Critical Issues in Abandoned Information Systems Development Projects Essay

Critical Issues in Abandoned Information Systems Development Projects - Essay Example   Delegating these projects to lower-level managers or generic staff members would likely allow for IS projects to be mismanaged or certain issues to be overlooked. If the senior manager is unaware of what the project team is doing at all critical stages in the information systems project, there is likely to be poor communication between project team members and lack of focus on meeting specific deadlines for project stage completion. Lack of technical understanding about complex projects, also, can involve creating a project team with members who really are not capable of performing the necessary tasks to achieve the project goal. In many ways, this would seem to go hand-in-hand with lack of senior management oversight as when developing a project team there should be a well-coordinated effort to ensure that all members have the expertise necessary to understand project goals and also ensure they are implemented successfully. Again, as pointed out by Ewusi-Mensah, often failures in these projects are not recognized until they come to the crisis stage and the project costs have already escalated out of control. The conceptual nature of IS projects, additionally, poses problems for companies such as those described in the case study. For an organization such as Intrico Consortium, which was looking to create a rather unparalleled reservation system IS project, failure to create a solid outline of project stage expectations prior to selecting project team members and role responsibilities is likely what led to years of cost overruns and the other disputes involving senior-level management.

Hand hygiene Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hand hygiene - Essay Example With this being a retrospective project, no questionnaires will be involved (no human involvement) but only collection/evaluation of pre and post data from the infection/risk and quality department within the sampled acute care center. Any or all actions that are meant to clean hands by any person may describe what hand hygiene refers to. It involves such practices as washing hands using water as well as soap or even the application of non-water antimicrobial rub on hands as are all meant to reduce if not eliminate all microorganisms on the hands (Corrigan, 2013; Medvick, 2008). ‘Hospital acquired infection’ (HAI) refers to the infection that a patient may be diagnosed with after admission of any form of medical attendance within the medical facilities and as such it implies that the infection was not present as the patient came into the facility for the health service(s) (Weinstock, 2007). It must therefore be acquired through health care delivery and hands hygiene has been pointed out as the greatest contributor to such outcomes (Cantrell, 2013). Health care facilities and providers have therefore a mandatory responsibility of ensuring that hand hygiene is promoted in order to curb the losses in lif e and costs associated with the resultant infections from poor hand hygiene within these medical facilities. This paper therefore focuses on the effects of poor hand hygiene by healthcare providers on HAI with special attention on compliance by health care providers and main factors that could explain the poor hygiene within health facilities amidst the extensive and serious campaigns on hand hygiene within these facilities (Cantrell, 2014). Although this topic has been addressed intensively over years, little studies have been directed towards implications of compliance of health care providers on observing hands hygiene. Many factors

Social Media and Networking Presentation Essay Example for Free

Social Media and Networking Presentation Essay Scenario: Imagine that you have been hired as a consultant for a university that wants to leverage social media and networking technologies to encourage the collaboration of students, and improve their overall sense of community. Analyze how the university might integrate at least two social media and networking technologies to accomplish their goals. Your analysis must cover the advantages and disadvantages of social networking. The president of the university also needs to know what the system development life cycle is, and how you intend on bringing social networking tools to life within this cycle. Translate the critical details of your proposal into a 10- to 15-slide Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® presentation that you will present to the university president. Include the following in your presentation using the features of Microsoft ® PowerPoint ®: A slide template Slide layouts Themes At least one example of animation At least one example of a media object Submit your presentation as instructed by the facilitator.

