Religion Essays (151 words) - Value, Culture, Motivation

Values Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person's sense of right and wrong or what "ought" to be. "Equal rights for all", "Excellence deserves admiration", and "People should be treated with respect and dignity" are representative of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behavior. Example of Values Respect for others Tolerance of differences Equality Saying the truth Sharing with others Norm Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Values have major influence on a person's behavior and attitude and serve as broad guidelines in all situations. Some common business values are fairness, innovation and community involvement. Example of Norms Leaving a tip for the waiter Saying please and thank you Being polite Not talking with your mouth full When at someones home, ask permission, such as turning on the television or using the bathroom

Free Essays on Swot Analysis Of Motorola

Since it first entered the competitive electronic firm market, Motorola has continued to remain successful as a world leader in mobile communication technology, ranking as the leading manufacturer of cellular telephones, paging devices, automotive semi-conductors, and microchips that are used to operate devices other than computers. Although it has lost a few battles, Motorola has taken on the Japanese head to head, through these times of Japanese competition. In the 1980’s Motorola controlled the emerging U.S, Market for cellular phones and pagers but they weren’t aggressively focused on competing with the Japanese, even though Japanese firms began to flood the U.S. market with low-priced, high-quality telephones and pagers, leaving Motorola pushed into the background. This is when Motorola â€Å"heard the call to battle.† Managers at first were not sure how they should respond, so they originally decided to abandon some business areas and even considered merging their own semiconductor operations with those of Toshiba. After a lot of searching they decided to fight back and regain the firm’s lost market position. This fight involved two main strategies: First learn from the Japanese, and then compete with them. To carry out these strategies, Motorola executives decided to set a numb er of broad based goals that essentially committed the firm to lowering costs, improving quality, and regaining lost market share. Managers were then sent out on missions, mainly focused on Japan, to learn how to compete better. Some managers even observed Motorola’s own Japanese operations to learn and to understand how it fully functioned; while others focused more on how other successful Japanese firms operated. At the same time, the firm also drastically boosted its budget, R&D, and employee training worldwide. One important thing that executives learned from their trip to Japan after viewing a flag flying outside one of its plants was that... Free Essays on Swot Analysis Of Motorola Free Essays on Swot Analysis Of Motorola Since it first entered the competitive electronic firm market, Motorola has continued to remain successful as a world leader in mobile communication technology, ranking as the leading manufacturer of cellular telephones, paging devices, automotive semi-conductors, and microchips that are used to operate devices other than computers. Although it has lost a few battles, Motorola has taken on the Japanese head to head, through these times of Japanese competition. In the 1980’s Motorola controlled the emerging U.S, Market for cellular phones and pagers but they weren’t aggressively focused on competing with the Japanese, even though Japanese firms began to flood the U.S. market with low-priced, high-quality telephones and pagers, leaving Motorola pushed into the background. This is when Motorola â€Å"heard the call to battle.† Managers at first were not sure how they should respond, so they originally decided to abandon some business areas and even considered merging their own semiconductor operations with those of Toshiba. After a lot of searching they decided to fight back and regain the firm’s lost market position. This fight involved two main strategies: First learn from the Japanese, and then compete with them. To carry out these strategies, Motorola executives decided to set a numb er of broad based goals that essentially committed the firm to lowering costs, improving quality, and regaining lost market share. Managers were then sent out on missions, mainly focused on Japan, to learn how to compete better. Some managers even observed Motorola’s own Japanese operations to learn and to understand how it fully functioned; while others focused more on how other successful Japanese firms operated. At the same time, the firm also drastically boosted its budget, R&D, and employee training worldwide. One important thing that executives learned from their trip to Japan after viewing a flag flying outside one of its plants was that...

