Lord of the Flies: Human Nature Essay

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding has young and innocent children on a remote island to test how human nature works. Golding uses objects such as the conch and the Beast to reflect our society politically and psychologically. The novel shows human’s own illness and human nature. Human nature is unavoidable and can be a source of evil. It is one’s nature to do whatever it takes in order to survive. By trying to survive one’s evil creeps out. Jack and his hunters showed the most evil. The first pig being killed was the first sign of evil. They celebrated the killings and became blood thirsty for hunting. It was human nature for the hunters and the little boys to follow Jack and to try to survive on the island. Evil is an inborn trait that lives inside every one. It is our parents’ job to teach good morals and values when we are young, but evil can not be fully covered up. The children enjoyed the freedom away from rules and adults. As time passes on the island their freedom soon turns into a nightmare and in the end some died. Civilization is not so far from savagery and everyone has some kind of evil lurking about. Even the little innocent British boys have a certain amount of evil in themselves. The kids are used to rules, but they soon realize that rules do not matter anymore. They can not be punished for throwing rocks or pushing a boulder and killing someone. Roger can not get into trouble by adults anymore, so his human nature kicks in and he reveals his evilness. He was able to kill without getting into trouble. The Beast is messing with the kids’ minds and they become crazed little boys. The fear makes them turn into savages and kill to survive. The Beast is like a phobia for the littluns. Beast from the Air arrives and stirs up some more trouble. It confuses them because they realize there are more things to be cautious of. The conch was supposed to be good, but the power of it changes the kids. Jack and Ralph fight about who has the conch and who is the leader. It is human nature for Jack to desire the conch and what is not his. Human nature has a big role in Lord of the Flies and many of the kids can not handle it. Once human nature was revealed many turned into little killers. It was human nature to try to survive and many did live at the end, but at the cost of lives.

Freud’s View on Religion

Freud maintained interests in the subjects of God and religion throughout his long career. Freud considered the practice of religion and religious rites to be some sort of neurological obsession. Taking the concept from Feuerbach, he also saw religious ideology as a projection of infantile wishes. If religion was a kind of neurosis, it is marked by an unhealthy dissociation between oneself and reality. If religion was a continuation of the childish tendency to project one’s imagination unto reality, it is marked by an abnormal association between one’s fantasies and the objective world. Either way, religion is a sickness that needs to be cured. Freud gave the clearest expression of his views on religion in his book The Future of an Illusion. In order to explore Freud's conception of religion, we must first clarify certain points. When Freud speaks of religion, he is usually talking about the traditional, fear-based, authoritarian, organized religion. There are other kinds of religion too. For instance, when William James talks about religion in his Varieties of Religious Experience and when Freud talks about religion in his The Future of an Illusion they are referring to wholly different approaches to God. James is talking about mystical experiences, while Freud is indeed talking about infantile beliefs. Unlike James' profound investigations into sublime spiritual matters, Freud's observations are more or less commonsensical. Freud's theories of origins of religion are sometimes criticized for being unscientific speculations, but really there is not much of a need for scientific corroboration of Freud's views because they are just commonsensical. When one looks objectively at the various religions and religious beliefs in our world, one is bound to reach to conclusions somewhat similar to those of Freud. Freud may have couched his observations in a more scholarly language, but essentially what he is saying is very simple and easily relatable. When he says religious rites are manifestations of obsessive neurosis, he simply means religions are mostly ridiculously lunatic affairs. And when Freud says religions are infantile projections, he means they are simply childish nonsense. It is difficult to come to any other conclusion when we look at the whole phenomenon of organized religion from a rational perspective. Freud mostly has Judeo-Christian tradition in mind when he condemns religion. Though Freud’s observations could be broadly applicable to many other world religions of the past and the present, they would make most direct sense when we keep the Jewish and Christian religions in mind. Freud’s main proposition is that religion is a projection of human longings and desires. But desires and longings for what? — for security of course. The Future of an Illusion and its sequel Civilization and its Discontents are Freud’s reflections on the origins and nature of civilization. Freud talks about religion in the context of civilization. Before the advent of civilization, man lived in wilderness. In our modern times, surrounded by the innumerable comforts of science and technology, i. e. , civilization, we may not be able to properly appreciate the fact, but situations of life posed constant threat and continual hardship for wandering groups of early humans, and this was how we lived for literally hundreds of thousands of years. Civilization is relatively a very recent manifestation. Religion in its rudimentary forms most likely predates civilization by tens of thousands of years. Freud constantly ties up religion with civilization since they essentially serve the same function – provide security against fearsome, elemental forces of nature. â€Å"The principal task of civilization, its actual raison d’etre, is to defend us against nature,† says Freud, and nobody would dispute this assertion. Now, the principal task of religion too is the same, though it approaches this issue of security from a different angle. And while civilization provides real security, religion provides only imaginary one, nothing more than an illusory feeling. Outside the setting of civilization, the basic question before an individual human being as he tried to live his life and cope with his surroundings was: how to survive, how to â€Å"defend himself against the superior powers of nature, of Fate†¦? The first step toward security is what Freud calls, humanization of nature: A great deal is already gained with the first step: the humanization of nature. Impersonal forces and destinies cannot be approached; they remain eternally remote. But if the elements have passions that rage as they do in our own souls, if death itself is not something spontaneous but the violent act of an evil Will, if everywhere in nature there are Beings around us of a kind that we know in our own society, then we ca n breathe freely, can feel at home in the uncanny†¦ This was how the first very primitive religions began, long before the advent of civilization. Say, if civilization began roughly 5 – 6000 years ago, and agriculture began some 10 – 12000 years ago, there is evidence for religious rites to have taken place as far back as 80,000 years or in fact much earlier, going back to the dim beginnings of the species Homo sapiens. Religion was therefore the first effort of man to establish a rapport with nature. The intention was wholly a noble one — to connect with the greater existence — but human minds were understandably extremely primitive so long ago in time, their lifestyle was totally brutish, there was no language either, and so instead of a poetic or philosophical reverence for Nature, men could only develop a routine of arbitrary, superstitious rituals in an effort to appease nature. Knowledge of our evolutionary beginnings was not well-developed in Freud’s time, nevertheless his speculations were based on the intrinsic logic of things and so some of them were neatly corroborated by scientific discoveries that were made much later. Superstitious religious beliefs did not really make man secure, but they at least provided an illusory sense of confidence: We are still defenceless, perhaps, but we are no longer helplessly paralysed; we can at least react. Perhaps, indeed, we are not even defenceless. We can apply the same methods against these violent supermen outside that we employ in our own society; we can try to adjure them, to appease them, to bribe them, and, by so influencing them, we may rob them of a part of their power. Freud says, â€Å"life and the universe must be robbed of their terrors. This was the big project man was on. However, there was no way man could achieve this at a time when he could not even build a primitive shelter for himself and had to live inside the caves. Even in the modern times, with such fantastic advances in science, we are still far from achieving this. The primitive man could only project beings with whom he could relate unto the abstract Nature, and achieve some kind of co nsolation through such an effort. This was not an altogether futile effort; besides consolation, it could also have led to other practical benefits. A replacement like this of natural science by psychology not only provides immediate relief, but also points the way to a further mastering of the situation. † From these very primitive beginnings, religions too went on evolving along with man’s growing awareness of his world. Freud continues with his logically derived conception of the evolution of religion. Freud has nothing against the way primitive religions evolved, because obviously human kind was in its childhood for all that time. Therefore it was only natural. What Freud is against are the present-day monotheistic religions of the world. Monotheism first evolved after a few thousands of years of civilization. Freud’s birth religion, Judaism, was one of the pioneers of monotheism. Although the monotheistic religion was a tremendous leap of abstraction over the primitive pantheistic religions, it was still an evolution of the primitive religions. Religion in whatever form, including the deeper spiritual and mystic modes, is a search for security, as is civilization. Whereas civilization has a valid basis, religion continued to be a purely imaginary enterprise. Civilization is a reflection of intelligence, maturity and capability of man, whereas religion is its exact opposite, although civilization and religion have been going together for so long. With monotheism, religion attained a kind of maturity, but unfortunately all the deep childishness still remained with it, being only thinly concealed. Freud remarks the following about the evolution of religion: And thus a store of ideas is created, born from man’s need to make his helplessness tolerable and built up from the material of memories of the helplessness of his own childhood and the childhood of the human race. This store of childish ideas continued to serve as a basis for the supposedly monotheistic religions too. Religion turned out to be an essentially childish pursuit. The parallels between religious tendencies and child psychology run deep. A very young child lives in a space where reality and dream/imagination constantly merge. In other words, he is not capable of clearly distinguishing between reality and imagination. For him, fairies in the stories he read could be as real as his friends at school. Freudian psychoanalysis traces all the mental complexes of an adult person to his childhood. This is the essential modality of psychoanalysis. The tendency of people to believe in religious doctrines is thus traced back by Freud to the tendency of children to confuse between reality and imagination. One needs this tendency or faculty first to indulge in any kind of mythmaking which is at the core of all religions, whether monotheistic or pantheistic — this capacity to take one’s own and collective mental projections for reality. Once this is in place, a person can go on projecting whatever suits him. A human child is so utterly helpless if he had to live on his own in this enormously complex world, unlike juvenile animals which come more or less ‘prepackaged’. The child’s overwhelming need is security. This security is provided by his parents. The child realizes his total dependence on the parents; consequently, the attachment to the father-figure or the mother-figure has gone very deep in the collective psyche of humanity. Security is very deeply associated with the father figure, especially in Western cultures and the ancient civilizations they evolved from. And although the child grows up into a man, and becomes much more capable and stronger in fending for himself, he still remains weak and helpless in face of many situations of life. The search for security continues, and the need for greater security is ever present. A benevolent and compassionate God watching over human affairs from his heaven – if he existed – would have been the ultimate protection for humans. But even if he does not exist, and no one has ever seen him, it need not present much of a problem because humans possess the faculty of confusing reality with imagination, and can easily make their own gods as well their own God. This faculty was particularly pronounced in people who lived in the early stages of civilization – which corresponded to the intermediate stages of evolution of religion. These men belonging to the ancient cultures of the world created thousands of gods and elaborate mythological stories featuring them — all of them being nothing more than products of their fertile but childish imagination. In the subsequent ages, men became more mature, their rational faculties developed, and they sought to make meaning of their world in a more focused manner, instead of just seeking security and comfort. This development was helped by the fact that enough of security and comfort were present already, therefore a higher need to make sense of his world developed in man. Religious cults continued to emerge and evolve; they were not simply arbitrary mythological stories anymore but contained more coherent narratives that answered philosophical questions and provided a framework of meaning to human existence. These latter day religions were apparently much more sophisticated than most of the primitive religions, nevertheless they were still highly childish and nonsensical. Science is a legitimate way of seeking comfort and security, and philosophy is a legitimate way of seeking meaning of human existence, but religion is a pseudo way of seeking all these three. Religion is like a drug that can provide a false sense of happiness and elation without in any way actually leading to greater happiness and joy. That was way why Freud was so much opposed to the existence of religions, they essentially belonged to a childish, outmoded phase of human evolution, even the apparently more sophisticated ones. Religions are nothing but an illusion. They provide comfort, solace, security, meaning and significance to human life — but they only seem to do so, in reality they only provide fake substitutes for all these. An illusion means an appearance without substance, and it is a very apt word to describe religions. There is nothing wrong in seeking greater meaning and security in our lives, in fact this search is what makes us human, this is a healthy need of human existence. But there is a much more prevalent neurotic version of this need which is easily satisfied by mere appearances and falsities, and which is easily catered for by the religions of the world. Religions are an outcome of neurosis, they are a disease of the human mind, and Freud genuinely hoped that religions could be cured by the spread of psychoanalysis some day in the future.

