Basketball: Then vs. Now Essay

The sport of basketball was invented 113 years ago. The first original 13 rules of basketball are much different than the rules today. Not only have the rules evolved, but also the number of players, regulation time, and mainly just the dynamics of the game altogether. After explanation, you will be able to see how many changes basketball has truly undergone to become what it is now. The original 13 rules of basketball written by James Naismith are as follows: 1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. 2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands (never with the fist). 3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man who catches the ball when running at a good speed if he tries to stop. 4. The ball must be held in or between the hands; the arms or body must not be used for holding it. 5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule by any player shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute allowed. 6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violation of Rules 3,4, and such as described in Rule 5. 7. If either side makes three consecutive fouls, it shall count a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the mean time making a foul). 8. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds  into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal. 9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. In case of a dispute, the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds; if he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on that side. 10. The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have power to disqualify men according to Rule 5. 11. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made, and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee. 12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves, with five minutes’ rest between. 13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner. In case of a draw, the game may, by agreement of the captains, be continued until another goal is made. Of course, if you have any common knowledge of how basketball is played, you know very well that today’s play is much different. Many of these rules have changed, including the dribble. Dribbling was created as an escape from the defense. Players could also run down the court tapping the ball in the air without it touching the floor, or could dribble the ball using both hands. Now days, you cannot move with the ball unless you are using a one handed dribble. Until 1916, a player could not shoot after dribbling. He had to pass the ball. Scoring has also changed much since then. In the beginning, field goals  counted for one point, and a player who fouled was sent to a penalty box, as in hockey. If a team fouled three consecutive times, the opponent got a field goal. This rule was eventually replaced by free throws. By 1895, field goals were worth two points and free throws one. For many years, each team had one player who shot all the free throws. That rule was changed in 1910 by a New York league that required who was fouled to shoot the free throw. This rule still holds today. There are also boundary lines on the basketball court marking in and out of bounds. Before the creation of those, when a ball went anywhere on the court, the team that got to the ball first gained possession. This caused teams to go crashing into the spectators, walls, and hallways. Today, we have out of bounds and whichever team caused the ball to go out of bounds, the opponents gain possession with a throw-in. Other changes such as uniform colors, dunking rules, regulations on backboards, time-outs, overtime, fouling out, backcourt rules, free throws, and three pointers were also engaged in change, some over and over again until they became what they are today. There was much controversy about the three pointer. It was invented for a catch up method when a team was behind. Indeed, this did work, and in 1980, Western Carolina’s Ronnie Carr drilled a three-point field goal, the first in the history of basketball. Few rules have ever impacted the game of basketball as the introduction of the three pointer. College coaches and many other personnel were interested with the three and there was never any talk of getting rid of it. Not only was it a great offensive weapon for teams, it was also very exciting, resulting in higher ticket sales, and it required more skill than the older popular attraction, the dunk. Basketball is a great American sport, and perhaps one that requires the most skill along with a great mental game. Personally, it is one of my favorites, and it is amazing how it has evolved from 1891 to 2004.

Do You Agree with the View That, by 1882, the Concept of the ‘Angel in the House’ Had Been Overturned?

Edexcel P 29 B Type Essay 4(b) study the sources F, G and H and use your own knowledge. Do you agree with the view that, by 1882, the concept of the ‘angel in the house’ had been overturned? The angel in house concept was very popular in the 19th century and it was a custom that many wives conformed to. The ‘angel in the house’ was described by Coventry Patmore’s poem towards his wife and how he fulfilled his needs by being altruistic.Men and women also had ‘separate spheres’ which was the ideology that men should conformed to public affairs and women should conform to private affairs within the home. However, by 1882, ideology changed and more women decided that they did not only want to conform to private affairs but they should be able to be public and voice their ideas, the concept had been changed slightly, however not completely overturned as many women still conformed to the ‘angel in the house’ concept.Source F was wr itten by Caroline Norton and published in 1854. It implies that the concept had not been overturned, as she is referring to the power that her husband still contained with the custody of their children. This shows that Caroline was rebelling against the norms that a wife should have towards her husband. In Caroline’s accounts of her years married to her husband she describes that he was physically violent towards her and on many occasions family members had to get involved.Caroline speaking out towards her husband in court showed merely that she was courageous enough to rebel against the ‘angel in the house’ concept. Source G supports Caroline in a way that one of the images shows a husband being physically abusing his wife. This adds supports to Caroline as it portrays in the image the language in which Caroline uses to describe her feelings towards her husband which are negative and shocking as many women would not dare to talk about their husband in that way.S ource G challenges the concept because in 1864 there was the First Contagious Disease Act which was an act which was the need to reduce venereal diseases. This was strongly campaigned by Josephine Butler, one of the first emerging feminists. The cartoon claims ‘Is Marriage a Failure – As a rule –Yes! ’ which is ironic because it is claiming that marriage, the ballpoint of keeping society was failing, however, the concept of ‘the angel in the house’ was still being fought to stay within the household and the stronghold of keeping all women conformed to the ‘separate spheres’.Source H is from Melanie Phillips, whose perspective on the ‘angel in the house’ is viewed nostalgically. In her analysis she is able to show the ‘paradox behind the double standard’ which was shown thoroughly through the Divorce Reform, it is challenging the idea that women cannot be in the house and speaking out, voicing their ideas publically. Nevertheless, it portrays that woman are still able to be in the house and also participate publically.In conclusion, it can be argued that the ‘angel in the house’ was not overturned however women still wanted to voice their opinions and stand up for inequality even if it was in marriage which was seen as unacceptable but stay in the household supporting their family. Nevertheless the concept had been slightly changed with feminists such as Caroline Norton and Josephine Butler’s campaigns supporting women’s rights, which a century ago would seen as an abomination making a female speak out without the permission from her husband. The ‘angel in the house’ concept had been slightly changed in 1882 however not completely overturned.

To what extent should we attribute the 1979 Iranian Revolution to Essay

To what extent should we attribute the 1979 Iranian Revolution to Khomeinis leadership - Essay Example However, the Soviet Union was not involved in overthrowing the government, which was led by Shah. Initially, demonstrations started in 1977 in October (Harmon, 2004:5). This was followed by civil resistance from the people, especially the population that was affiliated to the Islamic religion. In the wake of 1978, the demonstrations escalated. During the demonstrations, 2 policemen and 6 protesters were confirmed dead. However, Khomeini declared that 70 were martyrs, including his son. The continued demonstrations were threatening to paralyse the country, especially in the end of 1978. This led to the exile of Shah on the January 16th in 1979. This marked the start of a new regime in Iran, led by Khomeini (Adib-Moghaddam, 2014:1). Through all these activities, Khomeini has various attributes that led to the overthrowing of Shah in Iran. To begin with, Khomeini advocated for the rights of all the people in the country. In essence, he was a unifying factor in the country, as he was destined to protect the rights of all the people. As a result, he unified student’s unions, religions affiliations and other organisations that were disinterested in the current leadership. The attribute of unifying score of people to fight for an ostensible reason was instrumental in the revolution (Adib-Moghaddam, 2014:1). It is noted that many revolutions are successful when people engage large numbers. Therefore, Khomeini used this particular attribute to ensure the revolution was successful. Similarly, he engaged Islamic principles in the fight. Though the educated clerics, he was able to interpret the Islamic principles, and explained them to the masses. This led to acceptance to fight against the government of the day, as they wanted liberation. During the revolution, Khomeini instigated the slogan â€Å"neither east nor west† in gathering the masses. He stated that the most important thing for the Iranians was freedom.

The best of intentions Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The best of intentions - Case Study Example If Cynthia offers the job to Steve, the company has a very high chance of losing their customers and if this happens, then it means they will all be out of work. This is a dilemma as Steve is the most qualified candidate and can take their company to the next level but he also prevents the growth of the company in that region where discrimination is still high. Letting him go is the best decision for everyone. If Steve is hired, it means that he cannot carry out his job to avoid losing the customers which simply impedes his growth in the company and the end result either way will be to let him go. It is better to not hire him and give him false hopes but simply let him find a better place without discrimination where he can exercise his potential. I would not take the job for the simple reason that I would be a hidden employee who is not at liberty to meet the customers whom I am supposed to work with. I would not want to be an invisible employee because invisible employees have no room for growth. Growth in nay organization requires being on the limelight showcasing one’s work but since appearing in the limelight will drive away the white customers, and then it is better not to take the job than have regrets years later. Steve should look at his goals and what he wants to achieve in the next several years. If he wants to expand his career and develop, or if he has big dreams for his future, then he should not take the job as the dream and goals will not be achieved. The parties need to sit down and draw of plan on how best Steve can be fruitful to the company while at the same time not anger and drive away their customers if they are to remain in business. The will need to find the best position for Steve in the company, one which will not hinder his development and impede his future growth while still providing his best skills and abilities to the