Internaional intercultural manangement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Internaional intercultural manangement - Essay Example Therefore, it is through culture that the world is organized into different spectrums, since culture comprises of diverse societal aspects, such as language, fashion, food and cuisines, religion, festivities and celebrations, and political-economic issues (Davis, 2004 p102). Additionally, it is through culture, that the understanding of values, assumptions, beliefs, customs and norms are defined, while also shaping the nature of institutions that are operable in the country and region. Simply put, the world is a chaotic place where there are several conflicting systems that renders the world prone to conflicts, and it is only through culture that order in the world can be established (LeBaron, 2003 n.p.). In the business realm, culture defines the nature of leadership within organisations, through stipulating what is expected of the leaders and their subordinates, what the leaders and their subordinates can and cannot do, and the nature of the influences that the leaders may have wit hin organisations (Hall, 1990 p55). ... Culture of Nigeria The fundamental aspect that shape and define the Nigerian culture is the multiplicity of ethnic groups and subsequent dialects, with the country having over 50 languages that are commonly spoken, and above 250 dialects (Kwittesential, 2013 n.p.). However, the largest ethnic groups in the country are the Igbo, the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani, each of which occupies a different region of the country, with the Igbo occupying the southeast, the Yoruba occupying the southwest, while the Hausa-Fulani occupies the north region of the country (Kwittesential, 2013 n.p.). The rest of the small communities are distributed throughout the country, but mostly placed within the central region, with all the ethnic groups in the country consisting of a total population of 170,123,740, according to the estimates of July 2010, with the Hausa-Fulani accounting for 29% of the total population, Yoruba 21% and the Igbo 18%, while the other 47 ethnic groups form the rest of the 42% of the country’s population (Kwittesential, 2013 n.p.). The country has many dialects and languages that are currently spoken, while some have subsequently been absorbed by others and eventually become extinct. However, the major language that defines Nigeria is English, which is laced with dialectical lexicon of pidgin forming an Anglo-African language that is characteristic of the Nigerian culture, a language that is not shared by many other countries, except for some few countries who are in the West African region of Africa, and who neighbours Nigeria (Osakwe, 2012 p7). In terms of religion, Nigeria has two major religions, with Muslim accounting for the majority of the population in the country, with close to half of the Nigerian

Exam Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Exam Questions - Essay Example Line managers maintain the arduous role of ensuring that employees are achieving performance targets, focusing on proper planning, scheduling and generic supervision to ensure compliance to corporate policies. However, when line managers take on the role of providing HR assistance, they become much more psychologically involved with employees to improve their dedication and motivation. Consider an organisation with a structured production system governed by traditional line management. In the role of HR provider, the line manager goes beyond the work schedule and efficiency measurement, becoming a strategic partner with the human resources division to create value rather than merely productivity. Research in human resources identifies that employee empowerment is one of the most fundamental methods of gaining their commitment and motivation. Empowerment strategies give employees more flexibility in taking active roles in corporate decision-making, thus giving employees a perception o f control and prestige within the organisation. According to Yusoff (2008) when employees are granted more authority, it becomes easier in the long-run to ensure discipline and control. Line managers have the most frequent contact with employees and thus act as the intermediary for team development. Line management has more intimate knowledge of employees’ attitudes, lifestyle preferences and skills capabilities than that of the HR manager due to their close proximity in the production (or non-production) environments. This gives line managers a unique ability to utilise many different HR theories to ensure that they become more like coaches or mentors than simply authoritative line managers to assist in developing employees’ core competencies. For instance, in a production environment, there is a constant demand for change. Change comes in the form of new technology implementation or systems process restructuring in order to meet cost or strategic-based performance or output goals. The line manager acting as an HR facilitator can become more active in training provision, giving employees hands-on tacit knowledge that can be transferred for better organisational learning and knowledge exchange. According to Bambacas and Bordia (2009, p.225) when training is provided that is perceived as being non-transferrable to another business, it becomes too costly for the employee to leave in pursuit of different employment. Traditionally, the HR manager handles the process of developing and implementing training packages. However, when involving the line manager, the management team can provide a distinctly different element to ensuring employees have the knowledge and skills to accept and embrace changes in the work environment. Line managers hold intimate knowledge of the systems that drive organisational productivity and can thus take this self-contained, tacit knowledge and disseminate it directly through concrete and applied training; something not ach ievable with the HR manager who is not personally familiar with operational systems. The line manager empowers employees, establishing a sense of group belonging in the team, constantly reinforcing that uniqueness of the training packages to gain a psychological advantage over employees. By using both line

Statistics on Violent Crime Among UK Youth (2013) Project

On Violent Crime Among UK Youth (2013) - Statistics Project Example The police and Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) have different descriptions of what constitutes a violent crime: for example, the CSEW categorises robbery as a violent crime provided it was committed by a series of activities involving actual or threatened injury to the body of the victim. The police, however, leave out the crime from a list of violent crimes, mainly because in some cases manifest violence is not present. In addition, law enforcement agencies have also excluded murder and sexual violence from violent crimes for purposes of dealing the perpetrators commensurate punishments. Owing to the fact that 25% of all offences are executed by juveniles, it is estimated that more half of the violent crimes in the United Kingdom in 2013 were committed by individuals who are between the ages of 16 and 25. Statistics indicate that members of the group engaged in more than a million cases of violent crimes in 2013 alone. The children and young adults, mostly in high school and colleges respectively were behind more than 50% of all homicides, robberies and burglaries (United Kingdom Defence & Security, 2014). The Home Office findings indicate that the youth aged between 16 and 25 engaged in the highest incidences of violent crime. Generally, the Home Office established that the young criminals were to blame for more than 50% of violent crimes as demonstrated in figure and table 1. Their overall of one in two violent cases of crimes is greater than previous figures, which put the percentage at less one in four cases. Government statistics show that almost 20% of all juvenile youth first apprehended in 2004 continued their delinquent behaviour through 2013, with 16-year-olds being most likely to engage in repeat offences (Flatley, 2013). As such, the report indicates the youth crime estimates underscore the need of tackling deviance among juveniles in order to reduce violent crime. Reform of youth justice programs since 2003 have seen drastic decline in the prevalence of violent crime, especially for individuals who were subjected to detention, but a 2014 report published by the National Audit Office indicated reoffending rates had soared, especially among the youths subjected to community service as punishment for their violent criminal behaviour in the past (Government of the United Kingdom, 2013).  Ã‚  

