Mintzberg and Management Essay

Throughout the 20th century a strong focus was placed on the principles behind management with Henri Fayol’s 1916 publication ‘Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale’ being one of the first books aimed solely at deciphering and understanding the intricate concepts of management. In his book Fayol presents his classical model of management from the perspective on an executive. Fayol lists and discusses fourteen principles of management which, although non-exhaustive, provides a guide on the execution of what he proposed to be the five elemental processes of management. These five primary processes consisted of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling which advocated Fayol’s support of a dynamic system of management. In response to changing contexts, other new theories have been placed forward by other distinguished academia such as Henry Mintzberg (1973), John Kotter (1982) and C.P. Hales (1986) which offer more concurrent perspectives on the concept of management. Born in 1841 Henri Fayol had, after a three decade career as a mining practitioner, committed himself to the promotion of his theories on administration in 1916 through the publication of his book ‘Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale’ up until his death in 1925. Contextually influenced by the bourgeois environment of a post revolutionized France, Fayol advocated the notion of a flexible system of management which could be applied to more than just one setting. In his book, Fayol devotes more time and focuses on the five processes of management in contrast to the fourteen management principles as claimed by (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 358). The first element, planning, is defined â€Å"both to assess the future and make provision for it† (Fayol, 1949, p.43). He goes on to describe that this dynamic plan must take into account a list of factors such as resources, work-in-progress, and future trends. Organizing considers the functional components of organizations along with the personnel and discusses the ideal conditions required of them. Commanding considers the responsibility that falls on every manager. The goal of managers is to achieve maximum contribution from personnel towards the welfare of the company through a number of factors. An example of these factors would be elimination of the unproductive, having a thorough knowledge of personnel and their respective binding agreements and an aim to be a role model. The third element of  management is coordinating which is defined as the harmonisation of resources in their optimum proportions in order to achieve results (Fayol, 1949, p. 103). The indicators of a well coordinated organization include efficient departments which harmonize well with the rest, are well informed of their responsibilities and also work to constantly adjusted schedules based on circumstantial demands. The last element, control, focuses on the timely verification of plan implementations. This element is applicable to all the other processes and its sole purpose is to identify any complications, amend any issues and prevent future recurrences. Due to their flexibility in implementation, the correlation between the introduction of Fayol’s model and the sharp rise in US productivity levels as well as living standards supports his approach to management (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 348). Fayol’s approach is supported by another academic source (Hales, 1989, p. 12) which claims that â€Å"Fayol grasped the essence of management† through his classical formulation of the management functions. In 1973, Henry Mintzberg provided a new conceptualization about the roles of managers through his book ‘The Nature of Managerial Work’. Through his composition Mintzberg proposed and argued that the previously accepted role of managers which adhered to a systematic approach of planning, organizing, coordinating, leading and controlling were in fact false as through his diary analysis, Mintzberg was able to demonstrate that â€Å"the manager is not a planner in a reflective sense, and no amount of admonition in the literature will make him so. His milieu is stimulus-response.† (Mintzberg, 1973, p. 182). By performing an unstructured observation and interview procedure over a two week period, Mintzberg concluded the activities of his study managers could be categorized into three sets of behaviors or roles. He conceptualized these clusters of roles as: interpersonal, informational and decisions (Pearson et al, 2003, p. 696). Mintzberg also recognizes that all managers at some time exercise each of these rules but also that different levels of managers will give different priorities to them (Mumford, 1988, p. 3). In terms of contemporary management, Fayol and Mintzberg have contributed greatly to the understanding regarding the concept of management. However  both authors are not exempt from criticisms regarding their approaches. Fayol’s approach is widely considered to be too theoretical whilst Mintzberg’s approach has been criticized for not being theoretical enough. Despite their differences in approach, fundamentally the two theories not only share the same ‘elements’ under the guise of differently labelled terms, they compliment each other in terms of validity due to the strong correlation between results regarding the behaviour of managerial positions. (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 359) supports this judgement as the journalist goes on to state that not only are Fayol’s principles still relevant, they are interrelated at an elemental level with the model of Mintzberg. (Lamond, 2004, p. 350) reinforces this argument through study conducted on a large sample of male and female managers of different ages and at different managerial levels. Not only did the survey confirm that there were indeed a central set of manager functions, as placed forward by Fayol, there were also a generic set of managerial behaviours as proposed by Mintzberg. In concluding despite their contextual differences, Henri Fayol’s ‘Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale’ and Henry Mintzberg’s ‘The Nature of Managerial Work’ fundamentally share the same innate elements. This is supported by the results which derived from studies conducted by academic sources such as (Lamond, 2004) as well as the research by other academic sources (Fells, M.J. 2000), (Pearson et al, 2003), (Hales, 1989) and (Mumford, 1988). Subsequently both approaches are considered valid and have without a doubt contributed greatly to contemporary management theory. Bibliography Fells, M.J. 2000 â€Å"Fayol stands the test of time.† Journal of Management History, vol 6, no.8, 345-360 Lamond, D. 2004, â€Å"A matter of style: reconciling Henri and Henry.† Management Decision, vol. 42, no.2 p. 330-356 Pearson, C.A.L. And Chatterjee, S.R. 2003, â€Å"Managerial work roles in Asia. An empirical study of Mintzberg’s role formulation in four Asian countries.† Journal of Management Development, vol. 22, no. 8 p. 694-707 Hales, C. 1989, â€Å"Management Processes, Management Divisions of Labour and Managerial Work: Towards a Synthesis.† International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 9, no. 5/6, p. 9-38 Mumford, A. 1988, â€Å"What Managers Really Do† Management Decision, vol. 26, no. 5, p. 28-30

The Computer Crime Law in Ireland

Criminal law varies in different countries and temp to deal with computer–related crime. Due to the ever-changing and the sophisticated form of information technology, new type of computer crime surfaces everyday and is threatening the functionality of the system as an asset of a borderless information society. In order to manage and protect this vibrant digital age, new legislation is also put in place to combat these crimes. The existing laws might have been suitable for the old traditional computer crime; the use of a mobile device to denial your keylogg access to your car may have no legal reference in any formal computer crime law. This paper will point out some of the known legislations that exist in Ireland and the EU relating to computer crime, and the awareness in a computer forensic discipline. Introduction With the vast amount of business documents being written on computers, the popular use of email, transaction of business on the internet, computer keep most civil litigation evidence that exist in our present day. It is unimaginable for any business of a sizable scale to function properly, these days, without the use of computer or any form of computing device. Unfortunately, what was designed to help solve almost all problem that exist, (being social networking, e-commerce, entertainment, personal dairy, communication), is posing a great threat to the society that should benefit from it. Imagine a company that buys used cars online and re-sell them to make profits, provides its employees with fast internet access. An employer search through the usual websites and found an interesting car at cheap price, instead of doing the transaction unbehalf of the company, he bought the car for himself. The manager saw him with the car the next day and raised suspicion. He then consulted a forensic investigator to handle the case. Special procedures may have to be carried out during a computer forensic investigation in order that any information gathered is eligible for use in a court of law. The investigation revealed that he used his account to log on to the work computer for the deal during working hours. The investigator found something else, a child pornographic material on his computer. Is this a computer crime? r an abuse of company’s policy? , or something else?. Would the evidence found by an investigator contracted to do one job but did more be accepted in the court, if indicted? Would the Irish Data Protection Act of 1988 protect his secret from prosecution? or face Child Traffic and Pornographic Act 1998? Due to the fact that computer crime is generally new, specialized legislation is in place for some computer and digital specific criminal behaviour, and forensic investigators should be aware of this. The Irish Computer Crime Law The Irish Legislations that are relevant in the area of computer crime are the Criminal Damage Act, 1991, and the recent Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001. The Criminal Damage Act, 1991, Section 2(1) introduced the offence of damage to property, defined as – â€Å"a person who without lawful excuse damages any property belonging to another intending to damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property should be damaged is guilty of an offence†. Property includes data and damage to data includes the addition, alteration, corruption, erasure, or movement thereof, or introduction of a virus therein, which causes damage. It shall be noted that the offence requires the absence of â€Å"lawful excuse† and, in addition, requires the accused to act with intent or recklessness. Summary conviction or on indictment carries different penalties. On summary conviction the penalties are a fine of up to â‚ ¬1,270 or imprisonment for up to 12 months, while on indictment; the penalties are a fine of up to â‚ ¬12,700 or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. The 1991 Act introduced a range of offences. Section 3 of the 1991 Act introduced the offence of threatening to damage property and Section 4 introduced the offence of possession of any thing with intent to damage property. Both carry the same penalties as a Section 2 offence Section 5 then introduced the offence of operation of a computer with intent to access data without lawful excuse. The offence is efined as – â€Å"a person who without lawful excuse operates a computer within the State with intent to access any data kept either within or outside the State, or outside the State with intent to access any data within the State, shall whether or not he accesses any data, be guilty of an offence†. The penalties on a conviction offender are a fine of up to â‚ ¬634, or imprisonment for up to 3 months. The recent update in Irish legislation, regarding computer-related crime in Ireland extends the previous Act and introduced the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Offenc es Act, 2001. The 2001 Act introduced various new offences into Irish law, most importantly, the Act which appear under Section 9. Section 9 states – â€Å"a person who dishonestly, whether within or outside the State, operates or causes to be operated a computer within the State with the intention of making a gain for himself or herself or another, or of causing loss to another, is guilty of an offence†. This section introduced the concept of â€Å"dishonesty† into Irish computer related crime. The offender can be located either inside or outside the State and is required to act dishonestly, meaning â€Å"without a claim of right made in good faith†. The operation of a â€Å"computer† is required. The ever-increasing development of technology available to commit crime over the internet requires international co-operation beyond ordinary domestic legislation. Section 9 of the 2001 Act, which aim at a person, â€Å"whether within or outside the State†, point out the possibility of jurisdictional issues that comes up, and has allowed the courts to try an offender irrespective of their location at the relevant time. operates† physical machine must be operated from the state or cause to be operated; doesn’t require physical control of the machine, can be remotely controlled outside of the state. Section 9 of the 2001 Act, the presence of intent is required, that could relate to the unauthorised access of another’s computer or, alternative ly, authorised access of a computer for unauthorised purposes bad faith use e. g. DOS. The intention must be to make a gain, whether for himself, or herself, or another, or, alternatively, to cause a loss to another. This carries a more severe offence than existed law under the 1991 Act. An indictable offence that carries a potential fine of unspecified amount, or maximum of 10 years in prison, or both. Privacy and Data Protection Even if the Irish Constitution of 1937 does not clearly state the right to privacy, in the Kennedy & Arnold v Ireland [1987] IR 587, the Irish court recognised the existence of this law. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides that: †¢ Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and correspondence. †¢ There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The Irish Data Protection Act 1988 was passed on 13 July 1988, and implemented on 19 April 1989. This Act established the Irish Data Protection Commission. The Irish legislation was updated in 2003 by the Data Protection (Amendment) Act, which incorporates Directive 95/46/EC into Irish law. The law means Data protection is about your fundamental right to privacy. You may access and correct data about yourself, but those who keep data about you have to comply with Data Protection Act. An individual or an organisation that collects stores or processes any data about living people on any type of computer or in a structured filing digital system, found guilty of an offence under the Acts can be fined amounts up to â‚ ¬100,000, on conviction on indictment and/or may be ordered to delete all or part of the database. There are two major sections in 2003 Data Protection amendment; (1) Manual data which are held in filing systems, that is data that is recorded as part of a relevant filing system or with the intention that it should form part of a relevant filing system. (2) Relevant filing system means that the set is structured in such a way that specific information relating to a particular individual is readily accessible