Is employee job satisfaction important for success

Is employee job satisfaction important for success Happy employees are productive employees. Happy employees are not productive employees. The topic of employee attitude and job attitude has always been a debatable and confused topic among practitioners even though during periods when employees are being referred to as valuable asset for organizational success and competitiveness. Employees have attitudes or viewpoints about many aspects of their jobs, their careers, and their organisations. However, from the perspective of research and practice, the most focal employee attitude is job satisfaction. The most-used research definition of job satisfaction is by Locke (1976), who described it as a state which is enjoyable or positive that results from the appraisal of ones job or job experiences. Implicit in Lockes definition is the importance of both affect, or feeling, and cognition, or thinking. Organisations are social systems where human resources are regarded as the most key elements for effectiveness and efficiency. In order to achieve their goals and objectives organisations require efficient managers and employees. Without their personnel efforts and commitment success cannot be achieved by these organisations. Job satisfaction is critical to retaining and attracting well-qualified personnel. Employee job satisfaction can be described as an attitude that employees have about their organisation and job. Methodologically, it can be said that job satisfaction is an employees emotional response which can be compared between actual outcomes and preferred outcomes (Mosadeghrad, 2003b). One of the greatest challenge facing service organisations is possibly pursue for quality service. (Sohal, 1994). Thus finding ways for maintaining and improving service quality is necessary. (Bitner et al., 1994). In the recent years it has been noticed that the effects of many human resource development factors on business performance has been extensively discussed in business research literature. In service industries, where services are often characterised by an encounter between service providers and customers, the quality and capability of the service providers have a direct, significant effect on the service delivery process and customer satisfaction. The initial interaction, having a great influence on how customers evaluate the service quality, has been better known as the moment of truth as customers start to form their opinion and expectation of the service delivery experience (Normann, 1984). This brief encounter can be vital in achieving a reputation for higher quality and continuous business. 2.2 PERFORMANCE What is performance? Performance is the result of achieving organisational objectives; a yardstick of success. Porter (1980) asserts that the basis of above average performance in the long run is sustainable competitive advantage. 2.2.1 Measuring performance Performance measurement is necessary because it enables firms to take a snapshot of current activity to assess their progress and help refocus strategy. Furthermore the company makes information available for evaluation to be undertaken. Records of past sales levels, calls achieved, expense levels, etc. facilitate comparison and provide trends that can be used for evaluation and setting of goals. Most companies use a combination of input (behavioural) and output measures to evaluate their sales forces. (Oliver, R.L. and Anderson, E. (1994). Specific output measures for individual salespeople include the following: The problems arise in deciding the criteria by which performance should be measured. The customers judge quality on a range of objective and subjective issues which are often difficult to pin down. Employee attitude, for example, was ranked as the most important critical success factor to hotel companies, but is difficult to measure accurately. 2.3 Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is related to customer loyalty Service providers are expected to increase their service value over time because customers today are very knowledgeable in seeking out new service alternatives and will defect if they are just merely satisfied. Very satisfied customers were found to be six times more likely to repurchase than those who were just satisfied ( Jones and Sasser, 1995). Other studies, such as Gummesson (1993) and Storbacka et al. (1994), also discussed the link between satisfaction and loyalty. 2.4 Job satisfaction and job performance The study of the link between job satisfaction and job performance has a controversial history. The Hawthorne studies, conducted in the 1930s, are often credited with making researchers aware of the effects of employee attitudes on performance. Shortly after the Hawthorne studies, researchers began taking a critical look at the notion that a happy worker is a productive worker. Most of the earlier reviews of the literature suggested a weak and somewhat inconsistent relationship between job satisfaction and performance. However, further research does not agree with this conclusion. Organ (1988) suggests that the failure to find a strong relationship between job satisfaction and performance is due to the narrow means often used to define job performance. Organ argued that when performance is defined to include important behaviors not generally reflected in performance appraisals, such as OCB, its relationship with job satisfaction improves. In addition, in a more recent and comprehensive review of 301 studies, Judge, Thoresen, Bono, and Patton (2001) found that when the correlations are appropriately corrected (for sampling and measurement errors), the average correlation between job satisfaction and job performance is a higher .30. In addition, the link between job satisfaction and performance was found to be even higher for complex (e.g., professional) jobs than for less complex jobs. Thus, contrary to earlier reviews, it does appear that job satisfaction is, in fact, predictive of performance, and the relationship is even stronger for professional jobs. 2.5 RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ATTITUDES, PERFORMANCE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Past research has found positive but weak relationships between employees job-related attitudes and performance (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky 1990). Recent research has included customer satisfaction as a correlate of employee attitudes and performance, stressing the importance of quality service to organisational achievement (Wiley 1990, Zeithaml et al., 1985). In todays competitive marketplace, organization effectiveness depends on understanding what customers value and communicating this understanding to employees in the form of employee-performance goals and expectations. (Crom 1994, Heskett et al.,1994) In another study of relationships between organisational performance, customer satisfaction, and employee attitudes, (Wiley 1990) studied data from over 200 retail stores. He found that, overall, those stores most favourably described by employees were those most favourably described by customers. In particular, customer satisfaction ratings were strongly and positively related to employees descriptions of key aspects of their working environment, especially working conditions, minimum obstacles to accomplishing their work, and a strong sense that supervisors and co-workers stress customer service. A number of employee attitude dimensions were related to customer satisfaction. One such employee attitudinal dimension was effective communication. Thus this study concerns examining relationships between employee attitudes, performance, and customer satisfaction over time. The goal is to determine the extent to which employee attitudes distinguish between departments and the extent to which these differences are associated with productivity, administrative effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. In general, it is hypothesized that work groups differ in employee attitudes and that these differences relate to recently achieved performance and customer satisfaction and also predict future performance and customer satisfaction. 2.6 Defining attitude Secord and Beckman (1969, p. 167) defined attitudes as an individuals feelings, judgment and predispositions which helps to behave in accordance to his environment. Arnold et al. (1995) indicated that attitudes reflect a persons tendency to feel, think or behave in a positive or negative manner towards the object of the attitude. According to Elizur and Guttman (1976), attitudes toward change in general consist of a persons cognitions about change, affective reactions to change, and behavioral tendency toward change. Positive attitudes to change were found to be vital in achieving organizational goals and in succeeding in change programmes (Eby et al., 2000; Martin, 1998; Kotter, 1996; Gilmore and Barnett, 1992). 2.6.1 Indicators of employee attitude The concept of the employees attitudes encompasses a wide range of organisational phenomena (Loscocco and Roschelle, 1991). However, the most significant aspect of this study is the view that employees attitudes are the extent to which people of the organisation are able to meet the essential individual needs through their experience to give better performance. There are various employees attitudes that have been selected for inclusion in this study and they will be discussed further. 2.7 Job Satisfaction The first major cause that will be addressed is job satisfaction. In general, HR practitioners recognise the value of the work condition as a cause of employee attitudes, and it is an area HR can help influence through organisational programs and management practices. In addition, one of the most important areas of the work situation is to influence the work itself and it is often overlooked by practitioners when addressing job satisfaction. Currie (2001) suggests that satisfaction is linked to level to which an individual is satisfied with terms and conditions of employment and the factors relates to the physical work environment. For example, an employee may be satisfied with its pay and their relationship with their peers at work or are satisfied with company policy. Job satisfaction is generally known as a versatile construct which encompasses employee feelings about a range of both intrinsic and extrinsic job elements. It includes essential elements of satisfaction related to work conditions, pay, supervision, promotion, relationship with co-workers and organisational practices. (Misener et al., 1996). As stated, the work situation also matters in terms of job satisfaction and organisation impact. Contrary to some commonly held practitioner beliefs, the most notable situational impact on job satisfaction is the nature of the job itself-often called intrinsic job characteristics. Research studies across many years, organisations, and types of jobs indicate that employees give more importance to the nature of the work itself when asked to evaluate different facets of their job such as supervision, pay, promotion opportunities, coworkers, and so forth. (Judge Church, 2000; Jurgensen, 1978). This is not to say that good salary or effective supervision is not important but rather much more consideration should be given to job satisfaction by ensuring that work is interesting and challenging as possible. Of all the main criteria of job satisfaction the works nature involves job challenge, autonomy, variety and scope with other key results like employee retention. (e.g., Fried Ferris, 1987; Parisi Weiner, 1999; Weiner, 2000). Thus, to understand what causes people to be satisfied with their jobs, the nature of the work itself is one of the first places for practitioners to focus on. 2.7.1 Employee satisfaction Employee satisfaction is often referred to as job satisfaction. This is to say that employee needs and wants are satisfied when they perceive certain rewards from the organisation, including compensation, promotion, recognition, development, and meaningful work, meet or exceed their expectation (Hackman and Oldham, 1980). The next general point to look at is the notion of wellbeing at work, which (Peccei, 2004) suggests concern an overall sense of happiness, physical and mental health of the workforce. (Currie, 2001). However Warr (2002) argues that job-related wellbeing refers to peoples satisfaction with their jobs in terms of facets like pay, colleagues, supervisors, working conditions, job security, training opportunities, involvement, team working and the nature of the work undertaken. Among determinants of job satisfaction, leadership is viewed as an important predictor and plays a central role. 2.8 Leadership Style Among the different factors of job satisfaction, leadership is viewed as an important predictor and plays a central role. Leadership is a management function, which is mostly aimed at people and social interaction, as well as motivating people so that they will work towards achieving organizations goals. (Skansi, 2000). Organization believes that their success is in achieving its goals and objectives and this depends on the managers and their leadership style. By adopting the needed leadership style managers can influence job satisfaction, commitment and productivity of employees. Leadership style can be categorized as a variety of characteristics and skills, behaviors and managerial attitudes which are based on individual and organizational values. (Mosadeghrad, 2003b). It is the ability of the leader to motivate employees do perform to the maximum and is also the extent to which workers are respected, operation is done with honesty and integrity, promotion of efficiency and having open lines of communicationwith employees (Aronson et al., 2003). Leadership styles comprises of autocratic, bureaucratic, laissez-faire, charismatic, democratic, participative, situational, transactional, and transformational leadership (Mosadeghrad 2003b, 2004). If can be noticed that it is not that a certain style of leadership should necessary result in successful organisational behavior. There is need of different styles for different situations and leaders should know which approach to adopt. A leader may have the skills to act effectively in a particular situation but may not able to perform so in another context. A lot of research stem from research on transformational and charismatic leadership, which have been found to positively affect followers performance and attitudes (Bass and Avolio, 1993 and Shamir et al., 1993). According to Bass (1990, p. 21), transformational leadership takes place when leaders expand and promote the interests of their employees, when they create awareness and acceptance of the purposes and mission of the group, and when they encourage their employees to work towards the benefit of the group and not for their own self interest. Howell and Frost (1989) found that individuals working under a charismatic leader had higher task performance, task satisfaction, and lower role conflict. 2.9 Employee Commitment The concept of organisational commitment refers to a persons affective reactions to characteristics of his employing organization. (Cook and Wall, 1980) Commitment is an internalised employee belief, often associated with soft HRM and a high-trust organisational culture (Mathews and Shepherd, 2002) and is frequently associated with an exchange relationship between the employer and employee. From the point of view of employees, they commit to an organisation in return for certain rewards, which can be extrinsic (salary) and intrinsic (belonging, job satisfaction). Legge (1995) suggests that the attitude conceptualisation suggests that dedicated employees have confidence on the organisations goals and values, show enthusiasm to put maximum effort and have a strong will to stay with the organization. As such, affective commitment is viewed as an employees positive attachment to the employing organisation and a willingness to contribute towards the attainment of organisational goals (Mowday et al., 1979). Employees with high organisational commitment are more willing to put more effort in a change project and, therefore, it is more likely to develop positive attitudes towards organizational change. (Iverson, 1996; Guest, 1987). Furthermore, employee satisfaction has been positively correlated to service quality, which was then linked to increased customer satisfaction (Pugh et al., 2002). Customer satisfaction has been linked with the financial performance of the company, suggesting that employee satisfaction is linked to financial performance (Terzo, 2005). Further research has shown that satisfied employees have a positive impact on the companys profits (Jakobson Rauch, 2005). Different variables from employees all link to the customer, which links to the companys profitability and revenue growth (Pugh et al., 2002). Employee voice has been viewed as an aspect of high commitment HRM, and it is considered essential that workers should have the opportunity to express their grievances openly and independently, in addition to being able to contribute to management decision making on task-related issues (Gould-Williams, 2004). Thus it can be said that business success requires more than just satisfied and loyal employees. Instead, it demands the kind of employees who are willing to serve as advocates for the organisation that is committed employees. So, employee commitment represents employee dedication to help the company to achieve its goals. It includes manifests like dedication to doing work of high quality, commitment to resolving customers problems, the investment of adequate time and effort in the work and the will to recommend the companys products and services. 2.10 Job involvement Job involvement is likely to be affected by aspects of organisational culture. Job involvement is important because of well-established associations with a range of organisational outcome (Gray et al., 2003). It is also found that employees who are more involved in jobs are more satisfied with their jobs and can be expected to be more committed to their organization (ODriscoll and Randall, 1999). Employees who are highly committed towards their organization are more likely to stay than those who are relatively uncommitted (Tett and Meyer, 1993). Employee attachment is an important determinant in predicting organizational success. They describe attachment as having a strong affective component-the degree to which the customer or employee has a positive emotional connection with the organisation. It is believed that the way employees are treated (HR practices) leads to a shared employee mind set. This, in turn, leads employees to behave in ways (employee practices) that contribute to a customer mindset that, in turn, contributes to a retention and attraction of customers and the resultant competitive advantage. Therefore, job satisfaction and job involvement are attitudes which are determined by individuals perceptions of their total job situations, including the physical work environment, the terms and conditions of their employment and the degree to which they are given autonomy, responsibility, authority and empowerment in their jobs (Kersley et al., 2006) Thus Organisations that promote and maintain commitment, job satisfaction and work-life balance satisfaction (wellbeing) of their employees through the implementation of high commitment HRM practices will benefit most by superior organisational outcomes and productivity through establishing long-term relationships of support and trust with employees. Organisations that do not pay attention to employee wellbeing at work will have in the long term to deal with the effects of less productive employees. 2.11 Career satisfaction Career satisfaction was included since such satisfaction refers to overall affective reaction of individuals to their career (Greenhaus et al., 1990). It is reasonable to expect that high levels of career satisfaction would enhance organisational commitment since employees who are satisfied with their careers should perceive greater benefits in retaining membership in their organization than employees whose career have been less gratifying (Igbaria and Greenhaus, 1992). 2.12 Big five The big five model include five dimensions of personality traits. These traits are useful in determining the behaviour of individuals. These are: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. Furnham (1997) found that extrovert persons are highly motivated by intrinsic factors. It has been seen that extrovert person would respond more quickly to rewards than introverts. There are other examples that shows how personality traits may affect attitudes is an individual openness to experiences and this allow them to be more innovative and thus more satisfied with their job. (Furnham et al., 2005). Conscientiousness is viewed in earlier findings and suggests that this trait is a constant indicator of job satisfaction. (Furnham et al., 2002). This influence can be explained as conscientious individuals are prone to greater level of intrinsic and extrinsic reward as they are well organized therefore continuously increasing job satisfaction. 2.13 Motivation Herzberg et al.s (1959) two-factor theory of motivation stated that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are two separate entities caused by different facets of work and they were labeled as hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors are categorized as extrinsic factors of job design that add to employee dissatisfaction when not met. Some examples are: supervision, working conditions, company policies, salary, and relations with co-workers. On the other hand motivators are intrinsic to the job and include achievement, development, responsibility and recognition. There is a very old discussion on whether hygiene factors do contribute to job satisfaction. (Furnham et al., 1999; Warr, 1987). 2.14 Managing Employee Negative Attitudes Managers can influence employees in having positive attitudes. Employees should understand behaviours so as to help them to change their attitudes. There should be the will to implement changes even if certain disagree with the idea. Moreover the organisation must focus on opportunities rather than concentrating on maters that is not working. Like this negative attitudes can be controlled to a certain extent. 2.15 Constraints to achieving positive employee attitude It is said that everyone should have a positive attitude. In practice it is really difficult to maintain a positive attitude every time. Whenever a problem arises, change in attitude is obvious to such an extent that having negative attitude cannot be avoided. Lacking positive attitude is the basis cause of stress, worry, demoralisation, nervousness and depression. Nowadays almost everybody is in tension. Employees are tensed because of job dissatisfaction. 2.16 Conclusion The literatures conducted can be summarised with the use of a conceptual framework as shown below: Figure 2.1: The conceptual framework This framework helps to determine all the factors that do indeed leads to the development of positive attitudes of the employees. The main attributes being job satisfaction followed by leadership style and employee commitment. These factors in turn lead to organisational performance and thus the success of the organisation. In this context performance is mainly measured through customer satisfaction which is considered to be crucial for any organisation. Thus it can be said that there do exist a relationship between employee attitudes and performance as it has proved in the above literatures.