The Evolutionary Aspects Of Fear Psychology Essay

The Evolutionary Aspects Of Fear Psychology Essay This paper presents an exclusive discussion of what is known about the biological basis of fear. In presenting this discussion, the paper shall explore the main concepts relating to the biology behind fear in humans with the main ideas being the definition of fear, the evolutionary aspects of fear, as well as the emotional response of the brain in the event of fear or anxiety. The paper shall also present an analysis that seeks to establish fear and anxiety as identical rather than two contrasting concepts as believed by many. In the discussion on the biological basis of fear, the study shall include biological evidence relating to the specific parts of the human brain that respond and react to fear. Introduction It is interesting how humans respond to fear, especially the bodily changes that take place in the event of an activity or something that triggers fear. Humans respond to fear in different ways, and their bodies react to unexpected situations of fear almost instantly. In response to fear, human bodies exhibit increased arousal, autonomic and neuroendocrinal activation and immediate expectancy among other spontaneous reactions. It is even surprising that fear triggers some emotional reaction in humans based on recent studies by psychologists. An interesting revelation according to empirical studies on emotions under the field of biology point to the fact that emotions are not just feelings as evolutionary studies would want us to believe. Emotions in human beings are accompanied by physiological and behavioural variations (Davidson, 2000). A widely accepted perception of emotions today touches on the fundamental ideology that humans experience emotions in three different but interrela ted levels: the behavioural level, the neurophysiological level and the psychological or metal level. Based on inference that emotions have a close relation to fear in terms of the mental or psychological state, it is possible to use such information to build upon the biological basis of fear (Walker, 2002). The consequence of predisposing factors that trigger emotions also tend to instil fear in human beings and this paper shall seek to unravel the biological basis of fear in terms of psychological and behavioural responses relating to biology. What is fear? Fear is a motivational state triggered by specific stimuli that result in or escape defensive behaviour. Enthologists believe that fear is an unpleasant emotion that comes about as a result of the perception that somebody or something dangerous is likely to happen. This unpleasant emotion triggers a form of defence mechanism that results in escape or counter behaviours. In terms of biology, a couple of neuoroendocrinal activations that are usually automatic mostly typify fear. This is essential in explaining the sudden escape of a person at the sight of a scary animal that triggers immediate activations in the brain (Strongman, 1996). This effective defence mechanism triggered by a stimulus instils fear. In this context, such instantaneous reactions to fear facilitate coping mechanisms used by the body to respond to cases of fear. The evolutionary aspects of fear The evolutionary aspects of fear mainly relate to emotional responses. Fear is a factor of de-escalating tactic interceded by the emotional (paleomammalian) part of the fore brain. As man and other animals evolved millions of years ago, they adapted differently to fear. During the evolutionary period, diverse types of fear characterized the universe and were responded to by animals and humans in dissimilar ways. Scientists conclude that the adaptations developed by humans during this period explain the response and reactions of humans towards fear (Strongman, 1996). However, a couple of fear such as the fear of height is common to all mammals because of the adaptations developed during the Mesozoic era. The fear of snakes and other dangerous reptiles came into existence during the Cenozoic era and is common to all higher primates including humans and apes. However, others such as the fear of insects and mice developed in the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods are unique to humans. Dur ing these periods, insects and mice became popular carriers of dangerous infections and diseases, which resulted in different adaptive measures by humans. Such fears are still common today (Iijima, et al., 1996). The emotional brain The emotional aspect of the brain occurs at three levels: the behavioural level, the neurophysiological level and the psychological or metal level. Theories of emotion touching on the brain reveal that bodily changes tend to follow directly the perception of existing facts and human feelings of the same changes according to the occurrence of the emotion. In other words, the stimulus that reaches the cerebral cortex part of the brain provokes intuitive changes, which are perceived as emotions. Other studies have advanced that the thalamus is greatly involved in the neuropsychological matter of the brain because such matters are subcortical in nature. A biological explanation on the emotional brain is that a stimulus from the environment triggers the thalamus, which transmits information from to the viscera and cortex, and back again to the cortex to engender an emotional state (Gray McNaughton, 2000). Specific parts of the brain that work together to trigger reactions to fear stimuli