their environment. In this experiment, the blue beads did not blend into their environment very well, and they were eliminated immediately. The purple and white beads were also poorly camouflaged, and were eliminated very quickly as well. Even by the third generation, where there were only green beads left, the oystercatcher had a hard time finding 30 beads to remove, because the green beads were much more difficult to see in the environment. These findings could be applied to a real life environment, and used to predict how well certain organisms have adapted to their environment, and how a n entire population will change over time because of natural selection. In part two of the experiment, the number of survivors was much more equally spread out between the different colors of beads. Although there were definitely more yellow beads than anything else by the end of the experiment, this outcome would be different every time you repeat the experiment, based on the survivors from earlier in the experiment. These results are consistent with the principles of genetic drift, where organisms are eliminated randomly from a population based on random occurrences like natural disasters and diseases. If for example, lightning struck an area with a high concentration of a particular type of mussel, over time, the number of that mussel would decrease because there are fewer mussels to reproduce. This experiment was limited to the use of basic lab materials in a lab setting, but it accurately represents data that would be collected from an actual environment out in nature. This experiment was only able to demonstrate the effects of color and camouflage on the survival rates of an organism, but in reality, there are many other genetic variations which contribute to the fitness of an organism to its environment. An elephant, for example, may not be particularly well camouflaged, but its sheer size and strength help it to survive. Further research could be done to demonstrate the effects of other forces of evolution, as this experiment only involved genetic drift and natural selection. Conclusion The data in this experiment supports the hypothesis that the blue and purple beads would be the most commonly eliminated by the oyster catcher, but the yellow beads were also driven extinct, leaving only green beads. The data somewhat supports the hypothesis that the beads would be removed in equal numbers by the log, although the population shifted to a majority of yellow beads by the end of the experiment. The same experiment could be repeated several times to obtain more data to prove or disprove this hypothesis. References   Ã‚   ONeil, D. (2013). Early Theories of Evolution: Darwin and Natural Selection. Retrieved August 29, 2016, from http://anthro.palomar.edu/evolve/evolve_2.htm Sadava, D. E. (2014). Life: The science of biology (10th ed.). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. [HS1]Are these his exact words? If not, remove the quotes

Friday, October 25, 2019

Fashion In The 20th Century Essay -- History Clothing Style Fashion Es

Fashion In The 20th Century Fashion is said to be evolutionary and not revolutionary. This was not true in the 20th century. Fashion revolutionized America and the rest of the world during this time period. Also, during this time period fashion evolved tremendously. New fabrics and innovations were introduced to America. When World War I came about, people had to sacrifice their clothing for the men at war and they dressed more conservative. Christian Dior changed all of that when he came out with the â€Å"New Look.† This look consisted of draped gowns with a lot of fabric being used. What Christian Dior was basically saying was that we should not have to sacrifice how we dress. In the 20th century, new synthetic fibers were invented, making new fabrics come to life like rayon and polyester. New technology changed many different ways we made our garments toward printing and construction. Of course the 20th century started out in the 1900’s. The silhouette of the female was made up of the pigeon-breasted bosom, tiny corseted waist, and full, swayback hips. There were many common designs in this era. One was a white, high-necked, trimmed cotton blouse with a heavier, dark shirt. Another was tailor-made jackets and skirts for working women. Most of the fabrics available were mostly natural fibers like cotton, silk, linen, and wool. Daywear was most often in shades of white, brown, and black, commonly in a small figured or floral print. Eveningwear consisted of lightweight silks in sometimes brighter solids or light-colored hazy prints. In this particular period, fancy trim meant status. Trim was very excessive as possible on shoulders, waist, and the lower half of the skirt. Items used included were lace, embroidery, jet beading, flowers, ribbon, and net. All of the hemlines reached the floor. Sergers were first introduced in this era. In 1910, most of the influence for fashion came from designer Paul Poiret and Eastern influence. Daywear silhouette included a head-to-ankle coverage with lowered necklines for the first time ever in decades. The primary silhouette was a straight, squarish outline with low hips. Common designs were long, ethnic influenced tunics with a skirt and waist sash, and horizontal layered appearance in skirt or vertical wrap effect on tailored jacket-and-skirt sets and dresses. Rayon was invented and used. Also used wer... ...isure to eveningwear, but natural fibers were still used with the organic flower child look. Loud and clashing colors were now in everyday fashion prints, from conservative to wild. Swirling psychedelic prints, dotted with flowers, medallions, and geometric shapes were popular. There was widespread use of designer names and labels as an incentive to shoppers, marketing everything from clothing to luggage with designers such as Geoffrey Beene and Christian Dior. No matter what decade or century you are in, fashion is going to change. People make fashion change and evolve through the decades with different events that happen. Early on, it was the designers who decided what men and women wore. Through the decades it became evident that we should choose and decide what we should wear to incorporate our environment. Women basically decided that they were the rulers of fashion and that they make fashion what it is today. Why shouldn’t they choose? Of course fashion is here to stay, so, I wonder what we would be wearing in the 22nd century? Sources Cited: Vintage Vixen Clothing Co. Fashion History. 1997-2005. Vintage Vixen. 20 Apr. 2005. http://www.vintagevixen.com/history

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Business Manager

Develop in your own words the definition of Operations Management Strategy. Why is it important to have an effective Operations and Supply Chain Management.? A: The concepts in Operation Management â€Å"MM† are today more important and crucial than ever before, especially with the Intense global competition among companies. It Is critical to understand how to boost the bottom line while keeping costs from ruling and malignantly or even Improving quality.In our book we have for key points that are integral part of MOMS those are: Supply and Chain Management Strategy and Sustainability Forecasting Capacity Management/ with a learning curve. In explaining the concepts' above one can conclude that in the process of making good business decisions the quantity and amount of products as well as the appropriate mix of products to be produces is a critical part of â€Å"Aggregate Planning† in which determining the demands of the products is so very important, as well as the smo othing in production, avoid or forecast bottlenecks, planning horizon and the linear programming.All of the above mentioned is intrinsically connected and responsive to the appropriate levels of staffing, capacities and resources all of these re business decisions within the aggregate planning stages. Inventory Management; Production management; Operations Scheduling: Facilities/layout and location; Quality and Reliability. Are all parts of the decision making in MM.We can then conclude that Operations Strategy is the development of a long-term plan for using all major available resources available to the firm placing it in a better path to better succeed and abbey with its long term goals. MOMS, will address all of these concerns and In a step by step mode how to go about making It possible. Below a chart on a sample of operations strategy Process Problem 2. 1 As an operations manager, you are concerned about being able to meet sales production report: Find the average monthly prod uctivity (units per machine hour).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Stage Beauty

Stage Beauty â€Å"Stage Beauty† explores the boundaries between reality and performance. It’s the 1660s, and Edward ‘Ned’ Kynaston is England’s most celebrated leading lady. Women are forbidden to appear on stage and Ned profits, using his beauty and skill to make the great female roles his own. But King Charles II is tired of seeing the same old performers in the same old tragedies. Since no one will take him up on his suggestion to improve Othello with a couple of good jokes, he decides to lift the royal palate by allowing real women to tread the boards. In a slightly less progressive spirit, he rules that men may no longer play women’s parts. I find it hilarious, that such a prudish society who are against homosexuality and such things as women acting, will find it ok to have a bunch of men pretending to be women and having, well not physical love scenes, but professing romantic poetry to other men. The film, is really about two things at once: The craft of acting, and the bafflement of love. It must be said that Ned is not a very convincing woman onstage although he is pretty enough; he plays a woman as a man would play a woman, lacking the natural ease of a woman born to a role. Curiously, when Maria takes over his roles, she also copies his gestures, playing a woman as a woman might play a man playing a woman. Only gradually does she relax into herself. â€Å"I've always hated your Desdemona,† she confesses to Ned. â€Å"You never fight, you only die. † Ned is most comfortable playing a woman both onstage and off. But is he gay? The question doesn’t precisely occur in that form, since in those days gender lines were not rigidly enforced, and heterosexuals sometimes indulged their genitals in a U-turn. Certainly Ned has inspired the love of Maria his dresser, who envies his art while she lusts for his body. We see her backstage during one of Ned’s rehearsals, mouthing every line and mimicking every gesture; she could play Desdemona herself, and indeed she does one night, in an illicit secret theater, even borrowing Ned’s costumes. It is a cruel blow when he finds fame and employment taken from him in an instant, and awarded to Maria. Yet Maria still has feelings for Ned, and rescues him from a bawdy music hall to spirit him off to the country — where their lovemaking has the urgency of a first driving lesson. The movie lacks the effortless charm of many of the movies that I saw like O, and Shakespeare in Love and its canvas is somewhat less alive with background characters and details. But it has a poignancy that â€Å"Shakespeare† lacks, because it is about a real dilemma and two people who are trying to solve it. The London of the time is fragrantly evoked, as horses attend to their needs regardless of whose carriage they are drawing, and bathing seems a novelty. I wonder if the court of Charles II was quite as Monty Pythonesque as the movie has it, and if Nell Gwynn was quite such a bold wench, but the details involving life in the theater feel real, especially in scenes about the fragility of an actor's ego. Poor Ned. â€Å"She's a star,† the theater owner Thomas Betterton tells Ned about Maria. â€Å"She did what she did first; you did what you did last. â€Å"