Mystical Traditions between Christianity and Judaism Essay

Mystical Traditions between Christianity and Judaism - Essay Example Similarly, Judaism too relies heavily on the mystical side along with a hard core of established creed handed down through generations. The presence of an omnipotent and omnipresent superpower, high up somewhere, directing all activities of its followers, is the focal point of Judaist traditions. The general belief of all Jews regarding their holy texts, centers on the historical tradition that the laws of living were handed down to them from god directly to Moses. This idea continues to be applied in the belief that a particular geographical area was allocated to them, which constitutes the 'state of Israel'. The monotheistic belief on which the religion of Judaism is built has ensured the strict adherence of all its followers to the laws laid down in the holy scriptures of the Jews. One of the common examples of Judaist traditions that have been studied in great depth, is the golem, which is explained as the transference of power from God (above) to a human-like creature (below) that is brought into being though a series of ritualistic practices. There is an allusion to the transcendental function of spiritual power that flows from the top, to the believers below. Knapp (1979) speaks in detail about the contradictions of good and evil in the golem belief. Judaist traditions, over the years, have undergone a lot of change, understandably so, with the upheavals in history. The daily observances with regard to eating habits, bodily functions, spiritual rites and interpersonal relations have morphed with the influences of not just other religions but also due to the geo-political and economic pressures that have been felt in the recent past. The laws of living or the indigenous traditions that are internalized in Judaism have no doubt adapted to the changing scenario, in the last century. Traditions in Christianity: The traditional belief in the existence of the Trinity (the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit) indicates a foundation of the triumvirate, which is the cornerstone of Christianity. Talking about the traditional practices of this religion, brings us once again to the code of living enshrined in the Old and New Testaments. While the former spoke about the origin of the race of man and his subsequent exile from paradise (caused by temptations),the latter focuses on one of the most important doctrines of the Christian church - that God became man. The belief that Jesus Christ (the son of God) was born on earth as a man, in order to save the world from annihilation is the premise on which the Bible (the New Testament) is written. The belief is that the world was full of sinners who could be saved only if a savior could give up his life. (1977 edition) Whether it is the religious observances of festivals or other occasions, such as the birth, marriage or death of individuals, the Christian religion lays down a set of universally accepted rules provided the demarcations of the various sects are well drawn and noted. In other words, different sects have different traditions that are also impacted with the geographical and ethnic factors that vary with time and place. A comparison and a conclusion: Similarities in the religious traditional practices of Judaism and Christianity are strongly evident. This may be due to the fact that they have distinctly similar origins. The belief about Yahweh or Jehovah

Role of Mergers & Acquisitions in Organizational Change Research Paper

Role of Mergers & Acquisitions in Organizational Change - Research Paper Example It happens when an organization wants to enter into a new market or wants to lower the cost of production. Other organizations use this method to increase their market share in the market. This report demonstrates the crucial role played by the merger and acquisition in organizational change. Thesis Mergers and acquisitions play a vital role in the organizational change. This role can be developed if it is highlighted and addressed adequately. Introduction Definition Organizational change is the process by which a company or organization goes through change with an aim of remaining more relevant and achieve its goals within the right time, (Cassiman & Colombo, 2006). This change occurs when there is a change in business strategy, when an organization wants to rebrand or when there is a major change in parts the entire organization. These changes are important for an organization to remain relevant in the dynamic market field. The process of organizational change involves making bold changes and it may also involve expansion of the organization. Mergers and acquisitions play a major role in the process of organizational change. The issue of acquisition and mergers involves having a corporate strategy in matter to do with buying, selling and division of companies, (DePamphilis, 2008). This involves companies with similar entities coming together in the process of merger and agreeing on terms and condition of operation. A merger is slightly different from an acquisition. Takeover Acquisition is also known as take over. This process involves buying of the entire business entity. This may end up expanding the company that has bought the business entity, (Finkelstein 2010). Nature of acquisitions The term consolidation refers to a union of two or more companies to form a new joint business initiative. This means that none of the tow companies can survive independent of each other. It is also know n as merger of companies. We have both private and public acquisitions. The key point here is that acquisition and merger are done as part of the company’s strategy either in venturing into a new market of remaining relevant and expansion of the organization. If the target company has been listed in the stock exchange then it’s not a public acquisition acquisitions can either be public or private, (Mikael & Jani, 2011). Acquisitions can also be classified as hostile or friendly. The process of acquisition is very detailed and involves many steps. This is why studies show that 50 per cent of the acquisitions done are successful while others are not. In other words, acquisitions are difficult to achieve. The acquisition is perceived either as friendly or hostile depending on how the idea of buying the target company is communicated. In friendly cases, the negotiations are done in private that every deal is based on mutual agreement with the companies involved. In case of the hostile acquisitions the target company’s boards of directo rs are caught unawares. The company is sold without their knowledge, (Mikael & Jani, 2011). Hostile acquisitions can end up being friendly acquisitions with time. This happens due to improved terms of agreement after the procurement process. When we talk about acquisition, we are referring to a large company or organization procuring a small company. There are instances where the smaller company acquires the control of

Christopher Columbus, journal excerpts and letter Essay

Christopher Columbus, journal excerpts and letter - Essay Example The sojourner reached remote islands and places. He named the first island found San Salvador in honor to Lord and Saviour who gave such ‘miracle’ (Cohen, 1992, p. 115) although natives called it Guanahani. The second island he has gone to was named Santa Maria de Concepcion, the third was â€Å"Fernandina† and the fourth was â€Å"Isabela†. The fifth island was named â€Å"Juana† (Cohen 1992 p. 115). What catches Columbus’ attention as he makes and encounters the native islanders? When Columbus met some native men gathered he immediately took notice of their masculine features, long hair and bodies painted in black, red and white. His compassion made him think that these persons should be converted to Christianity â€Å"by love and not by force†. (Cohen 1992) He also noticed that there were villagers who immediately left their homes when the ships were seen to have arrived in the area. In his report, he described his amazement at how these people received their gifts and their strong interest in material things was illustrated by how the natives immediately put these materials on their body (Mar, 1996).

Effect of mentoring in education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effect of mentoring in education - Essay Example Beyene and colleagues (2002) defined mentoring as a process in which two people engage in a mutually beneficial mentor-mentee relationship. Practically, the role of the mentor is also reflected within the definition. For example, the mentor's role is to serve as a model of appropriate attitudes, values, and behaviours for the mentee; to convey unconditional positive regard; and to provide a forum in which the mentee is encouraged to talk openly about anxieties and fears. At work, the mentor should interact informally with the mentee, thus maintaining a positive and informal relationship. Beyene and colleagues (2002) state that the role of the mentor is to provide emotional support, information, advisement; to share values, facilitate access to key networks, motivate, be a role model, and protect the mentee. Also, the mentor should provide activities that allow for shared information. The purpose of mentoring in educational setting can often be both complex and highly difficult at times. Common mentor programs have similar purposes and those include helping someone inexperienced learn a new job, improving instructional performance via modeling by an experienced teacher, attracting the best candidates by using mentoring as a recruitment tool, and responding to local or state mandates. From the critical perspective, there are several key things that can make an individual a stronger, more effective mentor in education setting. It has been encouraged that individual mentors not forget the importance of serving as a nurturer. Often, when workloads become heavier and deadlines quickly approach, the nurturing component can be mistakenly abandoned. Through... In an earlier quantitative study, Stroot and colleagues (1999) surveyed 85 first-year teachers in a large urban school district. The survey focused on the components of teaching and the role of the mentor. The researchers asserted that mentoring programs are necessary to assist first-year teachers in transition into the urban school setting. Often, first-year teachers are not given the transition support necessary for classroom success; thus, mentoring can provide much needed assistance to ensure success in the classroom both for the mentee and for the students. According to Darling-Hammond (2003), mentoring is a strategy that will retain first year teachers in the field. Everston and Smithey (2000) conducted a study with two school districts to examine the efficacy of using a research-based mentoring program to assist mentor teachers in supporting their mentees. The researchers collected data using questionnaires, narrative records, classroom observations, weekly summaries of mentor ing meetings, and ratings of student behaviours in the classroom. Everston and Smithey (2000) noted that mentees of the mentors who participated in a research-based mentoring program were more organised, managed instruction at the beginning of the year, and established more workable classroom routines. Additionally, the mentees noted better student behaviour in the classroom. Overall, trained mentors were able to provide more effective support to their mentees.