Chiang Kai-shek Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Chiang Kai-shek - Essay Example Although many critics blame him for the atrocities committed during his regime, many people greatly appreciate his achievements with regard to the country’s economic development. Â   The early years of Chiang Kai-shek were not very smooth but he managed to attend the Japanese Military Staff College. After completing his military education, he served in the Japanese Imperial Army for a number of years. A staunch supporter of Sun Yat-sen, Kai-shek returned to China in 1911 to help in the creation of the nationalists’ army. Sun Yat-sen chose Chiang Kai-shek as a leader of the Guomindang’s Military Academy which was situated in Whampoa2. In the course of time, the he was sent to Moscow to study about the organization of Red Army for a period of six months. As a leader of Guomindang, Chiang favoured his former workmates at Whampoa and consequently appointed them in various ranks within the Guomindang. Sun Yat-sen died in 1925 and there arose a power struggle among his possible successors as noted by Guangdi3. At the death of Sun yat-sen, Chiang was a right wing while Wang Jingwei, Sun Yat-sen’s comrade-in-arms, was a left wing adherent. Wang succeeded Sun Yat-sen as the national government’s Chairman as noted by Shieh4. Chiang was in a better position to succeed him because he was the leader of the Guomindang army. He was seen as a more suitable leader for the position because his disciplined and loyal army was more likely to fight for him rather than fight for others. Politically, Chiang was in a central position in China which gave him the capacity to control a wide region. He organised a fierce campaign against Guomindang warlords and consolidated his leadership position in 19265. He went further to control Nanking, Ca nton, and Beijing which were the most important Chinese cities at the time. During his tenure as government chairman, he served as party

Locke, Berkeley, Plato or desecrates can be the topic of the Research Paper

Locke, Berkeley, Plato or desecrates can be the topic of the .(choose one) - Research Paper Example Appearance may refer to something that simple seems to be and the reality is what the object actually is. These two aspects are normative and positive respectively and a number of philosophers like Locke, Berkeley and Descartes have written about them as their main areas of focus in order to decipher what is appearing to be and what actually is in reality. This paper helps to provide an insight into the realms of appearance and reality with respect to the works of the above mentioned philosophers and how their theories and ideas have actually compelled the world today to think in a certain manner. The main reason behind which one actually began to understand a demarcation between appearance and reality is misleading situations in everyday life. Human beings have a vast imagination which can take them to places; however this same imagination leads them into thinking things that may not actually exist. For example, emotions like fear and terror are created in the minds of people. Fear of the dark or the unknown is something that most people possess as a natural instinct however, the fact of the matter remains that the fear is simply something that appears to be and does not exist in reality because the fear has been planted by someone or something else most of the time rather than arising out of some situation. There are times when people assume things and circumstances and end up realising that whatever happened did not actually take place, but it simply seemed to be a certain way. Reality is that aspect of life that people are actually living in the present. It is not easy for a man to be living in the reality without getting ideas about what to do next. Thus, arises the aspect of ideas and perception of the near future which gives rise to appearances. Appearance is something that seems to be or something that a person might think the actual situation consists of, but it

Generating forecasts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Generating forecasts - Essay Example Since the current and future customers have more money to buy the company’s goods and services, it is possible to predict an increase in the purchase of the stores’ product sales and services revenues. Statistical tools help make more informed store management decisions. In the same manner, the increase in certain independent factors may indicate a possible decline in the dependent factor. For example, an increase in the government’s taxes will reduce the workers’ take home pays or salaries. Consequently, the reduced take home pays will reduce the workers’ purchasing power. Consequently, the decision makers must expect a decline in the stores’ sales and service revenues. With the reduced take home pay, the employees must cut down their avoidable expenses. The table 1 data shows the company can generate the future weeks’ projected revenues (Johnson, 2010). The expected future sales are grounded based on the above multiple independent variables. The dependent variable is the revenues. As dependent variable, the sales output is normally dependent on the many independent variables. The above table shows that the competitors often sell their products at prices that are reasonable. A reasonable price takes into consideration several relevant factors. One of the relevant factors is the demand for the products. A high customers’ demand for the products will encourage the stores to increase their selling prices. However, a low demand for the stores’ products and services persuades the store managers to offer discounted prices. With the discounts, the customers will take advantage of the price reductions. A price reduction will normally trigger a higher demand for the stores’ products and services (Johnson, 2010). The above table 2 shows the summary of the statistical findings’ regression analysis for the ten weeks. The Multiple regression output is shown to be 0.63. The R Squared figure is 0.40. The Adjusted R squared figure is -.0950.

Arkansas History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arkansas History - Essay Example Perhaps all forms of cruelty upon slavery were being done by the white Arkansans towards the slaves of the land back then. Lynching, whipping, burning to death were just some of the major acts to punish the accused slaves with insurrection. Discernibly one motivation that provoked the white Arkansans to do such further cruelty with the black ones was the fear of the notion that blacks someday will take revenge or rebel against them. This was due to the previous account of the African-American's movement in Arkansas to emigrate in Africa during the 1890's, and the notion that such force able to do by the African-American Arkansans that may lead to revolution. Jim Crow law was then issued around 1890's as a solution for this threat through unifying racism (Dillard 2008). Critical period of the African-Americans is at peak between the times of the state's civil war during the 1890's and the crisis of Little Rock Central High School. The crisis in Little Rock somehow resolved some of the issues, as the 9 black students involved in the crisis made a breakthrough by fighting and winning for their civil rights. These diplomatic act from the 9 black students paved way the promotion of segregation that was an ideal resolution of the crisis that period (Dillard 2008). White County in Ar Arkansas History: Great Depression Great depression was the period that Arkansas is known to have its greatest drought throughout the land. The 1929 crash of stock market started the phase of the great depression in the country. White County in Arkansas was the particular place that greatly affected during the depression. Before the depression, the state was doing so well with their businesses especially White County, specifically farm productions (Johnson 2000). Many factors were considered that contributed to the hardship of the state, but one of the main reasons was the drought that happened in 1930. This apparently withered the livelihood of those in farm productions. Naturally, farmers cannot produce any crop as well as merchants were hindered to proceed on their trade due to the lack of capital and development. Data stated that there were about 4,600 unemployed male citizens of county in 1933. Many of the promising states or county were expanding and advancing before the depression, however, when the period hit, it affected many people's lives due to the economic and social suffering. Believing Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal will resolve the economic and social problem, they saw hope from his election as they were longing for the direction and assistance towards recovery (Johnson 2000). Arkansan then were forced to be more self-sufficient especially the women in order to survive the devastating period. They learned sewing, food canning and preservation, home management provided by the home demonstration program under the New Deal. Arkansas: Reconstruction of Education Isaac Murphy (October 16, 1802 - September 8, 1882) was the first Reconstruction Governor of Arkansas, whose administration was intriguingly known for its fiscal constriction. His tenure was the start of the healing of the "war wounds" even the southern part was still dealing with it. When all fled away from the confederacy, Murphy remained alone and continued with his reconstruction philosophy. His reconstruction approach through low key governance

