Importance of the Humanities Essay

There has been much debate about the importance and benefits of funding the humanities in school. Many people are of the view that the study of the humanities is a waste of time and that more money and effort should be expended on teaching the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). On the other hand there is the school of thought which express the importance of maintaining the humanities. Others like Christina Paxson in the article â€Å"The Economic Case for Saving the Humanities† have posited the view that there be a â€Å"cross pollination between the sciences and the humanities†. I am of the view that the humanities are essential and should remain an integral part of the education system. Like Paxson I agree that individuals should be exposed to both the humanities and the STEM disciplines. The humanities are basically the study of the different ways in which people from different parts of the world and during different periods of history have processed and documented the human experience. It is the humanities that we have used to make sense of the world in which we live and also to make records of our experiences. Humans have made sense of the world in which they live through philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history and language. Having records of human experiences allows individuals to feel connected to those who were before us and also our contemporaries. I strongly believe that the study of humanities is important because not only does it allow us to understand the world in which we live but it also gives us insight into everything and brings clarity to our future. By doing the humanities individuals learn to think creatively and critically. They know how to ask questions and to reason. According to Paxson we need to create well rounded individuals who will be experts in any situation. She argues that the country does not need experts in one subject but a civil society in which everyone can provide meaningful insight into any topic of conversation. As Paxson points out we are living in a global world. As such it is important that we have knowledge of other cultures in order to negotiate our way in this complex village. The United States for example have to form relationships with other countries and it is important that the powers that be know who they are dealing with. Paxson cites the example of the importance of having experts in Arabic and the history of Islam after the September 11 attacks. Through their knowledge the US gained insight into what motivated these individuals and how to possibly respond to them. Knowledge of these people would not have been possible without the study of humanities. The humanities provide us with a number of intellectual and emotional skills that we need to have in order to operate in our society. These are not acquired naturally but rather through the study of a number of humanities. The humanities helped me a lot in my last job at a bank. It strengthened my communication skills both in written and spoken word. I was able to communicate with internal customers, coworkers, easily and without being socially awkward. I was also able to challenge and make recommendations to policies in a respectful manner. I dealt with external customers promptly and efficiently due to the fact that I was able to understand their transactions and queries. In the first part of the video â€Å"Why Look at Art† a lady says, â€Å"I think it’s important [that] people look at art, because we live in a visual world.† This is true; we definitely live in a visual world. Look at it this way, if it was not for art, computers and other electronic devices could only be used by programmers as they were just a series of codes and commands. The introduction of the GUI, Graphic User Interface, solved this problem. The GUI had images that everyone could relate and easy to use. If it was not for art these devices would not be as successful as they are today and would not form the backbone to our means of communication. Throughout this paper I have sought to highlight the importance of humanities as a course of study. Humanities encompasses a wide range of areas that can be applied to our daily existence and enhance our interpersonal interactions, it is therefore important that the humanities remain an integral part of one’s educational experience. This is basically to ensure that one becomes wellrounded, socially accepted individuals.   