Communication & Emoticons Essay

Communication through the use of computer and the Internet used to be impersonal and largely for business-related tasks. With the formation of chat rooms, social interaction in the Internet became commonplace even creating a culture of its own. This culture evolved to include emoticons as a way of expressing emotions that otherwise would have been impossible to show. Emoticons become the electronic equivalent of a person’s reactions that could only be shown in a face-to-face interaction. In business communication, emoticons are seldom used unless the correspondents are close acquaintances. If they are used, it is often limited to the smiley icon to soften what otherwise would sound a stern message. In chat rooms and informal communications, more than 50 emoticons are available to make the conversation or message come alive. A person can use an emoticon for being angry, pleased, confused, sarcastic, and surprised using icons that are already made embedded in chat rooms or e-mail servers. Other emoticons can also be made using a few key strokes. While emoticons have become part of electronic interaction, many people still could not understand their use and implication. Often, only the Internet savvy use emoticons among themselves. In the older generation, emoticons in e-mail messages do not illicit the same response, rather, they could be the possible source of confusion. D’Addario says in a research article that the smiley faces, one type of emoticon, does not affect the emotional response of most e-mail message readers. This indicates that while emoticons have become part of electronic social communication, its impact on people would vary. Some people may find themselves understanding the mood of the party, others will be indifferent, while some would not understand. Reference D’Addario, K. P. Do Those Little â€Å"Smiley-Faces† In Electronic Mail Have An Effect On The Reader? Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www. macobserver. com/kpd/emoticonpaper. html

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 319

Assignment Example The location of Parkville avoids it from direct sun’s overhead. d. [10 pts] On the back of this sheet, draw a diagram showing the titled Earth during the winter solstice.Mark the Equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, and Parkville which is at 39Â °N latitude; then add the sun’s incoming parallel rays. Show where on Earth the sun reaches zenith during the winter solstice. 3. [30 pts] In the table below, fill in the altitude (i.e. the angle above the horizon) of the sun when it crossed the meridian (maximum altitude, around noon) for the different times of the year. (An altitude of 0Â ° means on the horizon. An altitude of 90Â ° means straight overhead, i.e. at zenith. Altitudes 90Â ° are not possible.) Use a value of 23.5Â ° for the axial tilt of the Earth. 1. [20 pts] In the table below, fill in the approximate time when the different moon phases are seen at the various locations. Choose from the following four answer choices: 12 PM (noon), 6PM (sunset), 12AM (midnight), 6 AM (sunrise). (Hint: Check out Figure 3.2 of your textbook.) f. [15 pts] After living on the moon a few months, the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in alignment for what Earthlings call a lunar eclipse. When you look up at the Earth, what do you see? On the back, draw a diagram of this alignment. g. [15 pts] several more months later, the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in alignment for what Earthlings call a solar eclipse. When you look up at the Earth, what do you see? On the back, draw a diagram of this

Dra Rod Music The paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dra Rod Music The paper - Assignment Example This especially concerns the most daring and capturing, to my thinking, musicals – those based on rock music, for this form of presentation elevates rock music to a rather sophisticated theatrical level and popularizes it. 2. Probably, the most interesting points in the history of musical are the way relevant social issues were reflected in productions and the gradual shift from mainly dancing and singing (as in early musicals with dominance of music numbers) to the greater role of dramatic component and plot. Here, the period of 1920-1940’s can be mentioned as the time of significant changes, for artistic activity of Cole Porter, George Gershwin and others endowed musical with peculiar American flavor – jazz and ragtime influence, more elaborate librettos etc. However, the most impressive turning point for me was observed in the postwar years with Rodgers and Hammerstein II creating South Pacific (1949), as this production clearly marked transition to a more elaborate dramatic form in musicals with dramatic component placed in the limelight, and singing/dancing used extensively to support development of the plot and communication of relevant issues. Moreover, this musical seems rather d aring and expressive to me in terms of presentation of big social issues such as race and gender relations. 3. Creating a musical, I would concentrate on a topic related to sexism and feminism and express the idea that women in the contemporary society often talk about gender roles when it concerns equal rights. Yet, they don’t mention equal duties. Therefore, the musical be about a feminist who gets to another planet and faces reversed reality with bearded men wearing dresses and going to beauty salons. However, women there have to win bread, to carry heavy bags etc. Our woman will be forced to marry a man of Conchita Wurst type and – after experiencing all the difficulties - she will escape and change her mind. To attract

Executive Interview & Analysis Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Executive Interview & Analysis - Term Paper Example In light of these, the paper focuses on the critical assessment of the role of organization design within Saudi Electricity. Different approaches can be used to assess the role and function of organization design within a given context. The SEC has incorporated based value creation and cost, quality and excellence as its key drivers in all its operations. One such example is the use SEC has established value based practices that assist its management in making critical decisions aiding in the general performance of an organization. According to Brebbia (2013), Globalization has further facilitated the process of change, especially in organizations. Most organizations nowadays structure their processes and operations in accordance to both internal and external changes happening within their environment. However, for many organizations the process of measuring the change process has always been a challenge. In the case of my organization, key decisions and policies are always defined by the government ministries who see all operations conducted by the organization. In addition, the organization has formed special regulatory departments to work in collaboration with the government in addressing various issues affecting the organization and other concerned stakeholders. Most funding received by the organization is always obtained from sales of oil and gas supplied to various locations in the Saudi kingdom. Due to the expansion in the market, the organization is accepting change in its processes to place itself in a healthy competitive position in the region(Ramady, 2010). Over the recent five years, the organization has been forced to make critical decisions in its operation and the external environment. Due to the ever increasing demand of energy by consumers, the organization has focused on expanding its investment strategy by reaching out more to investors in the external environment. In addition, it has