Academic Honesty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic Honesty - Essay Example The main objective of academic honesty is to enlighten the students to become quite accountable and thus respect the works of others. It also enhances the value of one’s work in people’s heart. One of the facts worth observing is that students who cheat, lack academic standing and they tend to place greater emphasis upon the attainment of grades instead of acquirement of knowledge. Successful colleges maintain academic honesty as well as integrity. If there is a lack of commitment towards honesty as well as integrity students, will not be capable of attaining success in their academics. Academic honesty assists in identifying the kind of person the student is, the kind of employee he/she is likely to be in the near future along with his/her contributions towards the society. The urge to become the best has altered how people perceive honesty as well as integrity (Cazenovia College, 2012). The paper emphasizes upon the advantages, importance as well as impacts of upholdi ng academic honestyIt is the duty of the students to offer credit to the authors for borrowing their words or ideas. When the students make deliberate or unintended use of others’ work and do not concede the use, then it is referred to as plagiarism (University of Phoenix, 2012).... The urge to become the best has altered how people perceive honesty as well as integrity (Cazenovia College, 2012). Academic integrity is impacted by peer pressure, parental anticipations, role modeling, and culture and taught skills. Although it is quite easier for the university administrators to make the students comprehend what constitutes academic dishonesty by referring to plagiarism directly, however the topic needs to be treated in a positive way, stressing the ways and advantages of properly conducting academic research. Most of the students are of the view that because internet is a public domain which is not administered hence information can be easily copied from it without acknowledging them. However, it is vital to acknowledge the work that has been acquired by the students from the internet as well (IBO, 2007). Honest work helps in building self-esteem, skills as well as competencies. The students who cheat can never acquire knowledge and tend to undermine the quality of the education that is offered by the universities and the colleges. The universities need to set clear standards for assignments and grading. They are supposed to set rules for proper citations. Instead of threatening or scolding the students, it would be vital to make use of positive reinforcement. Faculties can impact the attitude of the students and hence reinforce student integrity by assisting them in making correct decisions (University of California, 2012). Students can easily avoid the plagiarism issues by taking a few steps into consideration. The students are supposed to plan their studies as well as assignments so that they can effectively have some time to

Laura Ashley is a global British iconic brand. With reference to Assignment

Laura Ashley is a global British iconic brand. With reference to knowledge management strategies and effective use of technology - Assignment Example Through KM, knowledge is appropriately distributed among every member of the organisation in order to enhance knowledge based productivity (Henczel, 2000). Contextually, it has been observed that since the past few decades a majority of the organisations have begun to emphasise on managing workforce in order to survive in a rapid changing competitive environment. KM primarily focuses on this accelerated changing environment through which organisations can transform their entire activities into ‘knowledge work’ and all of its employees into ‘knowledgeable workers’ (Uriarte, 2008; Fao, 2013). Laura Ashley plc is considered one of the leading United Kingdom based organisation whose operations are primarily based on dealing with designing, distributing, sourcing and selling of apparel items, accessories as well as home furnishing products. In the UK, the company operates with over 211 stores in which 134 stores deal with selling activities of various product cat egories, 54 home stores operates under home furnishing and accessories products and 21 stores act as a gift as well as clearance outlets (Laura Ashley, 2013). The essay intends to discuss the aspect regarding the way Laura Ashley implements KM strategies in order to attain competitive advantages. Additionally, this essay intends to delineate regarding the various approaches of KM strategies which Laura Ashley execute and follow in order to enhance its overall operational performance. Knowledge Audit Link to Strategy Codification Knowledge audit is considered as a systematic and strategic approach towards the dimension of KM by which managers obtain an opportunity to incorporate its diverse operational activities within their organisation. Knowledge audit facilitates to bring efficiency within the productive procedures and also assists to share valuable knowledge amid the internal as well as external shareholders (Botha & Boon, 2003). With the help of well-developed knowledge audit s trategies, an organisation can be able to identify suitable strategic directions in order to improve its knowledge based productivity. The objective of this strategy is to influence an organisation to maintain collaboration, coordination and make more consistent approach towards its goals (Hansen & et. al., 1999; Janicot & Mignon, 2012). In order to understand the role of knowledge codification, it is necessary to evaluate the attributes of the strategic options which are primarily implemented by Laura Ashley. With the aid of the KM strategies, the company can improve its work performance and also identify the sources of competitiveness. By emphasising on knowledge codification strategy, the company’s Information Technology (IT) and Research & Development (R&D) departments play an imperative role for sharing the knowledge production information by which it can instantly access and distribute valuable knowledge amid its team members (Che Pa & et. al., 2012; Laura Ashley, 2013) . Laura Ashley has primarily adopted and follows two major knowledge audit strategies i.e. codification and personalisation which helps the company to improve

How Critical is the Critical Period Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How Critical is the Critical Period - Essay Example It means that if the input of language does not take place after this particular time the individual will experience difficulty in obtaining a complete language. The proof for such a time is restricted, and assistance stems extensively from hypothetical disputes and similarities to other significant stages in biology like visual development, but nevertheless is accepted widely. Such a critical periods nature has however been the fiercest issues debated in cognitive science and psycholinguistics for decade. A Few writers have proposed an "optimal" or "sensitive" time other than a critical one. Some other writers dispute on the reasons that include cognitive mind of language factors and physical maturation. The critical periods duration varies as well greatly in various accounts. In animals, a critical period refers to the biologically determined period during which learning must take place in order for development to happen. During a small window of time, the juvenile bird listens to and copies the song of a tutor; after the critical period closes, such copying is not possible. Blindfolded kitten do not develop normal vision but if the blindfold is removed before eight weeks normal vision can be restored. In humans, if strabismus (crossed eyes) is not corrected in early childhood that is before the age of three a child will not develop normal binocular vision. The critical period for susceptibility to strabismus begins soon after birth and shows continued susceptibility to at least 4.6 years. According to Eric Lenneberg, language acquisition is not possible at the age of two because the human brain is not sufficiently mature. After puberty normal language acquisition is not possible because the brain is physically mature. Lenneberg says that there exists maturational limitations on the period that a primary language can be obtained. The acquisition of the first language depends on neuroplasticity. If the acquisition

Barriers for Adopting Electronic Health Records (Ehrs) by Physicians Essay Example for Free

Barriers for Adopting Electronic Health Records (Ehrs) by Physicians Essay Barriers for Adopting Electronic Health Records (EHRs) by Physicians Introduction In the article, â€Å"Barriers for Adopting Electronic Health Records (EHRs) by Physicians,† researchers analyze the resistance associated with adoption of EHR systems by U.S. physicians. Current research supports the notion that electronic health records are not vastly supported in the U.S., especially in comparison to other countries. According to researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical College, â€Å"Doctors who go digital do appear to provide significantly better health care† (Nordqvist, 2012). While there are many productivity concerns around implementing a new system, this article explains why physicians are resistant to the adoption of EHRs and how those oppositions can affect the system. Analysis of Key Issues In 2012 approximately 72 percent of office-based physicians had adopted any HER system and 40 percent had adopted basic EHR systems (King, Patel, Furukawa, 2012). While there are a myriad of issues associated with the adoption of EHRs nationwide, some of the most prevalent are miscommunication, misinformation and misinterpretation. Physicians are apprehensive about the level error that could prevail with using EHRs. Joseph Conn found that, â€Å"an alarming number of clinicians are anecdotally reporting a substantial increase in the incidence of wrong order/wrong patient errors wile using the computerized physician order entry component of information systems† (2013). Clearly physician resistance to EHRs is directly related to the safety of patients as an increased predisposition for error is being revealed. Conversely, EHRs can be equally superior as they can also contribute more accuracy to the healthcare infrastructure. The Missouri Health Connection shared that EHRs can pr ovide health records universally, â€Å"improving the coordination and continuity of care and promoting informed decision making† amongst many other things (n.d.). Findings Based on the results from the study there are 20 reasons that physicians are resistant to the adoption of EHRs; stemming from cost to doctor-patient relationship. With all the viable concerns that physicians have, they  remain resistant and the acceptance rate is still low. Personal Assessment The evolution of EHRs and its impact on Obamacare and the overall healthcare system is pioneering. Obamacare is based on the perception that health care in the U.S. is more expensive than any other industrial nation because the incentive configuration is inadequate. Ideally, the government would like for Medicaid and Medicare patients to be consistently healthy and otherwise reimburse the physicians for keeping them healthy. However, for this to work the government needs instant access to patient records. With this access the government can eliminate reimbursement solely on test and procedures but incentivize for health results. While EHRs are beneficial for physicians they are equally beneficial for patients. The ability to walk into any healthcare facility and the physician have access to your medical history is substantial. As it relates to someone with health complications, this can minimize the risk of misdiagnosis or allergic reaction. Deuteronomy 15: 7-8 says, â€Å"If there be among you a poor man of one of thy bretheren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth† (KJV). As Obamacare seems to favor those who are less fortunate or helps those who need healthcare, there is a need to support this agenda. No one should go without health insurance and there are an alarming number of citizens without it today. References Conn, J. (2013). HER systems pose serious concerns, reports says. Modern Healthcare. Retrieved from www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20130624/NEWS/306249952. King, J., Patel, V., Furukawa, M.F. (2012). Physician adoption of electronic health record technology to meet meaningful use objectives: 2009-2012. ONC Data Brief. Retrieved from www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/onc-data-brief-7-december-2012.pdf Nordqvist, C. (2012). Electronic health records linked to much better quality care. Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/251633.php.