The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Genetics Science Technolog

The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Imagine a world where diabetes is effectively treated, where cancer has a cure, and where food is altered for higher quality and increased production. This â€Å"fantasy† world is on the brink of becoming a reality due to advances in genetic engineering and cloning. These medical innovations have the potential to revolutionize our lives in numerous ways. However, the fear of controversy and the fear of the â€Å"new† could hinder and possibly halt any progress that we are capable of making. There are concerns that society should carefully consider. It is important, though, to thoroughly research and examine a topic in order to understand why there should be no fear caused by cloning and genetic engineering one must know the factual processes behind them before a strong argument on behalf of their advancement can be formed. Cloning and genetic engineering are very controversial subjects; however, when used appropriately as a means to solve a problem or ease pain and suffering in a person, rather than to â€Å"play God† and take life into one’s own hand can be very beneficial. The pursuit of cloning and genetic engineering should be continued as they provide a means for improving health care and making major advancements in food production and waste disposal because when ethics come into play the facts show that the two are not actually processes in which ethical issues should arise. The terms â€Å"genetic engineering† and â€Å"cloning† are often used interchangeably but there are conceivable differences between the two that should be pointed out. Genetic engineering is the alteration of one’s DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, (Walker 1). It is defined as, â€Å"the use of manipulations of an individual’s genetic ma... ...r, Ronald. Beyond Cloning : Religion and the Remaking of Humanity. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001. â€Å"First Cloned Human Embryos Created.† 27 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. www.newscientist.com/hottopics/cloning/ â€Å"Human Cloning: The Process.† 8 April 1998. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~jones/tmp352/projects98/group1/how.html. Ridley, Mark. The Cooperative Gene. New York: The Free Press, 2001. â€Å"Should Cloning Be Banned?† 25 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 16 Feb 2003. http://reason.com/biclone.shtml Thompson, Larry. Correcting the Code: Inventing the Genetic Cure for the Human Body. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Wilmut, Ian, Keith Campbell, and Colin Tudge. The Second Creation: Dolly and the Age of Biological Control. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Genetics Science Technolog The Pursuit of Genetic Engineering Imagine a world where diabetes is effectively treated, where cancer has a cure, and where food is altered for higher quality and increased production. This â€Å"fantasy† world is on the brink of becoming a reality due to advances in genetic engineering and cloning. These medical innovations have the potential to revolutionize our lives in numerous ways. However, the fear of controversy and the fear of the â€Å"new† could hinder and possibly halt any progress that we are capable of making. There are concerns that society should carefully consider. It is important, though, to thoroughly research and examine a topic in order to understand why there should be no fear caused by cloning and genetic engineering one must know the factual processes behind them before a strong argument on behalf of their advancement can be formed. Cloning and genetic engineering are very controversial subjects; however, when used appropriately as a means to solve a problem or ease pain and suffering in a person, rather than to â€Å"play God† and take life into one’s own hand can be very beneficial. The pursuit of cloning and genetic engineering should be continued as they provide a means for improving health care and making major advancements in food production and waste disposal because when ethics come into play the facts show that the two are not actually processes in which ethical issues should arise. The terms â€Å"genetic engineering† and â€Å"cloning† are often used interchangeably but there are conceivable differences between the two that should be pointed out. Genetic engineering is the alteration of one’s DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, (Walker 1). It is defined as, â€Å"the use of manipulations of an individual’s genetic ma... ...r, Ronald. Beyond Cloning : Religion and the Remaking of Humanity. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001. â€Å"First Cloned Human Embryos Created.† 27 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. www.newscientist.com/hottopics/cloning/ â€Å"Human Cloning: The Process.† 8 April 1998. On-line. Internet. 10 Feb 2003. http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~jones/tmp352/projects98/group1/how.html. Ridley, Mark. The Cooperative Gene. New York: The Free Press, 2001. â€Å"Should Cloning Be Banned?† 25 Nov. 2001. On-line. Internet. 16 Feb 2003. http://reason.com/biclone.shtml Thompson, Larry. Correcting the Code: Inventing the Genetic Cure for the Human Body. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Wilmut, Ian, Keith Campbell, and Colin Tudge. The Second Creation: Dolly and the Age of Biological Control. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000.

Alistair MacLeods No Great Mischief Essay example -- Alistair MacLeod

Alistair MacLeod's "No Great Mischief"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In No Great Mischief, Alistair MacLeod proves to the reader that it is impossible to talk about the Scottish-Canadian heritage without mentioning tradition, family and loyalty. MacLeod wrote this book about loyalty to family tradition. It is common to talk about these three things when one describes his family or his past in general, but in this book, MacLeod has included every single intricate detail about each one of the three aspects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Family plays the biggest role in this novel. Anything that the characters say or do usually has to do with family. The first time Alexander MacDonald, the narrator of the story, mentions family it is not his own. It is one of the immigrant families picking berries along the road that he is driving on (MacLeod 1). This point takes him directly into a slight mention of his own family: the grandmother (3). Since there is no main character in the book, it is thought to be the narrator. However, I wish to disagree with this fact and say that the real main character in this book is Alexander’s brother, Calum, who lives in Toronto. The first time Calum is introduced, one of the first things to come out of his mouth is of family: â€Å"I have been thinking the last few days of Calum Ruadh,† (11). We find out that Alexander has a close relationship with his brother and he drives to Toronto to visit him every weekend. This has become almost a tradition because he does not visit him to actually have a constructive conversation or to resolve a problem, although Calum has many of them, the most serious of which is drinking, but instead he visits him only for the sake of visiting him. It is also a tradition in that they do the same thing every time: they drink, not so much Alexander as Calum. We later find out that Alexander has a similar tradition set up with other family members. The most distinct of which is his relationship with his grandmother: Grandma. When he visits Grandma, it is always the same routine: they sing long Gaelic songs, like the ones that their ancestors would. Alexander, for most of the first half of the book, does not talk about his present day family as much as his ancestors. He provides the reader with the information about how he wound up in Canada and what his ancestors had to go through to get here. Throughout this part of the book, Alexander makes it seem as... ...xample, the way that grandfather dies is probably one of the best ways to go: he was relaxed, not in pain, and he was doing what he loved most: reading his history textbooks. In the latter part of the book, whenever there is any mention of grandfather anywhere he is always either reading a book or sleeping (228, 264). Everyone in the family is always content, no matter what kind of trouble they go through or how much they have enjoyed; they have always had enough to satisfy them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Towards the end of the novel, the reader is more and more convinced that the MacDonalds have serious problems. Regardless of how attached you are to your past it is way too much to still live on the same piece of land that someone from your family, your ancestor, has lived on in 1497. The MacDonalds live there not because they cannot afford something better but because they truly cherish the land that their ancestors cultivated and took care of. At the very end of the book, when Calum wishes for Alexander to take him back out to the East Coast to die there, it seems to be almost apologetic and gives the reader the impression that the brothers have to keep reminding themselves of their heritage.