Rifleman Dodd

Rifleman Dodd is a book that was given to me by my combat instructors during School of Infantry. I have intended to read the book, but lost it just before my arrival to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. I recently found a copy of the book and decided to read it. The book is about Pvt. Dodd, a British infantry rifleman in the Napoleonic Wars. During this time period rifles were a novelty and most of the army wore red-coats and carried muskets.The book is fairly short, however it's also very action packed. There is a lot of brutality and death in the book, however that is part of what makes the book a very good reed; it depicts war very realistically, and does not glorify it. One interesting aspect I enjoyed about this book is that it depicts all the same events twice, alternating points of view between Dodd, and a group of french soldiers led by sgt. Godinot, giving you more than one perspective on Dodd's struggles.It's a remarkable tale of survival and individual actions, of a regular rifl eman who survives because of sheer determination and slowly learns to make plans without orders, and shows leadership qualities and a knowledge of warfare. Private Matthew Dodd is separated from his regiment during a retreat and finds himself stranded behind enemy lines in Portugal. Dodd manages to survive throughout the book on his willpower, determination, and also with the occasional aid of a group of Portuguese guerilla fighters.Dodd harasses the French with his rifle while trying to prevent them from building a bridge across the Tagus River. The book depicts a war of attrition in which starvation is the chief weapon. The two sides must out last each other in order to achieve victory. Throughout the book Dodd kills all of Godinot's men one by one during his struggle to survive and return to his regiment. Godinot is not the only soldier who must pick himself up and move on after witnessing the death of his friends.The first acquaintance Dodd makes is a man who was slightly off ki lter and who follows him like a puppy dog. However due to the exertion of a long march, freezing cold weather, being wet, and starvation, he catches a fever and Dodd is forced to make the decision to leave him in his delirium to die alone on a hillside. Later, an entire village of Portuguese guerilla fighters who join him are slaughtered by the French down to the last man, woman, and child. Additionally his last two friends, including the one that was with him through most of the novel, are hanged before his eyes.Similarly, Godinot loses one soldier after another until his entire squad is killed. Ultimately proving that Dodd succeeds largely due to sheer will and determination. In conclusion I found the book really enjoyable and a very good read. This book is provides good examples of individual actions and quick thinking skills that are needed to thrive in hard situations and desperation. I would recommend this book to other Lance Corporals because it has a lot of lessons regarding taking initiative and showing good judgment in the face of adversity. Rifleman Dodd Rifleman Dodd is a fiction war story based during the peninsular war around 1810 and Published in 1932. The main Protagonist of this book is a rifleman that goes by the name of Matthew Dodd. He served in the 95th Rifles for the English; underneath the command of Duke Wellington. At the beginning of the book, A battle starts, and amidst the chaos Dodd becomes lost and separated behind French lines. The Duke of Wellington calls for a retreat, leaving Dodd to fend for himself. Dodd is a very tall, bulky rifleman. Dodd is a very inspirational and very courageous soldier. Despite being alone and surrounded, he faces many challenges, battles and skirmishes throughout this book. Due to the devastation of war, Dodd struggles with the daily challenge of starvation, and lack of shelter often being forced to freeze during rainy nights.Another character in this book is Sergeant Godinot, he is the main antagonist of the book. At the beginning battle, Dodd and Godinot are almost face to face durin g the battle, and Godinot and his squad are the ones who chase Dodd away from the retreating English forces and into French territory. Sergeant Godinot and his squad were undisciplined and more mercenary like. Throughout this book Dodd ambushes Godinot and his squad multiple times, and slowly picks them off one by one and disappear into the countryside.The vast majority of this books plot is spent following either Dodd, or Godinot. Each character is depicted as a protagonist, or antagonist depending on which of the two is being followed. Whenever Dodd is being followed, the story tells of the struggle that he is stuck going through, having to starve and only having a biscuit and jerky in his rucksack: or having to march on while his boots are completely destroyed and he is stuck walking barefoot.When the story follows Godinot and his squad, they are always on the tail of Dodd, or ambushed by him. When it first starts off his squad is very eager to hunt him down, but later in the boo k. Everywhere they go Dodd winds up ambushing and killing a few of them. As a result Godinot is on a blood feud to find and kill this â€Å"English Ghost† that has  been haunting them.As Dodd travels through the occupied Portuguese country, he meets members of the Portuguese rebels. One of his first encounters is a young Portuguese soldier, who speaks English. As a result Dodd decides to keep him around as a translator, and navigator through Portugal to English lines.