Contemporary relevance of Porter’s Five Forces to corporate strategy

Contemporary relevance of Porter’s Five Forces to corporate strategy Introduction Porters Five Forces introduced back in 1979 by Michael E. Porter from Harvard University in his first book Competitive Strategy. It becomes international best seller, and considered by many to be a definitive work on corporate strategy. The book itself had been published in nineteen languages and re-printed almost sixty times, changes the way business leaders thought and remains a guide of choice for strategic managers the world over. It has become an important tool for analyzing an industry structure and strategy process [Morrison M., 2008]. Porters work has had a greater influence on business strategy than any other theory in the last half of the twentieth century [referenceforbusiness.com]. The tool provides a simple perspective for assessing the position and competitiveness of a corporation or business organization within the industry. Porter points out five forces which the upturn and downturn, will affect the profitability and existence for a corporation or business organizatio n. Business leaders and managers might be interested in this paper for the purpose of this paper is to discuss the contemporary relevance of Porters Five Forces to corporate strategy. An attempt also being made to find what is missing from this model related to corporate strategy in current business environment. In so doing, a comparison will be made between Porters Five Forces and another tool for corporate strategy. Another assessment made concerning the business environment in Porters era and current business environment. Porters Five Forceshttp://wiki.telfer.uottawa.ca/ci-wiki/images/e/e4/Porters.gif The development of this framework is based on the idea of attractiveness of an industry. As for the attractiveness itself, is determined by the profitability within the industry. More profit means the industry is more attractive and low profitability means a low attractive industry. The way of thinking in the model is to achieve a better competitive position against other players. The competitive advantages developed from strengthening the own position within this Five Forces. The Five Forces framework is based on microeconomics. It considers supply and demand, substitutes and complementary product, and the relationship between production volume and cost of production; also the market structures such as monopoly, oligopoly, or perfect competition. Threat of new entry The chances in which new competitors can enter the market and drive the current players price down. The threat to entry depends on six major forces of barriers which Porters describes as: economics of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, cost disadvantages independent of size, access to distribution channel, and government policy. The decision of the new-comer also pretty much influenced by their expectation on the existing player. If the incumbents known for previously fought vigorously to new entrants, or possess such substantial resources to fight back (such as excess cash, unused borrowing power, available productive capacity, or clout with distribution channel and customers), the new entrants will likely to have second thought on entering the market. This also happened if they know that the incumbents seem likely to cut the prices. New entrants fear more also when the industry growth is so slow so that newcomers can gain volume only if they take it from the incu mbents. Bargaining power of supplier Another force Porter mention in the model is how powerful the supplier to drive up the prices of is corporate input. The term supplier includes all sources of input that are needed to provide the product. A supplier of group is powerful when it is dominated by few companies and more concentrated than the industry it sells to. The products are also differentiated or unique means relatively no substitutes for the particular input so that it built up the switching cost. The power of supplier also increase when there is a possibility for the supplier for integrating forwards in order to obtain high prices or so. Also when the industry is not an important customer of the supplier group or when it is not obliged to contend with other products for sale to the industry. Bargaining power of customer Similarly, bargaining power of customer settle on how powerful is the customer can impose pressure on margins and demands. Buyer are powerful if it is purchase in large volumes and/or the product it purchases is standard or undifferentiated, means they can always find alternative suppliers. Customer will also become more powerful if the products it purchases from the industry form a component of its product and represent an significant fraction of its cost, in other words, the customer become more price sensitive. Furthermore when they know that the company earns low profits, which create great incentives to lower its purchasing cost; and when the industrys product is unimportant to the quality of the buyers product or services, then the bargaining of customer increase. More threat comes from the possibility of the customer to integrating backward and has the ability to produce the product themselves. Another factor mentioned by Porter is that customer will be more prices sensitive w hen they recognize that the industrys product does not save the buyer money. He gave an example of logging of oil wells, where an accurate survey can save thousands of dollars in drilling costs, therefore affect the market price. Substitute products The extent of which substitute product can be used in place of one product. Porter highlighted the characteristics of substitute products that deserve the most attention as those products that are subjects to trends improving their price-performance trade-off with the industry product or are produced by industries earning high profit. Porter also said that substitutes come into play when the competition within industry increases which lead to price reduction or performance improvement. Jockeying among competitor for position within industry This factor describes the strength or the intensity of competitiveness among the existing players within the industry. High rivalry limits the profitability of an industry. Factors that shape the intense rivalry in a industry are: (a) payers are roughly equal in size and power (b) the growth of the industry is slow, precipitating fights for market share (c) lacks of differentiation and switching cost of the products (d) strong willingness to cut the price either because the fixed cost are high or the product is perishable (e) high barriers to exit the industry (f) capacity is normally augmented in large increments, and (g) diversity of strategies, origins, and personalities of the rivals. Other than the intensity, the dimension basis in which the rivalry takes place also reflects the strength of the rivalry such as price, products features, support service, delivery time, and brand image. Whether the competition takes place in the same dimension, or the rivals converge to compete on same dimensions. Strategy Crafting What do you want to achieve or avoid? The answers to this question are objectives. How will you go about achieving your desire results? The answer to this you can call  strategy. William E Rothschild, Former General Electric Corporate Strategist, CEO of  Rothschild Strategies Unlimited LLC Corporate strategy is about how a firm or business organization should make a decision of series of steps to achieve the desired goal. To create the best decision, the decision maker must be able to analyze the current and expected factors associated with internal as well as external environment. With strategy, one company can be more prepared and comfortable to operate on the market, because good strategy should have examined all the forces involved in business activities. Strategy planning can be developed in three levels, which are: company level, business unit level, and functional or departmental level [Morrison M., 2008]. Corporate strategy Æ’Â ¨ concerned with overall purpose and scope of the business to meet stakeholder expectations. This level of strategy concerned with the selection of business in which the company should compete and with the development and coordination of the portfolio of business. This is a crucial level since it is heavily influenced by the investors in the business and acts to guide strategic decision making throughout the business. Corporate strategy is often stated explicitly in a mission statement along with the formulation of visions and goals. It also decide on how business unit to be governed; through direct corporate intervention (centralization) or through autonomous government (decentralization). Corporate strategy also seeks to developed synergies across the business units. Business Unit StrategyÆ’Â ¨ is concerned more with how a business competes successfully in a particular market. It concerns strategic decision about choice of products, meeting needs of customer, gaining advantage over competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities or market, etc. The strategic issues is about developing and sustaining a competitive advantage for the product and service that are produced. Functional or Departmental Strategy Æ’Â ¨ the strategy level of the operating divisions. It is concerned with how each part of the business is organized to deliver the corporate and business unit level strategic directions. The functional units translate them into discrete action plans that each division must accomplished for the strategy to succeed. Operational strategy therefore focuses on issues of resources, processes, people, etc. Functional units involved in higher level strategies by providing input into the business unit level and corporate level strategy, such as providing information on customer feedback. Business environment in current era Current business environment much likely to be characterized by more dynamic market situation. The digitalization and globalization contribute to this dynamic movement. The power of information technology (IT) grows more and more each day. And as it grows, all players in the market can have access to more information. The world is flat, globalization made great improvement in distribution of logistics and communication, enable all business to operate globally. Meanwhile, the customers have the chance to shop also on a global level, and compare the prices globally. The trends and demand now changed as the increased commoditization in so many areas. Companies now must be able to differentiate themselves by give more value for their products. One way to do that is by improving customer experience, through the improvement in the service area. Customers now want individual service and attention, and have high expectations for the goods and services they buy. Other tools for corporate strategy David P. Baron nonmarket approach: 4Is Business environment consist of market and nonmarket environment. An effective corporate strategy must be able to facilitate both market and non-market goals of the company. In relation to this, Baron introduced his 4Is, with emphasis on non-market environment. This framework together with Porters Five Forces formed the integrated strategies. The nonmarket environments are social, political, and legal setting that affects the interaction of the corporation outside and in conjunction with, the market environment. Barons define the characteristics as four Is. The first is Issues, of what nonmarket strategies address. Issues in nonmarket environment cover the regulations, proposed laws, court judgments, etc. Second is set of relevant institutions for the particular industry. Regulators or government is usually always become the relevant official body that affect a corporation decision making process. NGOs are also another example of institutions. Interests are individuals and groups with preferences about the industry. Baron includes this factor to address the identity and goals of those with a stake in the issue. Also information concerning with what the interested parties know or believe about the relation between actions and consequences and about the preferences and capabilities of the interested parties. This factor let us to think, what info needed to reach the goal? what is persuasive for the other parties? Prejudices, rumors, state reports, almost all public relations stuff is included in this factor. SWOT model Æ’Â ¨ covering external and internal forces Another tools being used for corporate strategy is SWOT. SWOT models addressing the internal and external forces. The Strength defines what characteristics impose by a company that can