4. Strategic management- evaluation of the article Coursework - 1

4. Strategic management- evaluation of the article - Coursework Example It will examine the guidelines and also the code of conduct under which the directors or rather the board of directors operates under. It also shows the practices which they undertake in order to ensure the success of the company. This will also give knowledge on how the stakeholders’ diversity can be used in order to create appropriate boards that will promote the activities of the CSR. This involves taking stakeholders with different opinions on different issues that will affect the company and putting them togetherKhan, (2010). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of governance that is brand new and is mostly used by almost all modern organizations. In the different companies, there are several and different form of governance. They are used to solve several situations in order to have a good outcome and for them to be productive. There is a simple example which states that in case there is an asset that is owned by a particular organization and it is under stake, if the approach chosen to handle the issue is sole ownership, it would be the worst approach to be used by the governors of the organization. The best way to handle such a situation would be that the board of directors take action. The CSR is proving to be a strong and suitable way to solve most of these problems. The boards of directors are very positive towards the strategy. This has improved the performance of many companies. This is also very favourable since it includes and involves the shareholders and even the stakeholders. This has added the strength of the strategy. Most of the parties involved in the stakeholders group are the managers, suppliers, employees and even some outside firms might be counted in. But there are still problems and setbacks with the strategy as compared with other systems of governance. Some of the managers tend to want to exercise control over the other

Do Modern Forms of Administration and Discipline Undermine the Essay

Do Modern Forms of Administration and Discipline Undermine the Liberties and Rights Promised by the Modern State - Essay Example An initial discussion of what the modern state represents shall be presented, followed by an evaluation of the current forms of administration. A deeper analysis of how these modern forms of administration impact on the modern state shall then be presented. Body The modern state The Montevideo Convention explains that a state is one which possesses the following elements: a defined territory, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter to government relations. This criterion for statehood was arrived at in 1935 and supported by the world in general. Max Weber presents another conceptualization of the state, one which is derived from the early beginnings of statehood. He defines the state to be â€Å"a human continuity that claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory† (Weber, 1958, p. 78). Weber’s definition also points out that the state must have the absolute control over the legitimate application of force ( New York University, 2002). The concept of legitimacy has not always been easy to define with various actions being carried out by the state in the name of such legitimate authority; however, these actions have not always been technically legitimate. Moreover, for purposes of securing state functions, the components of legitimacy have not been strictly met (New York University, 2002). The use of force which is attributed to the state is therefore not always based on a legitimate exercise of power. This also suggests that a state’s use of force may not always need to be legitimate, for as long as the perceptions of the people are assuaged in terms of the legitimacy of such force (New York University, 2002). Another element of Weber’s concept of the state is on the monopoly by the state on the legitimate exercise of force. This monopoly has always been a source of issue among theorists and scholars because there have been acknowledged instances where non-state actors hav e legitimately used force (Foucault, 1980). This was seen in instances when force was used by non-state actors like the Irish Republican Army, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestine areas, and the exercise of force by the Al-Qaeda in Iraq; these actions are considered by many experts as a legal application of force in response to foreign interference and oppression (New York University, 2002). However, in terms of other perspectives on the use of force, one’s side in the conflict can often make a difference on the judgment made on such force. The bottom line is that it is not clearly apparent that a state actually has a monopoly on the application of force (New York University, 2002). In effect, other scholars have not actively considered the use of the term monopoly in characterizing a state’s application of force. Modern administration Political analysts discuss that the modern state has now a significant control over the practice and use of violence in the cou ntry. They echo Max Weber as he expresses that the state’s exclusive right to use force is crucial to its ability to function. These idea for the modern state was not however true during the 16th and 17th century when the concept of the modern state was still being introduced (Hirst, 1997). At that time, small and contentious political entities did not have the right to claim these territories, and on the other hand, other leaders

United Nation Science Essay Example for Free

United Nation Science Essay United Nation Science by Kofi This article tackles the issue of human dependence on technology and the role of information technology in globalization. The author also proves the fact the human’s dependency on technology is growing as new innovation are being developed. The effect of this dependency on human relationship and interaction was also discussed. Although information technology has great contribution in globalization, its effect on human interaction, culture and values are also considerable. As technology advances, we are losing our humanity as viewed by the author. Communication Technology Update by Grant and Meadows The book on Communication Technology Update provides a timeline for the development in the field of communication technology from books, newspaper and periodicals to phones to internet. Thus, it offers an introduction to the field of communication technology which is the topic of this paper. It is important to know the trends in the development of technology in order to have an overview or rather a glimpse of what is to come. It also proves the point that human’s reliance on technology for communication is increasing with the advances in the said field. The article also shows how fast information technology is growing. The W5H of Technology by Hallen The W5H of technology by Hallen provides additional information about information technology. It also describes the different type of communication in from the simplest to the most complex in terms of the number of individuals involved. Hallen introduced the readers to what there is to know about technology, the basics as well as the important. The influences of technology were also studied, both the positive and the negative effects. The main importance of technology was development and globalization that was made possible through the innovations in technology while technology dependency was the negative effect. This belief coincides with the main argument of this paper and so is very useful as a reference. Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development by Morales-Gomez and Melesse The article by Morales-Gomez and Melesse offered to question the impacts of technology on society. They argue that although technology has brought great development in society, there are areas that had to be explored; some areas were technology harms rather than helps. They also view the fast development made possible by technology as unrealistic and dangerously naive. The authors also explored the long term effects of information technology in a nation’s social and cultural system. Thus, the article offers support of my claim on this paper. Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality? by Ogunsola This article examines the revolution in the field of information technology. It also tackles the issue of globalization as well as its impact in developing countries. The authors argue that information technology is widening the gap between the poor and the developing countries. They also offer and evaluated the concept of â€Å"digital slavery†. Global communication had been viewed as â€Å"the world’s largest machine† and unknowingly, humans are being enslaved by it. The article also explored the negative effects of communication technology in personal communication. The article is important in establishing the main point of my paper. References Annan, Kofi. {1999}. United Nation Science. 19th February. p. 1079. Grant, A. and Meadows J. (2006). Communication Technology Update. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. Hallen, R. M. (2008). The W5H of Technology. Vigyan Prasar. Morales-Gomez, D. and Melesse, M. (1998). Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development. 8(1). pp. 3-14. Ogunsola, L. (2005). Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality?. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship. V. 6, No. 1-2. United Nation Science by Kofi This article tackles the issue of human dependence on technology and the role of information technology in globalization. The author also proves the fact the human’s dependency on technology is growing as new innovation are being developed. The effect of this dependency on human relationship and interaction was also discussed. Although information technology has great contribution in globalization, its effect on human interaction, culture and values are also considerable. As technology advances, we are losing our humanity as viewed by the author. Communication Technology Update by Grant and Meadows The book on Communication Technology Update provides a timeline for the development in the field of communication technology from books, newspaper and periodicals to phones to internet. Thus, it offers an introduction to the field of communication technology which is the topic of this paper. It is important to know the trends in the development of technology in order to have an overview or rather a glimpse of what is to come. It also proves the point that human’s reliance on technology for communication is increasing with the advances in the said field. The article also shows how fast information technology is growing. The W5H of Technology by Hallen The W5H of technology by Hallen provides additional information about information technology. It also describes the different type of communication in from the simplest to the most complex in terms of the number of individuals involved. Hallen introduced the readers to what there is to know about technology, the basics as well as the important. The influences of technology were also studied, both the positive and the negative effects. The main importance of technology was development and globalization that was made possible through the innovations in technology while technology dependency was the negative effect. This belief coincides with the main argument of this paper and so is very useful as a reference. Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development by Morales-Gomez and Melesse The article by Morales-Gomez and Melesse offered to question the impacts of technology on society. They argue that although technology has brought great development in society, there are areas that had to be explored; some areas were technology harms rather than helps. They also view the fast development made possible by technology as unrealistic and dangerously naive. The authors also explored the long term effects of information technology in a nation’s social and cultural system. Thus, the article offers support of my claim on this paper. Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality? by Ogunsola This article examines the revolution in the field of information technology. It also tackles the issue of globalization as well as its impact in developing countries. The authors argue that information technology is widening the gap between the poor and the developing countries. They also offer and evaluated the concept of â€Å"digital slavery†. Global communication had been viewed as â€Å"the world’s largest machine† and unknowingly, humans are being enslaved by it. The article also explored the negative effects of communication technology in personal communication. The article is important in establishing the main point of my paper. References Annan, Kofi. {1999}. United Nation Science. 19th February. p. 1079. Grant, A. and Meadows J. (2006). Communication Technology Update. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. Hallen, R. M. (2008). The W5H of Technology. Vigyan Prasar. Morales-Gomez, D. and Melesse, M. (1998). Utilizing Information and Communication Technologies for Development: The Social Dimensions. Information Technology for Development. 8(1). pp. 3-14. Ogunsola, L. (2005). Information and Communication Technologies and the Effects of Globalization: Twenty-First Century Digital Slavery for Developing Countries Myth or Reality?. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship. V. 6, No. 1-2.