Amygdala The amygdala is part of the brain structure where a majority of neurobiological events related to fear occurs. It is located just behind the pituitary gland and respond in different ways to fear stimuli. Any fear stimulus activates the Amygdala to secrete a series of hormones that immediately influence aggression and fear (Vianna, 2003). As the process of secreting such hormones into the body begins, the Amygdala prompts the body into a state of awareness and alertness, which trigger instant response from other muscles in the legs and hand to get ready for take-off or a fight. As the essential component of the limbic system, the amygdala is critical in preparing the body to respond or react to fear by secreting hormones at the trigger of a fear stimulus (Borod, 2000). It integrates rapid and direct thalamic inputs that transmit a fear stimulus and imitates a cognitive process that prepares the body to respond or react to the threat. Hippocampus The hippocampus is touted as the central structure in the brain that engages in processing contextual information necessary to fear conditioning. Situated just next to the amygdala and connected to it by the subiculum and entorhinal cortex, the hippocampusà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s main functions is to condition fear into contextual information. The hippocampus conditions fear in circumstances that involve complex polymodal events by receiving impulses from the amygdala and integrating such impulses with prior information to ignite meaningful reactions that respond to fear (Davidson, 2000). Hypothalamus The hypothalamus plays a crucial role as far as fear response is concerned. It is responsible for controlling stress reactions and other body processes including emotions and moods. Through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HTPA axis), the hypothalamus controls the limbic, pituitary, adrenal and genadotropic aspects of the body. A fear stimulus sends LC (locus ceruleus) neurons to the hypothalamus, which activates the HTPA axis that triggers the stress response linked to fear (Lewis Haviland-Jones, 2000). The connection between the hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala act to activate the HTPA axis to respond to a fear stimulus. The hypothalamus receives sensory information from the lateral part of the amygdala, processes the information and relays to the central nucleus, which then projects it to various parts of the brain that respond and react to fear. Fear stimulus impulses relayed by various neurons activate the sympathetic nervous system, as well as the modulating syst em of the HTPA axis. This triggers a run or attack response, better known as a fight or flight response mechanism (Hyman, et al., 1999). Sensory cortex The sensory cortex is an essential component of the fear response mechanism. Immediate sensory data from fear stimulus collects in the thalamus part of the brain. After the collection of the sensory data, the sensory cortex obtains the data from the thalamus, interprets it and organizes the sensory data for dissemination to the amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalamus (Hirsh, 2004). Thalamus The thalamus also plays a critical role in fear response. The thalamus basically acts as a collection center, which gathers and collects information from essential sensory organs such as the ears, eyes and mouth. After collecting the sensory information from such organs, the thalamus has the capacity to determine where to send such information for processing. A fear stimulus from the eyes, hands or mouth sends sensory information through neurons to the thalamus, which collects and sends the information to the appropriate response organs for processing (Lewis Haviland-Jones, 2000). Fear conditioning explains the behavioural archetype displayed by organisms and their capacity to learn to respond to or predict fearful or threatening events. Fear conditioning explains why some people fear dogs to the extent that they become helpless at the sight of this à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“monsterà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢. It is believed to depend upon the amygdala and the hippocampus in cases of contextual fear conditioning. Fear conditioning also explains the neurobiology of fear because touches on the essential components of the brain including the thalamus, the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, the amygdala and the sensory cortex (Lewis Haviland-Jones, 2000). Latest research findings point to the fact that researchers are beginning to develop interest on the neurological processes that trigger fear response mechanisms. Conclusion The biological basis of fear can be explained by the evolutionary concepts of anxiety and emotions and adaptations of human beings to different stimuli. However, empirical research findings have established a basis for explaining the biology of fear through the human mind the structures such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus and the sensory cortex. The outcome of predisposing factors that trigger emotions tend to instill fear in human beings as discussed in this paper. The biological basis of fear in terms of psychological and behavioural responses relates to emotion and anxiety, which is an advanced form of fear. Further research should be directed to the neurochemical processes that occur in the brain and the chemical components involved in response to fear.