be used to keep hold on the market or even expand it. Weakness is really the opposite, this factors is any kind of lack the company has that can affect its existence in a bad way. Both strength and weakness is internal factors. Meanwhile, the external factor is covered by the Opportunity and Threat. Opportunity discuss about all issues or current condition of the environment that can give a better chance for the company to improve the operation. The threat talks about all threatening situation from the environment in which the company operates. More of this are, opportunity and threat, be explored more in Porters Five Forces model. Contemporary relevance between Porters Five Forces and corporate strategy Any organization, especially ones dealing with corporation or business environment realize that their success depend on both internal and external factors. With his Five Forces, Porter tries to emphasis on the most important or most influencing forces to the business profitability and existence. The competitors, the new entrants, new substitute, also the bargaining power of both supplier and buyer covered most aspects of a business activity. Indeed, Porters Five Model focuses heavily in competitive strategy, which is essential. To be specific, the Five Forces, mentioning competition, are related more to analysis of external forces from the market environment of the strategy. Of course, all business organization will always seek the best way to maximize corporate profit and determining the attractiveness of an industry. This is a need that will always be in managers mind in every industry, from every era. Therefore, through his model, Porters tries to give a framework that can help the decision maker to create a strategy where enable the company to stay in the market, defend their current position, and even grow the market size. It supports the decisions about to enter or to exit from an industry or market. As a business leader, it is important to understand the competition in the industry. The model can be used to compare the impact of one competitive force on our own company and to the impact on the competitors. With the knowledge of power and intensity of competitive forces, the strategy can be developed in way that gives the company options to influence the forces to improve their own position, such as new positioning or differentiation of product. It also gives the details on how to prevent the new entrants. Not only new entrants, the strategy should be able to cope with the substitute product that is getting more and more accessible now for the customer. Bargaining power of supplier and buyer is more relevant to supply and demand. It is essential to know which side of supply and demand equation our business is referring to. The framework tells us how profitability can be affected, in good way and in bad way from the context of industry rivalry and competition. It creates to positi on the firm to leverage its strengths and defend against the unfavorable effects from the five forces. Generally speaking, the model talked about the profitability and survival of a company. Referring to the definition of corporate strategy, Porters Five Forces seems irrelevant. Corporate strategy designs the grand strategy for the company grand purpose. And almost no company has a mission statement for to be the most profitable or so. Most company longing for sustainability; to be able to hold on success for a long term period. They achieve this by creating more value through their business, managing portfolio business, and developing business units; things that we dont learned through Porters Five Forces. Profitability is just one way to get to the grand purpose. That is the reason why, for the grandiose strategy of a company, to be based on only Porters that is focus on profitability, is unadvisable. The strategy such as focus and differentiation for competitiveness can be implemented at business unit level strategy to create competitive advantage. It may be relevant in corporate l evel as for the interest of stakeholder, indirectly. When the business unit strategy is achieved the desired goal, which most likely to be more profit, this is also will considered as favorable by the investors. Corporate strategy also concerned about the development and coordination of portfolio of business. The complexity that portfolio has cannot be found in the Porters model. Multi-variance product, multi-company in different industries, all this density of current market environment made Porters Five Forces become less practical. Other relevance is the dimension of competition. It is something that decided at the corporate level. Porters mentioning that based on the competitive advantages, we must choose the dimension of competition and it is best to create a battle field in that dimension, not in other dimension. This is about knowing our company competitive advantages and where to compete and win over the rivalry. What others are missing? Porters Five Forces did not describing the other external factor like regulator and social environment of the company. Porters Five Forces made based on the economic situation on the eighties. During early eighties, the economic situation is more stable and predictable development in industries compared to today dynamics. It is also characterized by cyclical growth and also by strong competition [D. Recklies, website]. Thus, in Porters era, the main objectives of many business organization or corporation are profitability and survival. Porters model focuses on analysis of the actual situation of companys customers, supplier, and competitor; and predictable development from new entrants as well as substitutes. Global and networked markets, as mentioned previously, force the business players to think more in the corporate strategies. Now, it is not enough to only position oneself as a price-leader or quality leader. Competitive advantages now comes from the ability of the company to de velop a way to maintain the relationship with more mobile customer and also to manage the networks that could be located in other part of the world. Porters Five Forces treats customer and supplier as third parties, which they no longer are. Corporate, suppliers, and customer now have extended relationship. And how this relationship managed is not less important than competitive advantages, because it creates values which harder to obtained and maintained than profits. This side of Porters Five Forces, lack of value-adding analysis made Porters Five Forces is less applicable in corporate strategy. In addition to that, in spite of always strengthening position within the industry with competitive advantages to compete against the competitor, co-operation with competitor by mergers and acquisition is also one way to maintain the existence and survival of a business organization. Hence, this model cannot keep up with dynamic situation in the current business environment. Globalization and digitalization Porters did not include how technology developed and that it is a strong force on competitiveness. Whereas, Porter did not explicitly mention it as a force, but it IS there. New entrant and new substitutes could mean that the competitor could have innovations background. New machines can affect the bargaining power of supplier too, in example. Not to mention how information spread unbelievably fast, and wide, around the internet. Experts coined the term of internet economy for this decades in which internet have been so embedded in everyday life. Various e-business applications have strongly influenced almost all industries. The development of the information system gives new opportunity for players from outside industry to chance the basis of competition in a market. Porter did not mention how technology will affect the competitiveness. The difference is that on Porters era, technology is something more like a tool to implement the change. But now, with its more rapid growth compare to eighties, technology has become a most important driver to a change. Non-market environment Needless to say, nonmarket environment, as brought up by Baron, also one important forces that must be considered in crafting the strategy. Any kind of corporation or business organization must dealing with social, politics, and legal arrangement, directly and indirectly. Of course, Baron extended work from Porters Five Forces expected to be able to give the best model to develop the so-called integrated strategy. Dynamic market structure Porters model assumes relatively static market structure. Yet, todays market is far from static. Dynamic market entrants, supported by more technological breakthrough, may change the entry barriers, the business model within short time. The model also assumes that all companies always try to get competitive advantages and win over other player in the industry. The dynamic market structure have new way of thinking of survival than to compete and kill each other. It is designed to analyze individual business performance. It is not considers strategies such as synergies and strategic alliances (mergers, acquisition), electronic linking of information system of all companies along a value chain, virtual enterprise-networks or others [D. Recklies]. This model also cannot assist the more complex structures of industries. The analysis cannot cope with multiple group products, by-products, and segments. And narrowing the focus only in one industry is too risky in todays corporate strategy. T his model also not yet considering that sometimes it may be possible to create new market than compete in the existing market. Nevertheless, later in his paper on 2008, he includes how technology is one factor that can greatly affect competitiveness and rivalry in an industry. Not only had that, he also included other factors such as government and complementary product that can affect the companys profitability. In this paper, he also mentioned how a change in industry structure shifts each of the five forces. In general, Porters Five Model has some limitation in todays market environment application and on its relevance with corporate strategy. In relation to corporate strategy, Porters model might be a little help for defining in which dimension or market out company wants to operate, although this dimension might be converted again once the strategy derived to business unit level. However, with all the lack Porters Five Forces had, the model is not completely obsolete to current business. Porters is an economist, so the model is basically the simple way of how he describes the microeconomics. He describes the attractiveness of the industry that is influenced by the five forces. This is also explains why the model always repeat and focusing more in profitability; for economics talks about profit maximization. Even now, business still operates in five forces framework describes by Porter. The model enable the decision maker, the managers, to think about the environment surrounding their i ndustries in a structured way, easy-to-understand way as a starting point for further analysis. Conclusion In summary, while Porters Five Forces seems less reliable concerning the current competitiveness in the industry (in terms of technology or innovations involvement), it is still manage to help strategic focus of the company in profitability and survival within the industry. The models assist more in business unit level strategy and less applicable in corporate strategy level. Corporate level strategy talks more about value which we hardly find in the Five Forces. Yet, indirectly the success in business unit level strategy supports the achievement of corporate strategy. Porters Five Forces is still relevant to current strategy planning, yet today business players must considered more things such as the growth of globalization and technology and how it will affect the other factors, if not creating its own forces. The tremendous growth of technology nowadays cant be separated in any aspects of life, and that including corporate strategy. However it might be, technology leads to innovation which will influence the every step a company have to defend its market and even expand its market. Certainly, a corporate strategy should not be carelessly made without take note of the non-market environment. In addition to that, examination on the nonmarket environment also should be conducted to support the strategy on market environment of a company. Another kind of analysis also may be needed to examine the dynamic state of markets. Porters framework becomes one of the tools in developing a strategy, maybe as a starting point, but not the most important or the only model being used. A good strategy never should use only one or few model as a basis.