How to burn a cd :: essays research papers

This is copied off of howstuffworks.com i just needed something to get into an account.. sorry. In 2000, one of the biggest news stories was the rise of Napster and similar file-sharing programs. With these programs, you could get an MP3 version of just about any song you want without shelling out a dime. The record companies were fairly upset over this turn of events, and understandably so: They weren't making any money off the distribution of their product to millions of people. An external writable CD drive, also called a CD burner: With this type of drive, you can take music or data files from your computer and make your own CDs. But there was money to be made on the "Napster revolution," as electronics manufacturers and retailers soon discovered. In 1999, 2000 and early 2001, sales of CD burners and blank CD-Recordable discs skyrocketed. Suddenly it was feasible for the average person to gather songs and make their own CDs, and music-mix makers everywhere wanted to get their hands on the means of production. Today, writable CD drives (CD burners) are standard equipment in new PCs, and more and more audio enthusiasts are adding separate CD burners to their stereo systems. In less than five years, CDs have eclipsed cassette tapes as the mix medium of choice. In this edition of HowStuffWorks, you'll find out how CD burners encode songs and other information onto blank discs. We'll also look at CD re-writable technology, see how the data files are put together and find out how you can make your own music mixes with a CD burner. CD Basics A CD has a long, spiraled data track. If you were to unwind this track, it would extend out 3.5 miles (5 km). If you've read How CDs Work, you understand the basic idea of CD technology. CDs store music and other files in digital form -- that is, the information on the disc is represented by a series of 1s and 0s (see How Analog and Digital Recording Works for more information). In conventional CDs, these 1s and 0s are represented by millions of tiny bumps and flat areas on the disc's reflective surface. The bumps and flats are arranged in a continuous track that measures about 0.5 microns (millionths of a meter) across and 3.5 miles (5 km) long. To read this information, the CD player passes a laser beam over the track.

Jonathan Edwards Essay

1. Explain the mood of this passage. The mood of this passage is somber and serious. During the passage Jonathan is in a very serious tone. 2. Using specific examples, give one example of a metaphor, one example of a simile, and one example of an allusion that Edwards uses in this passage from the sermon to elicit this particular mood. Jonathan Edwards is a preacher trying to scare his congregation into salvation he compares them to insects dangling over the fires of hell and only god’s mercy keeps them from burning. The mood is angry and urgent. A metaphor would be the fire of wrath. A simile would be comparing people on the summer threshing floor. An allusion would be hell. A word that makes the tone clear would be â€Å"consider the fearful danger you are in. Lastly an image would be a spider hanging over furnace by a string held by a big hand that could drop it any time. 3. What specific words (minimum of three) does he choose to make his tone clear? He uses lots of words to make his tone clear. He uses a very powerful tone of voice. He uses words like danger, wrath, damned in hell, etc. These words make the passage a lot more eye catching in my opinion. 4. What images (pictures in the listeners’ mind) does Edwards use in the passage to make his tone clear? What effect do those images have on establishing the tone of the piece? He uses god ´s â€Å"rough wind’ to make his tone clear. His tone is also very serious while he’s talking about this. 5. In the last two paragraphs of the sermon (refer to the Investigate page of this lesson) Edwards’s talks about an â€Å"extraordinary opportunity† his congregation has. What is this opportunity? How does his sermon persuade the congregation to take advantage of this opportunity? The opportunity that Edward is talking about in the last two paragraphs is ‘’Salvation.’’ He’s telling the people that only way not to get to hell is through salvation or else they’ll end up in hell and that’s not a place they would want to be.

Reading Strategies Essay

Identify two reading goals, one short-term and one long-term. †¢Long-term reading goal: Read on a college level. †¢Short-term reading goal: Complete two reading workshops. Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions: †¢How do you currently approach the weekly readings in the course? I currently approach the reading in the course very cautiously. When reading any of the material in or out of class, I take my time. It is important to do so because by going to quick, there is a chance of missing some of the material. By reading slowly I can assure myself that I have better chance of taking in more information. Also by removing myself from any distractions, I can concentrate harder on the things that I am reading. Preparing for my reading sessions in advance helps to optimize my chance of greater concentration on my reading materials. †¢How might you incorporate three of the suggestions covered this week into your study time? By using the four steps in active reading, I can optimize how well I concentrate during my study time. By previewing my material, I can get a visual guide to anything I may not understand before reading the material. Marking my work as I go along will help with keeping me focused and concentrating. By using correct time management and can make sure nothing interferes with my study time as well. Also by choosing the correct study location will help to block out any distractions that may affect my study time. Using all of these helpful ways well help me in enhancing all of my study time. †¢How might this plan help you accomplish your reading goals? By using what I have learned so far, I have a much greater chance on accomplishing both of my reading goals. Using the four steps of active reading, and concentrating on all of my materials; it will help with my long term goal of reading on a college level. My short term goal was to complete two reading workshops. By choosing a quite study location, I will be able to concentrate harder on my work. Turning of cell phones and not using social media web sites will help as well. If I can optimize my study time and location, I will have a much greater chance of completing my short term goal of completing two workshops.