Comparison and contrast on the narrative point of view in metamorphosis and chronicles of a death foretold Essay

In metamorphosis Franz Kafka uses a narrative point of view called third person omniscient, where it is mostly limited since only his thoughts and feelings are presented, however on the other hand in the chronicles of a death foretold Garcà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½a Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½rquez relates the plot of a murder about which everyone knows before it happens through the use of a narrator who tells the story in the first person, as a witness to the events that have occurred 27 years earlier, Yet the narrator is recounting the tale years later from an omniscient point of view, sharing all of the characters’ thoughts. I intend to compare and contrast both narrative point of views in both metamorphosis and chronicle of a death foretold, through affirming the techniques that are used to clarify this point of view such as diction, the use of black comedy, the use of irony etc. One of the properties of first person narration is that the narrator may be a character who tells the story as he/she sees it. The fact that a first person narrator tells the story from his/her point of view, in most cases tends to make the narrator unreliable and therefore unbelievable or doubtful for example in the chronicles of a death foretold the narrator states that Santiago Nasar is innocent this shows that the narrator is biased and unreliable. A first-person narrator gives his own point of view but does not know what other characters are thinking this is an ability usually reserved for the third-person omniscient point of view like in metamorphosis. The third-person omniscient point of view can enter the consciousness of any character therefore making him credible and more reliable than a first person narrator. In Kafka’s metamorphosis we sometimes see things through Gregor’s eyes, but more typically we see him omnisciently from the outside (from other characters like his father, his mother or his sister) this occurs on page 126 at the beginning of chapter three, this effect causes the reader to feel sympathy for Gregor. This dual effect is extremely powerful in making the reader believe what they read since it is not only one person’s opinion however it is many that say the same things. Limited omniscient narrators are usually unbiased or neutral (which means that they don’t favour any particular characters). The narrative point of view seems to present a picture of Gregor and the world as he understands it, both before and after his metamorphosis. This does not necessarily mean that all of Gregor’s judgements are to be accepted in fact it is quite on the contrary, Kafka uses irony and black comedy to indicate that Gregor is at times misled, for instance in thinking he can still go to the office even after becoming an insect and, more sadly, in thinking his family is putting his interests first. Since the narrator is omniscient we are given the attitudes and tones of other characters in the book, for example when Gregor’s father first sees Gregor he gets angry thinking that he had lost the only means of providing for his family (page 106) . When we read this we have no doubt that Gregor’s father Mr. Samsa is angry this is called credibility. The third person omniscient narrator also helps us in getting a clear picture of the surroundings through description. An example of this can be found at the bottom of page 105 the description of the stains on the white doors helps to give the reader a mental picture of the surroundings. Another example of this can be found on pages 119-120 when Gregor’s room is described as â€Å"cosy† and â€Å"comfortably furnished with old heirlooms†. Another example of the third person narrator’s description of the surroundings is when the narrator describes the view from Gregor’s window as being â€Å"melancholy† and quite depressing (through the mention of raindrops and the weather) on page 87. These descriptions all help the reader in understanding Gregor’s pain, suffering and helplessness towards the situation. One of the most outstanding features of Chronicle of a Death Foretold is the point of view Garcia Marquez uses to tell the story. Narrating the story from the first-person point of view is the unnamed son of Luisa Santiago, having returned to the river village after being gone for twenty-seven years, the narrator tries to reconstruct the events of the day that ends in the murder of Santiago Nasar. In this novel, however, Garcia Marquez makes the narrator telling the story credible towards the end to give the effect of confusion. The reader is confused about whether the narrator is reliable or not. Even though the narrator isn’t the main character in the text he plays and important roll in the novel as well as in the investigation. The fact that he cannot enter other characters consciousness also complements the fact that first person narrators are unreliable and unbelievable. We do not learn what the other characters are thinking or feeling unless they show us by their words or actions. First person narration can be unreliable due to the limited knowledge and/or understanding of events that have occurred. The author may use this unreliability to give questionable moral values or to make the character or reader biased about the people and events that are described. The difference between objectivity and subjectivity is the difference between fact and opinion, An objective piece of information, therefore, needs to be the whole truth or at least to be unbiased, whereas a subjective point of view is biased because it is either not the complete picture or it is merely a perspective or an expression of feelings. Depending on whether the narrator is objective or subjective we can judge whether the narrator is reliable or not. If the narrator in chronicles of a death foretold was omniscient he could have given a reliable account of the events that took place after the murder, however since he is biased, he blurs the edges and makes the diseases that the people of the town obtained seem as if they were being punished for not stopping the Vicario brothers. However, scientifically the diseases had nothing to do with guilt. The narrator in chronicles of a death foretold also creates confusion through giving details that aren’t connected to the murder as well as different versions of the chronological events. For example in the beginning of the text the narrator gives accounts of the weather on the day of the murder and showed that each character gave different versions of the weather according to how each of the characters were associated with Santiago Nasar (page 17), the narrator also gives details that aren’t linked to the murder such as the details given about the wedding (lavish, expensive etc.). The techniques used to clarify the narrative point of view include the use of irony, black comedy, magic realism, diction and sentence structure. For example in metamorphosis when Gregor attempts to get out of bed, Kafka uses black comedy to give the effect that any topics or events that are regarded as serious or depressing are treated with humor. Another technique of clarifying narrative point of view used by Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½rquez is the use of quotations persistently throughout the text. The word â€Å"liberating† on page 107 in metamorphosis, as well as the line â€Å"Gregor waited in vain† reflect Gregor’s inner thoughts as the omniscient narrator reveals them, this suggests that the narrator is objective and that the narrator is omniscient. In metamorphosis the point of view shifts as the corpse of Gregor Samsa is discovered, this shift in the point of view convinces the reader that the Samsa’s had been relieved from an enormous burden. The removal of the â€Å"burden† off the Samsa family helps them in planning for the future as if Gregor never existed. This gives the reader the impression that the Samsa’s are cruel and wicked and it also creates a feeling of pity for Gregor. In conclusion I strongly believe that point of view is very important in Chronicles of a death foretold as well as in metamorphosis. I believe that both writers were successful in their choices of narrative point of view. If I was to describe the narrative point of view in chronicles of a death foretold in one word then it is â€Å"fatalistic†, however if I was to describe the narrative point of view in metamorphosis in one word it would be â€Å"accommodative†.