Strategic Planning Model Case Study: Apple

Strategic Planning Model Case Study: Apple The computer industry is mainly taken by many companies and among these there are some of the most competitive ones, namely, Microsoft, Apple, Dell amongst others. Apple Corporation was founded in 1976 in a garage in Santa Clara, California. The two founders of Apple, namely, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs who were drop outs of college wanted at that time to provide computer users with something new and user-friendly to the market. The two Steves work together to produce some of the famous computers at times, namely the Apple 1, then after its launch, they came up with the Apple II, then Apple III. During their computer era, Steve Jobs and Wozniak came up with the computer called Lisa in 1983, Apple continued to its revolution in the computer world during the 1980s .In 1983, Steve Wozniak left the company and John Scully was hired by Steve Jobs as the President of the company. Apple continued to innovate and brought into the market new products, such as the Macintosh with the Graphic user interface (GUI) in 1984. In 1985, Steve Jobs left the company and John Scully was appointed as the new CEO. By the late 1980s, Apple faced big competitions from Microsoft, Which made Apples share to decrease drastically and forced John Scully out. In 1997, Gilbert Amelio was appointed as the new CEO and under his management, Apple, bought NextStep, and with its operating system, Apple made huge improvement and got back on the track. Steve Jobs was taken back in Apple in 1996, when the deal was officialised to buy NextStep Company. Jobs was reappointed as the current CEO when shareholders lost confidence in Mr Amelio. Jobs brought back many changes in Apple which has change its future in the company. Some examples are, In 2000, Apple presented the ibook, iMac and came up with the Ipod 2003 and lately, the iPhone was launched followed by the Mac book in 2009 and in 2010, the iPad was created. Apple is an American multinational corporation that designs and manufactures consumer electronics, computers software, personal computers. The companys best known hardware products include the Macintosh computers, the ipod, the iphone and the ipad. Apple software includes the Mac OSX operating system, the itunes media browser amongst others. Apple operates in around 284 retail stores and has an online store where, hardware and software products are sold. In 2010, Apple was recognised as the most technological company in the world. MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT Apple[1] Apples motto, Think Differently, is a concept that the company is doing very well by constantly innovating that continues to define the world of computer design. Other computer manufacturers have attempted for decades to replicate the icon classic appeal of Apple design, but none have succeeded in the manner of Apple. Apple mission is to produce high quality, low cost, easy to use products that incorporate high technology for the individual. We are proving that high technology does not have to be intimidating for the non computer experts METHODOLOGY The authors primary research was done by attending a series of Strategic Planning and implementation, which were given by Mr Bruno Alba, lecturer, London School of Management and Science The secondary research has been undertaken in order to gain extensive knowledge, from range of publications and news papers and by facts available on the internet. CHAPTER 1 STRATEGIC PLANNING MODEL FOR APPLE-IPAD The relative importance of a strategic plan for APPLE Corporation. The general idea of the strategic planning is based on the strategy development processes which are described below: 1. Intended Strategy Development: The intended strategy development comprises of some tool or frameworks that are being used by the managers of an organisation for the formulation of strategic analysis and evaluation and these factors are being used as well by managers for strategic planning purposes. 2. Strategic Planning Systems A strategic plan is set out to develop or coordinate the organisations strategy. According to some studies conducted by Rob Grant, the strategic planning is done in accordance to some process which is as follows: 2.1 Initial guidelines The strategic plan will depend upon some guidelines about the external environment. 2.2 Business level Planning This is where the business units or divisions draw up strategic plans to present to the corporate centre who will in turn discuss with the business managers and then decisions will be agreed at a certain point in time. 2.3 Corporate planning level The corporate plan will be the aggregation of the business plans. This coordination may be undertaken by a corporate planning department and then the corporate board will approve the corporate plan. 2.4 Financial and strategic targets These are aspects about the basis for performance monitoring of businesses key strategic priorities based on the plan. (Gerry Johnson et al.., 2009) Apple has come up with many new products during its existence and is continuing to innovate within the computer and technology industry. The ipad is the latest product that Apple has launched and it has done this to sustain growth and keep pace with the innovation world. Therefore, we can deduce, that the Ipad is part of the technology push, i.e, Apple, launching the product and partly, market pull whereby, launching a product according to market demand. The strategy for Apple was firstly, to be able to bring a new product, which was the new version of the product iphone in order to attain customers needs specifically the businessmen and journalists. However, there is an open demand, for the students and retired workers. Apples main competitor such as Amazon.com has brought into the market, the Kindle, with which now users can buy and access online books for reading instead of buying them physically. On the other hand, the strategy of Apple was to adapt the same concept of Amazon and use it in a different way to create another version which was the ibooks and which led Apple to create as well its online bookstore. THE IPAD hero_20100430[1] The iPad is regarded as a high value product that Apple is offering to their users. Apple vision was to win over the market of Smartphones users and laptops. The ipad, is a tablet computer, designed and made by Apple for internet browsing, media consumption, gaming and light content creation amongst many others. The ipad was launched in April 2010 and has the option of using the WIFI system of 3G date connection to browse the internet, load and stream media amongst many others. Apple developed the ipad with an improved functionality of the iphone. It also come with several applications such as the safari, mail, photos, video, you tube, ipods and itunes amongst many others. (http://apple-listing.com, http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/ipad) Below are some pictures of the latest IPADS: 220px-Steve_Jobs_with_the_Apple_iPad_no_logo[1] 220px-Apple_iPad_Event02[1] CHAPTER 2 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF APPLE APPLE SUCCESSFUL FACTOR The critical success factors are those factors which determine the success or failure of a company. According to Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple Inc, the company needs nine success factors out of which six are already in place as felt by the company that is what they already mastered and the other three as what they are still working on. Mastered Factors Concept. Apples is selling billions of dollars of product and theyre extending into the digital hub. New Product Pipeline. Apple is an innovative company. They have over 2,000 employees in their engineering groups who work towards developing high quality new products such as the ipods, iphone and now the ipad. Financing. Apple has the necessary financing with over $4 billion in the bank to carry out their operations. Marketing/Brand Names. Apple spends hundred million a year on advertising and has one of the most recognizable name brands in the world. Supply Chain Management. Apple is one of the best companies in the world at supply chain management and logistics, and they know how to extend into retail. Their retail stores are viewed as extra warehouses in the current system, so there is one supply chain group for the whole company. Information Systems. Apple has already built an IS system for its stores on top of its global ISP system. (www.apple.com) Less Experience factors However, there were three success factors at which Apple had no or less previous experience: real estate, store design, and store operation. Regarding real estate, Apple knew that the old adage of location, location, location was on target and the company realized that destination locations such as Best Buy and Office Depot wont work for the 95% of non-Mac computer users. Theyve got to ambush that 95% by being where theyre already at, by locating in high-traffic gathering places, such as malls, hip streets, and the new lifestyle centres, such as coffee shops, Jobs said. Were going to put our Apple stores in top tier locations. As for Store Design, Apple wanted a concept that would fit the needs of its customers and would showcase its products, but which would also be flexible enough for change and growth. To come up with the best concept, Apple actually built a prototype in a Warehouse. The result, according to Jobs is a solutions-focused store. When it comes to Store Operations, Apple realized it had to deliver a fantastic experience, the CEO said. That meant the right stores at the right place with great merchandise, incredible employees, and operational excellence, according to Ron Johnson, Apples new senior vice president of retailing. (www.apple.com) CHAPTER 3 ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION AND ITS EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Strategic planning is an important factor in determining success and many methods can be used, such as the SWOT analysis, the PESTEL analysis, and the STEER analysis amongst many others. Some of the external factors will be discussed this chapter, Our analysis is based on the Porters Five forces and SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis will determine the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of APPLE. Firstly, some of the strengths of Apple are: Apple is one of the oldest hardware manufacturers and this give Apple a competitive edge over its competitors. It has control over the product it is making and their quality is optimum. It has products such as the iphones, ipods, laptops, which are easy to carry. It has a loyalty brand, i.e., users are still loyal to its products. Finally, Apple has a very strong RD department, which spend time and resources in the development of new and existing products. Secondly, some of the weaknesses of Apple are: Apple market share is far behind competitor Microsoft. The products are quite expensive Apple has also complaints from customers. Therefore, causing the companys reputation and image to be spoiled. Thirdly, we can look at the different opportunities of Apple which are: Apple is looking to get into new and less expensive products lines and produce quality products. It has a flexibility to its users Apples ipods products are now being used in new designed car models , therefore increasing the demand of the ipod Finally, the online sales are increasing and Apple are targeting new segments of the market. Lastly, we can look at the different threats of Apple which are: There is the pressure from competitors and the users are going for other products from other manufacturers. Technology is changing at a rapid rate thus Apple has to create products that will keep pace with the technology growth, such as the ipads. Competitors launching products such as Microsoft with vista and windows 7,all this making Apple to bring new products to sustain growth. Porter Five Forces Analysis on Apple i-pad Bargaining power of Buyers Apple is well known as an innovative company and there is a high demand for their products. Though buyers find many substitutes in the market for Apple products, they still attract to it because of the brand name and the uniqueness of its products which makes Apple a very profitable company. However regarding i-pad the buyers are somewhat more powerful. Somehow there will be alternatives for the i-pad in near future. Because of the relatively high price of the i-pad, it is a question whether the buyers will pay a premium for the brand reputation of Apple and its technology when their needs may be equally met by cheaper alternatives. Bargaining power of Suppliers Apple is mainly concentrated on design and marketing and they outsource the manufacturing of most of their products. Therefore it can be affected by the pricing of suppliers and costs because of the availability of raw materials. And also changes in minimum wage for labours can have effects on Apple. But due to the strong demand for apple products it has more power over its suppliers. Regarding i-pad even Apple outsource the parts which use to manufacture the i-pad, the software is the unique factor that brings all those parts together. Therefore the parts themselves are not that important as they as are readily available form many sources. Therefore in that case also Apple has more power over its suppliers. Threat of New Entrants Apple had many barriers to entry in the development of the i-pad but at the same time they must worry about the potential competitors like Google and Microsoft who are conquering as well. Economies of scale- As Apple already had experience in manufacturing mass market consumer electronic devices which also share components of the i-pad; Apple is not badly affected by this barrier. Product Differentiation- As the i-pad is significantly different than its competitors; overall this characteristic has positive effects on Apple. And also Apple has a certain amount of protection through the strength of its brand identity. But this product differentiation can be imitated to a certain amount by its competitors. Capital Requirement- regarding capital requirement, Apple enjoys a slight advantage. To compete with the i-pad effectively, competitors will have to invest immensely in certain areas. Cost disadvantages- Apple is able to reduce the impact of this threat as it has a number of manufacturing resources and channels available. But the new entrants may find these barriers as they have not got these resources. And also apple has invested a lot in knowledge and experience which will take time for its competitors to reach. Government policies- Apple was granted the ownership of patent for the i-phone and i-pad, which will give them, short term monopoly rights on some of its technology. It will stop their competitors imitating the product too closely. Threat of Substitutes Apple has been granted patent to the i-pad and its technology. However it is still likely that competitors in the market will soon deliver similar products. Most of the threats are going to come from the established players in the technology industry like HP and Sony and from potential competitors like Google and Microsoft. Competitive Rivalry Apple is mainly concentrated on design and marketing and is fairly vertically integrated towards customers. They do most of their business in their retail locations and on line stores. Because of this concentration on the customers and also as it is better equipped, Apple is able to compete with horizontal players like HP or Sony who are not as vertically integrated towards the consumers. It gives Apple an opportunity to create customer focused products which many of none vertically integrated players are not so good at. (http://www.csribd.com/doc/16788046/appleporters-five-force) CHAPTER 4 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND OPTIONS OF APPLE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: Apple has a particular status; it doesnt have a listed set of objectives. All through our research, our group acknowledges that Apple always struggle to launch a new product in the market. Based on the executive overview of Apples report 2010 we can come out with a strategic objectives for their product named I pad. -To be the king of high-tech of Wall-Street -Increase their market value (get on over Microsoft), have over  £151 billion of market value. I pad is designed as a new generation of technology which to take over e-book and personal computer. That is to dethrone Microsoft at the king of high-tech By innovating in hardware which come obviously with its software, Apple compete with Microsoft who have a urge dominance on personal computer software, the launch of the Ipad announce the decline of the lap top computer. ( www.apple.com) Strategic options For an organization to have good success there is a need of having good strategic options. Strategic options are creative action-oriented responses to the external situation that an organization faces. Strategic options take advantage of facts and actors, trends, opportunities and threat of the outside world. It helps to identify and make a preliminary screening of alternative strategic options or perspectives. Strategic options for Apple iPad is to provide their clients with thorough and reliable information that may help enhance even the knowledge and skills. By doing so customers are able to page through websites, write emails, and flick through photos or watch movie, all on a big beautifully multi-touch screen. Another strategy is to have a continuous leap in technological advancements and a new or upgraded offering on average every six months. In order to have good strategies the apple company thought of what might give a continued competitive advantage and what markets should they enter and how. Which strategic options optimally fit the needs of the target group, the institutional options and aspiration of the stake holders, what supportive interventions are required to succeed in that option and threats? Apple on its product iPad focused on customer experience, they made a product which has no need of mouse, a keyboard configuration screens, and other advanced options such as touch screen. Strategic options help to make the vision into reality. SWOT analysis helps to get a better understanding of the strategic choices that company need. Strategy is the art of determining how one will win in business and life. It helps to make the most of companys strength circumvent their weaknesses, Capitalize on your opportunities and manage their threats. CONCLUSION Though Apples strategic model cannot be said, to be distinct, they are poised on taking Amazon and Microsoft head on. Their new products for example, ipad, suggests to be a real one in all product for the consumers. Apple success factors suggest that they have the ability and capability to become the market leaders. The major success factor being innovation. Behind their ability to innovate its strong research and development department. The latest product of Apple, the Ipad, however targeted on, the retired people and journalists, has received acceptance from the youth, students and the rest of the population giving Apple, a grab of the market. REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAGHY Exploring corporate strategy, 8th edition, Gerry Johnson et al.. http://www.csribd.com/doc/16788046/appleporters-five-force http://www.samples-help-org.uk/mission-statements/apple.computer-mission-statement http://apple-listing.com http://dudye.com/sneaking-intro-ipad http://enwikipedia.org/wiki/ipad http://www.apple.com