Professor Vivian Bearing vs John Donne in the Play Wit by Margaret Edso

Is it possible to misunderstand something, yet still be guided toward its claims? Is it possible for something that ultimately has the greatest impact on your life to be unnoticed until the last possible moment? In most cases, a true revelation does not present itself until later in a person’s life. In the play Wit, by Margaret Edson, the character of Professor Vivian Bearing reaches a profound realization concerning one of the great impacts in her own life. Vivian, self-proclaimed intellectual and widely-feared professor, essentially devotes her life to the works of John Donne, a renowned metaphysical poet. She tirelessly prides herself on her exceptional skills and experience with analyzing Donne’s works, even in the midst of being diagnosed and treated for ovarian cancer. During her stay in the hospital, Vivian unwillingly sees that her lifetime analysis in Donne’s writings has only scratched the surface in comparison to the truth that she discovers in the last hours of her life. For the first time, she is able to personally relate to the speaker in the sonnets that she was supposedly so familiar with. In poetic terms, â€Å"wit† means the development of a metaphysical conceit. It is an insightful use of analogy, metaphor or inventive joining of dissimilar images to make a point in a poem. In these regards, this play has been appropriately titled. John Donne, whose Holy Sonnets make numerous appearances in the play, uses his metaphysical poetry to spark unrest, debate, and controversy. He himself wrestles with questions about faith, God’s mercy and judgment, human mortality, sin, damnation, absolution, and salvation. The Holy Sonnets are the product of doubter, one who has not yet found inner peace. This realization i... ...s a moment when she starts to see the true meaning but doesn’t want to accept it at first, which is evident from the groaning and â€Å"hiding.† However, at the end of the play and the end of her life, Vivian is ready to accept this truth that she herself is living out the same life as the speakers in Donne’s poems and begins â€Å"reaching for the light –â€Å" (Edson 66). Works Cited Donne, John. â€Å"Holy Sonnet 5, Holy Sonnet 6, Holy Sonnet 10.† John Donne’s Poetry: A Norton Critical Edition.†¨Ed. Donald R. Dickson. W.W. Norton & Company. New York, London. 2004. (Handout) Donne, John. â€Å"Hymn to God, my God, in My Sickness.† Poems of John Donne. vol I. E. K. Chambers, ed. London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1896. 211-212. Edson, Margaret. Wit. MCC Theater: New York City, NY, 1999 Gardner, Helen, ed. The Metaphysical Poets. London: Penguin, 1985.

An Analysis of Frosts Tree at my Window Essay example -- Tree at my W

  An Analysis of Frost's "Tree at my Window"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   The poem "Tree at my Window" was written by Robert Frost, an America poet who was born in 1874 and died in 1963 (DiYanni 624). The narrator in this poem appears to be speaking to the "tree at my window"; then, repeating the phrase in reverse order, he calls it the "window tree," as if to emphasize the location and nearness of the tree. Calling the tree a "window tree," might also suggest that this tree is something he sees through, perhaps to some higher truth, to something beyond the mere physical presence of the tree.    As night approaches, the "sash" or movable portion of the window is lowered, perhaps to prevent the air, cooled from lack of the sun's warmth, from entering the house (Webster 1026). The narrator continues, "But let there never be curtain drawn / Between you and me." Literally, this statement could imply that he does not want a drape to cover the window betwen them. A sense of foreboding arises if one looks at additional definitions. "Curtain" can refer to death and "drawn" can refer to being brought about by inducement or being allured (Webster 280, 346).    The narrator begins the second stanza mentioning a dream that is unclear. He then stops short and continues, seemingly describing the appearance of the tree. Referring to "head lifted out of the ground, / Not all your light tonuges taliking aloud / could be profound." Perhaps the speaker could be describing the vastness of the tree's height and width along with the magnitude of leaves. Comparing tongues to leaves is a possibility because, as the wind rushes through them, it causes a distinct sound. The speaker may even believe that the tree has insight to his feelings (Webster ... ...four, the speaker compares "outer" and "inner" lives.    "Tree at my Window" contains descriptions and comparisons that almost bring an image to one's mind. Perhaps I have been able to relate to this poem because I have often looked out of the window at the trees and mountains in the distance and contemplated some dilemma. Perhaps we could all learn from nature not to be so anxious about things that in the long run run do not really even matter.    Works Cited Cox, James, M. Robert Frost: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1962. DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. Thompson, Lawrence. Robert Frost: The Early Years 1874-1915 New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Massachusetts: G&C Merriam, 1977.   

Plagiarism :: Cheating Internet Computers Essays

Plagiarism The Internet, what a wonderful place. The Internet connects people across the world, provides the world with vast amounts of easily accessible information, and keeps everyone connected. At first glance, you wouldn ¦Ãƒ t notice any outlying problems with this seemingly brilliant creation of the 20th century. On closer look, however, a major problem has arisen. That problem is called plagiarism. Plagiarism is loosely defined as: to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one ¦Ãƒ s own, to use without crediting the source. There is an abundance of free information on the Internet, and regulations for its use, which can ¦Ãƒ t easily be enforced. Consider who uses the Internet for research and study purposes, college students, who have many papers to write. Plagiarism is high among students of all levels, because it ¦Ãƒ s the easy way out. Disciplinary action in regards to plagiarism is so infrequently taken, especially on the college level, th at plagiarism isn ¦Ãƒ t being taken too seriously. There are some universities, however, that are taking it seriously, and immediate action has taken place. On the whole, plagiarism is a serious offense, and steps need to be taken in order to control the use of the information on the Internet. When it comes to the Internet, plagiarism is high among high school and college students for a number of reasons. For starters, the Internet is a relatively new phenomenon, only in the past ten to fifteen years have we been using it for research. Other methods of research have been around for hundreds of years, and thus they have specific guidelines for their use, there are rules about citation and creating bibliographies. I have yet to see a specific, all-inclusive format for citing or recognizing an Internet source. Cheating and plagiarizing have also become less serious offenses to the majority of youth during our time. For example, The State of Americans: This Generation and the next (Free Press, July 1996) reported that in 1969, only 58.3% of high school age students allowed other students to copy from them, while in 1989, 97.5% allowed this to happen. That startling statistic demonstrates these offenses have unacceptably increased over the years.

My Most Memorable Person

My mother Is without a doubt the most memorable person in my whole life. Her name is Cathedral Lahore. When I describe my mother, there Is nothing critical about it; It Is all admiration. She works as a Government employee In our town for almost 20 years. She always deals people every day with different personalities. Seeing her at work Is very awe-inspiring, especially her ability to connect and communicate with other people.I adore her very much. She made many sacrifices to raise me. She dedicated all her time and effort to bring me up. She always lends her shoulder for me to cry on during my bad times. She was a person that brightens up a room with her smile and helps everyone who Is In need. When she smiles, It Is as If she Is using all her might Just to see If It could get bigger. Her eyes are as black as the starry night full of sparkling stars. Her skin, the color white, flawlessly smooth before the rippling winds.She is a wonderful person whom I admire and love unconditionall y forever. Her words of advices, her tender loving care, her unfading support, her encouraging thoughts everyday makes her my most memorable. I remember one thing she told me last Christmas, â€Å"nag, study wisely, don't hesitate to tell me everything you need, I will always be here guiding you with your Daddy, supporting you and will always love you all the way, I love you†. That's the most heart melting feeling ever that I have experienced.Having a mother like her is the most precious thing that was given to me by our Almighty Father, she's everything to me. For me, having her in my life makes me so special than others. I am so special that she's always by my side, always supporting me, guiding me and most of all loving me unconditionally no matter who am I or even how worst my attitude is. She's always there to accept me. That makes her a gem, rare and hard to find. I love her so much that's all what matters.