21st century literacy Essay

What is 21st century literacy? 21st century literacy is demanding a literate person that has a wide range of abilities. These abilities must be multiple and forceful. â€Å" The active, successful participants in this 21st century global society must be able to develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology; build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought; design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes; manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information; create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts; attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments† (NCTE). This all depends on understanding the difference in media that can make up our high-tech reality and producing the skills to use them forcefully. Literacy then and now has changed a lot. History provides multiple examples of societies trying to make a connection to go into their communication infrastructures two centuries ago. Using the technologies in the past, people pursued methods by which they might be able to communicate faster, easier, and better. To this day we still look for better communication methods, only now we have countless choices, along with new gears and tactics with greater knowledge of effective communication. â€Å"Digital and visual literacies are the next wave of communication specialization. Most people will have technologies at their fingertips not only to communicate but to create, to manipulate, to design, to self-actualize†(digital dots). Kids are learning this with technology even when they don’t realize it. The lack of education is a problem and the situation is impaired in the field of education. . A common situation today is a classroom filled with digitally well-educated students being led by linear-thinking. There has been a mutual void in professional development for faculty this needs training to increase the necessary computer skills to mix technology into the curriculum effectively. Children now a day learn everything about technology and use technology every minute of the day. We have to change the way technology is used to teach learning across all departments. This change will slowly come however, without vision combined with practical, familiar goals and motivations that inspire people to grip a new digital and visual literacy skill independently and collectively. Future literacy is a thought experiment about the demise of literacy and the upcoming of other skills, capacities or tools that will effectively and advantageously displace reading and writing. Literacy is a capability we privilege above all others. It is a universal good. It is widely viewed as a prerequisite for success and personal development. By contrast, illiteracy is understood to be an impairment. 21st century is changing everything forever. Work cited â€Å"The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies. † NCTE Comprehensive News. N. p. , n. d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013. â€Å"Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE. edu. † Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century (EDUCAUSE Quarterly) | EDUCAUSE. edu. N. p. , n. d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.

Mr. Pumblechooks house Essays

Mr. Pumblechooks house Essays Mr. Pumblechooks house Paper Mr. Pumblechooks house Paper Write a commentary on this passage (pg 54- 59), which explains the reasons for Pips distress at the end. This passage is a crucial section of the book, as it is here that Pip realizes how coarse and common he is and where he first feels dissatisfied with Joe and realizes him not to be an idol. At the end of this section, Pip breaks down in tears and kicks the walls. Here I attempt to analyze the reasons for Pips distress at the end. To begin with, Pip is disinclined to go to Ms. Havishams house and play. He has never met Ms. Havisham but regards her as a peculiar, reclusive woman. He spends the night at Mr. Pumblechooks house and leaves for Ms Havishams after a weary morning of arithmetic. Thus he arrives at the house dreading the visit and annoyed with Mr. Pumblechook. The following events further Pips anger, irritation and lower his self-confidence, which results in him breaking down. An arrogant but stunning young girl, Estella, who is about the same age as Pip, haughtily admits Pip into the house. The house is dark and eerie. Sunlight has not entered it for many years. Estella leads Pip through the dark passages of the house before instructing him to go into a particular room. She talks to Pip in a condescending manner and treats him like a child. Pip enters the room, as instructed and encounters Ms. Havisham, who is dressed in her wedding clothes and is adorned with magnificent jewels. He is immediately overcome with fear on seeing her and compares his trepidation with prior frightening incidents he had experienced. The room seems to be stuck in time. The clocks have all stopped working and remain at twenty to nine. Ms. Havishams clothes have faded and are yellow. Pip later notices that everything in the room is worn out. He compares Ms. Havisham to a corpse. Pip is terrified of Ms Havishams peculiar personality. He compares his fear when she touches his heart to that when he encountered the prisoner in the graveyard. Although Ms. Havisham is undoubtedly a queer person, Pips initial attitude towards her is not one of perplexity or surprise but that of fear. This is primarily because he has heard rumours about her eccentric idiosyncrasies, which cause him to dread her even before he has set eyes on her. When he realizes that she is indeed weird, Pip becomes terrified of her. Ms. Havisham then tells Pip that she has sick fancies and asks him to play. Pip feels unequal to this task as his fear of Ms. Havisham and the gloomy atmosphere make him cringe at the very thought of playing. However he is worried that Ms. Havisham will complain to his sister and he will be upbraided.