SWOT Analysis: Small Business Plan

SWOT Analysis: Small Business Plan Small Business Plan The Toddler Warehouse will be afull-service child care/development facility in the city of Perth that caresfor toddlers from age three to five. The Toddler Warehouse will beconcentrating on the upper end of the market, two income professional parents.These personally ambitious parents are typically eager in terms of theirchildrens development and are willing to pay to have their children attend thebest facilities. Through specialized training of the supportstaff and innovative learning systems, The Toddler Warehouse is cutting edge interms of child development. This curriculum, coupled with a custom designedfacility and a low teacher/student ratio ensures a top-shelf service for thechildren and the parents. The Toddler Warehouse expects to become profitable bymonth 11, and has projected $43,000 as the revenue for year three. Situation Analysis The Toddler Warehouse is a start-upbusiness. A comprehensive marketing plan and effort will be instrumental indeveloping visibility and generating sales. The Toddler Warehouse offers Salem, Ore. a full-service child care and child development facility for toddlers. Theseservices will be differentiated from the competition through advanced trainingand learning systems [1]. Market Summary Through a lot of research, The ToddlerWarehouse has accumulated good information regarding the market and is aware ofmany common attributes of key customers. The Toddler Warehouse will leveragethis information to continue to study who is served, their needs, and how TheToddler Warehouse can best communicate with them. Market Demographics The Toddler Warehouses customers can bedescribed by the following factors: Geographic The immediate geographic areais the city of Salem which has a 130,000 person population base. A 20 mile radius is in need ofthe offered services. The total targeted populationis 12,000. Demographics Primarily two parent household. Two incomes household. Professional parents. Household income of at least$70,000. Parents have at least a collegeeducation, typically one of the parents have a graduate degree. Behaviour Factors Have high expectations fortheir child development and child care. Are willing to pay forhigher-quality services. Have chosen to work instead ofraising their child full time, however, this by no means implies neglect ion ofthe child. Market Needs The Toddler Warehouse is providing Salem parents with a full-time child care service that utilizes a sophisticated learningdevelopment system. The Toddler Warehouse will fulfill the following benefitsthat are important to their customers: Selection: A complete serviceoffering of child care and learning development for toddlers age three to five. Accessibility: The facility iscentrally located and is open from 6 a.m. 7 p.m. Customer service: Treating thecustomer like they are the most important customer that The Toddler Warehousehas is reinforced in all employee training programs. Competitive pricing: The pricingis reasonable relative to the services offered [1]. Market Trends The market trend in child care is anincreased utilization of child care by parents. This is fuelled by the parentsdesire/need to go back to work generating income for the family. While thistrend fuels the need for more general child care facilities, it also generatesdemand for facilities that offer child development. As the parents are spendingless and less time with the children, they have less time to help them develop.The trend is moving demand away from solely babysitting child care to childdevelopment care. This will benefit The Toddler Warehouse because they offerstate of The art learning systems. SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures thekey strengths and weaknesses within The Company, and describes theopportunities and threats facing The Toddler Warehouse. Strengths A sophisticated and effectivelearning system. Excellent training programsthat all employees must participate in. An educated customer base thatrecognize the benefits that The Toddler Warehouse offers. Weaknesses A lack of visibility due to thenewness of the operations. The ability to attract and keepwell trained employees. The inability to perfectlyforecast demand of services relative to the number of employees on staff at anyone time. Opportunities A growing market with a largepercentage of target customers not yet aware of The Toddler Warehouse. Increased revenue as more andmore people is working, thereby unable to care for their children during theday. As the number of childrenserved grows, fixed costs are spread thinner over a larger customer base. Threats Competition from alreadyestablished facilities that improve their service offerings to be more competitiveto The Toddler Warehouse. Unfounded publicscares regarding child care. Legal liability issues, eitherone large suit against The Toddler Warehouse, or significant increases inpremiums due to changes within the operating environment of the industry. Marketing Strategy The Toddler Warehouses marketing strategywill be based on an advertising effort as well as strategic alliances withorganizations related to the care of children. Advertisements: The Toddler Warehouse willrun advertisements in The Yellow Pages, The Marion County Community ResourceNewsletter, and Statesman Journal, The local newspaper. These advertisementswill be used to raise visibility regarding The Warehouse and its services toprospective customers who are otherwise unaware of it. Strategic Alliances: The goal of thisinitiative is to create an alliance or perceived partnership between TheWarehouse and a number of organizations that are a resource base forinformation regarding raising children. Two of The main organizations are TheOregon Midwifery Association and Birth to Three. Both organizations are wellrespected and wonderful sources of information. The Warehouse will be tappinginto this organizations customer base. The alliances will create a sense oflegitimacy for The Toddler Warehouse [2]. One way the alliance will be created is byco-sponsoring parent education seminars. By sharing insight, research, andsystems that The Warehouse uses, it will have a good source of information thatwill be attractive to parents, as well as to the organization themselves. While networking can be effective, TheToddler Warehouse recognizes that it must offer something of value to theorganizations to create an incentive for them to form an alliance and theco-sponsoring of educational events is just one method. Mission The Toddler Warehouses mission is toprovide top-level child care. We exist to attract and maintain customers. Whenwe adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our serviceswill exceed the expectations of our customers. Marketing Objectives Grow the number of customers by10% annually. Build customer loyalty throughsuperior service and educational/development systems. Build the Toddler Warehousebrand to the point where it becomes a household brand synonymous with superiorchild care/development in The Salem area. Increase the referral rate by5% per quarter. Marketing Mix The Toddler Warehouses marketing mix isassembled from the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertisingand promotion, and customer service. Pricing: The pricing structureis based on an hourly rate. Distribution: All services willbe offered at The Salem facility. Advertising and Promotion: Twodifferent campaigns will be used. The first will be a multifaceted advertisingcampaign; the second will be the formation of strategic alliances. Customer Service: Customerswill be pleasantly surprised at how attentive The Warehouse is in regards totheir needs. The business operates on the assumption that it will do whateveris reasonably necessary to keep the customer happy. This reflects the notionthat if the customer is kept happy, long-term profits is ensured. Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts This section will offer a financial overviewof The Toddler Warehouse as it relates to the marketing activities. The ToddlerWarehouse will address break-even analysis, sales forecasts, expensesforecasts, and how those link to the marketing strategy. Conclusion Childcare considerably affects businesses.An enough delivery of choice childcare gives working families more and betterchoices. It makes available secure, safe care so that parents can work, andhelps employers to attract potential workers with families [2]. Without safe,dependable care that they can rely on, employees may be compulsory take timefrom work because of childcare troubles or use time at work managing child careapprehensions. Their efficiency can have adverse experience as a result, andprized human resources may leave their jobs because of childcare problems. End Notes 1. city of Perth, officialgovernment website retrieved on 15 December 2007 from the linkhttp://www.cityofperth.wa.gov.au/ 2. Sample Business Plan, day Care,retrieved on 15 December 2007 from the linkhttp://www.realbusinessplans.com/members/free_sample_plan.htm