Being A Good Second Language Teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Being A Good Second Language Teacher - Essay Example As for academic studying a foreign language can improve cognitive and critical thinking abilities. Knowledge of a foreign language gives an advantage in every career. Foreign language study provides the ability to gain an understanding of the country's trading partners. Many multinational corporations and nongovernmental organizations need people with foreign language abilities. Learning a language is not just learning about its pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, it is learning to see the world as the other culture sees it. To study a language well, the teacher must have professional skills and have perfect knowledge in language. Also it is important to involve students in studying and to make the subject interesting. For language teacher is obligatory to be a good trainer in speaking and writing and know how to make his lessons easy for understanding and for learning. In order to have good knowledge in language it is necessary to understand all sciences that are connected with language studying. These are all sciences that are called Linguistics sciences and of course Country study. Language learners must acquire a language's components such as its sound system, basic lexicon, and grammatical structure, all of which takes time and practice. Students that study modern languages need great opportunities to speak, listen, read, and write in order to develop communicative fluency, understanding of how the language is constructed, and understanding of culturally-appropriate interactions. The most important and the most interesting branch of Linguistics is Communicative Linguistics. This branch works not only with text but also with its elements and their roles and with their functions. While studying language main practical aims are to speak fluently and to write correctly. It is impossible without learning of sound system (Phonetics). Different groups of languages have different sound systems and very often they differs a much. For example, we can take English language. There are three types of Phonetics: Acoustic Phonetics is the study of the physical properties of sounds, Auditory Phonetics is the study of the way listeners perceive sounds and Articulatory Phonetics. Several different combinations of letters can represent one sound. For example, he, believe, Lee, Caesar, key, amoeba, loudly, machine, people, and sea. Also a great role has different factors that have influence on sounds. For example, duration is very important. Let's take duration of the sound [i] in words sea [si:] and see [si] where it gives the meaning to the word. The ways in which sounds and meanings are related is called Semantics. Lexical semantics is concerned with the meanings of words and the meaning of relationships among words, while phrasal semantics is concerned with the meaning of syntactic units larger than the word. Semantic properties are the components of meanings of words. For example, the semantic property "human" can be found in many words such as parent, doctor, baby, professor, widow, and aunt. Other semantic properties include animate objects, male, female, countable items and non-countable items. Also Semantics contains such parts as homonyms (different words that are pronounced the same, but may or may not be spelled the same (to, two, and too), polysemous

The causes that lead to the crisis and discuss how it has affected the Essay

The causes that lead to the crisis and discuss how it has affected the New Zealand financial system and economy - Essay Example However, even wealthiest governments were forced to declare diverse rescue packages in order to bail out and thereby ensure the safety of their financial systems. The decade witnessed a series of collapses in the American banking sector, which were directly attributed to the crisis. The most challenging issue associated with the global crisis was that the institutions responsible for the financial difficulties were the ones being largely bailed out. This paper intends to explore the major causes that led to the crisis and how it affected New Zealand’s financial system and economy. Facts of the financial crisis Davies (2009) says that the financial crisis widely struck the global financial markets and its first impacts were seen in the United States’ sub-prime mortgage market. As a result of this crisis, the prices of bonds and other financial assets were considerably declined by which the generated losses largely hit the financial system. In the view of Davies (2009), i n this period, number of financial institution underwent bankruptcy mainly due to the collapse in credit; this situation adversely affected the economic confidence of business houses/entrepreneurs and thereby the overall economic growth of nations. A gigantic expansion in credit and asset prices just prior to the collapse increased its severity. This adverse credit as well as asset price expansion was more visible in the housing markets of US. Davies (2009) points that the situation of immense global imbalances between corporate giants created huge reserve accumulations. The aftereffects of these accumulations led to the fall of real and nominal interest rates. Naturally, this economic condition produced an environment that offered excess liquidity and very easy credit; hence, borrowers began to take advantages of this favorable situation. Subsequently, companies also increased their leverage with intent to exploit the situation. In the view of Davies (2009), households got the oppo rtunity to borrow more and more under this economic situation; and consequently, the ‘household debt rose to unprecedented levels in relation to GDP’. The banks and other financial institution were willing to approve this increased demand for credit and allowed credit even to vulnerable and very risky borrowers. Obviously, this massive and thoughtless credit creation hurt the financial stability of the credit sector. Causes of the global financial crisis Prior to the emergence of global financial crisis, it seemed that America had struggled with productivity and competitiveness in the Asian markets. The speculative economy has also notably contributed to this financial turbulence since the relationship of the international money supply did not commensurate with the actual production of goods. We know that energy consumption significantly increased by the beginning of 21st century. Since the existed reserve levels could not meet the increasing energy requirements, it cau sed energy crisis. Scholars opine that this energy crisis has also played a vital role intensifying the crisis. Davies (2009) argues that the irresponsible and passive trade room practices have also contributed to the crisis. Many of the economists are of the opinion that severe feeding problems or food crisis are also factors that fueled the global financial crisis. However, the major cause of the 2007 global economic crisis can be directly

Chapter 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chapter 6 - Essay Example The author has also inquired into the situation of both groups of primates not inter breeding yet sharing the food and other resources of the forests. Therefore the author believes that biological and behavioural behaviour of these two species of primates is worth re-examination . The author goes on to study their dietary habits and role of protein based food on their evolution. According to Craig B,this may actually "offer clues to aspects of ecological divergence among early members of the hominid phylogeny" and this is indeed the primary aim of his research. The reason this paper is addressing an important issue of physical/biological anthropology is that it shows how all primates have different dietary, sexual and behavioural habits based on their gene structure and habitat adaptation. On the basis of the study of these two species the writer has been able to draw conclusions on how the hominoids who were some kind of ancestors to these primates(although not entirely genetically) might have lived once upon a time . Based on these conclusions Craig then sums up that given that Miocene apes or Pliocene hominids had lived sympatric lives as well just like the apes and gorillas then they would have probably shared the food and environment in the same ways as well. It would be possible to discern their dietary and sexual patterns from the study of these much evolved apes . 3.What specific evidence, facts and/or examples did the author(s) offer to support their argument The author has included the statistics from his research in the form of tables and charts to show the numerical and empirical evidence collected from his findings and he made certain conclusions as to the range, diet and sexual habits of these two kinds of primates. His argument that the study of these more evolved primates will give an insight into the habits of the Hominoids and the extinct apes ,supported by evidence from other scholars and his own research. For example he points out that Chimpanzees and gorillas in sympatric are confronted with the same available resource bas, (yet)..Chimpanzees make intensive use of this prey base, but gorillas do not.. And then he goes on to link this with his finding about the dietary methods of Hominoids by saying that "An adaptation to meat-eating may have characterized the hominid adaptation during the divergence of the hominoid lineages. ancestral apes made the transition to greater body size and social complexity only because of the Added nutritional profile provided by a meatier diet." In this way he compares And provides evidence to show how the behaviour of the modern apes can help study the behaviour of the extinct species. 4.Did the author address any contrary evidence or the opinions/work of others that run counter the author(s) claims The author has not exactly addressed any contrary evidence which may possibly be a weakness of his argument. He has quoted many writers to go with his research and made a very strong connection between the two species in the modern and pre-historic settings. However he does

Final Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Final Paper - Essay Example As society processes the information regarding the event, the victims are framed by the news media and public officials. The reaction to the event creates another class of victims as the public is penalized through loss of freedoms and privacy. Innocent people are viewed with suspicion and an unrealistic assessment of the risk places a heavy toll on a stressed society. While terrorism has existed for millennia, recent uses of the criminal act and escalated methods have increased the level of societys awareness of the victims of terrorism. There is a Chinese saying that says, "Kill one [to] frighten ten thousand" (as cited in Ewald, 2006, p.4). Where in centuries past the concept of terrorism was to instill fear, modern terrorism seeks to murder on a massive scale. It is the ability of the terrorists to murder thousands of people in a single event that evokes such fear and dread. Exploring a few of the most significant terrorist acts committed against Americans can help to understand the ways that the victims are viewed and why they become victims. They are generally victims of opportunity and symbolism. Direct victims can be viewed through the positivist lens, while the indirect victims are more aptly analyzed through the anti-positivist viewpoint. The direct victims are real and concrete, while the indirect victims are constructed through societies own labels and judgments. Killing one can indeed frighten ten thousand, and killing 3 thousand can frighten 3 million. Americans have lived with various forms of terrorism since the countrys beginning, but only recently has it been viewed as a complex social issue. Table 1 is a partial list of the most noteworthy terrorist acts in modern history. The 1993 truck bomb at the World Trade Center was the first terrorist event that took place on US soil that attracted large scale public attention. Though there had been a number of airplane hijackings throughout the previous