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Teaching ICT at School Reasons, Concerns and Solutions

Teaching ICT at School Reasons, Concerns and Solutions Abstract Purpose Over the past few years, the significance of information and computer technologies has multiplied several times. New media has opened a pool of opportunities in every single field, increasing the pace of globalization and contributing to business development.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Teaching ICT at School: Reasons, Concerns and Solutions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Methods The given study is going to provide the themes that should be taught in ICT classes in schools so that students could be able to use the latest technologies to their advantage in studying, learn about the mechanism of their cognitive process and become lifelong learners. Results The introduction of the ICT principles into the education system will help teachers acquire new skills more efficiently. In the course of the research, an overview of the key ICT themes was done. Discussion The results have shown that, amo ng the ICT themes that should be viewed as the school material, digital literacy, informational systems and human communication in ICT should be listed. Introduction: Nature of the Problem There is no secret that with the advent of information technologies, the landscape of communication, business and media has changed radically. Information technology has leaked into very single area and aspect of people’s lives, and it has become crucial to learn to use these changes to people’s advantage; for instance, ICT teaching can shed some light on mobile learning (El-Hussein Cronge, 2010). However, introducing ICT into the school curriculum is fraught with numerous difficulties. Statement of Purpose, Scope and General Method The purpose of the given paper is to define the themes of ICT that should be taught to students at school, as well as the methods for teaching the aforementioned themes. Seeing how the given topic is rather broad, the scope of the paper will concern the themes that can be taught to high school and college students. As for the research method, the principle of grounded theory is going to be used in order to design the basic patterns for teaching ICT. The principle of grounded theory is going to be the key method. Hypothesis Because of the opportunities in terms of technology and communication that ICT opens in front of teachers and students, it is most reasonable to use ICT as the means to accomplish such goals as the shift from an old to a relatively new teaching paradigm (EACEA, 2009, 14), more opportunities for teacher education (UNESCO, 2005, 55 55) and professional development (EACEA, 2009, 14), more efficient classroom management (EACEA, 2009, 14), better cooperation between schools (EACEA, 2009, 14) and availability of the necessary equipment (EACEA, 2009, 14). The given goals can be achieved by introducing such topics as research and e-awareness, communication, control and science, modeling and simulation and handling data.A dvertising Looking for assessment on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Methods As it has been stressed above, the principles of the grounded research were used in the course of defining the key ICT themes to be taught in schools. The key characteristics of a good ICT lesson are going to be defined and most reasonable and efficient strategies for teaching ICT are going to be distinguished. Finally, the challenges regarding ICT teaching at schools will be outlines, and basic means of addressing these challenges will be provided. Results Results and Original Hypothesis An efficient use of interactive materials is a good method of introducing students to the opportunities provided by the ICT, (Eurydice, 2011, 10). The given approach is crucial in that it allows for demonstrating students the benefits of the ICT in a very graphic way. More to the point, the given method helps students apply the acquired skills to practice immediately after these skills were learned, as it was done in Malaysian schools in 2002 (Chan, 2002, 2). The third option that teachers have in terms of methods of teaching ICT to students in schools is to utilize such strategies as project-based learning, personalized learning, individualized, or student-centered, learning, scientific investigations and online learning (Eurydice, 2011, 43). The given methods are equally important, since, though having seemingly different characteristics, they are all targeted at the same goal, i.e., developing students’ independence in the use of ICT. The issue regarding classroom management should also be brought up. As ESEA report says, classroom management process becomes considerably easier with the introduction of the ICT technologies, which allows both students and teachers to focus on the class activities and, therefore, creates the most appropriate learning and teaching environment. Trends Discussion ICT helps students in their meta-cognition process. Phelps and Graham’s study shows that the integration of ICT into meta-cognition process led to rather fruitful results in fourteen schools (Phelps Graham, 2008, 129). At certain points, the goals of ICT studying and meta-cognition cross – both are aimed at helping students recognize the necessity to engage in lifelong learning and choose the best method for self-learning. As Shannon (2008) put it, it is possible â€Å"to become a self-directed learner using metacognition† (Shannon, 2008, 14). Seeing how ICT allows for encouraging self-learning in students (Eurydice, 2011, 43), it seems reasonable to use meta-cognition strategies as the basis for teaching ICT in schools.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Teaching ICT at School: Reasons, Concerns and Solutions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, ICT clearly affects the teachers’ competence and pro fessionalism as well. ICT provides a plethora of opportunities for professional growth, including fast acquisition of new information, cooperation with other experts and availability of a number of training programs. The last but definitely not the least, such function of ICT as a better control over the technological aspect of the lesson helps teachers focus on the communication with students rather than managing equipment. Finally, more efficient time management is also an obvious advantage. Discussion It would be wrong to claim that there are no tangible problems concerning teaching ICT in schools. To start with, the changes to the curriculum that the inclusion of ICT classes demand is most likely trigger considerable organizational issues, especially regarding time management. According to the data provided above, in most cases, the introduction of the ICT studies came at the cost of other subjects. Therefore, when providing students with a chance to learn using the ICT technolo gy, one must make the required changes to the curriculum and the rest of the classes. To solve the aforementioned issue, it will be most reasonable to apply the principle of online teaching mentioned above. The given approach allows for students to have a more flexible schedule and to choose the time management system that they prefer and that suits them best. Thus, the following themes must be presented in the ICT curriculum: Research and e-awareness; Communication; Control and science; Modeling and simulation; Handling data. Of all the themes mentioned above, the issue regarding research and e-awareness seems the most important one. It allows for both motivating students for learning more and becoming independent in their research. Therefore, the given theme must be the course priority. Conclusion With the advent of information and computing technologies, people’s social, personal and, most importantly, academic life has changed greatly. While the new options opened for s tudents seem rather alluring, including ICT into the school curriculum might be quite a problem.Advertising Looking for assessment on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In order to avoid the possible issues, it is necessary to choose the strategy that will allow teachers to supervise students instead of babysitting them in their ICT exploration. Thus, students will have an opportunity to both learn to use ICT efficiently and to become lifelong learners. Reference List Chan, F. M. (2002). ICT in Malaysian schools: Policy and strategies. Retrieved from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan011288.pdf EACEA (2009). Study of the impact of technology in primary schools. Retrieved from http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/studies/documents/study_impact_technology_primary_school/brochure291009_en.pdf El-Hussein, M. O. M., Cronje, J. C. (2010). Defining mobile learning in the higher education Landscape. Educational Technology Society, 13(3), 12–21. Eurydice (2011). Key Data on Learning and Innovation through ICT at School in Europe 2011. Retrieved from http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/key_data_series/129E N.pdf Phelps, R. Graham, A. (2008). Developing technology together, together: A whole-school metacognitive approach to ICT teacher professional development. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 24(4), 125–133. UNESCO (2005). ICTs for secondary education. Retrieved from http://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214640.pdf