Critical inquiry in Practical Nursing Essay

Question 1- According to Kerr et al (2012), the purpose of the study is to examine the nurses’ opinions on the introduction of a medical administrative to the enrolled nurses and its impact in the error rate of medication. Question 2- The author’s rationale was to: -To examine nurses’ opinions on enrolled medical administration -To analyze whether the enrolled nurses introduction effects of the medication error in organizations. Question 3- Quantitative, experimental.Question 4-The sample used was the different types of nurses who answered questions online at the website of the organization. The selected lot answers specific questions in a questionnaire related to the topic of discussion. Question 5-a)Descriptive b)InferentialQuestion 6-Education Question 7-Demographic data – Response to nurses’ survey items – Rates of medication errors- Collected within twelve months Question 8-Â  Survey question regarding support for administration of medications by qualified ENs RN SupportiveIn %RN Non-SupportiveIn %Statistically Significant? 73.8%,26.2%Yes / No Survey question measuring positive change EN SupportiveIn nEN non-supportiveIn nStatistically Significant? 73.626.4Yes / No Survey question regarding the level of education for ENs who administer medications ENME SupportiveIn %ENME Non-SupportiveIn %Statistically Significant? 73.726.3%Yes / No Question 9- Population 118, 268-256, 302 Question 10- It is true to say that A significant result (p=0.265, p

Problem Solving & Critical Thinking – Hdlt

Critical thinking and Problem Solving HDLT mini paper It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated. Alec Bourne. According to American educational Psychologist – Robert M Gagne – â€Å"The central point of any education is to teach people to think, to use their rational powers, to become better problem solvers. â€Å" Looking at the current model of our own learning, in HDLT 2 class itself – as students of the second semester in the university; we have been exposed to theories of this subject before. It is now time for adapting, assimilating, applying the past knowledge in real life contexts.This adaptation is tested through fresh, innovative learning environments and higher expectations. Let us first determine critical thinking and problem solving and see how are these phenomenon interrelated with each other and the role both these skills play in our lives. Critical thinking (CT) is defined as â€Å" intellectually di sciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and /or evaluating information gathered from or generated by observations, experiences, reflections, reasoning or communication as a guide to belief and action. Scriven & Paul, 2007, P 1). Thus simply put, CT is metacognition or thinking about thinking. Problem-solving (PS) is a mental process that involves ascertaining, investigating and solving problems. The eventual objective of problem-solving is to overcome hindrances and find a solution that best resolves the issue. These problems could range from simply crossing the road and reaching safely on the other side without getting hurt by the oncoming vehicles or solving a Sudoku puzzle or figure out a estimated expenses of a trip or in case of a child, solving a multiplication sum given in the class.The term problem solving ( P S) in educational settings would involve solving well-structured text book problems which are poles apart from ill structured problems which are encountered in everyday life. Thus we can see that in order to effectively solve a problem, one may require to engage with it and critically think about it to find the best solution. Let us now look at certain important broad themes and specific problem solving processes used by children – Broad themes – 1. Task analysis – details of steps taken to actually solve problems.For example a child adds 2 multi digit numbers, the actual process – starting with adding the numbers in the right most column, writing ones digit as a part of the answer, carrying over the tens digit ( if it is so ) †¦ so on and so forth. Task analysis helps in identifying the exact places where child might be encountering difficulty in solving the problem, the nature of the difficulty. Thus it gives an insight into the manner in which the child solves problems; and thus provides scope for rectification. 2.Means – End analysis – Using this methodology, one solves a problem by considering the obstacles that stand between the initial problem state and the goal state. The path to reaching the goal can be achieved by accomplishing smaller sub goals. When all of the sub goals have been achieved – when all of the obstacles are out of the way – then the main goal of interest has been achieved. Thus, means-ends analysis can be seen as a search strategy in which the long-range goal is always kept in mind to guide problem solving. 3.Encoding – this literally means identifying critical information in order to build internal representations. Thus it is very important to train the child to filter out the relevant data from the all the available information. Many children fail because they are not thought how to encode critical information and utilize it. Important processes of Problem Solving- 1. Planning – this is future directed PS, most often used in difficult and new situations. But most often the novelty of the situation also ensures that children often forget to plan. 2.Route Planning – this is done in order to select a most efficient route in order to reach a destination. Children as early as one year of age start showing the development of this ability. Example – an adult figuring out his way in order to reach a new destination; after looking at various maps. The route is figured out post route planning. 3. Causal Inference – many a times problem solving is an attempt to understand the cause of a phenomenon. Humans are curious by nature. A two year old will constantly be in the endeavor to know â€Å"why things happen†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ why do birds fly, whereas animals don’t? so on and so forth. 4.Analogical Reasoning – In problem solving this is predominantly concerned with systemic correspondences, where a solution to a known problem may be applied to solving a structurally similar problem. Analogical reasoning improves with maturati on and increase in content knowledge. According to Piaget’s stages of development analogical reasoning only starts developing in the pre operational stage ( ages 2 -7) and gets occasional limited success in concrete operational stage(7-11) and becomes fully developed by formal operational stage (age 11 through adulthood) Stage I (Preoperational) – egocentric responses using idiosyncratic relations.IA – children were unable to form lower-order relations IB – some children able to form lower-order relations, but unable to form analogies Stage II (concrete operational) – occasional, limited success IIA trial-and-error success on analogies, inability to resist false counter-suggestions IIB consistent success on analogies, but inconsistent ability to resist false counter-suggestions Stage III (formal operational) – Success on all aspects of the tasks. Criticism of Piaget – Goswami & Brown reasoned that children might fail Piaget's tasks be cause they lack knowledge of the relations entailed.On this view, children ought to be able to solve classical analogy problems provided the analogies are based on familiar relations. Practice in analogical reasoning improved young children’s spontaneous formation of analogies. 5. Scientific reasoning: Children question everything as a basic premise,they want to know the why , how of everything; but they are also hugely influenced by the beliefs that they see are carried around them. Whenever they actually do something on their own, they do develop an understanding and rationality regarding the same phenomenon.For example a child understands that sugar takes less time to dissolve in hot milk rather than cold milk. Thus, when they indulge in activities, experiment they develop scientific and logical reasoning. 6. Logical reasoning – It is when a child can apply logical rules in order to solve problems. Logical reasoning requires the child to link each alternative to the main problem by strong reasoning. They may also require using logical structure â€Å"If†¦ , Then †¦. † for example if a child has to climb up two floors, he could either use the lift or the stairs.If the escalator lift for some reason is not working, then either the child could wait till the lifet starts working or take the stairs. The choices have to be logically reasoned out. Both analogical and logical reasoning develop gradually over early and middle childhood whereas scientific reasoning does take more time to develop and take shape as it is much enhanced by experience. Along with certain important processes used in PS some of the others are – Symbolic representation as tools Rule based problem solving etc. Above we have also looked at Piagetian perspective on PS.Let us also look at the Vyogotsky’s perspective on the same. Lev Vygotsky gave some novel ideas regarding childrens learning and their problem solving abilities. 1. Zone of Proximal dev elopment (ZPD) – This is the zone where learning takes place. This zone represents the difference the between what the child can achieve on its own and what it can achieve with the help of others. In order, for learning to occur, the elder or peer must provide a challenge that is beyond the child’s own capabilities and yet be assisted. Thus assisted learning or peer learning is an important aspect of children developing the PS abilities.If children have done a task with an adult or under the guidance of an adult (ZPD) they tend to show improvement whilst performing as opposed to those who were attempting it for the first time ( Piaget’s discovery learning ). Vyogotsky also pointed towards the importance of private speech in children, whenever confronted with a novel problem. This speech could be their method of engaging with the problem. As children grow up and get better at symbolic interpretation, this private speech diminishes. Now let us look at how a constr uctivist classroom helps children in enhancing their PS abilities.Constructivist approaches to learning attempt to generate environments where learners are actively engaged in their surroundings and environments that help them to construct and develop their own understanding, reasoning and knowledge, rather than the teacher interpreting their world for them. The learners interaction with the environment and with the subject matter at hand results them in having their own view about the subject. Thus we can see that collaborative learning is the hallmark of a constructivist classroom. For example – group of students in a chemistry class are learning about properties of organic salts.Instead of directly stating the properties, the teacher will devise questions which will engage the students in challenging their previous knowledge, link it to the other phenomenon that they have already been studying and generate a new level of understanding regarding the topic. During the discus sions and promptings, when one student comes with the relevant concept, the teacher would cash on it and hint to the group to further explore this concept. Late, she would sum up ay concluding what the class has learnt, what helped and what did not help them in constructing new knowledge.Question – The biggest question for me is the teaching methodology. In most of the schools, that me and my colleagues have visited during our practicum, we inevitably noticed that instead of focusing on teaching the students how to think, rationalize, develop an understanding. The focus is on what they should think? Conclusion – By providing them everything like â€Å"ready to eat meals†, we seal them from developing their own understanding. In a class room setting children, still encounter structured problems, in real life settings children will be coming across many ill structured problems.The aim of education must be to prepare them for encountering the challenges that they w ould face everyday. They have to be trained to adequately use their problem solving abilities within the classroom as well as outside it. References – Taylor, L, (2005). Introducing cognitive development. Taylor and Francis: Psychology Press. (Chapter: Thinking and reasoning). Siegler & Alibali (2005). Chapter 10: Problem-Solving (pp 341-380). Synder L. & Synder J. – Teaching critical thinking and Problem solving skills, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Volume L, No. 2, Spring/Summer, 2008