Cypop5 Task 1

Ella O’Gorman Task 1 As a home-based child-carer I would like to provide parent’s/carers with information outlining the following: Current Legislation. Role of the Regulatory Bodies. Legislation is a very important part of my practise. It ensures that I provide a high standard of care for the children that attend my setting. There are several pieces of legislation that affect the early years and childcare sector but I have outlined ones that I feel are most important and relevant to my work as a home-based child-care provider. Children Act (1989) -This act aims to improve effective local authorities working to safeguard and promote children’s well being and support vulnerable children. The act aims to ensure that the welfare of the children is paramount, working in partnerships with parents to protect children from harm. In 1999 a document entitled ‘working together to safeguard children’ was published, it reinforces the message that all professional s have a duty of care towards children who are at risk of harm. Children Act (2004) -This act was to improve communication between various organisations, after the terrible death of Victoria Climbe highlighted the lack of communication between organisations responsible for her safety. As a result of this A Green paper entitled ‘Every Child Matters’ was published. This paper lists five outcomes which were identified in consultation with children and young people. The five outcomes are as follows: 1. Being Healthy: enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle. 2. Staying Safe: being protected from harm and neglect. 3.Enjoying & Achieving: getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood. 4. Making a Positive Contribution: being involved with the community and society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour. 5. Economic well-Being: not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their full potential. * Childcare Act (2006) – This act ensures that childcare in England is regulated and has replaced part of the children act (1989). The act covers registration and inspection which are carried out by the regulatory body Ofsted. This is when the EYFS was introduced.They inspect the standard of education and care framework for the early years and general childcare registers ensuring that the five outcomes set out in the children act (2004) and all Ofsted registry requirements are being met. * SENDA (2001) – Special Educational Needs & Disability Act – This act is intended to prevent the unfair treatment of individuals. The act requires reasonable provisions to ensure providers adopt an inclusive approach towards children with disabilities or special needs and everybody is treated equally. * EYFS (2012) – Early Years Foundation Stage -This comes from the childcare act 2006.It first came into effect on the 1st of Sept 2008 and then was reformed to be effectiv e from 1st Sept 2012 to take forward the Governments changes to the 2008 framework. This framework covers both the learning and development and the welfare requirements and is mandatory for all early years providers on the Early Years Register. The learning and development requirements are given legal force by an Order made under section 39(1)(a) of the Childcare Act 2006. The safeguarding and welfare requirements are given legal force by Regulations under Section 39(1)(b) of the Childcare Act 2006. Ella O’Gorman The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that all children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ it also gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life. The EYFS seeks to provide the following: * Quali ty and consistency – so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind. A secure foundation – through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of individuals which are assessed and reviewed regularly. * Partnership working – of practitioners and with parent’s/carer’s. * Equality of opportunity – by anti-discriminatory practise ensuring every child is included and supported. The EYFS has four guiding principles that help shape practise in the early years settings. These are: * Unique child as every child is and is constantly learning, they can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured; Positive relationships as all children learn to be strong and independent through these; * Enabling Environments help children to develop well, their experiences respond to their individual needs and there should be a strong partnership between practitioners and parents/carers; * Childre n develop and learn in different ways at different rates The framework covers education and care for all children including special educational needs and disabilities. As mentioned before the EYFS covers both learning and development and the welfare of children. Learning and Development Requirements:This section defines what providers must do in partnership with parents/carers. The learning and development requirements compromise: * The seven areas of learning and development and the educational programmes; * The early learning goals, which are the knowledge, skills, and understanding that all young children should have gained by the end of reception year; * The assessment requirements (when and how practitioners must assess children’s achievements and how they share this progress with parents/carers). The seven areas of learning are divided into two areas.All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are crucial for igniting childrenâ⠂¬â„¢s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. Prime Areas – the three areas cover; * Communication and language – The early learning goals for this area are; Listening and attention Understanding Speaking 2 Ella O’Gorman * Physical Development – The early learning goals for this area are; Moving and Handling Health and Self Care * Personal, Social and Emotional Development – The early learning goals for this area are; Making relationshipsSelf-confidence and self awareness Managing feelings and behaviour Providers must also support children in four areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened Specific Areas – The four areas are; * Literacy – The early learning goals for this area are; Reading Writing * Mathematics – The early learning goals for this area are; Numbers Shape, space and measure * Understanding of the world – The early lear ning goals for this area are; People and communities The world Technology * Expressive Arts and Design – The early learning goals for this area are; Exploring and using media and materialsBeing imaginative Assessment – at the end of the EYFS. Practitioners are expected to complete an EYFS profile on each child. The profile provides parents/carers and teachers with a well rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities. The profile must reflect ongoing observation and each child’s development must be assessed against the early learning goals. Practitioners must indicate whether children are meeting expected levels of development, or if they are exceeding expected levels, or not yet reaching expected levels (emerging).Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements: This section defines what providers must do to help children develop in a safe and secure environment. These cover: * Safeguarding and Promoting Children’s Welfare – Alwa ys working to promote children’s welfare and their good health and the way in which their behaviour is managed. * Suitable people – Making sure that all adults looking after children or having unsupervised access are suitable to do so, qualifications and training and adult: child ratios. Childminders are responsible. Ella O’Gorman * Suitable premises – Maintaining the safety and suitability of outdoor/indoor spaces, furniture, equipment and toys. Also health and safety law, and need to register as a food business and deal with food/hygiene appropriately. * Organisation – The planning and organisation of systems. Ensure that all receive an enjoyable and challenging learning and development experience that meets children’s individual needs. Documentation – The records, policies and procedures needed for safe and efficient management of the business and to meet the needs of the children. * Race relations Act (1976) amended in 2000- Child care providers are required to produce a policy on racial equality and to actively encourage positive relationships between members of different racial backgrounds. * Education Act (1997) – This act incorporates all previous acts since 1944 into one act. Set a time frame on the legal process for identifying and assessing a child’s needs as set out in the Code of Practise. Education Act (1981) – This act was the first official recognition of: Parent’s rights regarding children’s education and special educational needs. * Education Act (1993) – This was a code of practice to be published for children with special educational needs. Parents of children under 2yrs have the right to ask for a child to be formally assessed. * Family Law Act (1996) – This act sets out the guidance relating to safeguarding children. * UNCRC (1989) – United Nations Convention of the Rights of Children – This reinforces children’s rights al l over the world.It gives children and young people over 40 major rights, some include the right to a family life, the right to be protected from all types of violence, the right to be healthy, the right to have a say and to be taken seriously and the right to have an education that helps you grow as a person. The UNCRC gives extra rights to children in very difficult circumstances, including children in trouble with the law and refugee and asylum seeking children. * Data Protection Act (1998) – This act Controls how your personal information is used.As child carers we must not pass on information about the families we work with. (except in cases of safeguarding). Personal information should be kept safely locked away. * Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations (1995) – This act sets out basic hygiene requirements. It’s considered good practise for childminders to hold a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate. * Health Protection Agency Act (2004) – A UK-Wi de public body dedicated to protecting people’s health. * Public Health (Control of Disease) Act (1984) – This act covers the notification and exclusion periods for certain infectious diseases. RIDDOR (1995) – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations – This specifies certain accidents and incidents that must be reported by law. * COSHH (2002) – Care of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations – This deals with the identification, storage and use of potentially harmful substances such as cleaning fluids. There is more legislation that I use in my work. I have given a brief description of each one that I feel is important for my home based setting, others are listed below: If you would like to know about these in more detail please let me know. Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations (1981) * Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations (1997) * Toys (Safety) Regulations (1995) 4 Ella O’Gorman The Regulator y Body also has a very important impact on the way I run my home-based setting. Home-based child-carers must be registered with the regulatory body for their country before they can care for other people’s children in their home.All the regulatory bodies publish requirements, or standards and procedures that childminders have to meet in order to become registered. In England there are five general welfare requirements: * Safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare * Suitable people * Suitable premises, environment and equipment * Organisation * Documentation Regulatory bodies in the UK * England – Ofsted. * Wales – Care and social services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) Standards. * Scotland – Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. * Northern Ireland – Local Health and Social Services Trust.The role of Ofsted is to use the registration systems in place so that they can make sure that home-based child-carers: * Meet the requirements in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. * Are suitable people to provide care for children. * Can promote an environment where children are well cared for, are safe and their learning and development are catered for. Ofsted have processes and systems to control home-based childcare in the following ways. * Registration – This covers checks on all adults who will be on the premises at the time of operation. Inspection – Once registered inspectors carry out checks on the service you offer. This is written as a report and must be offered to parent’s. * Investigation – Complaints or concern is followed by an investigation into your service to make sure you comply with the welfare requirements. * Enforcement – If requirements aren’t met then Ofsted can take action against you. When childcare providers apply for registration there are 3 different registers. 1. Early Years Register – To care for children from birth to 5 years 11 months. This is compulsory. 2. Ofsted Childcare Register – To care for 6 – 8 years. This is compulsory. 3.Voluntary Register – For over 8 years. This is not compulsory. It is usual for childminders to go on all 3 registers so that they are covering the total age range. If you are on more than one register you have to make sure you can meet the requirements for all of the registers and show that you can meet the needs of the age range of children you are caring for. To become registered other requirements by Ofsted would be: * To be peadiatric first aid trained. * Have an enhanced CRB check 5 Ella O’Gorman * Be qualified at a minimum of level 2 in an area of work relevant to childcare * Suitable insurance cover. Pre-registration visit to check safety of premises. As well as being the regulatory body you need to register with, Ofsted would also require that you inform them of matters affecting the welfare of children: * If protection issues arise at your setting. * Any incident of food poisoning affecting two or more children. * Any serious accident or injury to, or death of any child while receiving childcare. Having legislation and regulating bodies in place ensures that children receive a high standard of care in all settings that a child attends away from home.This helps give you as parents/carers reassurance when leaving their children. Task 2 Accidents, illness and emergencies policy I aim to keep children safe when they are in my care. However accidents and illnesses can happen very quickly. I promote good health and take necessary steps to prevent accidents and the spread of infection and illness. My premises have been checked and they meet the requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage in England. I also review, update and practise my safety routines regularly including fire drills.As a registered childminder, I am legally required to have a valid first aid certificate. I can administer basic first ai d treatment on children as I last did my training in Nov 2012. I have a first aid box which is clearly labelled and kept in the cupboard in my kitchen which is easily accessible. I keep all parents contact details with the first aid box. All accidents will be recorded in an accident book, which is available to parent’s who will also be expected to sign a copy. I have a written permission form signed by parent’s kept in each child’s file, seeking emergency treatment for their child if needed.I check all equipment regularly for safety, and to make sure they are used using their correct guidelines and manufacturer’s instructions. All equipment is cleaned after use, either on a daily or weekly basis depending on type of equipment. I must notify Ofsted of any serious accidents, illnesses or injuries or the death of a child whilst in my care and any action I have taken within 14 days. If your child becomes ill during the childminding period or I suspect they ha ve an infectious disease. I will contact parent’s to collect the child.Ensure that the child is kept home until they have been well for an agreed amount of time. Please refer to sickness exclusion period table which is included. 6 Ella O’Gorman I have an arranged emergency back-up should an emergency arise. Procedure To ensure that this policy is implemented, these are the steps that I follow: All parent’s/carers are made aware of my policies and procedures during the settling in period. They will also be made aware of their responsibilities of collecting their child when they are sick. I go through all the paperwork with them and parent’s/carers sign copies to say that they agree.If concerns are raised adaptions can then be made. If there is an accident: I will comfort and reassure the injured child while making sure all other children are safe and well, in a secure place where I can see them. If possible I will deal with the accident/injury, if it requ ires further expertise I will ring 999 for help. If I have to attend hospital with the injured child, I will either bring the other children with me, or call my emergency back-up cover.This will be another registered childminder or known responsible adult. These people will be known to you and are named below. If I manage to deal with the accident myself, I will then contact the child’s parent’s/carers immediately. If I accompany the child to hospital, I will contact their parent’s/carers and ask them to meet me at the hospital. If I am not able to contact parents/carers in cases of emergencies then this may be done by emergency back-up cover. You will be expected to collect your child straight away.