Monday, October 21, 2019

Definition and Examples of Infinitive Clauses

Definition and Examples of Infinitive Clauses In English grammar, an infinitive clause is a subordinate  clause whose verb is in the infinitive form. Also known as an infinitival clause or a to-infinitive clause The infinitive clause is called a clause because it may contain such clausal elements as a subject, object, complement, or modifier. Unlike most other subordinate clauses  in English, infinitive clauses are not introduced by a subordinating conjunction. Verbs that can be followed by infinitive clauses (as objects) include: agree, begin, decide, hope, intend, like, plan, and propose. Examples and Observations Im sorry but theres a handsome man in my spoon. Youll have to come back later.(Tom Tucker, The Kiss Seen Round the World. Family Guy, 2001)Jane was firm in her desire to live life on her own terms.Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slums of Mumbai.If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.(Yiddish proverb)We merely want​ to live in peace with all the world, to trade with them, to commune with them, to learn from their culture as they may learn from ours, so that the products of our toil may be used for our schools and our roads and our churches and not for guns and planes and tanks and ships of war.(President Dwight Eisenhower, quoted in Time magazine, 1955) Infinitive Clauses as Subjects and Objects A subordinate clause with an infinitive often acts as the subject or object of the main clause. In the following examples, the whole infinitive clause [in bold] is understood as the subject of is human, is decadent or was unnecessary. - To err is human.- To drink Martinis before noon is decadent.- For Mervyn to redirect Maggies mail was unnecessary. And in the following examples, the whole infinitive clause [again in bold] is understood as the direct object of hates, loves and expected. - Jim hates to wash his car.- Rosie loves to plan parties.- Phil expected Martha to stay at home all day. In case this is not obvious at first, you can test this by answering questions such as What does Jim hate? (answer: to wash his car), or What did Phil expect? (answer: Martha to stay at home all day). (James R. Hurford, Grammar: A Students Guide. Cambridge University Press, 1994) Perfect Infinitives To express time preceding that of the main verb, the infinitive takes a perfect form: to have past participle. (58) The parents were lucky to have found this specialist for their sick child. The perfect infinitive can be used with progressive aspect to emphasize duration. This construction consists of to have been V-ing. (59) He was too scared of the police to have been telling lies all the time. (Andrea DeCapua, Grammar for Teachers: A Guide to American English for Native and Non-Native Speakers. Springer, 2008) Passive Infinitives An infinitive that is derived from a passive finite verb clause will itself be passive: (20) a. I expect that all the calamari will be eaten before 7:00. (passive verb)(20) b. I expect all the calamari to be eaten before 7:00. (passive infinitive) You can verify that to be eaten is a passive infinitive in (20b) because it contains the passive marker [BE (-en)]: be eaten. Remember that eaten is a transitive verb; in its active form, it will have a subject (an indefinite pronoun like someone or they) and a direct object (all the calamari). (Thomas Klammer et al., Analyzing English Grammar, 5th ed. Pearson, 2007)

Sunday, October 20, 2019

30 Best Content Research Tips That Will Make You More Influential

30 Best Content Research Tips That Will Make You More Influential Trust. Authority. Influence. What do these three things have in common? They’re all traits of successful content that establishes brands and content creators as real thought leaders. Every piece of content you publish should seek to achieve this trifecta. So, how do you create content that truly shows you’re a trustworthy and authoritative source? The answer can be summed up in one word: Research. Not the most exciting answer, right? Well, it is if you’re a dedicated content marketing nerd and you’re committed to blowing minds with amazingly in-depth stuff. The kind of stuff that digs deeper than the competition and doesn’t just make bold claims, but backs them up with facts and real data. The key to successful content research is to put a clear and repeatable process in place. In this post, we’ll cover thirty different ways you out-research and outsmart your competitor’s content marketing with better information. Roll up your sleeves and get ready to think outside the box.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

HRM - Essay Example Job analysis enables to document the requirements of job and the work that need to be executed (Levine, Ash, Hall & Sistrunk, 1983). There are numerous methods of job analysis that managers can use for collecting information i.e. interviews, questionnaire survey, observation and focus group among others. Often managers use combination of these methods on the basis of situation of the organization (Franklin, 2005). Job Description Job description is a brief account of job responsibilities and necessities. It provides the purpose of a particular job which suits the company’s structure. Job description is divided into four major sections which are job summary, job function, job requirement and other information. Job summary represents a brief outline of the job position and the key roles associated with it. Job function is the thorough description about the duties and the responsibilities of a particular job. Job requirements section provides the educational necessities, document ations and other vital experiences essential for applying for a particular job. Furthermore, job description enables to ensure that an organization is well aware of the employee requirements in order to fulfill a vacant position (Mader-Clark, 2008). Job Description ABC Ltd. Job Position: Marketing and Sales Manager Location: United States of America Major Job Responsibilities: Planning and managing marketing operations and handling employees Job Status: Full-time employment Main Objectives: Accomplishing sales target, administering business improvement and supervising employees Duties and Responsibilities Managing online recruitment services exclusively for sales and marketing position Developing marketing plan in collaboration with the sales, production and finance departments Creating budget for marketing activities through forecasting demands and allocating expenditures Managing advertisement and distribution Managing all promotional programs in a timely way Directing subordinate s regarding spending money according to the budget Motivating team members for effective performance Providing training and coaching to the employees Developing marketing strategy and performing in conjunction with other departments Arranging scheduled meetings with other managers Accomplishing appropriate organizational performance through providing required information to the customers, recognizing customers’ trends and resolving any marketing issue Skill and Aptitudes Good communication skill Ability to manage numerous tasks simultaneously through utilizing personal knowledge Ability to maintain good relationship with major stakeholders Ability to ensure that organizational marketing strategies are practiced appropriately Ability to plan, assess and observe performance of subordinates and to ensure that constant improvement is in progress Relationship Internally demonstrate strong collaboration with every worker in the organization Develop trust among staffs and other mana gers and valuing them respectively Maintain professional relationship with the employees and the customers Maintain strong team association and support other departments Experience Requirement Minimum 4 to 6 years sales and marketing experience in the other company Experience in accounting and computer software solution Experience in

Friday, October 18, 2019

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Criminology - Essay Example The labeling theory was developed from the interactionist perspective of criminology. Interactionists believe that a person does not become a criminal on their own. Interactionist theories "assume that everyone has the potential to violate the law and that criminality is not an innate human characteristic," according to Schamlleger (2005, p. 245). While social constraints are the primary cause of crime, this alone does not cause someone to act unlawful. Instead these deviant behaviors must be learned and reinforced, which is why the process of socialization is an important factor in determining if someone is going to become a criminal. This means that interactions with society, peer groups, family, the education system, and other social groups play a prominent role, as these interactions provide the individual with morals, values, and a slate of norms in which to adhere to. In addition, this theory believes that a person's position in society will influence their involvement in crime , with those in higher positions in society less likely to partake in criminal behaviors. The labeling theory helped criminologist differentiate between primary and secondary deviance. An offender's initial act of deviance is considered primary deviance. However, continuing these acts is considered secondary deviance, especially if these acts occur as a result of being around other deviant individuals (Schmalleger, 2005). For example, while someone may initially rob a gas station as their primary deviance, secondary deviance may come from being sentenced to jail, meeting fellow criminals, and engaging in additional deviant behavior with them that would not occur if the individual was not associated with them. However, the individual does not have to have direct interaction with other deviant individuals for it to be considered secondary deviance. The action of simply being labeled a criminal can result in secondary deviations (Schmalleger, 2005). Noting and studying labeling in regards to secondary deviance is important, because the negative labels put on an individual e ventually become internalized. The individual labels himself as deviant, and therefore performs deviant behaviors to fit these labels (Schmalleger, 2005). In the 1960s and 70s, criminologists began to question the labeling and interactionist theory. It was during this time that there were a lot of social problems that were causing criminologists to question their loyalty and support to these and other earlier proposed theories. Some of these social problems included the civil rights movement, which gave blacks and whites equal rights, and the war in Vietnam, which was hugely unpopular. Criminologists began to question how they could support theories and interpret laws that discriminated against people and reinforced or caused human suffering. It was at this time that things in the world of criminology began to shift, as a new perspective, Marxist criminology, began to develop. This criminology theory strongly questioned the labeling theory and other theories before it. It was founded upon the writings concerning capitalism by Karl Marx. He was an individual who believed that capitalist societies were divided into two social classes, a small, rich, elite and a large, poor, working class. The elite class served as the ruling class and exploited the poor class