Game theory about north Korea Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Game theory about north Korea - Research Paper Example With North Korea’s (DPRK) both allies, the Soviet Union and China, recognizing the ROK government, DPRK expected similar recognition from ROK’s allies, the US and Japan, which was not granted, thereby leaving DPRK the only remaining Stalinist regime with only China backing it. Diplomatically isolated and economically down, DPRK saw the necessity to engage with the US – the nuclear umbrella of South Korea (Kim, 1998, p. 12-13), by extraordinarily exploiting its nuclear issue to gain US attention and diplomatic engagement in the 1990s (Barry, 1998, p. 95; Kim, 1998, p. 12), as North Korea sees the US’s recognition of DPRK as an independent state strategic to improve North Korea’s diplomatic and economic external relations and to allow it to obtain trade, aid and investments it badly needed to subsist and progress, yet defying US values to get into the north (Barry, 1998, p. 106). If conventional wisdom maintains that today, deterrence is the sole legitimate purpose of having nuclear weapons (Dadley & Martin, 2009, par. 3), the possession of nuclear weapons in poor states such as Iraq, North Korea, Pakistan, India, and Israel on the other hand is being utilized to define and empower the state (Bracken, 2003, sec. 2, par. 4). For example, â€Å"North Korea seeks nuclear weapons as part of a philosophy of self-reliance and a search for respect† (Bracken, 2003, sec. 2, par. 7). Thus, for North Korea†¦ possession of nuclear weapons is a diplomatic tool for seeking direct negotiations with the US† (Haruki, 2006, sec. 2, par. 5). Having lost the nuclear umbrella, it must have decided that nuclear weapons would have to constitute the pillar of national defense. Nuclear weapons, which would be aimed at South Korea, were seen as indispensable to make up for the inability to maintain the balance in conventional weapons due to economic collapse. When North Korea blocked the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and then withdrew from the Nuclear

Lady Macbeth, an honoured hostess and a fiend-like Queen Essay Example for Free

Lady Macbeth, an honoured hostess and a fiend-like Queen Essay The audience witness a total transformation of Lady Macbeth from a powerful, scheming woman to a sad and lonely wretch. By the end of this tragedy she has nothing to live for, is riddled with guilt and has lost all sanity. At the opening of the play the audience see how fervent her hunger for power and status is when she summons evil spirits; Fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of the direst cruelty; (Act One, Scene 5, lines 40-41). This statement displays Lady Macbeths character deeply nefarious, it would perturb the superstitions of the Christian spectators. The audience might also perceive her to be disturbed as in that same soliloquy she asks the spirits to, Make thick my blood, At the time that the play was written thick blood was associated with illness and derangement. It would have been most horrific for the audience to listen to the character persisting that she did not want to be womanly, especially for someone of her status is society. Pronouncing that she wished to be unsexed and that she wanted the spirits to Come to my womans breasts, and take my milk for gall, would outrage their perfervid Christian views as women were supposed to be maternal and loving whereas she uses the oxymoron to intensify her wish to become corrupt and inhuman. Immediately after she calls the spirits, Shakespeare returns Macbeth to the stage, scheduling his wife the ideal time to discuss her plan. Lady Macbeth begins to instruct him as she says, Look like th innocent flower, but be the serpent undert. She uses this metaphor to reassure her husband and make known to him that others wont realise hed be doing anything wrong but at the same time urging him to commit the deed,ergo underlining the way in which it is her evil inventions which will destroy Duncan. The Shakespearean audience would be very disturbed to witness such wicked schemes emanating from a female character; women were particularly governed by societys expectations and considered to be the fairer, gentler sex, leaving political machinations to their male counterparts. Along with manipulating Macbeth into executing all of her schemes, she also is competent to cover up after him when he is vulnerable to suspicion. Without her help and guidance, Macbeth would have not been able to consummate his feats. After Macbeths first act in which he commits regicide by killing his dear king Duncan, he is incapable of coming to terms with his actions and returning with the weapons to Duncans chamber. His ever-dutiful wife finishes the task. Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but pictures. Her control here reveals her power and determination. We see her draw a veil over Macbeths behaviour again after he has taken King Duncans life as Macbeth makes the mistake of killing the guards, when he knows that as a soldier himself he should interrogate suspects. After Macduff attempts to question Macbeth on his reasons, Lady Macbeth faints (Act 2 Scene 3 line 112). This shows her ability to extemporise when the situation requires it. Indeed there are several occasions when Lady Macbeth steps in to avoid her husband being put under suspicion. Her role in the banquet scene after Macbeth sees Banquos ghost has a reason. Macbeth shows signs of weakening before the spirit of Banquo. However, Lady Macbeth shows her authority over the proceedings. She instructs all but herself and Macbeth in Act 3 Scene 4 lines 118-9 to Stand not upon the order of your going. But go at once, thus managing to clear their estate of all the guests who had been visiting, which would have been a difficult feat especially for a woman yet her determination impels her capable. We sporadically notice that she is not such a nefarious character, as she would like to believe. An example of her vulnerability is when she needs a drink to give her courage in order to go through with the plan for the murder of Duncan, That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold. If she were truly a fiend she would feel nothing. Similarly, when she is anxious and awaiting Macbeths return she utters that, Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had donet. Had she been entirely evil she would have distanced herself more and be unable to draw comparisons. The decisive moment however for Lady Macbeth is when she detects that she is no longer needed. Act 3 Scene 3 lines 6-7 describe this further when she asks Macbeth, Whats to be done? and he proves to her that he is no longer the mere student but the master as he replies, Be the innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed. Macbeths use of dearest chuck would have been supposed to be playful however in this context would have aggravated his wife and spurred on the doubts that would have been forming in her mind. The quotation is also analogous to what Lady Macbeth had said to him in Act 1 Scene 5 about looking innocent, thus extra proof of his imitation of his wifes influence. Lady Macbeths return to the action in Act 5, scene 1 is dramatic in its irony. She is a mere shadow of her former self, unable to sleep and riddled with guilt she re-enacts the role she played in Duncans murder, and in so doing betrays her guilt to her waiting woman and, of course, the audience. The constant washing of her hands and utterances Out damned spot Whod have thought the old man to have so much blood serve to expose her crimes, her sentiments in Act Two A little water cleans me of this deed are shockingly highlighted in the closing Act with poignant irony. Delirious and disturbing outbursts: Heres the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this hand. Oh, oh, oh! (Line 44-6) and her use of metaphor amplifies her acute mental torture and pain, she is a woman so construed by guilt that she loses all sanity. Lady Macbeths downfall, like her husbands, is a tragic one as she ultimately dies from her terrible crime. Like Macbeth, Lady Macbeth enjoyed reputation and status as the wife of the greatest Scottish warrior, much loved and honoured by king and county. However, she is as much Macbeth, guilty of vaulting ambition and when she succumbs to that fatal flaw she can no longer function. Indeed, so consumed by guilt, Lady Macbeth commits suicide knowing that her crimes have involved interfering with the divine right of kings. Interestingly, however, the audience see many times throughout this drama when Lady Macbeth is not so cold as she is made out to be. We know that she is not a fiend as we see on numerous occasions her inability to carry out acts herself, act 2 Scene 2, line 13-4, Had he not resembled my father as he slept. I had donet. She is unable to distance herself from the stunt and even helping to carry out the act she finds difficult as she needs help to bring the courage she needs: That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; illuminating further how she has some empathy for Duncan. The audience see just how terrible an effect all the events since the witches first met Macbeth have had on her mental state as they hear how she has taken her own life in Act 5 scene 5 from Malcolm. To conclude, it is clear that Lady Macbeth begins her role as honoured; she certainly enjoys the wifely role of Scotlands hero. However, through greed and ambition, she forfeits her reputation and status. Certainly her actions are fiend-like but she does betray some small shreds of conscience and is therefore well aware of her choices. A totally fiendish character would not experience guilt, but Lady Macbeth goes insane simply because she knows she has been immoral and sinful. Lady Macbeth, an honoured hostess and a fiend-like Queen.