An Essay on talk show as a part of the public sphere Essays

An Essay on talk show as a part of the public sphere Essays An Essay on talk show as a part of the public sphere Essay An Essay on talk show as a part of the public sphere Essay Essay Topic: Public Speaking Talk Has the holy book not lament that the people will not believe except the gospel is preached to them? Has it not also said that people perish for lack of knowledge? Talk show should be classified as a part of public sphere and in discussing this one should note that there is hardly any piece of work which relates to talk show as a public sphere that does not lay emphasis on Habermass theory. Habermas said that the media shows blurring activities in the public sphere: as it is being trivialized with unimportant news, activities rather than serious political issues. This was disputed by others who thought that even though talk shows did not meet Habermass criteria, it still contributes meaningfully to the public sphere through means of active public participation. In this essay Habermas would be a central figure in the discussion and also other theorist whose academic literature discusses on pubic sphere would be considered. There would be vast discussion on the dimensions that make up the public sphere other academic and popular literature would be used, history, benefits of talk show, analysis of a talk show amongst others would also be discussed. Tyra banks show and Oprah Winfrey show would be used as yard sticks to measure Habermas theory of rational critical public sphere. What then is talk show and what is public sphere. First let us examine talk show. Talk show A talk show is a television or radio program were one person or group of people come together to discuss topics put forth by a talk show host. Some times, talk shows feature a panel of guests, usually consisting of a group of people who are learned or have great experience in relation to whatever issue is being discussed. (Wikipedia). It can be said to a forum where certain individuals are called upon by an initiator to deliberate over issue(s). The oxford advance learners dictionary defines talk show as a television or radio program in which a presenter introduces a particular topic which is then discuss by the audience. The Museum of Broadcast Communication sees talk show as any unscripted conversation directed to the audience. Talk show is therefore a show organized principally around talk. Certain points are common in all these definitions the fact that talk show involves people, talking, audience, media, issues and host. Usually, talk show features a panel of guests consisting of people who are learned, relevant and experienced in relation to the topic on the show for that episode, at other times, a single guest is asked to discuss his work or area of expertise with the host. For instance, a gynecologist may be asked to speak on the issue of pregnancy and other related issues on the female human being or a lawyer having to speak on the issue of human rights. Talk show can be regarded as a part of journalism which has evolved in a popular direction as its tentacles are spread across the different issues of societal concerns ranging from public affairs(politics) to entertainment Forms of Talk Show There are several types of talk shows. Some are outlandish like the defunct the Graham Newton Effect while others are traditional like the Late Night Show with David Letterman but the common ones now is the informal guest host format in which the host welcomes celebrities or other talk worthy individuals in an informal discussion like Kakaki Africa shown daily on AIT. The second most common form of talk show is the Public Affair in which a host(s) interviews people in the news, shows of this format are Good Morning America or Meet the People and Peoples Parliament shown daily on AIT. Others are issue oriented talk shows like Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Maury, Tyra Banks, Rachael Ray shows and many others. Public Sphere First and foremost when we use the word publics it is people who are not in the same families, communities, and clubs; people who are not the same as each other. As such, they are central to the functioning of modern societies. The term public sphere is a metaphor that we use to think about the way that information and ideas circulate in larger societies, it is used in everyday to describe information when it is made generally available to the public. When referring to the term it could also be seen as a forum or arena or aspect of political life where people come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems and through these discussions political decision may or may not be influenced. Political sphere is a contrast to personal, domestic, individual or private issues; it bothers on any issue that occupies public space and interest. Public sphere is therefore formed around the dialogue surrounding issues rather than the identity of the population engaging in the discourse . Though public sphere is ignored in dictionaries, it is at the centre of any democratic society, it is therefore a discursive arena in which the talking populace converges to discuss matters of public interest and where possible reach a common judgment. The public sphere is seen as a theatre in modern society in which political participation is enacted through talking, a place where public opinion is formed; a bridge between the ruled and the rulers. Through the vehicle of opinion, public sphere puts the State in touch with the needs and aspirations of the society creating impression that the populace has a voice in the affair of the country. How did talk show in public sphere begin? What is known as talk show in public sphere today can be traced back to history to the time when men began to exist having to deliberate on issues affecting their common interest. The term talk show was a relatively late invention coming into the media in the mid 1960s. Before then some spontaneous talks was common in broadcasting for instance, all radio program from 1927 1956 talk show of one kind or another made up 40 60% of the day time schedule comprising general variety, human participation and human interest. From 1973 1974, networking television filled over half of its day time program hours and 15 -20% of its evening schedule with talk shows of assorted types. By the summer of 1993, the television page of USA today had listed seventeen (17) talk shows and from 1948 1993, over two hundred talk shows had appear on the air. Talk shows as a part of public sphere has indeed pass through a lot of circles, to get to the present stage. The first circle starting from 1948 1952 and feature hosts like Authur Godfrey, Dare Garroway, and Edward B. Murrow. These were the pioneers of talk shows in public sphere. The second circle covers the period from 1952 1972 and features great hosts like Johnny Carson, Barbara Walters and Mike Wallace among others. These persons were linked to programs that became an established profit centre for their networks. The third circle was from 1970 1980. This was a boom period, a time that saw the birth of new technologies of production and cheaper television studio, new methods of distribution via satellite and cable transmission and regulatory decisions. Chief among the host of this period was Phil Donahue. The fourth and last circle commonly referred to a post network era 1980 till date. Donahues success was emulated by others, the most notable being Oprah Winfrey whose popularity in talk show business has make her the most financially successful talk show host in TV. Others are Racheal Ray and Ricki Lake whose popular chips include issues on international conflict such as homosexuality and bisexuality. Taking us to the foreign scene, let us speak about how talk show began and evolved in Nigeria. Talk show as a part of public sphere in Nigeria can be dated back to the beginning of mass media. A major breakthrough of talk show in public sphere began in April 2000 with the birth of New Dawn with nearly one thousand shows. Top among the hosts of this period was Funmi Iyanda. Today, it is on record that Bunmis television talk show grew to become a strong voice of the people, a beckon of hope and a brand with integrity. Bunmis show came to limelight when she featured an eight year old Senu Gonoda who suffered from a congenital hole in the heart the effect of the show on the society was indeed overwhelming. People who are considered as the marginalized voice have used talk show as a means to reach out to high power (the government) to air their own opinion which in turn positively influenced the decision about the issue of concern. Talk show can thus be seen as a part of the public spher e because the media here has been used as a means of resolving an issue which was a problem of the society Are talk shows a part of the public sphere? In the work of a German philosopher Jurgen Habermas (who is a central figure in this discussion) in his theory of public sphere (1964/1989) he conceptualizes the public sphere as that realm of social life where the exchange of information and views of questions of common concern can take place so that public opinion can be formed. The public sphere takes place when citizens exercising the rights of assembly association gather as public bodies to discuss issues of the day specifically those of political concern. Yet his concepts of public sphere insists on the analytic centrality of reasoned, critical discourse, it exists in the active reasoning of the public and it is in such discourse that public opinion is generated which in turn shapes the policies of the state and the development of society as a whole. Public sphere is not of course a sphere; it is a metaphorical term that is used to describe the virtual space where people can interact (Hartley, 1992: pp1). A place where peoples conversations, ideas and minds meet- that is public space (Robbins, 1993: xvi). It is the place where information, ideas and debate circulate in society and where political opinion can be formed (Dahlgren, 1995: ix). Speaking in terms of interaction, there are three areas of analytic concern within the interaction dimension of the public sphere: discursive, spatial and communal. The discursive has to do with the nature of the talk which circulates, is the talk political, social and therapeutic? In the discussion of a particular topic there has to be unity and coherence in the questions, views and suggestion; spatial refers to the sites and settings of the social interaction. Where do people meet? What factors foster of hinder their interaction in these spaces? The spatial is seldom separable form the discursive, both together serve to define contexts and occasions, for example, an emotional type of talk the atmosphere would be conducive enough, the people would be comfortably sited; the communal aspect has to do with the nature of the social bonds between citizens, there has to be oneness amongst the people, that is having similar opinions on a particular issue, people talk to each other and thus give each other a sense of how there are thinking. Thus, the term public sphere, there must be interaction to permit and foster the processes of sense-making. The talk show clearly fits into the description mentioned above; as interaction is the key element, the site or the show is clearly defined and different issues are discussed in the shows. For public sphere theorist there are two dominant models of how such a sphere would operate to serve democratic ends. In Habermas view, the goal to be achieved would be an arena in which every voice was given equal access and all opinion would be heard and deliberated on, in ways that allowed for the development of public opinion. However, following a more Gramascian view how hegemonic norms- which are always unstable, dynamic and contested- develop, work through a process by various groups with varying agendas and view contest for a voice with an always negotiated, multifaceted and contradictory results. There are some major themes which are pertinent in both academic literature and popular saying about the public sphere, these are; that the public sphere is too trivialized- consumers are more interested in unimportant information about celebrity, scandals rather than the more serious issues (public affairs); it is too commercialized- critics thought that through the commercialization of the public sphere, it began to represent public opinion rather than to provide a free forum for the emergence of public opinion and also the media do not care about the material in the public sphere, it focuses more on monetary value; it depends greatly on spectacle instead of ratio argumentation; it is too fragmented- and it has caused people to become apathetic about serious public issues- people no longer care about the important issues. But other critics have said the public sphere been trivialized is not entirely bad as it has paved way for feminist in public debates. Habermass writing provides a vision of the ideal public sphere- a vision that is common both to academic and popular thinking. the public sphere should ideally deal only with serious issues of real importance- only party politics and not celebrity issues, sport or entertainment. It should not be sensational, easily accessible or commercialized. It should refuse to dumb down to consumers and rather demand that they work harder to improve themselves. It should only engage in rational, logical arguments: not emotional or spectacular appeals. And it should be unified and different kinds of culture. Despite the fact that Habermas stressed the standard that cuts out to be public sphere one should not forget the fact that talk shows also contribute immensely to public participation and expression. It has also been conceived that talk show may be considered as a different form of public sphere. According to Livingstone and Lunt (1993), they suggested that talk shows are a candidate for oppositional public sphere, emphasizing the expression of interested point of view that give voice to participants perspectives and aiming at compromise rather than consensus. Habermass bourgeois theory is different for the oppositional public sphere, while Habermass theory centers on rational critical discussion in which in an argument other position should be considered, the oppositional public sphere just aims for negotiation compromise. The oppositional public sphere favors feminist theory and women, the female viewers love the chance to hear the voices of ordinary people speak on everyday life Gerard Hauser proposed a different direction for the public sphere than previous models. He proposed that public spheres were formed around the dialogue surrounding issues, rather than the identity of the population that is engaging in the discourse. Emphasizing the rhetorically of public spheres foregrounds their activity. Rather than arguing for an all inclusive public sphere, or the analysis of tension between public spheres, he suggested that publics were formed by active members of society around issues. They are a group of interested individuals who engage in vernacular discourse about a specific issue. Publics may be repressed, distorted, or responsible, but any evaluation of their actual state requires that we inspect the rhetorical environment as well as the rhetorical act out of which they evolved, for these are the conditions that constitute their individual character. These people formed rhetorical public spheres that were based in discourse, not necessarily orderly discourse but any interactions whereby the interested public engages each other. This interaction can take the form of institutional actors as well as the basic street rhetoric that open[s] a dialogue between competing factions. The spheres themselves formed around the issues that were being deliberated. The discussion itself would reproduce itself across the spectrum of interested publics even though we lack personal acquaintance with all but a few of its participants and are seldom in contexts where we and they directly interact, we join these exchanges because they are discussing the same matters. In order to communicate within the public sphere, those who enter any given arena must share a reference world for their discourse to produce awareness for shared interests and public opinions about them. There are different genre of talk shows which can be divided into different spectrums; Public affairs format, conflict issue oriented (trash talk show) therapeutic format which centers on social problems in personal perspective. Most of the scholarly writings available labels talk show as trash television but it is worthy to note that one mans trash is another mans pot of gold, there is this conjured image of talk show as a place were demented individual with deviant behaviors scream at each other but this is not the case all the time as some have been seen to depict positive effects and enhances public participation which can be termed as public sphere. Studies have shown that talk shows offer potential for public sphering because it is one of the few spaces were ordinary people engage in conversation on television or radio, creates awareness of certain issues that are rarely included in topics of other forms of public sphere. Leurdijk (2000) qualifies talk shows as a postmodern public platform for debate; she concludes that the talk shows offers opportunity for women and men of different background to get their own voices heard, in a framework that allows for more diversity than traditional news media do. In other words, talk shows should be seen not just in the light of it been a public sphere but as a way in which voice is given to those who would not ordinarily be heard (an ordinary citizen is given a microphone an has the opportunity to ask a top government official a question), it gives people the opportunity to express their opinion /views on issue of concern. Talk show are more like a college of opinion, experiences and thru the sharing of individual experiences it allows not only new topics but different styles of talking about them. The restrictions of the bourgeois public sphere as discussed in the work of Habermas (1989) and his critics Calhorn (1992) are alleviated in favor of a more diverse spectrum of topics and styles considered appropriate for public concern and debate. Carpignano et al (1990) privilege the talk show as a new site within the public sphere which embodies strong democratic potentials. Amongst other things, they point to the fact that these programs are geared towards public debate using conversational discursive modes- they establish bonds of familiarity with television audience and the studio audience via its talk; also most times common sense prevails over expertise.