Market Analysis of a specific commodity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Market Analysis of a specific commodity - Essay Example The class of commodity goods includes products with high market demand, but that are supplied to the market without qualitative differentiation e.g. from the taste of coffee, one cannot easily differentiate that it is from Brazil or Ethiopian highlands or if the coffee is a product of Nestle or Sara Lee companies without careful study of the brand. However, even though the commodity products are considered equal to one another, they are not exchangeable if they do not meet the market standards. For example, sugar as a commodity product, there is no company that has a higher chance of controlling its market supply or price level than other companies since to a consumer it is difficult to differentiate the taste of sugar (Holihan 2008). Based on the economic perspectives and arguments of commodity markets and commodity products, this research paper aims to analyze the market of coffee (as a commodity product): and the players in the coffee market. The analysis will encompass descriptio n of the coffee market structure, companies or players involved, market share, market size, major players, coffee demand and supply, competition and market dominance. Commodity market: Coffee Market The product coffee Often, people depict coffee as a homogenous product. However, this is not right because there are different types and forms of coffee in the market. According to ICO (2002), the two main types of coffee are Robusta and Arabic: Arabica is the largest, covers almost over 70% of the worldwide coffee trade, and exports while Robusta constitutes the remaining percentage of lower than 30% of the world market. ICO (1995) listed 70 coffee producing countries worldwide with Brazil and Colombia leading in coffee production. The Coffee Market Coverage In reference to Fridell (2007), coffee is not just a drink to enjoy; it is a global commodity and influences world economy. The commodity coffee has a global market and occupies a higher position in the world commodity markets. Frid ell (2007) explains that the product has been an important international commodity for trade since 1800s. Coffee is the world’s most widely traded agricultural commodity. Research shows that many, including the world’s renowned historian Mark Pendergrast, have describe coffee as the second most legally traded world commodity after oil. Coffee has cemented its position in most world stock and securities exchange as an essential exchange commodity (Kirsten 2009). As a global product, Fridell (2007) notes that coffee follows a long market chain before its final consumption. On one, hand, the market of coffee constitutes net producers and net consumers while, on the other hand; there are net exporters and net importers in the world. Research shows that most producer countries are net exporters and not net consumers (Kirsten 2009). In addition, large multinational corporations that roast and retail the coffee to final consumers dominate the coffee market. Holihan (2008) say s that the international trade has essential significance in global marketing and distribution of coffee. In the global market, international dealers, traders or international trade houses purchase coffee from the exporting countries. Roasters in Europe tend to purchase their coffee from international trade houses or specialized import agents with contracts of exporters in producing countries. While large roasters-corporations prefer ex-doxy purchase of coffee, small roasters prefer purchase of small lots

Necessity of Supply Chain Management Research Paper

Necessity of Supply Chain Management - Research Paper Example The present research has identified that in a round of the activities involved, supply chain management deals with the purchasing and storage of the various raw materials that are necessary for production of the product, the inventory involved within the manufacturing stage (creation of the product) and the handling of the final product up to its point of consumption. It ensures that no snag in terms of the materials involved in any of these stages is come across acting as a hindrance to the provision of the final product to the consumer. The necessity for supply chain management can be seen through the various responsibilities that are seen in this activity. Business has grown and developed over the years and has expanded from the simple buying and selling into a series of activities and responsibilities required to ascertain  the smooth operations of such a setup. One of these responsibilities is supply chain management, and this aspect of the business has become an integral frac tion of the business activities that take place in a company. Supply chain management can be termed as the running of all businesses that happen to be interconnected with one another in relation to their involvement in the provision of a product or a service that is required in the creation of the final end product that is required by a consumer. This means that it deals with all the various parties that are involved in the different steps that are needed in the production of a good or a service so as to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Success at university is underpinned by a range of well-developed Essay - 1

Success at university is underpinned by a range of well-developed academic learning skills - Essay Example Research indicated that students with higher academic motivation which mainly comes from self motivation acquired through persona academic skill, self-discipline and also self confidence. Learning skills is accumulation of resources for learning and teaching of academic skills, development of academic skills is also an essential part of successful study at university and also the future of employment some of these skills include working with others, critical thinking, academic thinking, numeracy skills and also research skills1. Researching skill require one to create a new knowledge and also understanding through the process of inquiry. This skill has many processes that a researcher must pass through to give out a quality work for the research conducted. Every good researcher must be able to be a critical thinker in that he examines the truth and also its validity of arguments and also evaluating the significance of the ideas in question. Here the researcher weighs different sides of the argument by applying logic and reasoning and hence drawing and also carrying out an evaluation conclusion from logical argument and data analysis. Connectively, the problem solving skill where the researcher is able to identify, define and then analyze problems which enable his to create solutions, evaluate them, and thereafter choose the best solution for a particular context. The researcher is required to have an imaginative and also innovative thinking mind with news ways to approach a problem and also have analytical skill to examine the consequences of a particular solution. Here the student to achieve academic success should carry scientific experimentations. After the student has identified and also solved the problem, the skill that is required to be put in the work is a study skill where the student shall be expected to collect relevant information then apply methods of synthesis, critical thinking and also data reduction. This helps

Literature Review for Research Proposal Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature Review for Proposal - Research Paper Example The researcher attempts to carry out this research thoroughly, to examine as many dimensions of this methodology as feasible and necessary. For this purpose, the literature review will cover all the aspects of CALL stated above. Finally, the review will examine the different contexts where the researcher could carry out the necessary research in the most beneficial way. This brief review aims to discuss the existence of CALL and the development that it has undergone in the field of language learning, as well as the teaching. It will not describe the basic features of CALL again, since the introduction of this research proposal has already shed some light on that. According to research, CALL used to focus on disciplines like artificial intelligence, computer science, and psychology. Currently, however, researchers have observed its development in the area of language teaching and learning. CALL first became popular in the field of language learning when it was a major tool in Computer -Assisted Instruction (CAI), which is when computers are used as instructional tools to fulfill the requirements of the student group (Ruffin, 2000). There is a one-line definition of CALL states earlier in the proposal. However, other experts still argue over the different interpretations of this term and this debate is especially relevant to the role of CALL in the field of language learning and teaching. There are several other terms for CALL as well, for example ‘Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL), Computer-Enhanced Language Learning (CELL), Web Enhanced Learning Language (WELL), Intelligent Computer Assisted Language Learning (ICALL), and Computer-Medicated Communication (CMC)’ (Johnson, 2008). Apart from the debate, which exists on the actual term itself, there is also another debate related to the history of CALL, about its origins and development. One side of the debate believes that CALL has been in existence since the 1940s, after World War II (Johnson, 2008). O thers, however, believe that the Americans made the first use of CALL or CAI, in the 1950s. Furthermore, Chapelle suggests that the use of this methodology in language learning and teaching did not begin until the 1960s. Even then, he specifies that they did not use it commonly in the face of necessity. Instead, it was only as a luxury, which was not part of ordinary classrooms, but used for a specific learning group. In addition, some experts also add, perhaps as a way of explanation for this, that there were a very few teachers present until the 1970s who were computer literate, only they were able to fully implement the use of CALL in their classrooms (Ruffin, 2000). Research shows that the Americans first implemented CALL in Stanford University’s Mathematical Institute (Swarbrick, 2002). Experts (Swarbrick, 2002) recognized it very early for its efficiency and benefits, and realized the importance of its development and emergence. However, due to its requirement of expens ive technological equipment, it was not used in classrooms until a lot later. For instance, ‘EVDAC’ (Swarbrick, 2002), the first computer in the 1960s has the price of over half a million dollars. In the 1980s, this price had gone down, but not by much, as the Model 30

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Success at university is underpinned by a range of well-developed Essay - 1