The Issues Surrounding Disability Social Work Essay

The Issues Surrounding Disability Social Work Essay There is a lot of discussion of how disability is described. The literal meaning of disability is difficulty with ability. This implies some form of mental or physical impairment that can manifest problems with mobility or awareness. According to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, disability impairments can include sensory impairments such as hearing or sight, mental impairments such as depression or learning difficulties and physical impairments such as wheelchair users. People with disabilities may face problems, and not only because of their particular impairments but by social factors such as attitudes, stigma and physical obstructions, for example, ease of access to buildings or transport. The description of disability has varied over the years but the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 describes it as, he/she has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day to day activities Thompson and Thompson (2008) state that historically, people with disabilities were considered tragic, different or in some way devious. They were not allowed to work, mix with others or travel and many were placed in asylums. Ingstad and Reynolds, (1995) claims that, media representation of disability often relates to insanity and evil. This is evident in such things as super hero movies, where the bad character is often portrayed as physically deformed or mentally unstable. However, throughout history there have been people with impairments that in todays society would have been viewed as disabled, Franklin D Roosevelt, four times president of the United States, had polio. The poet Lord Byron (mad Lord Byron), who was born with talipes, known then as a club foot, and whose name today is still synonymous for someone dashing, Byronic. Admiral Nelson, known for his great naval victories against the Napoleonic French and particularly the battle of Trafalgar, he is not viewed as disabled although he was blind in one eye and only had one arm. In todays society he would have been seen as a disabled seaman. But when we look at these people we do not see their disabilities, we see heroes, great leaders and writers. Did society just look past their impairment and just see their achievements?. (Ingstad and Reynolds, 1995). According to Finkelstein (1980), people with disabilities have existed in comparatively large numbers throughout the world and in different societies for centuries. What is also evident is that the cultural understanding and responses to impairment and disability have varied and still do. There is a real cultural stigma towards people that have any sort of physical or mental difference to the norm. This can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman times. Finkelstein (1980) goes on to say that, all though the degree of bias has varied from time to time, peoples perceptions of impairment and disability have remained much the same since the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century. The start of the industrial revolution introduced the concepts of urbanization and paid labour. This brought new problems for people who were unable to compete for work. After being scrutinised and labelled by doctors and other professionals, these people were put in to hospitals or asylums where they remained for very long periods and sometimes indefinitely. This kind of treatment carried on throughout most of the western world and all through the first half of the twentieth century. Drake (1999), states that the Eugenic legacy, which looked at the assumptions of human mental characteristics, was in some way influential in forming a different outlook on impairments. Drake continues, the Eugenic legacy came to a logical conclusion during the systematic murders in the Nazi death camps of thousands of disabled people considered undeserving of life, worthless and a burden on society. In the 17th century impairments or disabilities were seen as punishments from God, and explained by using religion, superstition, or myths and legend. Some of these beliefs remain to this day such as the belief that a disabled person must have been evil in a previous life and is now being punished. (Campbell and Oliver 1995) I remember in 2003 former England manager, Glenn Hoddle was sacked from his position for saying that disabled people are paying for sins they committed in a previous life. But in other religious cultures in societies, disability may be seen as being chosen by god. (Campbell and Oliver 1995) Cultural values and Society can be responsible for imposing disability on someone with impairments. This is mostly done unintentionally or by misinterpretation but it results in excluding people with some form of impairment from participating in society. Therefore it is understandable that disabled people will see themselves, as an oppressed group. To understand this, there has to be a definition between the person with the impairment and the social construction, called disability. (Oliver 1996) What this means is that todays society defines the impairment as it is seen, i.e. the lack of a limb or limbs, organism or motor functions of the body that are not working properly, and the disability as the restrictions and disadvantages that go with it. Oliver, states that, We see disability as the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by a contemporary social organisation which takes little or no account of people who have physical impairments and thus excludes them. (Oliver 1996, p22) The common view today, according to Campbell and Oliver (1995) is that a persons impairment is the cause of their disability and that their disability is a medical problem that has to be overcome. This refers to the medical model approach which focuses on prevention and cure. In many countries this has caused a growth of prosperous and costly industries involved with disability comprising voluntary organisations, drug companies, private businesses, charities and government institutions. These will be staffed by an army of professionals including support workers, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and social workers. This attitude can have a negative effect on the way society see people with impairments and will result in stigmatisation. In addition to this, if society sees the impairment as the problem, surely it is logical to see that these problems must be cured or fixed in order for them to fit in to normal society. The outcome is that, people with disabilities are labelled as disabled people this may look like a play on words but what this shows is that the disability is seen before the person. Society sees people with disabilities as, not normal, this implies abnormal, and further reinforce the stigmatisation and stereotyping of people with disabilities being seen as inadequate and dependant. Are some people with disabilities more vulnerable than others According to Hales (1996, p152) Prejudice is a negative attitude towards particular groups of people based on negative traits assumed to be uniformly displayed by members of that group Hales uses the example, that it is commonly assumed, that younger people with learning disabilities have no interest in forming long term relationships, an adult sex life or having children. Hales describes this as issue as being social attitude rather than the physical disabilities faced by the people themselves. It is difficult to say if some people with disabilities are more vulnerable to discrimination than others as there are so many factors to consider. Cost for example. Barnardos (2011) state that, the costs involved in bringing up a child with a disability is much greater than raising non disabled children. Barnardos also state that, it may not just be the higher cost of living, no qualifications and unemployment that are causing discrimination. But the fact that living in deprived communities where the understanding of disability is lower than the more affluent areas. One fifth of children with disabilities live in poverty stricken areas, resulting in social exclusion, discrimination and causing multiple oppressions. (Barnardos (2011). Marginalisation and exclusion refers to people with disabilities not being included in everyday life. This includes non equality in the work place. (Barns and Mercer 2003) state that, while some benefits such as disability living allowance (DLA), are in place to help people cope financially with social and work factors, it can also have an adverse effect by highlighting a dependency on benefits. This again can lead to stigmatisation and oppression. New labour recognised this problem and developed the welfare to work policy in 1997. The government documented that unemployment for people with disabilities was far higher than it was with non disabled people. A high percentage of people with learning disabilities live in poverty. 24 % of working age people with disabilities do not have formal qualifications. (HM Government 2011) The government recognises a link between unemployment and social exclusion. In 1989 the government set up the social exclusion unit (SEU) to improve the educational prospects for children with disabilities. Although this was a step in the right direction, it is worth noting that the minister for education at this time was David Blunkett, who is classed as a person with a disability. (Dan 2005) When people think of disability they think of the obvious such as wheelchair users. There are some things put in place for people with physical disabilities. Examples of these are wider doors, ramps, higher power points, lower light switches, audio and visual aids, lowering busses and disabled parking (Hales 1996). But in my opinion people with learning disabilities seem to be less understood. Therefore, I feel that, it can be argued that people with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to discrimination than other. Why do some people reject the disability label and some accept it? According to Barnes (1991), some people will accept the disability label, feeling that they are not able to cope in society and they are in a sort of limbo, waiting for a cure and the hope that one day they may get fixed. This may be because they have been conditioned by a non disabled society to accept their lot in life; they are broken and need a cure. Some disabled people will obviously want a cure and will actively help in working to find one, thus giving their life some meaning and a reason to belong. Some need to succeed in order to belong, some need to belong in order to succeed. (Hill Country Disabled Group) According to Clapton Fitzgerald (1997) this stems back to the medical model of disability that perceives impairment as something that has to be fixed, i.e. a person is disabled because of their individual impairment so consequently they will require medical interventions to give them the skills to adapt in our non disabled society.   There are disadvantages to being labelled as disabled. But there can also be advantages. In my experience, in having dyslexia, (which was discovered while I was at university), I am classed as a disabled student. I do not see myself as being disabled as there are no physical signs of dyslexia and it is something I have lived with all my life without knowing. Initially, I resented the disability label, but in accepting it, I received the help I need to complete my course. Some of my fellow students see such a label as stigmatising, and even though they have similar pattern of difficulties, they did not want to seek help for fear of being labelled. There are the people who see disability as a social problem put on them by a non disabled society that impairs physically disabled people. It is argued that no one has made a specific distinction between biological impairment and social disability. (Clapton Fitzgerald (1997) This is seen as the key to the British social model of disability and was originally devised by disabled rights activists in the 1970s. This move forward was developed by disabled people and their own experiences of living with impairment in Western society (UPIAS 1976) The social model has been widely acknowledged and developed by disability rights groups all over the world. It is now the foundation and the principle way of thinking in regard to policy-making for countries as diverse as Japan, South Africa and the USA. The social model of disability is not complicated; it just highlights the cultural, economic and environmental barriers experienced by people who are seen by others as impaired. According to Barnes (1991), these barriers can include: education problems, communication issues, problems within the working environments, insufficient disability benefits, social support services, inaccessible transport, housing and public buildings and the devaluing of people labelled disabled by negative imagery and representation in the media such as films, television and newspapers. From this viewpoint it is easy to see why some people will reject the label of being disabled and see their disability as a failure by society to accommodate their personal and combined needs within the confines of conventional society. (Barnes 1991) What can be done to effectively counter discrimination? Oliver (1990).explains that, peoples perceptions of disability and rehabilitation are changing. The 1960s saw the start of this change with politicians, policy makers and social workers realising that the world can no longer look at the disability issue as an individualistic medical problem, (Barnes and Mercer 2003). One of the reasons for this is that people with any form of impairment, be it cognitive or physical, are seen as abnormal and labelled as disabled. The fact is, that these people represent a growing segment of the global population and must be treated as equals. In brief, this means that the social model of disability is a tool to help us recognise the disablement caused by societys preconceptions of people with disabilities and help improve policy making. (Oliver 2004) Ten years ago, Glasby and Littlechild (2002), stated that, what is needed to effectively counter discrimination is to move away from government run professional services. They foresaw a need for greater investment in user led initiatives, especially regarding direct payments. This should give thousands of disabled people across the UK a better chance of achieving real independent living. Glasby and Littlechild go on to say that this could be achieved by setting up a new national body working directly with the National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL). Along with the distribution of direct payments, this new organisation could produce a standardized assessment for direct payments, reducing mistakes and making it easier for service users. Barns (2004) explained that, such an organization could also monitor local user groups that provide services for direct payment users. This would also give this new organisation the opportunity to benefit from a wealth of experience and expertise that has been developed by disabled people for over twenty years. (Barns 2004) The problem at this time was that, the government authorities were reluctant to implement direct payment policy for a number of reasons. Nowadays, direct payments are offered as a matter of course. During my third year placement in social services, It was actively encouraged to offer this service, in fact, I could not complete a unified assessment without doing so. We also recognise organisations such as the Rowan. This is a registered charity that provides direct Payment and Personal Budget support for service users. The Rowan has a vision of, A society that is fully inclusive in which the barriers, whether environmental, attitudinal or institutional, that prevent disabled people from having equality of opportunity have been removed. (The Rowan Organization 2012) As social workers we have the training to act in a non discriminatory way. We follow guidelines in our codes of practice such as, upholding public trust in social services and not unlawfully discriminating service users. Anti discriminatory practice is fundamental to the practice of good social work. It is important not to assume what difficulties people have with their disabilities. This in itself is a form of oppression, as only people with disabilities will know what its like to face disability discrimination. I feel that one of the most important roles as a social worker is advocacy. This will ensure that the voices of peoples with disabilities are heard. Legislation is main area that can help fight discrimination and oppression. The Equality Act 2010 enforces a duty on employers to make adaptations that will aid disabled people in the work place. This act also makes it illegal to treat people differently because of their disability. According to Barns (2003), the equality movement and looking into the problems of disablement has brought forward the concept of independent living. This concept was first used in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, after being adopted by disability activists in the USA. These activists called themselves the ILM or independent living movement. This movement was partly developed within campuses of American universities and partly from the on-going efforts of the disability activists who were attempting to influence, not only US disability legislation in the 1960s. But also, peoples discriminating perceptions of disabled people. Disability Wales ran a campaign from April 2010 to March 2011. This was called independent living now. This highlighted six main calls to action that disabled people had deemed essential in further development of Independent Living. These are: 1. Improved access to information, advice, independent advocacy and peer support services for all 2. Availability of accessible and supported housing to meet individual requirements 3. A comprehensive range of options and genuine choice and control in how personalized care and support is delivered 4. Improved access to Person Centered Technology (aids equipment) 5. A barrier free transport system, including all modes of transport 6. Enabling access, involvement and social, economic and cultural inclusion for all disabled people. This concept of independent living is a broad one and is usually associated with younger and middle aged people with physical and sensory conditions. But this concept does apply to everyone in the disabled population. This includes people with high support needs and people with cognitive conditions such as learning disabilities and mental illness (Barnes 2003). Because of this, independent living does have some criticisms. My own experience of working with a young man who had learning disabilities was not very successful. This person was granted independent living and was given his own flat. The problem was that all his friends did not have any kind of impairment. This was causing real problems as they were encouraging him to spend his disability allowance on alcohol and having parties at his flat. In turn this was causing problems with the neighbours because of the constant noise. This also resulted in him not having any money for food and being drunk most of the time. This was caus ing him to have health problems, which resulted in him being returned home to his parents. Conclusion In concluding this assignment, I have discussed why there is disability discrimination both from an historic and societal point of view and how people are disabled by these views. I have also discussed the different levels of vulnerability and who I feel are the most vulnerable in our society. In addition, I have covered why some people accept the disability label whilst others reject it, and what can be done in the hope of effectively countering disability discrimination. 3249 words Acts Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Equality Act 2010