Philosophy of the Past and A Good Time in the Present

Philosophy of the Past and A Good Time in the Present Well, before I can start with the arguments of Hallowell and Porter, I have to summarize the reading so that it is understood what I summarized in my mind from the reading. I remember a couple different forms of thought being presented, the first of which was Epicureanism and the other was Stoicism. These were the two forms presented in reading that we are to write about.For all intensive purposes, to give a description of the two thoughts, Epicureanism was basically living with the absence of fear and lust, and accepting your role in life, by realizing that your life was predetermined and out of your control. The quicker a person could accept his role the happier and easier his life would be.As for Stoicism, there were multiple forms and transformations of Stoicism that were discussed in the reading, but the most basic ideal is that man must not concern himself long life, food, wealth, and power, but with the one thing that he can control, his emotions.Epicurus from GargittosControl of emotions and suppressing emotions lead to the transition from point to point more smoothly because God controls what happens in life, we control how we handle what happens emotionally.So, now that I have given a brief description of what the chapter was basically discussing, I will now discuss the author's views and arguments. It starts off with Epicureanism which was founded by Epicurus who was born an Athenian and opened a school in Athens which was secluded so that he and his followers could live away from the turmoil of the world around them. This is where it kind of begins to sound like what we would call a cult. He became a sort of divinity, almost like a god to his followers.Hallowell and Porter discussed...

Question Type - PrepScholar 2016 Students Encyclopedia

Question Type - PrepScholar 2016 Students' Encyclopedia SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT is a predominantly multiple choice test, with the only exceptions being a written essay and ten student-produced math questions. In total, the SAT asks 67 Critical Reading questions, 54 Mathematics questions, and 49 Writing questions. Altogether, these add up to a total of 170 questions (plus theessay). The questions typically increase in difficulty level throughout their sections, withthe exception of passage-based Critical Reading questions, which chronologically follow their accompanying passage(s). Note: this article is a series in the PrepScholar2016 Students' Encyclopedia, a free students' and parents' SAT / ACT guide that provides encyclopedic knowledge. Read all the articles here! Of these 170 questions, 160 are multiple choice and have five lettered answer choices, A, B, C, D, and E. The remaining 10 are student-produced Mathematics questions, alsoreferred to as "grid-ins." To answer these grid-in questions, students write their solutions on a special section of the answer sheet. The grids for each response allow for up to four digits. Students can also write in a decimal point or fraction bar. Despite variations in difficulty level, each multiple choice question is weighted equally towards a student's score. A student'sraw score, based on the number of his/her correct, incorrent, and skipped answers, is converted to a scaled score between 200 and 800 for each section through a process called equating. This process takes into accountthe scores achieved by all test-takers on a given date. For the essay, which is graded by two readers, students receive a subscore between 2 and 12. The essay prompt typically includes a quote or short excerpt, oftenrelated to a philosophical or social issue, followed by a question. This question asks the student to develop a point of view and support it with examples from his/her reading, studies, experience, or observation. There is a0.25 point deduction for wrong answers on multiple choice, so students benefit from taking a strategic approach to which questions they answer and which ones they skip. Many SAT tutors suggest that students guess if they can confidently eliminate at least one choice among the five possible answers. Students can also be strategic about how much time they spend on each question, taking into consideration the difficulty level of each and how they can gain the most points. Students receive their scores about three weeks after taking the SAT. College Board score reports present each student's correct and incorrect answers by section and question type. Students may also pay an additional $18 for College Board's Question and Answer service, which gives a detailed report of the student's answers to each question. The Question and Answer service is only available for tests taken in October, January, and May. Redesign Alert Starting in March 2016, the redesigned SAT will feature multiple choice questions with four answer choices (A, B, C, and D) instead of the current five. The new SAT will have rights-only scoring, meaning there will be no more penalties for wrong answers. Critical Reading and Writing will be scored together out of 800, and the maximum composite score will be 1600. Read more from theSAT Encyclopedia! Further Reading How to Get and Interpret Your SAT Results Should You Get SAT Question and Answer Service for Score Verification? Should You Guess on the SAT? 6 Guessing Strategies