Success at university is underpinned by a range of well-developed academic learning skills - Essay Example Research indicated that students with higher academic motivation which mainly comes from self motivation acquired through persona academic skill, self-discipline and also self confidence. Learning skills is accumulation of resources for learning and teaching of academic skills, development of academic skills is also an essential part of successful study at university and also the future of employment some of these skills include working with others, critical thinking, academic thinking, numeracy skills and also research skills1. Researching skill require one to create a new knowledge and also understanding through the process of inquiry. This skill has many processes that a researcher must pass through to give out a quality work for the research conducted. Every good researcher must be able to be a critical thinker in that he examines the truth and also its validity of arguments and also evaluating the significance of the ideas in question. Here the researcher weighs different sides of the argument by applying logic and reasoning and hence drawing and also carrying out an evaluation conclusion from logical argument and data analysis. Connectively, the problem solving skill where the researcher is able to identify, define and then analyze problems which enable his to create solutions, evaluate them, and thereafter choose the best solution for a particular context. The researcher is required to have an imaginative and also innovative thinking mind with news ways to approach a problem and also have analytical skill to examine the consequences of a particular solution. Here the student to achieve academic success should carry scientific experimentations. After the student has identified and also solved the problem, the skill that is required to be put in the work is a study skill where the student shall be expected to collect relevant information then apply methods of synthesis, critical thinking and also data reduction. This helps

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Earth is my mother Essay Example for Free

Earth is my mother Essay The author’s purpose in writing was to understand for herself and to be able to present Navajo sandpaintings as â€Å"dynamically sacred living entities whose meanings lie in the process of their creation and use† (page xix). Sandpaintings, created from different colored sands and sacred objects, are not art. They are representations of mythical beings and legends created for the purpose of reestablishing someone’s health and harmony. The study of sandpaintings and their various meanings permits the reader considerable insight into Navajo land-tied religious beliefs, world view, creation myths, society, history, and even concepts of time. The author, Trudy Griffin-Pierce, provides little autobiographical information in the book. She mentions her rootless Air Force upbringing and how her early readings were devoted to books about Native American culture, especially the Navajo. Although she is distantly related to the Catawba Indians of South Carolina, she always felt a kinship with the Navajo and lived for a time with a Navajo family, learning their traditions, history, and language. This bond drew her to Arizona after she completed her undergraduate degree in art at Florida State University. N. Scott Momaday, in his â€Å"Forward†, adds that Ms. Griffin-Pierce is a very creative artist, capable of understanding and discussing the artistic dimension of the Navajo world. She makes the inventive and imaginative Navajo system of belief without our understanding. Ms. Griffin-Pierce received her doctorate in anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1987, where she is currently Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department and teaches three courses. The information on her website at the University of Arizona reveals that this was her first published book. She has written four newer books, The Encyclopedia of Native America (1995), Native Americans: Enduring Cultures and Traditions (1996), Native Peoples of the Southwest (2000), and Paridigms of Power: The Chiricahua Apache Prisoners of War and Naiche’s Hide Paintings (in press); and two articles, â€Å"When I am Lonely the Mountains Call Me: The Impact of Sacred Geography on Navajo Psychological Well Being†, and â€Å"Navajo Religion†. All of her writings center on the history of Indians in the United States’ Southwest. She is currently studying aging and dementia among Arizona’s Native Americans. In Earth is my Mother; Sky is my Father, Ms. Griffin-Pierce details Navajo religious beliefs, world views, historical myths, societal structure, and astronomical concepts before she discusses the use and structure of Navajo sandpaintings. Basic Navajo religious beliefs are still followed by many Navajos who chose not to assimilate the tenets of Christianity presented to them in the 1800’s. There is no word for â€Å"religion† in the Navajo language. Spirituality, health, harmony, and beauty are inseparable. The universe is an all-inclusive whole where everything has a unique place and beneficial relationship to all other living things. God is the â€Å"Unknown Power† worshipped through His Creation. The Navajo also have a close relationship with the Holy People, with whom they interact daily. (page 34) Navajo religious beliefs are closely tied to their intense longing for and their love of their homeland, which they consider the â€Å"point in space from which all conceptions of the cosmos proceed†. (page xv) The land and the earth is their foundation of all belief, wonder, and meaning in human existence, and the four sacred mountains are the center. There are no permanent religious centers. The Native American Church is a local peyote visionary religion.    The Navajo have a circular concept of time that permits their mythic, spiritual world to coexist with their physical world. The author suggests that the Navajo sacred sandpaintings cannot be understood unless we accept the Navajo’s â€Å"mythopoetic context of layered time, space, and meaning†. (page 7) Navajo spirituality affirms humanity’s place in nature as a whole. Their ceremonies restore the interconnectedness of all life. They believe sickness results from failure to maintain reciprocal responsibilities with the environment, infringement of ceremonial rules, and transgressions against one’s own mind and bodies. Her purpose in writing this book is to share a more humane, more connected view of the world and its contributions in reestablishing humanity’s alignment with the universe. (page 9) Navajos still worship gods and goddesses of specific purposes. Their deities include the Sun; Changing Woman, who brings the earthly seasons; and their children, Hero Twins, Monster Slayer, Born-for Water, First Man and First Woman, First Boy and First Girl, the trickster Coyote, and the Speechless Ones, who cannot utter words. (page 34) These are often depicted in the sandpaintings. Navajos have a concept of the â€Å"Holy Wind†, reminiscent of the Christian Holy Spirit, as a being that exists everywhere and is in all living beings. For them this means that all living beings are related and that humanity has a responsibility to care for other living beings. Curiously, in Navajo Creation stories, the Holy People spoke, sang, and prayed the world into existence with their sacred words. Since everyone has an inner form and is part of the Holy Wind, each has a Holy Person located within. Oneness with the universe creates a responsibility to treat one’s fellow creatures with the same respect one has towards oneself. (page 73). The Navajos were among the last American Indians to migrate from Asia to North America and were late in arriving in the Southwest. They settled in the geographical area bounded by the four Sacred Mountains in the Four Corners area of the Southwest. Their geographical isolation protected them from diseases brought by the Spaniards and provided them with access to stealing their horses, sheep, and goats. They learned weaving from the Pueblos. The Navajo societal structure was and is matriarchal, clan, and family based, and they dwell in isolated family groups structured by the nuclear family, the matrilocal extended family, close relatives, and other relatives. Many Navajo live in frame houses today, but some still choose well-constructed hogans. (page 21) Navajo ceremonial healings involving sandpaintings are conducted by highly trained practitioners called â€Å"chanters† who have learned to sing the elaborate Navajo rituals. The Navajo chanter can cure witchcraft, exorcise ghosts, and establish immunity to illness.   A chanter is a priest, not a shaman, and never enters the shaman’s characteristic trance state. Most chanters are men. Women become diagnosticians, or shamans who acquire knowledge in a trance state. (page 39) Navajo ceremonials are rites (rattle is not used) or chants (rattle accompanies singing. The major rites (Blessingway and Enemyway) use drypaintings with pigments made from plants, including corn, pollens, cornmeal, flower petals, and charcoal. The author explains that Enemyway is a form of exorcism against the ghosts of aliens, violence, and ugliness. The chanting ceremonies (Holyway, Evilway, or Lifeway) use sandpaintings of different colors of sand, ocher and charcoal. Other sacred objects, vegetation, and bowls of water are incorporated into both types of ceremonies. (pages 40-41) There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different sandpainting designs. A sandpainting is a place of entry where supernaturals enter and leave, attracted by their likenesses in the painting. The establishment of this pathway lets the evil or illness in the patient be replaced by the good, or healing power of the supernatural being. (page 43) The healing ceremonies last for several days. It takes four to six people three to five hours to complete a sandpainting six feed in diameter. The workers begin in the center and work outwards. (page 45. The Navajos’ basic concept is that the powers of the heavens and earth are drawn into the sandpainting for the purpose of healing. Time is compressed so that powerful mythic events of the past coexist with the present and restore harmony and well being to the person being healed. (page 58) The sandpainted image is intended to let the sick person project his or her mind through time and space, rising above present earthly limitations.   The Navajo layered worldview becomes meaningless during a ceremony as all layers of heavens and underground become one. The Navajos study the constellations and star arrangements primarily for determination of seasons, and they are not part of the ceremonial core of sandpaintings, even though depictions of mythical gods of creation in the form of constellations may be used. (page 103) One of the more interesting myths is how Younger Brother went to the sky country and met an inner circle of hostile beings whom he left to stay with the friendly Star People in the outer dwellings. These friendly Star People, whom the Navajo call â€Å"The People†, and the hostile beings are still incorporated into sandpaintings. The author concentrated on the â€Å"Mother Earth, Father Sky† sandpainting because it is the most familiar to outsiders and presents the most detailed depiction of the Navajo heavens of sandpaintings in use today. (page 175) She describes the intricate, careful, detailed process involved in making a sandpainting. Mother Earth and Father Sky must be identical in shape and size. The act of creating a sandpainting is healing because it focuses everyone’s thoughts on the principles of balance and order. (page 177) The painting becomes â€Å"alive† to serve its transcendent purpose when the chanter strews sacred pollen on it and blesses those attending. (page 183). The sacred and blessed sandpainting forces the patient to reconnect in time and space to past and present sacred forces and reminds the patient of her connectedness to humans present physically or spiritually. (page 194) This book accomplishes the author’s stated purposes and does discuss the themes in detail. However, the information is disorganized and scattered, making the book itself hard to read. The author’s purpose was to teach the reader how to understand and appreciate the making, content, and purpose of Navajo sandpainting, which she accomplishes. Some of the information presented about Navajo religious beliefs is curiously similar to Christianity, and the author does not sufficiently discuss whether or not these were original to the Navajo who migrated to the Americas or picked up and changed a bit from what Christian missionaries tried to teach them. The Navajo ties to the religious symbolism of their land is remarkably similar to early Hebrew thought, but no mention is made of that. The textual sources used by the author are all documented research papers or books that are fairly recent in date. One would wish earlier sources had been consulted on some issues, but their availability is not known. The author combines quite boring detailed information with her myths and more lively text, making the book itself a challenge to complete. BIBLIOGRAPHY Southwest Studies Program. Biography of Trudy Griffin-Pierce. University of Arizona. http://web. arizona. edu/~swst/faculty/tgpierce. htm. Griffin-Pierce, Trudy. Earth is my Mother; Sky is my Father. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1992.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Issues Related To Migration