Information System Market

Information System Market To be successful in todays competitive market place, organizations need access to a business information system that produce accurate and targeted information about customers, markets and competitors. Information system is a combination of people, hardware, software, communication devices, networks and data resources that processes data and information for a specific purpose. The system needs inputs from users to process it using technology devices such as computers to produces output that will be sent to another user or other system via a network and receives a feedback method that controls the operation. Information system helps organization processes and operates its daily works more accurately and easily. The vast majority of information system are developed for and used by people in functional areas To develop information system that addresses the needs of the organization, information system management professionals must process a solid mix of business and technical knowledge. System Theory: A system is an organized collection of subsystems that are highly integrated to accomplish an overall goal. The system has various inputs, which go through certain processes to produce certain outputs which together accomplish the overall desired goal for the system, Clark (1994). Systems range from simple to complex. Complex systems are comprised of numerous subsystems that are arranged in hierarchies and integrated to accomplish the overall goal of the system. Each subsystem has its own boundaries of sorts and includes various inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes geared to accomplish an overall goal for the subsystem. Complex systems usually interact with their environments and are thus open systems. A high functioning system continually exchange feedback among its various parts to ensure that they remain closely aligned and focused on achieving the goal of the system. If any of the parts or activities in the system seems weakened or misaligned, the system makes necessary adjust ments to more effectively achieve its goals. System theory helps managers view the organizations from a broader perspective that include structures, patterns and events rather than just the events themselves. This is what is known as system thinking which is used as a tool for system analysis. Trendy Garments Ltd (TGL) is a complex set of interdependent subsystems such as Accounting, Marketing, HRM, Design, Sales, Purchase and Warehousing, Manufacturing, logistics and Dispatch that work collaboratively to accomplish the organizations goal which is manufacturing and selling various types of male and female garments. TGL is an open system that takes in resources and information from its environment, processes them in different ways and returns a range of products to individuals and systems in its environment. It is highly dependent on its environment for survival. TGL system characteristics: Input: TGL take in financial resources mainly from selling its products. Another vital form of input for TGL system is information such as market research data, political, business and customers needs and expectations. Buying products from fabric supplier can be considered as an important input. Process or throughput: In this organization, the subsystems have very specialized functions and their works include several processes that are both distinct and interdependent. For example, the purchase department and warehouse receive input in the form of fabric, through individual effort and group works; they turn the fabric into beautiful garments. The marketing department uses research data to create effective advertisement with the intent to generate revenue. Another important type of organizational throughput is the work of coordinating individual and subsystems effort toward the goal of producing output. This work may be done through formal processes such as staff meetings, planning and decision- making, communication between the departments, discussing and working together. Output: The most obvious output of TGL organization is manufacturing and selling female and male garments. Another output is advertisement of TGLs products in the market. Introducing changes in the organization based on the market needs is another important output. Environment: According to open system theory, TGL interacts with its environment in a complex series of interrelated loops such as individuals, increased use of information system by all business organizations, change in customers needs and demands, change in business political rules and policies, competitors, suppliers , contact with local, national and international retailers and whole sellers and expansion of the business. Their success depends on how well their characteristics and behavior align with their environment. Feedback: Completing the cycle, TGL receives feedback from its environment about its product and services in the forms of sale figures, business reviews, expansion of business, increase in number of employees and marketing search. Individual subsystems may also receive feedback from their immediate environments inside the organization. This information serves as new input and becomes part of a new cycle and potentially shapes future actions. Goal: TGLs main goal is to produce the top quality garments for male and female that meets their needs and expectation and has a very well known reputation in the market. In each system, the information flow between the system and its subsystems should be clear and simple in order to perform its daily work. There is always interrelated communications and integration between all subsystems in the organization, Brynjolfssn Mendelson (1993). Managers cannot look at each department separately. They should recognize the various parts of the organization and in particular, the interrelations of the parts. For instance, the coordination of the central office with other departments, communication between purchasing department and warehousing department, integration between purchasing department and manufacturing department, coordination between accounting department and purchasing department and so on. This coordination occurs also between the sections of each department. Therefore, we can see that the inputs of one department can be an output for another department and vice versa. Computer Networking: It is the practice of linking two or more computing devices together for the purpose of sharing data. Networks are built with a mix of computer hardware and computer software. Networking enables people within your business to work with each other and with other people in other locations and other businesses. It enables contact in entirely new ways and entirely new levels across the offices and right around the world. Computer networks allow the users to access remote programs and remote database either of the same organization or from other enterprises. It provides communication possibilities faster than other facilities. Beside these reasons, computer networks reduce costs by sharing hard and software resources. It also has high reliability by having multiple source of supply and having greater flexibility because of possibility to connect devices from various venders. Because of the importance of this technology, decisions of purchase, structure and operation of computer networks c annot be left to technical staff. Management as well has a critical need for understanding the technology of computer network. Good computer network prevents defects in the system and system down all the time, is secure and prevents hackers. Computer networks fall into two main types: client/server networks and peer to peer networks. A client/server networks use one or more dedicated server to share the files, printers and applications. Peer to peer networks allow any user to share files with any other user and doesnt require a central dedicated server. The most common networks are Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN) and Internet. Since TGL is a growing organization, it is in great need for these networks to achieve its goals. TGL needs both LANs and WANs. LAN connects departments in the same area together to share files, work on projects, send instant massages and e-mail massages simultaneously. WANs connect multiple LANs together, usually over large distance. To networks everyone together, servers, router, core switch, switches, fire wall and personal computers are needed. The most suitable design for TGL is client/server network. The system will be used by programming language connected data base. This is easier to implement data, more secure, efficient, time consuming and friendly use for end users. The program must be custom system so that it can be changed based on changes in environment of TGL and can be developed when necessary. The system and data base in the server will be shared between clients and admin. Microsoft windows 2003 will be used for the server and Vista or XP for the client. .net program ming language provided with SQL server 2005 is needed. After installing the system, create network accounts for the users (names, passwords). Passwords will be saved in data base. Users should be in data base to use the system. For security purpose, log in appears each time the user open the system. The menu contains each departments and it is friendly use. Create areas on shared disk drives for users to share data files and programs. Each department has its own data base and there is connection between each department data base using data base relation. Users can add, delete and make search according to the organizations policy while administrators have access to everything in the system and can perform all the related functions. Topology refers to the way in which the network of the computers is connected. Each topology is suited to specific task and has its own advantages and disadvantages. The choice of topology is dependent upon: type and number of equipment being used, planned application and rate of data transfer, required response time and cost. There are four major topologies, bus, tree, ring and star. Most networking software support all topologies. Topologies are an important part of network design theory. Therefore, any organization should select the one that best fit its purpose. The best topology for this network would be star topology. Star topology is designed with each node (file server, workstation and peripherals) connected directly to a central network hub. Data on a star network passes through the hub before continuing to its destination. The hub manages and controls all functions of the network. It also acts as a repeater for the data flow. This configuration is common with twisted pair c able. Star topology is easy to install and wire, no disruptions to the network then connecting or removing devices, easy to detect faults and to remove parts, easy to add new workstations, centralized control and centralized network/hub monitoring and prevent traffic collision in data. However, it requires more cable length, if the hub fails, nodes attached are disabled, and more expensive. The protocols used with star configuration are usually Ethernet or Local Talk. Accounting and HRM systems: Accounting information system uses modern information technology resources to provide users with the financial information necessary to manage their organizations. Accounting information systems cover all business functions from backbone accounting transaction processing systems to sophisticated financial management planning and processing systems. The module that you install will depend on factors such as the size and complexity of your organization, your existing financial systems and the expertise of your accounting staff. You have to ensure that your organizations financial system is handling all its functions. Your goal is to keep your system as simple as possible while meeting your current and potential needs, Elliott (2004). Be sure to take future growth into consideration and