What Electronic Data Interchange Essays

What Electronic Data Interchange Essays What Electronic Data Interchange Essay What Electronic Data Interchange Essay I will expand on what Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is (conventional and internet based) and share with you some of the benefits and downfalls of operating such a system. Some of the benefits are lower costs, improved accuracy, and decreased paper output and processing time. One main downfall is the initial cost of the implementation of the system. I will also give you an example of how a company uses this technology. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) as defined by Roger Clarke: the exchange of documents in standardized electronic form, between organizations, in an automated manner, directly from a computer application in one organization to an application in another. EDI has been around for several decades and it has been the primary method of conducting electronic business-to-business commerce. It contains the same information that would be found on paper documents used for the same function within an organization. The following are elements of EDI: * Electronic transmission medium (VAN or the Internet) is used rather than the dispatch of physical storage media such as magnetic tapes and disks. * Structured, formatted messages based on agreed standards (messages can be translated, interpreted and checked). * Fast delivery of electronic documents within hours or minutes from sender to receiver. * Communication directly between applications rather than between computers. Conventional EDI Conventional EDI uses standard formats, American National Standards Institutes (ANSIs) X12 series, which specifies standard fields for invoices, purchase orders, shipping documents, payments and various other data transactions. The EDI software pulls flat files (where links to other data have been removed) from the mainframe systems such as financial and/or order-processing and translates the data into EDI standard forms. Then companies transmit large batches of EDI forms over a third-party value-added network (VAN). VANs make the job of connecting with other trading partners, organizations that receive or send documents from each other, easier by collecting forms in an electronic mailbox. It then sorts, translates and forwards them to recipients and guarantees that they reach their destinations intact. Benefits of conventional EDI are large companies can reduce the amount of errors in relation to re-keying information and decreasing the time and clerical costs of processing paper forms by hand. EDI standards and technologies are dependable, trusted and proven. Information is sent on private lines that have very little exposure to the public and in turn are relatively secure. Also, large volumes of data are moved efficiently through batch transfer of flat files, and established VANs help ease finding trading partners and connecting to their systems. Downfalls of conventional EDI are companies have to link their back-office systems to the EDI software, and then it has to synchronize protocols with their trading partners systems. Compatibility with new applications is difficult because of the complexity of the X12 formats. As a result of the compatibility the process of transferring large batches of data are delayed, which is at odds with todays real-time world. Also, the cost of transmitting data through VANs is very costly at $25 per 1,000 characters, but today costs are getting lower. Because conventional EDI is so rigid, costly and time consuming to initiate, it is only cost-effective for very large companies. For these reasons it keeps the number of EDI participants relatively very low. EDI via the Internet The internet was once thought to be the end of EDI, but instead it has given EDI users new options. EDI via the internet is basically the same as conventional EDI with the exception of how the information is transmitted. EDI transactions can now be sent over the internet instead of sending X12 forms back and forth via VANs. Software products put transactions into encrypted envelopes and then electronically seal them so that only authorized parties with the encryption key can view the contents. The envelopes are then sent over the public internet instead of privately owned VANs. Benefits of sending the transactions over the internet instead of via VANs are it can drastically reduce transmission costs and it is much faster. Also, most companies already have internet access and therefore would not have to pay additional costs to transmit batches over the internet. This would make it easier to attract new trading partners, like mom and pop stores, that have internet connections, but do not have the revenue to invest in VANs. Downfalls of EDI via the internet are questions raised about security, like confidentiality, data integrity, authentication, and denial of having sent or received transactions. Security is only a concern for some not all EDI managers. Another downfall is that the required software must be the same for trading partners at both ends. They must install the same software and coordinate their upgrade cycles. Efforts are being made to make systems compatible and create requirements for EDI over the internet standards, but this takes time and therefore companies are limited to firm EDI formats. Example of EDI Large companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have an EDI-based stock-replenishment system, which sends sales data to suppliers and initiates reordering of hot-selling items. This drastically reduces retailers warehouse inventory costs. Also, this system tells the manufacturers warehouse to ship product direct to a specific retail location. Typical information in a transmission includes a ship to address, bill to address, UPC codes, and quantities. Other information can be included if agreed upon by the trading parties. This process is also practiced by fields such as medicine, transportation, construction, engineering as well as many other industries. The full potential of an EDI system can be best utilized if it is integrated with other applications such as inventory control, shipping, accounts payable and production planning. Unfortunately, suppliers are forced to use the sometimes costly EDI system in order to continue a business relationship with the larger companies. This is not always as cost-effective for suppliers as it is for the larger companies. Summary EDI saves time because it is faster at transmitting data, delivers data with the utmost accuracy, cuts down on paper usage and decreases overall time by eliminating re-keying of information. It is a more stream-lined business process for both trading parties. Benefits can be obtained in areas like administration, inventory management, distribution, and cash management. EDI has its share of problems, but its benefits far exceed them. With the internet it is becoming easier for trading partners to transmit data at a much greater reduced cost to both parties. The next few years hold great promise for EDI and the internet. Existing EDI forms can be kept by trading partners and new ways of transmitting data can be found cheaper, which will enable more new partners.