Business Benefits of Agile

Business Benefits of Agile Agile marketing has proven to be one of the most vital business concepts leading to success in both individualized customer experience, as well as overall product performance. The key component of this type of marketing, agility, represents an organizations ability to assess environmental change and then efficiently and effectively respond to that change. This approach improves the predictability, adaptability, speed, and transparency to change of the marketing function. Being able to tailor their efforts in a quick manner is a must for marketers, so to successfully respond to changes that occur in market conditions, customer behavior, and business direction to benefit market share. By doing so, marketers will gain the ability to gain a more individualized connection with customers in a dependable, effective and engaging way, therefore achieving what is known as individualized marketing. As a result of keeping customers up to date with all marketing affairs and therefore gaining a le gitimate grasp of their habits and issues, marketers put themselves in the best position of creating rewarding relationships. Marketing agility is centered around the ability of marketing organizations to collaborate in an efficient fashion, while also being able to adjust their performance to potential changes. In combination with this, it is imperative that marketing organizations also focus on the execution of the following key initiatives: Centralizing the management of all marketing programs Aligning marketing activities to budgets and spending accounts Developing reusable process workflows Responding at the speed of the customer Adjusting campaign execution based on analytical insights Improving marketing performance by employing proven strategies for success Remaining agile throughout a campaign so changes can be made in real time There are three primary operations considerations in agile marketing. The first is Planning Spend Management, which is the ability to fully access limited marketing resources so that marketers can get the most ROI from their marketing initiatives. Next is Workflow Collaboration Management, or the ability to prioritize and execute all incoming marketing requests with pre-established, reusable workflows. And finally, Marketing Asset Management, the ability to design, edit, produce, and deliver creative assets that consistently and automatically invoke executive, marketing, and legal approval mechanisms. Planning Spend Management: Marketers have the chance to get the most on their investment, but in order to do so, they need to have the option of seeing limited marketing resources more clearly and thoroughly. Focusing on planning and spend management can help this happen. If there is a lack of perceptibility in terms of how marketing resources are being designated, both marketing costs and missed opportunities are likely to increase. Implementing current insights into spending rates and budget adherence, enables marketers to make well-informed decisions concerning the success of strategic initiatives and make immediate and responsive adjustments. Another consideration for improving planning and spend management is creating a centralized marketing calendar which links every action to the spend that supports it, allowing greater visibility into every strategic initiative and its measurable results. Access to this information also allows for informed conversations and eliminates opinio n battles with fact-based data. Workflow Collaboration Management: In order to better manage workflow and collaboration, there needs to be a clear understanding of all incoming marketing requests so work can be prioritized and carried out with pre established, reusable workflows. This will not only maximizes an organization’s marketing efforts, but also ensure process compliance and reporting. Additionally, the ability to choreograph and manage all the intra-agency and inter-agency communications and activities that support the creation, execution, and governance of omni-channel customer campaigns is essential to an organization’s efficiency, agility, and overall success. The system manages itself, providing the opportunity for marketers to focus on creativity. The true power of workflow and collaboration management is exposed when the broad aspect of it enables a complete end-to-end process and encompasses all steps of the marketing activity. Marketing Asset Management: The best and most effective marketing efforts require that an organization’s creative assets are designed, edited, produced, and delivered in a way that consistently and automatically invokes executive, marketing, and legal approval mechanisms. By harmonizing these operations in an efficient and compliant way, marketers can ensure their digital and creative content is both effective and compliant. By prioritizing a close and efficient process with creative asset production partners, marketers can position their organizations to successfully deliver streamlined, approved, and compliant assets at the speed each customer wants and expects. The best marketing asset management approach establishes a consistent process for creation and a single place to store properly licensed and approved assets. The financial benefits of this repository are undisputable – marketers have the most up-to-date creative pieces they require at their fingertips, and there is never a cost associated with replacing lost or misplaced assets. The benefits of increasing marketing agility are both measurable and substantial. In fact, highly agile organizations report they meet goals and business objectives 83% of the time, compared to 59% of less agile organizations. Increase in productivity is a big one, which can be measured in ways such as completed marketing tasks, results, points, etc. There is also more transparency, allowing other branches of management to see the whereabouts of marketing. Because two agile marketing core values are accountability and measurability, this emphasis better develops marketing’s contribution communication skills. Customer satisfaction also increases as a result of customer needs being met quickly and with honesty, encouraging them to make a purchasing decision. Agile marketing allows for marketing teams to have a better overall connection with their different departments and allows for improved communication internally and with their customers. Experience and performance will not o nly improve exponentially, but marketers’ ability to do their job will prove to be more straightforward and more fun. Being able to share and collaborate with the people you work with makes way for greater respect and satisfaction throughout the workplace.