evaluate whether you can modify a software package by adding additional modules in the future if the organization expands or you need to revise the system. Modules include: System manager: control the computerized accounting system. General ledger: receives entries from other modules, creates key financial documents such as balance sheets, lets users amend information previously posted, records financial transactions not recorded in other modules, creates budgets which allows an organization to track differences between planned and actual business results and creates detailed audit trials. Accounts receivable: handles the reporting of income owed to an organization from sales, responsible for billing clients, recognizes deposits to bank accounts, usually maintains the master files about customers, has the capacity to print out a list of all money due, identifies the source and notes how long the debt has been outstanding. Accounts payable: handles the reporting of money due to others, may have the capacity to print computer-generated checks to vendors, maintains master records, permits posting of immediate payments, allows an organization to recognize expenditures and update budgets at the purchase order stage, recognizes costs when the invoice is posted. Inventory: updates inventory stocks and prices when goods are received, reduces inventories at the time of sale, links the purchase order system to show goods on order, alerts staff when goods need to be reordered. Fixed assets: tracks key information such as cost, date when put in service, title holder and useful life of fixed assets, may also track model and serial numbers, location, identification tag number, warranty, service information and vendor. To be able to manage a company efficiently, one should always have full information about each particular business process and the whole company. Accounting cannot always provide top manager with such information because it focuses mostly on the needs of external entities. The purpose of management accounting is to provide full and trustworthy information necessary for making correct management decisions and plans. The management accounting reflects all factual expenses and revenues of the organization so a top manager can get a clear picture of the organization operation and make reasonable decisions. Modules include: Staff/organizational structure management module reflects the organizational structure in the automated system. Departments, sub-departments, and positions are formed according to the company staff list. The staff manager gets the necessary tools for performing their tasks: inputting and accounting the company staff information. Production management module contains tools for working with the information about all production process components, projects, developers and financial documents. Customer relationship module is a set of programming interfaces for entering and managing information about organizations customers. Revenues/expenses analysis module is a data analysis tool that is necessary to the company managers of all levels. Especially important is the financial accounting because it is the financial analysis that helps determine the companys financial situation and success. Reporting module creates individual reports at the top managers request apart from the general usual, regulated reports. Accounting interfacing module exports the necessary data from management accounting system to the external accounting software. Human resource management allows enterprises to automate many aspects of human resource management with the dual benefits of reducing the workload of HR department as well as increasing the efficiency of the department by standardizing HR processes, Stalinski, (2004). The HR department plays a vital role in ensuring the smooth running of an enterprise. Modules include: Payroll module automates the payroll process allowing HR to ensure that payroll functions are completed on time and without errors. Time and labour management module is designed to collate and analyze employee timekeeping information in the processes of organizational cost accounting. By sourcing data directly from the timekeeping devices and methods used to calculate payroll, this module can provide management with valuable data regarding the use of labour resources within the enterprise. Benefit administration module provides the personnel with the capacity to monitor and manage employees participation in a range of benefits programs such as health insurance, pension schemes and profit sharing. HR management module provides a range of HR solutions ranging from analyses of application data through to the basic demographic data of employees. Electronic business: E-business means using the internet or related technologies for any of business operation. This includes managing internal processes such as human resources, financial and administration systems as well as external processes such as sales and marketing, supply of goods and services and customer relationships. The emerging e-business market affords companies of all sizes and types the opportunity to leverage their existing assets, employees, technology infrastructure and information to gain or maintain market share, Li (2007). TGL can run its business more efficiently, achieve more with fewer resources and for less cost using e-business. This can be accomplished by integrating business system and eliminating duplication of efforts. Using e-business can make TGL administrative and operational activities more efficient through accessing the internet to source information about the industry, suppliers and products and fro general search, streaming traditional physical transactions into electronic transactions, human resources management, customer relationship management and using appropriate project management software. By selling products and services online, an e-business is able to reach a much wider consumers base than any traditional store could ever hope for. An e-business may also use the internet to acquire wholesale products or supplies for in-house production. In addition to buying and selling products, e-business may also handle other traditional business aspects. The use of electronic chat as a fo rm of technical and customer support is an excellent example of this. Using e-mail and private websites as a method for dispensing internal memos is another use of the internet by e-business. Rather than producing time-intensive and costly physical copies for each employee, a central server or e-mail list can serve as an efficient method for distributing necessary information. To remain viable, e-business must adjust to evolving technologies, continually integrate new systems and satisfy a wide variety of consumers. If a business fails to do so, its customers do not have far to go to buy from competitors. According to Walsh, e-business tools include mobile phones, personal digital assistance (PDA), electronic data interchange, file transfer, facsimile and video conferencing, internets, intranets and extranets. Activities that can be performed using e-business tools include: trading of goods or services online, electronic retailing, use of the internet, intranets or extranets to conduct research and manage business activities, web site marketing, online communications such as e-mail and online training for staff. The way in which you manage your business relationships through e-business is known as: Business to business (B2B) where organizations trade with each other electronically. Business to consumer (B2C) where organizations communicate directly with customers electronically. Consumer to consumer (C2C) where consumers meet in a virtual environment to share information. TGL can use e-business to communicate with customers, members or suppliers via e-mail, send e-mails to other organizations to order products and services, sell or promote their products, or services via their Web site, use the web to find information such as prices, use the web for research, such as the latest trends, use their Web site as a means of managing the information in their business and use the internet for online banking and paying bills. To implement e-business strategies, a portal is needed. A portal represents a Web site that provides a single point of access to applications and information that can be hosted on one or many servers. Portals are becoming more and more important to companies such as TGL who have an ever-increasing need to provide employees, partners and customers with an integrated view of applications, information and business processes. Portals meets these needs by allowing companies to build Web sites that combine functionality and resources into a single interface while enforcing business policies, processes and security requirements and providing personalized views of information to end users. A portal is the best solution when a company has the need for several types of Web presence: an intranet for its employees, a secure site for interactions with partners and a public Web site, White (2001). Portal sites offer visitors the chance to find almost anything they are looking for in one place. They often provide news, sports, and weather information as well as the ability to search the web. Horizontal portals are that aggregate information on a broad range of topics. Vertical portals are more specific because they offer a great deal of information pertaining to a single area of interest and this is what is needed for TGL. Portals that link consumers to online merchants, online shopping malls and auction sites provide several advantages. These portals help users collect information on products and services thus facilitating comparison shopping. Conclusion: Information Systems Management is the application of information technology to support the major functions and activities of any business organization. ISM supports the process of collection, manipulation, storage, distribution and utilization of an organizations information resources, Mursu (2007). ISM managers and professionals must stay up-to-date with evolving information technologies and have a solid foundation of technical skills to select appropriate technologies and to implement computer-based information systems. Thus, ISM people must be well versed in topics such as systems development tools and techniques, information architecture, network configurations, databases, and systems integration. They must understand organizational structures, objectives, operations including processes and flow of data between processes and the financial implications related to these factors. Only by understanding these factors can an ism professional committee communicate effectively with users and then design systems that support their needs. References: Brynjolfsson. F, Mendelson. H. (1993) Information System and the Organization of Modern Enterprise. Journal of Organisational Computing. Clark, R. (1994) The Path of Development of Strategic Information System Theory. http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/StratISTh.html Elliott, G. (2004) Global Business Information Technology. Addison Wesley, Harlow, England. http://www.Network Organizations.htm Kurtyka, J. (2003) The limits of business intelligence: An Organizational Learning Approach. DM Review. pp. 36-41. Li, F. (2007) What is e-business and does it still matter? International Journal of Information Technology and Management. Vol. 6, no. 2. pp. 125-137. Mursu, A. etal (2007) Activity Theory in information system research and practice: theoretical underpinnings for an information systems development model. IR information research. Vol. 12, no. 3. Stalinski, S. (2004) Organizational Intelligence: A System Perspective. Organizational Development Journal. Vol. 22, No. 2. Walsh, B. Building e-business plan for an e-commerce project networking computing. http://www.networkcomputing.com/917/917f2.html White, C. (2001) The evolution of e-business portal. DM Review Magazine. http://www.the Evolution of the E-Business Portal.html