(The topic of the article) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

(The topic of the article) - Essay Example The Samsung phones although not as technologically superior, advertise the pros they have very well and thus get due recognition. Secondly, another difference is that Samsung invests a lot in and makes its phone launches a large, flashy party of sorts which serves to attract more customers. HTC on the other hand, although has joined this trend with the launch of the One x, is not doing its launch on the scale and with all the glitter and glamour that Samsung uses and which attracts potential consumers. Thirdly, HTC really needs to pick up its sales figures. Because Samsung is a larger company, it is able to meet sales quotas, unlike HTC which is smaller and had to â€Å"roll out† sales when the HTC One x was launched. HTC’s inability to meet production and sales quotas also means that it gets left behind in the race to capture more market share. Lastly, but importantly, the success of an android phone also depends on how well it collaborates with network carriers. Samsu ng beats HTC here as well and is featured prominently on the marketing efforts of all prominent carriers in the USA and HTC remains over shadowed by it. Since network carriers get consumers on long term contract basis, HTC loses out on a considerable market share as the carriers promote Samsung more and customers are thus diverted away from HTC and onto Samsung phones. Personally, I am in complete agreement with the points of view provided in this article comparing HTC and Samsung. The average customer does indeed not realize nor use the full feature capacity that phones like the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One x offer, however this does not mean that HTC takes a step down from its vantage point of technological superiority. To play this subtle strength to their advantage, the only thing they need to do is step up their advertising. Increased marketing budgets and efforts and generally more prominent advertisement of HTC’s superior features will help the customers realize its super ior capabilities and maybe this will help in shifting the trend away from Samsung and towards HTC. There are a number of people who are tech savvy and realize and appreciate the superior quality and features that HTC offers them; however the challenge is to spread this trend in the entire market. Although Samsung is using more or less the same amount and types of features in their phones compared to HTC, they put in a handful of flashy features which although not very function add to the glitter and over all appeal of the Samsung phones. Furthermore, companies like HTC need to realize the changing market dynamic and implement the changes they will need to incorporate to adapt to these changing market dynamics and manipulate them to their advantage. Secondly, the issue of not collaborating will with the network carriers is an important aspect of gaining market share for android phones in the market. HTC particularly has a reputation of being a hassle for network carriers to deal with and thus the business relationship cannot be characterized as friendly and is terse at best. Due to this negativity, carriers are not inclined to push HTC’s phones in their advertising campaigns or otherwise to their competitors. In the same vein, when the supply of HTC’s phones is so unstable in the market, consumers who originally wanted an HTC will sometimes settle for competitors’

Social Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Social Issues - Essay Example This was however refuted by the campaign group Crisis, which warns that people are merely moving from the streets into temporary shelters and then moving back onto the streets again (www.bbc.co.uk, 2001). Recent statistics reveal that there may be still be vast numbers of homeless people still populating UK’s streets. In evaluating the trends over time, about two thirds of homeless people in general were single persons over the age of 25 rather than members with families. In England, the number of people recognized officially as being homeless in the year 2007 was 99,500, and this revealed a decreasing trend. The current figure was half of what the figures were in the year 2004 and well below the high numbers that existed a decade ago(www.crisis.org.uk). Similar trends were not however, reported in Wales and Scotland. In the case of the fomer, the number of households recognized as officially newly homeless were 9300, which is an increase from the values of 2004. The homelessness trend has been fluctuating in Wales, it rose sharply from 2001 to 2004, then dropped sharply up to 2007 when it registered another increase. An increasing trend was also displayed in Scotland; the num ber of households which were categorized as newly homeless were 41,00 which are actually a third higher than they were a decade ago. Most people have little sympathy for homeless people, because they believe that these individuals deliberately choose to adopt this option so that they can scrounge off the sympathy and assistance of kindly folk. But as was pointed out in the BBC news item cited above, homelessness is like a vicious cycle because it creates its own set of problems. The failure to be able to demonstrate the existence of a permanent address means that such individuals are also not able to get jobs to earn money for themselves, which in turn, only leads to a higher incidence of homelessness.