While You Were Sleeping

While You Were Sleeping While You Were Sleeping, composed by Randy Edelman and directed by Jon Turteltaub, includes good examples of a leitmotif. A leitmotif is a reoccurring piece of music associated with a specific character, event, theme, or mood. The two leitmotifs used in this movie are â€Å"Lucy’s Theme†, which is a slow, romantic, or even sad piece of music. The â€Å"Family Theme†, has a faster beat that goes back and forth and is quirky. The main characters in While You Were Sleeping are Lucy, Peter, Jack, and the family. Lucy works at the train station, and sees Peter every day.On Christmas day, Lucy is asked to work. While working, Peter puts his token in to take the train and tells Lucy ‘Merry Christmas’. Soon, he is pushed in the train tracks. Lucy jumps on the tracks and saves his life. When Peter is taken to the hospital, Lucy goes to check on him and Peter’s family shows up to the hospital to find him in a coma. A nurse tells the family that Lucy is Peter’s fiancee, and shocks the family. Lucy goes along with it because she is worried about Peter’s grandma, who has a heart condition. After seeing the family at the hospital, they invite Lucy to their Christmas.When Lucy arrives at the house, she realizes that she enjoys being part of the Callaghan family and she loves them. The next morning, Lucy meets Peter’s brother Jack. After spending time with each other, Jack and Lucy fall in love. Soon, Peter wakes up and doesn’t recognize Lucy. The family, still believing the Lucy and Peter are engaged, thinks that Peter has amnesia. Peter re-proposes to Lucy, believing that he really is in love with her. The wedding is at the hospital, when Lucy shows up, she looks flustered and nervous.As Peter and Lucy are getting married, Lucy objects. She begins to tell the whole family about what happened and that she really loves Jack. Sometime later, as Lucy collects tokens from passengers at th e train station, Jack places an engagement ring in the token tray of her booth. With the entire Callaghan family watching, he walks into her booth and proposes to her. Jack and Lucy leave on the CTA train, and go to their honeymoon in Florence, Italy, which is where Lucy has always talked about going to with her father before he passed away.The title of the movie While You Were Sleeping was taken from Lucy’s explanation to Peter of how she fell in love with Jack, â€Å"while you were sleeping. † The first example of a leitmotif is the â€Å"Family Theme†. The music used in these themes is a faster beat that goes back and forth, the music is quirky and funny. The first scene to use this music is when the entire family has arrived at the hospital to see Peter. A nurse misunderstands when Lucy is trying to visit Peter at the hospital and she thinks that Lucy is Peter’s fiancee.The nurse tells the doctor that Lucy is engaged to Peter leaving Peter’s fa mily shocked. The family also learns that Lucy saved Peter’s life. Lucy wants to tell the family the truth but she can’t bring herself to. Another scene that uses the â€Å"Family Theme† is after Peter wakes up. The family and Lucy are surrounding Peter’s hospital bed. As he goes around the room he sees everyone, but doesn’t recognize Lucy. The family doesn’t think it’s suspicious, because they think that Peter has amnesia.The last scene to use this piece of music is when Lucy and Peter are getting married at the hospital, Lucy tells the family that she objects to the marriage because she doesn’t love Peter, she loves Jack. Lucy explains everything that happened to the family and apologizes, saying that she just fell in love with the Callaghan family. The common themes in these scenes all include the family and Lucy in an awkward situation. The second leitmotif used in While You Were Sleeping is referred to as â€Å"Lucyâ€⠄¢s Theme†. The music is a slow, romantic, or sad piece of music.The first scene using this music is when Lucy is talking to Peter while he is in a coma, talking about her life, love, and how she never meant to get him into the mess that they’re in. The next scene using â€Å"Lucy’s Theme† is when Lucy and Peter are out walking at night. Lucy gets to talking about her father and how they wanted to go to Florence, Italy, and travel the world. The last scene to use â€Å"Lucy’s Theme† was when Jack and the family went to the train station where Lucy works, and Jack puts an engagement ring in the token tray. He walks into the booth and proposes to her in front of the whole Callaghan family.The common themes in these scenes all include a sentimental moment between two people. In conclusion, â€Å"Family Theme† and â€Å"Lucy’s Theme† are examples of leitmotifs because they are a reoccurring piece of music that is used more th an once and is associated with a specific character, event, theme, or mood. In While You Were Sleeping, the music provided continuity between scenes with Lucy and the family. The music also established mood with the different scenes, whether it was a sentimental moment between Lucy and Jack, or a funny moment between the Callaghan family.

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness Essay

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness - Essay Example He had a strong vision for the United States of America to this end and envisioned a country in which respect for the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was the order of the day. No wonder, his draft of the Declaration of Independence stated, We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independant, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness. (Boyd 438) The independence of the United States has seen many changes to the way life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have been treated. While the citizens of the U.S. enjoy these three natural rights to a greater extent than they did before independence, the country is yet to fully realize Jefferson’s dream for the country. This paper will analyze the extent to which the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are respected in the U.S. today. Before engaging in a discourse on the subject of the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it is important that the three subjects (life, liberty, and happiness) are defined. Life basically is the characteristic that living things have and that non living objects do not have as noted by Alberts (45). In other words, it is what distinguishes objects that have self-sustaining processes from those that lack them. Biologically, living objects or organisms have the capacity to grow, reproduce, respond to stimuli, maintain homeostasis and metabolize (Alberts 47). On the other hand, non-living objects have no capacity to perform these processes. When life is taken off an organism, the organism is considered to be dead or non-living. Liberty, on the other hand, is the quality that one enjoys when they can personally control their actions as noted by Westbrooks (134). In other words, liberty has a lot to do with

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Book Review - Essay Example African Muslims that were enslaved and shipped to the land constituted a significant number and they were educated, civilized and had a strong moral foundation in the tenets of Islamic Religion. Because of their distinction as educated and capable of analyzing their own predicament their resistance to slavery was somewhat fiercer. Apart from this central theme that runs through the length and breadth of the Diouf’s work the book gives us the story of the slaves in their homeland, the astonishing struggles of the Muslim slaves to keep their faith and their rich contribution to the fabric of American life. According to the author the Islamic faith of the African slaves gave mooring to their harsh life, away from the home land and motivated them to resist forcefully the tyranny of slavery. Diouf draws convincing evidence of the heroic struggle of the enslaved Muslims by strewing her works from revealing quotes that the reader is brought to admire the faith of the Muslim Africans in their Diaspora. Spanish royal edict of 1543 ordained, â€Å"in a new land like this one where (the Catholic) faith is only recently being sowed, it is necessary not to allow to spread there the sect of Mahomet or any other.† The royal command is motivated more by military consideration than by reasons of faith. The Spanish feared that the native Indian might learn the horsemanship from the Muslim Africans and this would destroy the Spanish military advantage. In spite of these attempts the Muslim religion took root in the Americas and as Diouf notices Islam is the second taste of monotheism of the Native Americans. The author asserts that Islam was functioning in hostile conditions in the new land .According to her slavery,†far from making the Africans’ religious fervor disappear, deepened it.† â€Å"Servants of Allah†, contains a comprehensive account of the Muslim slave attempts to hold on to the Islamic way of life, their unwillingness to accept Christianity, their attempts to

Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Marketing - Case Study Example A large store has always been a dream for Don Martin. Therefore, an increase in sales volume was also essential. Lastly, Don Martin experienced financial difficulties and he wanted to keep his money. This research paper is focused on marketing implications of the company and deals with the analysis of possible solutions for Don Martin Limited. Economic, social and political factors of the modern world are intimidating factors for many businesses. There is a need to develop innovative and challenging solutions in order to satisfy the needs and wants of the modern customers. Marketing Implications of Don Martin To succeed in different segments, Don Marti had to develop a different conception for his company. Advertising in mass media was one of the first and foremost measures taken by Don Martin. It is an incredible thing, but he spent more than $100,000 on advertising. So, the customers were aware of goods provided by the Company, but there was not enough high-quality services provide d for the customers. That was the biggest challenge for Don Martin. The modern customers are very much concerned about money, because they do not want to spend extra money. There were a few options suggested by Don Martin. Some of them were credit offering for the customers or delivery services. Nevertheless, these solutions were not beneficial enough, because gas cost much; there was a need to pay for the office et cetera. Credit option was a good solution, but the Company’s developer had to pay much money for tracking correct crediting and so on. Don Martin met many challenges and it was very important to find a complex and innovative best solution. There were also many challenges in HR management. People had to work 12 hours four days a week and though employees liked their job, the employer had to put much efforts to satisfy their needs. Moreover, there were a lot of manufacturers and there was a necessity to unite some lines together. Don Martin made many attempts to imp ress his customers with volumes of sold goods. There were a lot of competitors, which were offering the same goods to the customers. It was really hard to compete in the business world and there was an option either to offer business for rent or to sell it right away. Price increase was a bad solution, because other stores offered the same goods at lower prices. It was really difficult to find the best solution and it took much time for Don Martin to decide whether he needed to sell something right in a right way. Don Martin tried to think harder and chose an integrative solution, which can be profitable in the future. He wanted to initiate his developments in motorcycle sphere. Income Statements of Don Martin Limited In the result of these combined actions and invented solutions, income statements of Don Martin were the following ones: Gross profit increased for 5.6%, sales wages increased for 2.2% (11.6% to 13.8%), advertising increased for 2%, balance of selling and delivery incr eased for 1%, occupancy increased for 2.2%, general and administration costs decreased for 1%, accounts receivable and credit increased for 3%. Total expenses reached 37.5% last year and profit loss 1.9%. Therefore, with the company’s growth Don Martin experienced numerous challenges and he had to pay more different expenses, but at the same time he had an opportunity to gain more profits. A company’