Journal Article Review for Business Marketing Research Paper Example

Journal Article Review for Business Marketing Research Paper Example Journal Article Review for Business Marketing Paper Journal Article Review for Business Marketing Paper Therefore the advertising dollars involved have increased as the NFG has been able to attract ewers of teams not participating in the game. The research used Trail and Sesames (2001) Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption (MASC.) to Judge motives of spectators to watch when their team was not playing. The MASC. method concluded that participants In the study viewed drama, skill, and social as the key factors In deciding If they will watch a game/event when their favorite team is not participating. Analysis: The articles conclusions identify drama, skill, and social as the most important factors In attracting premiership of non-affiliated fans of the teams participating. This Influences the relationship between sports leagues/teams, television networks, and advertisers. Looking at It from the perspective of a professional league,team, these 3 factors are important as they would like to create a fan base thats independent of what team is playing and follows the league in general. The NAB has accomplished this by marketing around the skill level of their players. Through external analysis of their customer base, they are able to identify their customers needs and wants. Over the last 30 years, the NAB has been able to market their superstars to attract outwork TV deals and advertisers, For example, In the sasss the NAB revolved around Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. In the late asss and through the offs, the league shifted to Michael Jordan as their center piece and enjoyed the most success theyve ever had. In the early part of the asss, there was a lack of compelling super stars and the league suffered in popularity. Additionally the overall behavior of marquee players was a problem which labeled the league as full of thugs and criminals. This can be perceived as a weakness In the NAB marketing strategy as Its dependent on the character of their super stars. Recently though, the NAB has been revived with an influx of young, talented, well behaved good guys led by Lebanon James, Deanne Wade, Carmela Anthony, and many others. The most successful example of sports marketing to customer needs is the NFG. As the article stated it is the bench mark for sports marketing. Even more than the NAB, they have been able to appeal to consumers, and by extension advertisers, by offering an unmatched dramatic, skillful, and social experience. Top NFG players such as Peyote Manning are announces names. But Deanna n t ten NFG NAS created a social atmosphere round the game such that everyone, regardless of whos playing, is looking forward to their annual super bowl party. The business to business implications are greater for the NFG than any other league, and this is exemplified in the insane cost for a 30 second ad spot during the super bowl. The authors of this article use complex mathematical models to conclude what many consumers feel; without DORM, consumers have a reasonable willingness to pay (WET) a price that would allow all parties involved to be profitable. Therefore DORM may have a negative impact on their bottom line as many music pirates prefer legal content without restrictions. Article Review 3 Padlocking: International Journal AT Automotive electronic Ana Management little Dealer-carmaker relationship: the theories of the duality of trust and of power- dependence Authors: Nadia, Canonical Link: http://tiny. C/Dyads This article discusses the relationships between an automotive manufacturer and its independent distribution network, namely car dealers. A large portion of the vehicle manufacturing cost is taken on by the dealers, so a strong working business relationship is required between the MOM and the dealer as they are the main distributed of vehicles. The author concludes that the essential positive fa ctors in retreating this relationship are trust and fairness between the auto maker and the dealer. While the MOM/dealer relationship is most negatively affected by power and conflict. Trust fairness in the relationship will enhance collaboration with the dealers, allowing the MOM to implement new policies which require national or global compliance from their dealer network. Finally, the author concludes that to create a atmosphere of cooperation from their dealer network, investment in non-coercive and fair policy is a must. This article highlights how dependent automotive Memos are on their dealer striation network. For car makers their dealer network may be more important than for other Memos of consumer products as consumer products have many retail outlets to distribute their product. The relationship model outlined in the article suggests that trust and fairness are keys to bringing the dealer on board. Dictating policy by request and recommendation is much more likely to get results than through threats and legal action. While this study was done in the Italian marketplace, this hypothesis is being proved out in the current trouble TOYOTA is having with their safety and quality robbers. Of course there are many other factors involved as this is a hugely complex situation, but TOYOTA dealers are standing behind the company and they are able to coordinate a large recall efficiently (considering the circumstances and bad PR). This type of dealer commitment is bred by trust and fairness that TOYOTA employs when interacting with their dealer network. Additionally to trust and fairness, the influence of power completes the carmaker-dealer relationship. An authoritative stance is necessary and useful at times to gain compliance from dealers. Making sure the dealer understands that the auto brand (thus the MOM) is the biggest factor in selling vehicles, creates a dependency of the dealer on the MOM. My personal experience working at 2 large auto-suppliers over the past 10 years, I can confirm that many Memos apply a similar type of trust, fairness, and power relationship towards their suppliers. This fits into the competitive analysis model as the Memos have identified that they have an upper hand with the dealers (and in my case, supplier), but also clearly understand that a fair approach based on trust is in everyones best interests.

Palestinian Refugee Conflict.

Palestinian Refugee Conflict. A controversial topic that seems to arise in daily television programs, forms of literature, and even conversation is the Palestinian refugee conflict. With supporters on both factions of the issue and with increasing violence exhibited by both Palestinians and Israelis, it is hard to distinguish what is the main root of the problem and what can be done to solve it. This dilemma has plagued and effected both the Jewish and Arab followers, and politicians that range from extreme liberal Democrats to conservative zealots.Foremost, it is necessary to become familiar with why there is a dispute. Although most people believe the problem dates to the biblical era, it actually began in the late nineteenth century when the Zionist movement was created. This was established as a belief in which there should be a homeland and independent nation for the Jewish people called Israel. European Jews settled in the Ottoman ruled district of Palestine, which was home to mostly an Arab population.The main differences between the 1947 partition pr...After the Allies defeated the Ottomans in World War I, the British were given a ruling by the League of Nations to control Palestine. Jewish immigrants started to journey to Palestine unregulated. The high Arab population started to become the minority as more and more Semitic people moved in. After World War II, holocaust survivors also immigrated to Palestine. After that, the United Nations declared Palestine to be Israel, the new official Jewish homeland. Arabs fled the area as Israeli forces moved in and forced them out. The refugees set up camps and new villages in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The new nation of Israel decided that was also within their jurisdiction and forced them out, leaving the Palestinians with no home or country to call their own.The Jewish consensus was that Palestine rightfully...

How to turn your hobby into a successful business

How to turn your hobby into a successful business The world of work has undergone a fundamental change in the past few decades. No longer can an employee expect to remain with the same company for a career, enjoy all kinds of excellent benefits, and retire with a nice pension. These days a worker should instead figure he or she will change jobs several (maybe several dozen) times over their working life. This decline in employment stability leads many to ponder how to turn a hobby into a profitable home-based business. The good news is, thanks to the internet and related technology, the time has never been better.Here are some considerations during the transition.Differences between a hobby and a businessTo turn your hobby into a business requires more than waking up one morning and declaring, â€Å"My widget collecting hobby is now my livelihood.† While you can certainly do that, and maybe it will work out, to take full advantage of being a business (like the ability to deduct business-related expenses from your taxes), you need to be able to prove to the IRS that you are, in fact, attempting to turn a profit.A hobby doesn’t allow for these kinds of deductions.In fact, if you show an operating loss for too many years, you lose the presumption that you’re running a profit-seeking business and may have to prove that fact to the IRS.How do you show that a hobby is now a business?The best bet is to procure the things associated with a business: a separate checking account and phone line, business cards, and appropriate licenses are a good start. A well-conceived and written business plan helps also.The following are the steps for creating a business out of a hobby.Have a plan, strategy, and define goalsThe first thing to consider is the different ways to extract money from your hobby. This is the time to sit down and do some serious thinking.Who are your competitors and what do they offer?What can you do that delivers value and targets an unfilled niche in the market?You need to figure out ho w to either do something different or do it better. During this strategy brainstorming phase, other factors to consider are finances and what goals (short and long-term) to set. When it comes to establishing these goals, try a SMART approach and make them Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.Pick a name and placeWithout a great name, you’re dead in the water. Not only does it need to be dynamic, explanatory, and easy to remember, do your due diligence to make sure it isn’t already in use. Most state government websites have a searchable online business name database.Once you settle on the perfect name, your next stop should be the U.S. Copyright Office’s website to trademark it. A name worth having is worth protecting from competitor encroachment.Where in your house will you conduct business activities? You should set aside a room or space solely dedicated to this. Perhaps the best part about starting a home-based business is how cheaply and q uickly you can get up and running.For those with limited finances, saving the expenses of a storefront are the only thing that makes turning a hobby into a business feasible at all.Formalize your hobby as a businessSome formalities of transitioning from a hobby into a business have already been mentioned. Here are a few others. One of the first decisions you face is which type of business entity to choose. While many people select to start as a sole proprietor, you might decide that forming a partnership or incorporating as a C-Corp, S-Corp, or LLC better suits your situation.If you have questions, consulting a legal or tax professional is a great idea. This step, along with obtaining a Federal Tax ID Number, opening a business checking account and securing the necessary licenses (usually city and county) and permits allow you to demonstrate to the IRS your sincere intention of turning a profit.Leverage the power of networking and build an online presenceEven if your new business is a local landscaping service, you need an online presence that includes a website and at least one social media account.There’s no escaping the fact that, even for local businesses, the internet is where people go in today’s world to find information about products and services.This is how you establish a public face to show to the world, build a customer base, and create a recognizable brand. Don’t overlook the power of networking as you go through this process. The old saying that it’s not what you know but who you know that makes the difference hasn’t changed.Put yourself out there.You never know what you’ll get in return that might help your business.Treat it like any other jobPerhaps the most significant difference between a hobby and a job is that the latter requires constant focus and dedication in order to provide a meaningful income. Presuming you like to afford regular meals and pay for that roof over your head, this needs to be a serious effort.Don’t just treat it like a job. It is your livelihood.Which means you don’t just show up, put in your time, and not think about it again until the next day. As an entrepreneur, it behooves you to put in the time in the evening if necessary to study the market in order to create new products and services that will turn a new business into a profitable and long-lasting business.What better choice in life could a person make than to turn something you love to do into a way to generate a full-time income? That’s what the preceding steps are designed to help you do.Follow each in turn, and you could be living the dream sooner than you think. Good luck!Lisa Michaels is a freelance writer, editor and a striving content marketing consultant from Portland. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in business and tech. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter @LisaBMichaels