Issues Related To Migration Migration influences the social, political, economic life of the people of a country which has higher immigrants. In India, migration either domestic or international, has a major effect on countrys economy. International migration has become an important feature in globalized markets influencing the economic growth. The impact of the migration is complex for both the immigrants and the countries involved. This paper includes the push and pull factors that can lead to migration of people. It also includes the social and economic impacts of migration on different communities in a country. Also, it includes various reasons that leads to domestic and international migration of people. There has been concern about international migration in different services for some years now, but recently the situation has become more acute for a number of reasons, mostly reflected in severe staff and skill shortages in the different systems of many countries. While industrialized countries, in addressing the problem of staff shortages, become recipient countries and actively recruit migrants abroad, the emigration of qualified workers in a number of donor countries may undermine the functioning of their activities. INTRODUCTION:- Migration basically means the movement of people from one place to another. Migration is generally categorized as internal known as immigration or it can be external emigration. Voluntary migration is when people choose to move for a new job or a better education and forced migration is when they feel they have no choice but to move because their life is threatened or in danger or it may be due to famine, war or persecution. There have been various issues that are linked to migration that have come to limelight through series of workshops, conferences, panels, film screenings, cultural and artistic activities like human right aspects, living conditions, migrant workers rights, human trafficking, etc. All these issues have a great impact on migrant people as well as the locals. Rachel Sabates-Wheeler and Ian MacAuslan- the two socialists, argue that it is in the interests of migrants and both host and source country governments to investigate and fully understand the implications of l egal, physical and political access structures to social protection. ISSUES RELATED TO MIGRATION:- Policy debates about immigration generally focus on two broad themes: the impact of immigration upon the economy, and its soaial and cultural impact. The immigrants are seen taking the various resources, making it more difficult to unite the societies and undermining a sense of national identity. So, there is a need for these policy makers or the governing bodies to balance the economic need for migrants against the social problems they create. 1) Human Rights vs Migrants Rights:- It is imperative to focus on the respect of human rights and right of access to justice. Migrants rights are also as important as human rights. There should be a legislation that should refer to the economic, social and cultural contribution of migrants and Diaspora. 2) Trafficking of Persons mainly Children:- There have been many problems like difficult living conditions of minor migrant children between 9 and 18 years of age. In search of jobs in order to support their families, they often fall into the trap of adults who bring them in other countries and exploiting them mentally and sexually. There is an African Organization that is working with various organizations in ECOWAS region that aims at helping these children. 3) Forced Migration due to Physical Factors:- Climatic changes, temperature, lack of water supply, droughts, floods, etc. are also a major reason for emigration. So, there is a need for respective countries to revisit this phenomenon. The emigration of these people often exposes them to the risks of being trafficked, slavery or prostitution of women. 4) Migration to Access Descent Living Conditions:- Migration from rural areas to urban cities that can provide better living opportunities. There are many problems that are encountered like unemployment, hunger, disease and economic conditions that prevails in the rural areas. For this government has to take up some steps to help the people facing these hardships. 5) Diaspora to Local Development:- It can play a number of important roles in helping development of the home company. The primary route is no doubt by remitting to the home country. In addition, however, technology transfer and encouragement to trade and capital flows can be important in some settings, with highly skilled migrants playing a more visible role. ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF MIGRATION:- The effects of migration on sending countries depend critically on the magnitudes, composition and nature of the migration streams, as well as upon the specific context from which migrants are drawn. The departure of migrants involves a decline in the supply of labour and usually implies a fall in output unless there is a large pool of unemployed or underutilized labour. In the case of skilled emigration, productivity declines as well. Because of the departure of labour, changes in the composition of output are likely to occur depending on the sectoral employment of emigrants. Moreover, intra-household inequality may increase and family roles may also change as a result. As emigration continues and more people leave the country, output continues to fall. On the other hand, however, continuing migration improves the information flow and thus reduces the information and transaction costs related to migration. This reduced cost of migration encourages family members to accompany initial migrants; households start using migration as a livelihood strategy. Furthermore, the possibility of migration might also encourage those left behind to start investing in skills required to leave the country and seek improved prospects abroad. At this stage, the home countrys economy starts adjusting to migration. This may take the form of increased labour force participation by certain groups of the There are certain key aspects in relation to this:- Unskilled Labour Supply Flows:- Situations in which labour markets in the country of origin are tight, so that unemployment spells are brief and infrequent and underemployment rare. In such context, emigration of workers requires employers to raise wage offers to fill the resultant vacancies. The other one is in which the migrant workers are replaced at little or no wages to the employers where surplus labour exists. Costs imposed on employers are minimal and overall output is hardly be affected. Much of the emigration of low skilled labour occurs from poorly performing economies. Surplus labour conditions can be expected to prevail in among high emigration countries. Brain Drain:- The process of brain drain is considered as one of the negative impacts of international migration. The trained officials like engineers, doctors, scientists and others who are the future of their country, contribute to innovation, technological advancement and development of a country, migrate to other countries for jobs and other facilities. They cause a negative impact from the perspective of home countrys development. SOCIAL EFFECTS OF MIGRATION:- Although the economic effects of migration have been extensively studied, the social effects have received less attention. However, they are very important and often closely linked with the much more studied economic effects of migration. Migration may impact on social life in several ways and the impact will be different for different types of migration. The social effects of migration consist of changes in family composition, in gender roles, child outcomes in terms of labour, health and education, cultural effects and issues related to crime. Moreover migration may cause a shift in adolescents orientation, in the sense that children may consider migration as their ultimate goal and decide to pursue further education in order to increase their migration prospects. Apart from education, migration may impact on childrens health. Migration may have an important impact on migrants household lives in terms of family roles and gender roles within the family. In particular the selection of migrants within the household (whether it is the father, the mother or older children who migrate) will have an impact on the family members who stay behind and their roles within the household after migration has started. Most importantly the role of women in the household and subsequently in the society may change. The women whose husbands migrate, the outcome of migration depend on existing cultural practices and the flexibility of gender roles and family organization. Further the people who leave their birth place and flee to other countries are deprived of their cultures, languages, traditions, and other social activities that are also considered as a part of ones identity. As of now-a-days we are seeing in India, there have been many threats to the migrants from Assam who have settled in Bangalore are facing threats due to impending attack related to the communal violence in home state due to which students and workers flee back. The violence has spilled over to other states where Bodos and other ethnic tribal members from the impoverished north-east have migrated in search of jobs. Violence has also been reported in Hyderabad, western cities of Pune and Nashik affecting the migrants. MIGRATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES:- India as a nation has seen high migration rate in recent years. In 90s around 98 million people migrated from one place to another. Apart from women, migrating due to marriage, employment is the biggest factor for migration. The number of job seekers have increased by 45% over the previous decade. Nearly 14 million people migrated in search for jobs out of which 12 million was men. Migrants have created pressure on others who are in same job market. Most people migrate because of a combination of push and pull factors. Lack of rural employment, fragmentation of land holdings and declining public investment in agriculture create a crisis for rural Indians. Urban areas and some rural areas with industrial development or high agricultural production offer better prospects for jobs or self-employment. No of Migrants (in million) 1951-61 66 1961-71 68.2 1971-81 81 1981-91 80.9 1991-2001 98.3 The onset of mass immigration from India, Pakistan and the Caribbean in the late 1940s and the 1950s coincided with the dismantling of the British Empire, and the decline of Britains global status. Immigration became the focus for the debate about these broader shifts. The perception that immigrants were alien to the British way of life ensured that the relationship between immigrants and the British state was defined largely by hostility, racism and confrontation. Not only was immigration policy driven by the desire specifically to keep out non-whites, but the state also viewed non-white immigrants settled in Britain as undesirables. Immigrants were the problem, and that problem had to be policed. This led both to discrimination against blacks and Asians in every sphere of social life, including housing, education and employment, and to confrontations with the police, confrontations that came to an explosive climax in a series of major riots in Britains inner cities in the late 1970 s and the early 1980s. Nearly eight million immigrants entered the United States from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in the nations history, 3.7 million of them entered illegally. Since 1986 Congress has passed seven amnesties for illegal immigrants. In 1986 president Ronald Reagan signed immigration reform that gave amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants in the country. Hispanic immigrants were among the first victims of the late-2000s recession, but since the recessions end in June 2009, immigrants posted a net gain of 656,000 jobs. Over 1 million immigrants were granted legal residence in 2011.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Religion and Faith Essay -- essays research papers