Personal Development Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Personal Development Plan - Essay Example In this similar concern, my approach towards developing interpersonal communication completely emphasises my initial coaching along with mentoring skills. I was able to develop my interpersonal communication skill by focusing much upon interacting with other individuals based on the aspects of enhancing knowledge and understanding listening capabilities. This particular report emphasises on assessing my personal strengths and weaknesses through the application of Four MBTI Dichotomies model. In addition, apart from coaching skills, mentoring skills also contributed in the development of my interpersonal communication skills by a considerable extent. These interpersonal communication skills can be identified in developing my professional interests in coaching through which, I intended towards gaining maximum expertise and obtaining practical as well as theoretical knowledge. I was able to develop my mentoring skills with the practice of a two-way communication with different individuals that assisted me in obtaining a clear understanding of the prevailing cultural diversity in my community and developing trust amid themselves by way of demonstrating better follow-up or listening skills. This was mainly done through focusing on my MBTI ranking, where my personality indicator refered to an INFP style. As I am a kind of individual who likes to form greater association with the people belonging to diverse personality traits and nature including my INFP personality indicator in accordance with Isabel Briggs Myers’ indicators tests (Refer appendix), I strongly believed that my communication skill enhanced at large. Evidently, learning styles play a decisive role in supporting individuals from gaining effective knowledge in order to retrieve from certain critical conditions that are commonly witnessed in terms of poor performance and low satisfaction among others. According to the

The Blue Wall of Silence and Police Culteral Term Paper

The Blue Wall of Silence and Police Culteral - Term Paper Example Their misconduct is not only tolerated but accepted and defended. Whistle in an important little instrument in the life of policemen but when he does not blow it against a fellow policeman who deserves to be reprimanded and punished he adds one more brick to â€Å"The Blue Wall of Silence.† The difference between the politician and the policeman is, the job of the former is for a fixed term, and the latter will render disservice to the people till the age of retirement. The saving grace for this harsh observation is the statement is not applicable to all. A microscopic minority of honest people exists amongst the police personnel as well and the rare find of a duty-conscious, law abiding police hero excites the Hollywood movie-makers. Police force works under tremendous pressure. In every case fast results are demanded by the aggrieved party, but being part of the law enforcing agency it has to follow the rules and while doing so, an investigating officer has pressure building at the back of his mind, that his actions and reporting are liable for legal scrutiny. The greatest bane of working in the police department is the political interference in their day to day functioning. Every accused person is a voter and expects that his elected representative comes to his rescue, even if one has committed an act of offence. To face demonstrations and protests of the people is part of their life and every police officer is suspect and corrupt from the perspective of the public. Police service is not like any other service. In some details it is tougher than the army service. The army personnel are generally busy and work under perilous circumstances in times of war. War ends, and their harsh responsibility is over to a great extent. For the policemen, the call of duty is 24x7 hours and they have to deal with different types of personalities, of varying temperaments. They face pressure constantly to solve cases with breakneck speed, and receive rebuke from higher authorities who sometimes want them to perform the impossible. In the discharge of their duties, some mistakes are committed and they are naturally inclined to go to the rescue of their colleagues, who stray from the path of law, rules and regulations applicable to the police force, resort to illegal brutality especially when dealing with the hardened criminals and repeat offenders. They have no misgivings about their stance and quote offences committed by people like taking bribes, stealing goods and money. Police officers have their own convention of defending their colleagues and taking them to task when necessary. Taking money or property in the form of bribes and kickbacks is viewed seriously, as they affect the morale of the department, and such offences are reported to the appropriate authorities for action. Policemen have also been awarded strict punishment on use of excessive force and also against practice of racism. In November, 2012, a federal jury in Chicago gave a judg ment in favor of a complainant and against the city on a claim that the city had a persistently prevalent custom or practice of shielding officers from citizen complaints. The suit had been brought by a female bartender who had been beaten by an off-duty officer. Such a practice was concealment and suppression of investigations into police misconduct and it was an unwritten â€Å"

Essay (mass communication) Review assay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