The effect of anthropogenic ecological stressors Essay examples -- Env

Biodiversity is the variation among organisms and ecological systems at every environmental level. However, the simplest way to study these organisms is to observe the richness of the species. Species richness involves observing the number of species found within a certain patch (Ricklefs 2008). The dispersal of the species involves organisms entering and exiting patches to inhabit another patch. Dispersal may affect the distribution of the organism or the overall fitness of the population thus harming the species richness or possible increasing the richness (Ricklefs 2008). There are multiple factors that can affect the species richness of an organism, known as anthropogenic ecological stressors (Thompson and Shurin 2012). There is a wide variety of these ecological stressors ranging from pollution, climate change, and the introduction of invasive species, habitat destruction and the change in environmental conditions locally and globally (Thompson and Shurin 2012). These ecological stressors can occur individually or several may take place at one time thus interacting with one another and causing change to the resident species. Multiple ecological stressors applied can have a great impact on biodiversity and the overall ecosystem function (Christensen et al. 2006). The stressors can be predicted due to changes in the environment, yet there is no control on how forcefully they are applied and when they will occur (Christensen et al. 2006). Biodiversity in freshwater is known to be extremely vulnerable to climate. In response to the increase in temperatures due to climate change, organisms are expanding their ranges to higher latitudes and altitudes (Heino et al 2009). Therefore they are shifting their overall distributi... ...ent that is experiencing constant changes, thus relating back to the spatial insurance hypothesis. Works Cited Christensen, M.R., Graham, M.D., Vinebrooke, R.D., Findlay, D.L., Paterson, M.J., Turner, M.A. 2006. Multiple antrhopgenic stressors cause ecological surprises in boreal lakes. Global Change Biology, 12: 2316-2322. Heino, J., Virkkala, R. and Toivonen, H. 2009. Climate change and freshwater biodiversity: detected patterns, future trends and adaptations in northern regions. Biological Reviews, 84: 39-54. Ricklefs, R.E. 2008. Community Structure. Pages 376, 413 in J. Correa and S. Moran, editors. The Economy of Nature. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, USA. Thompson, P.L. and Shurin, J.B. 2012. Regional zooplankton biodiversity provides limited buffering of pond ecosystems against climate change. Journal of Animal Ecology, 81: 251-259.

Comparing the Passion and Dreams in A Raisin in the Sun and The Grapes of Wrath :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Fruits of Passion and Dreams in A Raisin in the Sun and The Grapes of Wrath  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Passion! Passion is what both Lorraine Hansberry and John Steinbeck have in common. Their two major works, A Raisin in the Sun and The Grapes of Wrath, respectively, focus on the human struggle, love and dreams, which in turn are symbolized through the ideas of matriarchal images, prodigal sons and daughters and nature as an icon of dreams. In both these works, the mothers play the most important role in the development of the plot. They represent the pillars of strength and they are the ones that hold the family together and the hope alive. In Lorraine Hansberry's work, Mama is a widow, mother of two children and the head of the household: "There are some ideas we ain't going to have in this house. Not long as I am at the head of this family." (Hansberry 51) Mama is aware of the high position she is awarded in the family, since her husband is dead and she is left in care of the family. Qualities like independence and strength surround her and give her and air of authority. She takes charge when others hesitate and she gives courage to the insecure. "You just got strong willed children and it takes a strong woman like you to keep'em   in hand, (Hansberry 52) her daughter-in-law tells her at one point. This symbolizes the love and respect she carries for her, but also the power that Mama radiates over the whole family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mama's virtues are reflected, not only through other people's reactions or her own actions towards others, but by the author's own opinion as well: "Her face is full of strength. She has, we can see, wit and faith of a kind that keeps her eyes lit and full of interest and expectancy...Her bearing is perhaps most like the noble Hereros of Southwest Africa-. (Hansberry 39) The author personally involves her feelings into her work, as it is a representation of her own life and almost autobiographical. For that reason, the stage directions are so much more than that. They not only portray the physical aspect of the setting and characters, but go deep into the heart and soul of the people represented by the characters. They are much more personalized. They do not give the beholder the opportunity to form an opinion, but more, they imply what the reader's reaction should be.

Essay About Family: Families Torn Apart :: essay about my family

Family ties have been a sour topic in my life since as long as I can remember. Through the years I have managed to cope with the reality of being on my own. Though it was not easy, I have been through more than most people my age. One of the hardest things I had to cope with was moving around as much as we did. I was born in Nurnberg, Germany while my father was in the military. When I was two, my parents divorced and I stayed with my father and lost all contact with my mother until I was 18. After they divorced, dad and I moved in and out of three states, and ended up in Wausau. Growing up with an abusive father, and without my mother, was very difficult to manage. To make matters worse, I attended 12 schools before high school, I had no friends. Homework was always a struggle for me, given that I attended 12 different schools. It seemed as if I was always behind or ahead of the class, because the last school was at a different pace or taught things differently. I have grown up without relying on family but relied on myself. Even today I have little or no contact with my family. My mother and all her relatives live in Oregon. I had the pleasure of reuniting with my mother in 1994. When we met again after 16 years I decided to live in Oregon with her. I stayed in Oregon for almost two years by then it was apparent that my mother and I lost the bond that a mother and child should always have. We were separated for so long, and I was at such a young age that I found it difficult to be close to her. I have since moved back to Wausau, and started a family of my own. On occasion I talk to my mother on the phone but this has never been a very fulfilling relationship either. Although unfulfilling, it has allowed for some progress in our relationship. In the same way I have lost connection with family so has Chakkravann "Chucky" Saukom. During an interview with my friend Chuck, I learned some very interesting things. Chuck moved to the United States in 1975 with a "first class ticket from the U.