Religion/Faith Over the last several decades America has been evolving towards many significant changes. One of these changes has posed a question, whether or not America has become secular. Although we may be uncertain of many of these changes and how they will affect our future, the answer to our secularity is quite obvious. America has indeed become secular. I think that in a society where being successful is everything, our religious beliefs tend to get lost in the "survival of the fittest" lifestyle that we lead everyday. Of course we all have certain standards in which we believe and live by. A good example of the standard behavior that makes us so secular is in Wil Herbergs essay This American Way Of Life. Herbergs says so well , "the American way of life is a symbol by which Americans define themselves and establish their unity." The author means to imply that unity is something we all strive for. To be American is to be part a huge family, no matter what gender, color, or background. We stick together. We fight together, we laugh together, we grieve together as Americans. Terms like democracy, individuality, self-reliance are all words we relate to as Americans. We teach our kids that we should be grateful everyday to be Americans. In this country we can choose our own destination. We can be whatever we want. I think that being a s...

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Curse of Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

The Curse of Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's more popular plays, and nearly everyone knows about the abundant blood and gore, the witches, Lady Macbeth's ambition, and the ghost of Banquo. However, not as many people know about the superstitions that surround this play.   There's a long-standing belief that the play is jinxed, than any company that produces it is courting disaster, and that quoting from the play (or even saying the title) leads to serious bad luck.    There's no doubt that several superstitions are associated with Macbeth.   Many actors refuse to say the name of the play but rather refer to it as "The Scottish Play" or even "The Plaid Play" (Gero).  Ã‚   Some go even further, referring to it as "The Unmentionable" or even "That Play" (Demcisak 8). Actors also look unkindly on anyone who says the name of the title character or quotes from the play while in the theater. The only way to "cure" the problem created is to perform a ritual. For instance, the offending actor may be required to turn around three times and spit over his left shoulder, or turn around three times and quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream (Faulkner).    What's the evidence for the curse or jinx? Bad luck certainly seems to follow productions of Macbeth.According to legend, during the play's first production, the boy who played Lady Macbeth died backstage (Rozakis 245).   In 1849, three of New York's theaters were featuring Macbeth, and two of the lead actors had a serious rivalry going. Edwin Forrest (one of the Macbeths) reportedly encouraged some of his followers to disrupt the production at his rival's theater. In the resulting riot, thirty-one people were killed (Demcisak 7).    Demcisak reports more tra... ...lt;http://ws.bowiestate.edu/archives/1995/0075.html>. Gagen, Steven. "The Scottish Play." Online posting. 6 Feb. 1995.   Ã‚  Ã‚   SHAKSPER@ws.bowiestate.edu. 7 March 2001   Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://ws.bowiestate.edu/archives/1995/0075.html>. Gero, Edward. "Re: The Scottish Play." Online posting. 8 Feb. 1995.   Ã‚  Ã‚   SHAKSPER@ws.bowiestate.edu. 12 March 2001   Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://ws.bowiestate.edu/archives/1995/0088.html>. "Ivanov Goes to Moscow." ArtsZone.   2 March 2001.   Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://www.ovationtv.com/artszone/programs/ivanov/wild.html>. Rozakis, Laurie. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare. New York: Alpha,   Ã‚  Ã‚   1999. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction,   Ã‚  Ã‚   Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New   Ã‚  Ã‚   York: Longman, 1999. 1522-1634.            

Friday, October 11, 2019

Determining The Longetivity Of E.Coli’s Gaining Resistance Ability: A Comparison Between The Bacteriophage T-4 And Antibiotic