(mass communication) Review assay - Essay Example The new media has made access of information easier than ever, it offers a communication and information in a delightful, interesting and useful manner. Theorists (Livingstone & Lievrouw 2006, Manovich 2003) asserts that media like feature films, television programs, newspapers, magazines, books and other paper based publications do not include in the new media. The new media has emerged as a forceful component of the modern communications during the past two and a half years. Before 1980s media users relied upon older forms of media including television, radio, books and newspapers. The new manipulative nature of the new media has raised many questions since the information disseminated through this can be controlled and distorted in order to achieve specific political, cultural, or social goals. Due to this force of the new media globalisation is taking place and the social and cultural values are expanding beyond the boundaries of specific nation states (Flew 2002). One of the most important features of the new media is its interactivity. Various users can interact to each other in a very effective manner (Manovich 2003). The interactivity of the information is also important since various sources of information are available on the internet which can be compared, contrasted and evaluated interactively. This feature allows speedy communication and convenient access to the sources of information. Plenty of theorists have presented their theories concerning the new media, its characteristics and its implications on the social, cultural, political and psychological values of the people using it. Sonia Livingstone is one such theorist who has shed light on the new media as an object of research. She is concerned with the every changing nature of the Internet as an object of research. Livingstone argues that the audio-visual based Internet of the late 2000s is extremely different from the text-based media of the late 1990s (2005, p. 12). Livingstone

Westward Hilton Hotel Competitive Advantages Case Study

Westward Hilton Hotel Competitive Advantages - Case Study Example It is evident when Enz (472) says that hotel revenue per available room rose from a rate of $66.65 to $123.10 within a period of seven years. In addition, customers could quickly locate the hotel from afar due to its strategic position made it easy to access. The competitive advantages enjoyed by Westward hotel were sustainable. The hotel had the ability to accommodate many transient travelers. Enz (456) says that the hotel was located in a 13-story building with 300 guest rooms. It is evident the hotel was spacious enough to hold a large number of businessmen and visitors at a go. The hotel management had also employed enough staff to cater for the large visitor turn out. Additionally, though transient travelers do not have a demographic preference, the hotel was strategically located for the tourists acting as an added advantage. The human practices and culture at Westward hotel were not easy to imitate for competitors. For the most competitor, time was an essential and significant component in the production. Efficient utilization of time was the primary cause of success in most hotels. Few if none could allow their members of staff to sleep while on duty. Westward was different as they tolerated some of their elderly workers to take a nap. According to Enz (471), the Westward Company was tolerant and trusted their workers. They allowed an older woman, who worked at the laundry, thirty minutes nap daily while on duty. In addition, Westward had a family environment where managers interacted closely with employees. The hotel management took good care of their employees motivating them and their families. They showered their employees with a seasonal gift during festive holidays like Christmas. Enz (471) further states that Westward gave their employees a chance to be and express themselves. In most business e nvironments, employees are expected to stick to the company rules and regulations.

The Banishment of Civilian Ownership of Assault Rifles Essay - 1

The Banishment of Civilian Ownership of Assault Rifles - Essay Example The assault rifles tend to be used in wars and they are said to be responsible for the deaths of millions of people in conflicts worldwide. The power of such weapons is so great that they are feared as well as held in awe by many people. When such weapons are brought into the civilian world, they are more likely to bring with them chaos than peace. The thought of individuals owning assault rifles can be considered a direct threat to society. The people who should be best armed in the society are the police, and this is because they have the stern duty of having to fight violent crime. However, with assault weapons in the hands of civilians, especially criminals or unstable people, then it would become an increasingly heavy task for the police to ensure the security of the public. Despite the fact that civilians have to be allowed some form of weaponry to defend themselves, assault rifles are not among them. This is because these rifles have been devised to do one thing only, and that is to exterminate life. Such a weapon belongs to a warzone in the hands of soldiers whose aim is to kill their opponents before they are killed. Civilians hardly ever have to confront such situation; hence, assault rifles do not belong in their possession. Most people tend to use the guns in their possession for the purpose of marksmanship, hunting, and recreational shooting. All the sports that have been mentioned have no need for the use of assault rifles because to use one would be completely destroy the sport. While all other rifles in the possession of civilians can be used for recreational activities, the assault rifle cannot and this puts it beyond the range of civilians. Such weapons have been built for the sake of destruction, the instant killing of large numbers of peo ple in an instant (Grier, 2013). Assault weapons have automatic fire capabilities, and this tends to be extremely useful when in an all-out gun battle. This