Telpresence

Synopsis: Telepresence is key to offering businesses of every size and location to grow globally with low cost expansion. Telepresence offers face to face interaction between individuals, with miles and miles between their monitors. The technology of telepresence offers many avenues of expansion, growth, costs saving and co.uk/memo-the-retreat-and-corporate-team-building/">team building, as an all in one product. Businesses of today need to step on board with the meetings and preferred â€Å"contact† of tomorrow. 1) What kinds of limitations do you see for users of telepresence? Is it really a substitute for face-to-face meetings?Make a list of features of face-to-face meetings. Then consider a range of business situations as an employee, from initial hire, to working with a team, to understanding what your boss wants, and even a termination meeting. How would telepresence work for you in these situations? The limitations presented for users of telepresence are the eye contact , body gestures, actual feeling of the atmosphere present with the other individual(s). There is a lacking of personal warmth. I believe that it has to be the substitute for face to face meetings as the world is changing.If it was my decision, I would not think that it is best for business, I appreciate face to face, smell, touch, and feeling. However in today’s business world, it has to be the substitute. Telepresence would work for satisfactory of the business purpose at hand, in an interview, employers can save time by logging onto their computer screen, instead of taking up time meeting, greeting, seating applicants etc. It would allow the employee the benefit of being in familiar surroundings during the stressful interview, as well as cut costs on time, gas etc.Understanding what a boss wants can be achieved, as if your boss is out of the country, he can still be reached and seen and spoken too about the project at hand. He is always available. That is kind of the same a s working with a team; you can consistently be in contact with your team members, even if your team members live on different continents. This allows for technology to stream together continuously as a whole. A termination meeting would be a lot less stressful if it happened somewhere else other than work in front of coworkers; also, I am the kind of person that is a better speaker when I am in confrontation, via phone, Skype etc.This would benefit me as I would be persistent and persuasive, more so than I would be in person. 2) What are the business benefits of telepresence described in these videos? What is the benefit of a hologram? The benefits are the strategic communications solution, time management, creating stronger relationships with customers and clients, as well as partners and suppliers, decision making is increased, as well as studies (as you can have individuals in another country with separate data speaking and working with you at once).Travel costs are cut, and empl oyee time is better spent actually working on the project and/or tasks at hand. Also, there are no limitations to how far your business can grow and reach, if a computer is at hand. A hologram benefits individuals as it creates the design of the human, not an avatar but actual human. This is a benefit as it creates the more personal, believable online meeting. 3) In the past, work was organized into central buildings located in central locations (like cities) in order to facilitate face-to-face interactions.What impacts might telepresence have on the organization of work? How could you use these tools to organize work on a global scale with actually building physical facilities in remote locations? The impact of telepresence in large and small origination is immense. Large corporations can place headquarters, units, etc in low cost areas, allowing for cost saving and centralizing of the area. Small businesses are impacted as they are able to compete and operate on a global scale, wh ile still saving money and operating in low cost areas, or even homes.Telepresence strengthens the ability of businesses to operate and expand globally, while decreasing costs, and space needed in the previous central buildings in skyscraper cities. 4) Why is it important that the remote locations using teleprescence have the same lighting, seating, and style? I believe it is to create a more realism meeting, distracting the viewer with separate lighting, colors, objects, areas etc, only adds to the distraction that it is a teleprescence meeting at hand.The goal of the teleprescence product is to create transparency among users. 5) What applications of telepresence would be useful for marketing to customers? I believe there are many different aspects of telepresence that would be useful for marketing to customers. Customers could see the product in real time being used. They would be able to ask the instructor questions about the product, just as they could be using or showing the p roduct and defects that they are finding.It would be a product that would gain trust as customers could speak with the supplier company in real time. Also, customers could speak about what they don’t like about the product, as well as helping to design future products. It all depends on the product at hand, if it was a large scale product placing demos in remote locations would add to the products success, no matter where the customer lived. The customer would always be able to see and hear the business, and their questions would not go unanswered.

ACME and Omega case study Essay

1. Using the mechanistic and organic structure arguments develop in Chapter 2, compare and contrast the management styles at Acme and Omega. Acme’s managerial style consists of a mechanistic structure, while Omega’s managerial style is based on an organic structure. Acme’s vertical differentiation, which consists of four levels of control, constitutes the dispersion of authority between the organizational hierarchy levels and gears to give the organization more control over its projects and activities. Acme is highly centralized, managers of the top of the hierarchy have all the power to make most of the decisions for the company, and subordinates are expected to follow orders. Although, I think that Acme has established a high level of standardization and formalization, they experienced difficulty abiding to their own rules. Employees at Acme exercise individual specialization, where employees specialize in one specific area and work individually. 2. On the other hand, Omega is a decentralized organization,they appointed new president in that post. where managers and subordinates delegate important decisions about new organizational projects. Omega’s management believes in mutual adjustment, which is the practice of using judgment on problem solving and also creates an informal way of communicating with each other rather that using standardization or written rules. Joint specialization at Omega gives their employees and opportunity to work in teams and balance their actions to find the most effective and efficient way of accomplishing an assignment. Omega’s organic structure gives the employees more flexibility to innovative thinking, and creates a unity within the organization, where managers and employees share their knowledge and skills to achieve optimal performance. 3. Which firm should have won the final contract – Acme or Omega? Discuss. The paradoxical twins describes two organizations, Acme and Omega Electronics that are competing for the same contract for manufacturing a memory unit to be used in a photocopier. Omega, having an organic structure, wins the race because they are able to produce higher quality memory unit. On the other hand, Acme having mechanistic structure seems less competent and less reliable because of its low quality memory unit which they are unable to produce in time and some of its prototypes fail to work. Omega even corrects a design error in the original blueprint, which  improves product quality. But, both the company is given half the order, and they were encouraged to find the way to reduce the cost and Acme takes advantage of this opportunity to experiment to find ways to reduce its costs, whereas Omega does not. Finally Acme discovers the way to reduce the cost by 20% and they own the contract. Omega may have won the battle, but Acme has won the war because its mechanistic structure fosters a concern for technical efficiency and cost reduction in what is a routine manufacturing environment. In this particular case, Acme decides to run a â€Å"tight ship† (mechanistic structure) in order to increase productivity and efficiency, and to decrease costs. The advantage of this strategy is that they can undersell their competition (Omega) by selling at a lower cost. Omega, on the other hand, is nearly too opposite. They run a more organic structure, which relies heavily upon communication, delegation and teamwork. This strategy allows Omega to effectively compete with Acme by stressing reliability and by placing emphasis on quality. Omega’s decentralized, organic approach allowed for the building of prototypes 10 days faster than Acme, correction of errors, and a highly reliable prototype—much more reliable than Acme’s, which had a 10 percent failure rate. Omega was more effective when evaluated by these criteria, although Acme’s prices were lower than Omega’s because of that Acme won the competition and which was fair result in my opinion. Its mechanistic structure provided it with the management system and incentives needed to improve and reduce its manufacturing process, so that Acme won the final race over Omega. 4. What changes would you recommend to Acme and Omega if they are to survive in the future in this increasingly competitive industry? I wish to modify their organizational design. I think that in order for these two companies to survive they need to have a combination of organic and mechanistic structure. Once they do this change they will create a better organizational culture, which is the set of shared values and norms that controls organizational member’s interactions with each other . Although, Omega’s employees are working together, I think they have too much freedom. Therefore, I think that Omega’s management needs to be more formalize. Acme’s management are hightec pressure, they don’t give enough flexibility  to their employees. This is affecting Acme because there are missing some of the new ideas that their employees may have, and they are also forcing their workers to do the work which the top mangment as instructed. A combination of organic and mechanistic structure would give them better control and coordination of their employees and it will also motivate them and inspire a better behavior. Another recommendation for Acme Corporation would be to balance differentiation and integration For these two companies to survive and be successful I recommend that if they are going to combine organic and mechanistic structures then they should have a balance between centralization and decentralization. I think that all decision making shouldn’t be left entirely to employees or to management, rather it should be in between. Finally, these two companies should have a mixture of standardization and mutual understanding. Sometimes having too much of each may create an problem in corporate culture, therefore I would recommend to use a combination. Management needs pay close attention to make sure that their organizational design fits with the corporate culture and the organizational environment that they are trying to create.

Introduction speech Essay

Every single person faces obstacles, whether they are big or small. Either learning how to swim, driving a car for the first time, or even waking up for an 8AM class. These are just a few obstacles that occur daily. One major obstacle that constantly gets overlooked is change. A prime example of a major change in a child’s life is the transition from high school to college. Starting college, a ne place with new people, can be a daunting task for anyone. Your classmate, Abby Howell showed her true character and optimism when her adjustment to Madison didn’t go as expected. Abby, like any other 18 year old, was nervous about coming to college. She was nervous about leaving her safe haven she called home, and because of that she decided to chose Madison, a mere 9 miles from her family in McFarland. Abby arrived to school with an optimistic mindset. The nerves and jitters had surpassed and she was truly starting to get the hang of things. It was August 30th, and the sun was beaming down on Abby as she rode her bike. The sidewalk was packed so Abby had to keep switching from the sidewalk to the grass in order to avoid the pedestrians. However, one time while making the uphill venture toward the sidewalk, her front tire clipped the edge of the curb and her bike tumbled over. Abby broke the fall with her hands and ended up shattering her wrist. It’s kind of ironic; Abby was looking out for the well being of others and in turn was the one that ended up getting injured. Rather than dwell on the unlucky situation, Abby views it in a positive way and lets everyone know that â€Å"it could have been worse.† The way in which Abby handled breaking her wrist just goes to show her optimistic view on life. Abby is constantly looking at the glass half full, and is always searching for the best in every situation. Honestly, how would you have reacted?