The surfacing of a variety of drugs for resisting antibiotic for disease-inflicting bacteria has already been a big issue and at the same a vital dilemma in treating all types of human diseases. This immediately requires another option, a substitute way of providing therapy to the human diseases. It has been found in previous researches and experiments the wonders of having bacteriophages highly considered to be â€Å"healing viruses. † John MacGregor (2003) has brought up an intriguing issue regarding bacteriophages when he wrote his research article entitled â€Å"Set A Bug To Catch A Bug†.Apart from the title, his words were â€Å"As the power of antibiotic wanes, viruses that hijack bacteria and smash them into pieces could be the answer to our prayers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . He explained in his article the possibilities of replacing antibiotics as the solution to a lot of virus-causing diseases including virus infections. Bacteriophages were first discovered by a British c hemist named E. H. Hankin. It was considered to be a virus in 1915 by Frederick Twort, a British bateriologisy. The occurrence of that first intrigue found by Dr.Hankin paved its way for more discoveries performed by a Canadian microbiologist named Felix d’Herelle. He agreed with Twort when he also considered it to be a virus and then later he named it as a â€Å"bacteriophage†. Upon his successful experimentations, he was confident that these bacteriophages will be very helpful and at the same time when he used them with the children who were almost dying dysentery at a hospital in Paris. The test solutions were distributed to every patient hoping that it will be effective, and fortunately, these cured the children for just one night.With D’Herelle’s primary success, the use of phage therapy was further studied. From then on, the advantages it provides were widely spread globally. These page therapies are utilized in a variety of ways. It can be taken or given topically, orally, can be injected, using enemas and aerosols. Diseases that were treated by this phage therapy included urinary tract infections, typhoid and cholera. The use of phage therapy slowly faded when AMA or the American Medical Association reported contradictory results of using phages. Antibiotic age came in when penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1982.Fleming’s discovery flourished for 20 years making the phage therapy out of sight. But still a lot of microbiologists became very attractive to what bacteriophages could provide medically, improving different aspects of health and curing more diseases. There was a time after the Communist era when phages were considered to be the â€Å"last resort† antibiotics when the decline for antibiotics took place. This was indeed an alarming situation worldwide. But this did not become hindrance in reviving the hidden attributes of bacteriophages.Bacteriophages are defined by Toronto, Funke and Ca se (2001) as viruses that host in bacteria and in bacterial cultures, they can be grown easily. This has been significant since bacteriophages are the main sources of multiplying viruses. How do bacteriophages multiply? The basic procedure in which multiplication of viruses happens is just the same as the other viruses and it is not affected by any means by which the entering and the exiting of a virus into a host cell differs. Most life cycles of a virus are difficult to understand but a bacteriophage is an exception.They are the easiest to be learned and be understood. Bacteriophages, also called â€Å"phages†, can be multiplied using two substitute processes. The first one is called the lytic cycle which leaves the host cell to a lysis or death. The second one is called the lysogenic cycle where the host cell lives. T-even bacteriophages such as T2, T4 and T6 are the phage types that are most studied. Using the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) as a host, with the use o f lytic cycle, multiplication of the T-even bacteriophages can be demonstrated easily from one process to another.There are 5 stages involved starting from attachment, penetration, biosynthesis, maturation and release. During the first stage, attachment, the particles of the bactriophage and the bacteria collide. A chemical connection occurs between the attachment site from the virus and the bacterial cells’ complementary receptor site. A chemically produced interaction from the connection enables bonds that are weak to be formed from the two sites by using their fibered tail ends. During the stage of penetration, DNA is being injected by the T-even bacteriophages into the bacterium after connecting occurs.This is done when an enzyme called the phage lysozyme is released by the tail of the bacteriophage which in turn destroys the walls of the bacterial cell. In the penetration process, the phage’s sheath tail contracts and the core of the tail enters the cell wall. If the core’s tip has already reached the plasma membrane, the DNA from the head of the bacteriophage will pass through the tail core, it will eventually enter the bacterial cell. During the stage of biosynthesis, the DNA of the bacteriophage will initiate synthesis direction of the components of the virus by the host cell.Once the components of the virus are being put in place and are brought together into virions, the maturation stage occurs. When the lyses of the host cell and the new virions have already been released, it is referred to as the release stage (Toronto, Funke and Case; 2001). Bacteriophages have been found to exhibit a lot of features. They are tested to be of big use with local infections in relation to poor supply of blood like diabetic ulcers and infections of the bone. Unlike antiobiotics, these phages were keenly observed to multiply inside their host cell which enables them to penetrate more deeply to the area being infected.Another distinguishing feature of phage therapies is its ability to inflict no allergies, resulting to a fewer side effects. Phage therapies in addition are easier and are cheaper to produce than antibiotics. On the other hand, bacteriophages have their limitations concerning their fatality once they have already killed the harmful bacteria. But these issues should not lower the hopes of the society depending on the future developments of phages. In an interview (Society for Gen. Micro. , 2008), they have shared that modern scientists and researchers have already found ways of prolonging the lifespan of viruses.This new and possible idea is by combining them chemically with polymers but still this is limiting since it will likely cause poisoning of the blood and is surely a big threat to one’s life. The main objective of this project is to determine the longetivity of the bacterium Escherichia coli’s gaining resistance ability in two different viral invaders: the bacteriophage T-4 and an antibiotic . At the end of this project, results should report a comparison between these two, answering which has the longest and the most effective invading mechanism. B. METHODS AND PROCEDURES (EXPERIMENT PROTOCOL)Throughout the following procedures of this project, a strict Aseptic Technique will be used. During the whole duration of the experiment, a strict technique called the Aseptic Technique will be applied. According to a web article research, written by Hauswirth and Sherk (2007), they defined the aseptic technique as an accumulation of unique practices acquired and a set of processes undergone whose conditions are carefully controlled with an objective of minimizing pathogen contamination. In any type of clinical setting, the technique is used to maximize and stabilize pathogenic organisms’ absence.Its main goal is to simply protect a patient from infection and cease any possible spreading to other body parts. Prevention of infections are not achieved simply by sanitizing or disinfecting. In about more than 27 million surgical operations, surgical sites are the third most prone to more hospital infections prolonging, in effect, the hospital stay of the patient and at the same time, hospital bills become so expensive. The estimate was according to CDC or Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hauswirth and Sherk, 2007).The main objective of performing this experiment is to identify the required length of time for a common bacterium called Escherichia coli (E. coli) to achieve its maximum log phase growth. When these cells have already arrived in its expression of maximum amount of bacteriophage receptors, it will eventually lead to an immediate vulnerability to infection. The bacterium E. coli must always be utilized at this stage of growth all through out the procedures to be able to achieve desirable results upon comparing of two different experiments.In beginning the procedures of the experiment, first, an overnight growth of culture will be prep ared to be able to supply the growth curve with inoculum. The growth of the culture will be done in a shaking incubator with a temperature of 37 degrees Centigrade. The culture preparation will also be dependent on what culture is available, its slope, its colony or plate, and inoculate broth of the culture. Second, a 1 ml of culture that will be prepared overnight and a 99 ml of inoculate nutrient broth (NB) will be taken and will be placed in a flask that is sterilized and flat-bottomed type.Through a process called resuspension, a sterilized tube containing a sample of 5 ml will be gently swirled, will be collected and will be marked Time Zero. The sterilized flat-bottomed flask will be placed inside the shaking incubator. Third, samples containing 5 ml each will be collected at a per hour interval. This will be done for 8 consecutive 8 hours and will be marked Time 1, Time 2, Time 3, Time 4 . . . Time 8. All samples will be stored at +4 degrees Centigrade. Fourth, the remains of the culture that has been prepared overnight will be left for one more night.At exactly 9 am the next day, a last sample of the culture remains will be collected. Fifth, from a sample of 400 nm and another sample of 450 nm, the OD of each sample will be measured. The LB or NB will be used but will be left blank if necessary. If in case, the OD will exceed 1. 0, both sample 1 and sample 2 that were used in LB and NB will be diluted and will be read for the second time. Sixth, the strict aseptic technique will be used in preparing for colony counts in each sample. The amount of workable cells (per ml) will be identified.Seventh, plotting will be done. A growth curve will be plotted and both the cell number and time will be involved in doing this. Eighth, another growth curve will be plotted. This time cell number and OD will be involved in the plotting. Ninth, the required time to reach the midway of the log phase growth will be identified. In doing this, cells within the time length , identified prior to the succeeding experiment, will be grown. Tenth and last step of these experiment procedures, the connection between the cells and the OD will be analyzed.All results acquired all through out the process of this experiment will be recorded and will be evaluated accordingly. References: Hauswirth, K. & Sherk, S. D. (2007) Aseptic Technique [Internet]. Available from < http://www. surgeryencyclopedia. com/A-Ce/Aseptic-Technique. html> [Accessed 8 May 2008] Tortora, Funke & Case (2001) Microbiology: An Introduction. 7th ed. Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc. Craigie, J. (2002) The Significance and Applications of Bacteriophage in Bacteriological and Virus Research [Internet]. Available from [Accessed 8 May 2008]

Thursday, October 10, 2019

HBR case

While MS gained the biggest share in SO market, it could not achieve the same dominance in PC applications. The organization of Office Business Unit (BOB) in MS had departments that were functionally independent. M's initial software development was at a large part decided by technicians who are enthusiastic in programming but less focused on user experience. In mid asses, they formally introduced program management into he development of new products.The project/tech lead, program manager, product manager, online/print-based lead and localization lead worked together in a cohesive endeavor for the office product. Although MS boasted its' small company style which had small teams work together, the problem between product managers and developers was they didn't cooperate very closely. Lack of communication and mutual understanding, they both acted in their own ways. Since M's culture was ‘people know what they are doing and will try to do the right thing, they didn't make enoug h effort to fix it.The development of Word for Windows was behind schedule when it first started. The requirements included too many features regarding the interface and integration with other applications, e. G. Database, spreadsheet, data protection etc. And frequent changes of management, e. G. The absence of technical lead had prolonged the development process. Besides, pressure on the schedule made it even more difficult for engineers to assure quality of the product. Although facing these difficulties, the program finally completed successfully.The market condition was also favorable to the Windrow since the product had fewer bug than expected and its' competitor's products were still under development. Ideas for improving product development in process, management and develop strategies came up based on the postmortem of BOB office development. It is now a consensus that more structured process, especially an early specification, and clear phases for design and implementation would help MS stick to the schedule. Some managers at MS contend that lack of control and focus in management was the major weak-point.I cannot totally agree with that, because if we need the teams to stay small and agile, there are definitely tradeoffs in management control. Last but not the least, it is also said that development strategy has been unsatisfactory for Word development. The share of code between products of different platform was difficult in the initial phases of development, but I don't think we should blame too much on OBI-G'S development strategy since they were already aware of the problem. If they decided to deal with this problem, the release of Word would be even later, and it would probably brought them into unfavorable market conditions.