The Laptop Computer :: Mobile Computing Portable

"Alan Kay has remarked that had Vannevar Bush enjoyed working in all-night coffee shops, he would have invented the portable computer." (Press, 1993, p.31) The laptop computer has had a tremendous impact in the areas of business, education, government, and personal use. The emergence of portable computing and the laptop computer can be traced to the introduction of the personal computer itself. In 1975, the MITS Altair 8800 was introduced. The Altair is recognized as being the first commercially successful personal computer and the launching point for the personal computer revolution (Sysop, n.d.). Almost simultaneously, the idea of portability (in particular for the business-person) became a major focus in the industry. This new desire for computing portability introduced a number of new challenges. Factors such as cost, weight, power source, screen & keyboard size, overall size, and included software presented great challenges to computer system designers. There is some debate regarding which machine holds claim to being the first portable computer, as portable was a relative term used quite liberally. The earliest portables, while heavy by today’s standards, shared the common characteristic of integrating a keyboard, memory, processor(s), display, and expandability potential into a single unit able to be transported. In 1975, about one month after the Altair’s debut, IBM introduced the 5100 – dubbed the IBM Portable PC. There were few personal computers available around this time, making the powerful 5100 very attractive as a complete portable system (Sysop, n.d.). At almost 60 pounds and a cost of $9,000-$20,000 however, it was attractive to a small audience. It was designed specifically for professional and scientific problem-solvers. Several years later saw the introduction of what most historians refer to as the first truly portable computer, the Osborne 1 (Bellis, 2005). Released in 1981, the Osborne 1 weighed about 24 pounds and sold for $1795. While the unit itself was still rather bulky, it contained a fold-out keyboard, 5 inch monitor, and two floppy disk drives. Its biggest value however, was the $1500 worth of software that came with it. Unlike the IBM 5100, the Osborne 1 optionally ran on battery packs, enabling true portability. Advances in technology sa w the decrease in size of portable computers, as well as an increase in computing power.

Diatomite Essay -- essays research papers

DIATOMITE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diatomite is a sedimentary rock, that is white and yellowish in color. It is composed of fossilized skeletons of one-celled algae-like plants called diatoms. It is accumulated in marine areas. The Honeycomb sillia structure is useful because of its high absorptive capacity and surface area. It is also very chemically stable. Its principal use is filtration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This substance of diatomite is extracted from many countries around the world. Out of 30 world countries the largest suppliers are the United States, China, Denmark, and Japan. China supplies about 350 thousand metric tons, Denmark extracts 375 thousand metric tons, and Japan, 190 thousand metric tons. About 725 thousand metric tons of diatomite are extracted from the US Worldwide about 2,150 thousand metric tons are removed from the earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This product consists of approximately 90 percent silica, and the remainder consists of compounds such as aluminum and iron oxides. The material is extracted by a dredging barge cuts sediment with rotating knives, mixes it with water and pumps it along a suspended pipeline to the shore. Because diatomite is made from a skeletal structure of diatoms, it isn’t made of chemicals that need to be extracted. It is highly unreactive to other chemicals. It also has a low thermal conductivity rate and a high fusion point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most diatomite mines are open pit mines because the deposits are usually at or near the surface. Open pit mines are especially hard on the environment because they are very large holes in the ground. Diatomite is also mined when geologic uplifting brings these deposits above sea level. The diatomite is easily mined this way, however, being in marine areas, pollution in the water is a big concern. Through the use of many mining machines, the waters can be easily polluted. The method of dredging to cut away at the sediment does not seem like it would be as environmentally friendly as well. Aside from the mining having impact on the actual land, diatomite mining has impacts on birds in surrounding areas. Many birds show a tendency to avoid dredging areas. Besides factors of noise and pollution and general unpleasantness of machines, birds also rely on animals in shallow water for food where dredging has occurred.   Ã‚  &nbs... ...any different areas. I feel that mining of this product is worth the impact it leaves on the environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was most likely taking diatomite for granted. I was not even aware that it was a product, let alone that it was useful in different ways. A lot of things I use daily would not be the same without the use of diatomite. I drink soda every day, and I would not get that drink if it were not filtered. I’ve never even wondered about how water in a swimming pool is filtered, yet if it were not, I’m positive swimming would not be as enjoyable in the summer. I like the fact that diatomite seems incredibly useful for very important things, such as toxic waste, antibiotics and water filtration. I also think it is exceptional because it goes to use for so many different products. Some things that are mined can only go to a few things, whereas diatomite can go from cleaning toxins, to paint fillers, to filtering wine, to insecticides. I don’t like diatomite for the fact that it is not being recycled, and that no recycling programs are being put into use right now. Overall I think that diatomite is a worthwhile product and beneficial to consumers every day.

Jackie Robinsn: A man who Changed America Essay -- essays research pap

Jackie Robinson made one of the most daring moves by playing Major League baseball. The amount of pain and suffering this man went through was so harsh that I don't know how he was able to play. Carl Erskine said,"Maybe I see Jackie differently. You say he broke the color line. But I say he didn't break anything. Jackie was a healer. He came to rectify a wrong, to heal a sore in America"(Dorinson back cover). Jackie was born January thirty-first 1919. Shortly after he was born, his father deserted his family. Almost a year after that, Jackie's uncle came to visit and convinced his family to move to California with him. The whole family moved out there with his uncle. They moved to Pasadena,California. The neighborhood they moved into was mostly a white neighborhood. The white people did not want them in the neighborhood. They would criticize Jackie and his family. When he was about eight years old, he had learned to stand up for himself and answer back when the occasion demanded. Jackie went to Muir Tech. High School. At high school is where he began to get interested in sports. He competed in football, baseball, basketball, and track. He was a good player in every sport. During high school, college recruiters failed to pay attention to him. He didn't receive any scholorship, so he decided to go to Pasadena Junior College. Pasadena Junior College is where Jackie began to get noticed for his athletic abilities. He set many records in track, baseball, and football. Babe Horrel wanted to recruit Jackie from Pasadena Junior College. One of the best athletes on the West Coast(Tygiel 27) After two years at Pasadena Junior College, he transfered to UCLA. Jackie went here so his brother, Frank would be able to attend most of the games. His brother never did get to see a game because he died in a motocycle accident. At UCLA, Jackie lettered in four sports in one year. He was the first player to do that. He played track, baseball, basketball, and football. ... ...id become friends with him. It was his teammate Peewee Reese. Reese was a white man that played shortstop for the Dodgers. During one game, Jackie mad a diving catch to win the game for the Dodgers. Jackie got hurt on the play. Reese goes over to second base to make sure Jackie was alright. No one else came over to see if he was alright. It showed a lot of courage for Reese to do that. Reese took a lot of crap for doing it but he didn't care. Thus in eight years America's most prominent national sport moved from a tradition of seventy years discrimination to almost complere intergration(Tygiel 156). The big step of Jackie joining major league baseball changed everything in sports and life. He was a civil rights leader just like Martin Luther King Jr. He made the big step to show that it's not impossible to get things to be equal.We should all be very thankful for what Jackie Robinson has done. He didn't give into fear and run away from the challenge of breaking the color barrier. He took the challenge and conquered it. He changed the history of baseball and the rest of life. He helped the blacks become equal to the white race.

The Six Features of Academic Style

It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or the reader. This means that the main emphasis should be on the information that you want to give and the arguments you want to ake, rather than you. Your arguments should also show balance and both sides of . he issue. Explicitness Academic writing is explicit about the relationships int he text. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the writer in English to make it clear to the reader how the various parts of the text are related. These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signalling words. (PEE Point, example, empirical evidence. ) Hedging In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make decisions about your tance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims you are making.Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways. Using verbs such as might/may/could and reporting verbs gives extra detail/protection of your position. Responsibility In academic writing you must be re sponsible for, and must be able to provide evidence and Justification for, any claims you make. You are also responsible for demonstrating an understanding of any source texts you use. The Six Features of Academic Style By SapphireP