Personality Notes Essay

* Personality is the unique and relatively stable way in which a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Character is value judgments of a person’s ethical and moral behavior. Temperament refers to the enduring characteristics that a person is born with. * There are four main personality theories. The psychodynamic perspective focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in the development of personality and biological causes of personality differences. The behaviorist perspective is focused on theories of learning and the effect of the environment on behavior. The humanistic perspective focuses on a person’s life choices and experiences in personality development. The trait perspective is not concerned with how personality forms, but the end characteristics of personality. * Freud believed the mind was divided into three parts: the preconscious, the conscious and the unconscious. Conscious is where current awareness exists. Preconscious contains memories, information and events that one is easily aware of. The unconscious is where thoughts, feelings, memories and other information is kept that is not voluntarily or easily brought into consciousness. The id is the first and most primitive part of the personality. It is unconscious, pleasure-seeking and amoral. The pleasure principle is the principle by which the id functions, immediate satisfaction without regard for consequences. * The ego is the second part of personality that comes from a need to deal with reality. It’s mostly conscious, rational and logical. It functions on the reality principle, satisfying the needs of the id only when negative consequences will not result. * The final part of the personality according to Freud is the superego, which functions as a moral center. It contains the conscience, which produces pride or guilt depending on how acceptable the behavior is. * Fixation is defined by Freud as getting stuck in a developmental stage. * Psychosexual stages are the five stages of personality development that Freud tied directly to a child’s sexual development. * The first stage is the oral stage in the first year of life. The mouth is the erogenous zone. It is governed by the id. Weaning is the major conflict. * The second stage is the anal stage from 1-3 years, in which the anus is the erogenous zone and toilet training is the major conflict. Children who rebel against toilet training are said to grow into an anal expulsive personality: messy, destructive and hostile. Children who refuse to poop are said to grow into an anal retentive personality: neat, fussy, stingy and stubborn. * The third stage is the phallic stage, from 3-6 years, in which the child develops sexual feelings. Freud believed that children developed an Oedipus complex during this stage, in which they develop a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent and jealousy of the same-sex parent. Latency is the fourth stage, occurring during the school years, in which the sexual feelings are repressed in order for the child to develop in other ways. * Genital stage is the fifth stage, from puberty to death, in which the child has to come to terms with their sexual feelings. * Psychoanalysis was Freud’s term for the theory of personality and the therapy based on it. * The Neo-Freudians were followers of Freud who developed their own competing psychodynamic theories. * Carl Gustav Jung disagreed with Freud about the unconscious mind. He believed there was a personal unconscious, as Freud described, and a collective unconscious of all memories shared by the human species. Collective human memories are called archetypes. * Alfred Adler also disagreed with Freud about sexuality being the driving force of personality. He believed that as children, people felt inferior to more powerful adults and everything after that point was not seeking of pleasure, but seeking of superiority. He also developed a theory that birth order had input into personality. Karen Horney didn’t study directly with Freud, but taught his work until she left because of disagreement over penis envy, which she countered with womb envy. She didn’t focus on sexuality, but instead anxiety. She said that children are born with basic anxiety, which is created when a child is born into the bigger and more powerful world of older children and adults. Those with less secure upbringings end up with neurotic personalities, in which they have maladaptive ways of dealing with relationships. Freud did no experiments and only based his theory off of his own experiments. He took it as his right to interpret experiences of his clients as fact or fantasy depending on how they fit in his theory. * According to behaviorists, personality is no more than a set of habits. Habits are defined as a set of well-learned responses that have become automatic. * Social cognitive learning theorists focus on both the effects of other people’s behavior and of a person’s own expectancies of learning. In the social cognitive view of Alfred Bandura, behavior is also governed by cognitive processes like anticipating, judging, memory and anticipation. * Reciprocal determinism is Bandura’s explanation of how the environment, personal characteristics and behavior itself affect future behaviors. Environment includes the physical surroundings, people who may or may not be present and the potential reinforcement in the setting. Self-efficacy is one of the most important variables Bandura speaks of. It is the individual’s expectancy of how effective their efforts to accomplish a goal will be in any particular circumstance. * One important pattern of responding is the locus of control, which is the tendency for people to assume they either do or do not have control over events they experience in their own lives. Like Bandura, Rotter believed a combination of factors affected behavioral response: expectancy and reinforcement value. Expectancy is a person’s subjective feeling that a particular behavior will lead to a reinforcing consequence. The humanistic perspective is the â€Å"third force† in psychology, which focuses on aspects of personality that make people uniquely human. * Carl Rogers believed that humans are always striving to fulfill their innate capacities and abilities to become all that their genetic makeup will allow. Striving for fulfillment is called the self-actualization tendency. An important tool for this is self-concept, an image of oneself that develops from important interactions with significant people in one’s life. Self is awareness of one’s own personal characteristics and level of functioning. Two components of self-concept are real self, which is one’s perception of actual characteristics, traits and abilities, and ideal self, the perception of what one should be or would like to be. * Positive regard refers to the warmth, affection, love and regard that comes from significant others in one’s life. Unconditional positive regard has no strings attached. Conditional positive regard depends on what a person is doing. * A fully functioning person, according to Rogers, is in touch with and trusting the deep, innermost urges and feelings. The trait theories describe characteristics that make up human personality in order to predict future behavior. Traits are consistent, enduring ways of thinking, feeling or behaving. * Allport was one of the first trait theorists. He and his partner looked through the dictionary, picked words that could be traits, then narrowed it town. He believed traits were wired in to the nervous system to guide behavior. * Raymond Cattell built on that and described two types of traits, surface traits and source traits. Surface traits are easily seen by others. Source traits are more basic and form the curve of personality. Introversion is a dimension of personality in which people withdraw from excess stimulation. * The five-factor model or the Big Five is a model of personality traits that describes five basic trait dimensions. Openness is a willingness to try new things and be open to new experiences. Conscientiousness refers to the thought a person gives to organization and thoughtfulness of others; dependability. Extraversion divides people into introverts (solitary) and extroverts (social). Agreeableness is the basic emotional style of the person. Neuroticism is the degree of emotional stability or instability. * Mischel has emphasized that there is a trait-situation interaction where the particular circumstances of a situation will influence how a trait is expressed. * Behavioral genetics is the field of study devoted to discovering the genetic bases for personality traits. Several studies have found that the five factor traits have a 50% heritability over several cultures. Interviews cause the problem of false reports and the halo effect, in which a person’s personality is so good that the interviewer interprets them to be good all around, especially when that is false. * Projective tests present ambiguous visual stimulus to clients and ask them to respond with whatever comes to mind. The Rorscach inkblot test uses 10 inkblots as the ambiguous stimuli. The Thematic Aperception Test uses 20 black and white pictures of people. Projective tests are very subjective, not very reliable or valid. * Other tools for assessment are direct observation and personality inventory.

Should Parents be Subjected to Licencing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Should Parents be Subjected to Licencing - Essay Example In the hands of parents lie their children’s future because how they mold their children will create a great impact on the children’s lives. LaFollette has argued that a license is necessary when the activity to be engaged upon is potentially harmful to others. Much like a driver needs to secure a driver’s license before driving a car because driving is potentially harmful to others, parenting is argued to likewise be potentially harmful to children especially if the parents are not qualified to raise them (183). The second argument for a licensing program for parents is that their competence should be proven in order to ensure a safe performance of their duties as parents (183). What if they are not adept in caring for another individual, especially a young child who is totally dependent on them for all his needs? What if they do not have what it takes to equip the children with the necessary skills to survive when they grow up and go out into the world? What wo uld become of these children? A third argument for licensing is that there should be a reliable procedure for testing such competence (184). LaFollette explains that when the first two arguments are met, that of parenting being potentially harmful indeed to others especially to children, and that the parents’ competence is questionable, then parents become legitimate subjects for licensing. If all three arguments are met, then it becomes imperative to issue licenses to qualified parents. Since children are highly valued by society, their welfare is given utmost consideration. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) declares that "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth" (Article 2.2), Article 2.2 further details, â€Å"States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members.† This implies that if children are left in the hands of irresponsible parents, then the state will do everything to protect children from any potential harm that may be inflicted by such parents. This is to ensure that they will be kept safe and put in an environment where they can grow and develop into well-adjusted and healthy individuals that can be productive and contributory citizens to society in the future. Studies have shown that children who grew up under abusive or negligent parents have strong tendencies to develop the same behaviors with their own children due to the constant exposure they got when they were young. Anda et al (2005:174) discussed in their study that the traumatic experiences of abused or neglected children often stays on with the victims into adulthood. Some children may never fully recover from the trauma, resulting in lifelong depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Other individuals may be predisposed to engage in prostitution, pornography, drug abuse, or crime. The long-term consequences of child maltreatment can be so devastating that it has been called "soul murder" (Shengold, 1989:43). In order to prevent this, Article 19 of the UNCRC requires that â€Å"