Macroeconomic Policy Objectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Macroeconomic Policy Objectives - Essay Example On the other hand, targets are defined as the intermediate aims closely linked to the objectives theoretically. Thus, for example, a government could set out to achieve low rates of inflation and, to achieve this; they could use interest rates as an instrument while the government could also set consumer credit growth as a target or exchange rates increment. The policies that can be used, by a government, to achieve macroeconomic policies are limited. Macroeconomics is the branch of economics that has to do with investment, national income, consumption, and other aggregates. Another definition is the study of entire systems of economics that aggregate over an economy’s working systems. It is concerned, basically, with systematic and predictable variables that are analyzable independently in relation to decisions of agents that are determinant of their levels. More specifically, macroeconomics can also be defined as the study of national economies with determination of national income. Macroeconomic Policy Low unemployment – Full employment A realistic nature of this objective is the one used by the ILO where they use young and unemployed people who are not always eligible to receive benefits, women who are in a marriage and cannot claim if spouses are not earning enough, and those claiming invalidity and sickness benefits (Marin 16). Most workers who feel inconvenienced often go for these benefits rather than swelling unemployment numbers. It is essential to take note of issues concerning inactive and active members of the country’s populace who have attained working age. Only those active individuals are included in the either working population that can be exemplified as all people who are registered as employed or unemployed. However, some individuals are in the unemployed category as a matter of decision, for instance, individuals opting for early retirement and students in school (Marin 16). Price Stability One can define inflation as the rise in prices at a general sustained level over a period. Inflation is technically a measure through annual Retail price Index, or RPI, which can also be referred to as the headline rate of inflation. To stabilize prices, governments need to keep inflation rates to a minimum (Marin 17). Governments normally prefer to keep the inflation rates to low percentages and mostly target rates of inflation that underlie the yearly percentage of RPIX. RPIX is the initial RPI before the removal of housing costs in the form of mortgage interest payments. Governments normally see sense in utilizing the measure because interest rates that are normally used as a control of inflation directly affect RPI. RPIY also acts as another popular inflation measure that does not include effects of indirect taxation like VAT and consumer price index used for international comparisons (Marin 17). Economic Growth This is measured using GDP change rate, also Gross Domestic product. The term real, as accompan ies majority of the statistics, normally refer to the fact that they have factored out inflation. Gross Domestic Product measures income, expenditure, or output of the economy of a country (Marin 19). A country, sometimes may also utilize GNP, or Gross National Product that is just like the GDP. Most governments publish figures of Gross Domestic Product on a quarterly basis that is based on the quarter on quarter change and annual percentages. Balance of Payment This briefly makes a record of all the money that streams into and out of the country. This can be further divided into financial and capital accounts, as well as the current account and capital accounts are referred to as the capital account (Marin 19). Normally, the current accou

The Pursuit of Happyness Essay Example for Free

The Pursuit of Happyness Essay The Pursuit of Happyness is a story of a man, Mr. Chris Gardner, who invests his savings to portable bone density scanners. He had a five year old son named Christopher. Chris introduces these scanners to the doctors which he believed much better to X-rays. But along his journey of being a salesman, their financial condition gets worse. To him selling one is can be used for buying their needs so he treasured these scanners very much. He tried to figure out on how to sell these scanners but unfortunately he loses everything. His wife leaves him, he loses his house, bank accounts and credit cards and earning money became difficult for him. Experiencing this trouble, Mr. Chris decided to become a professional endeavour after meeting his friend at Dean Witter. It is not easy for him because he needs to become an intern for six months without any pay but Mr. Gardner is determined because he believed that this will help him to rise again and support his son. His passion to be a stock broker can be seen through his determination. He became homeless, go to office in a messed up clothes and even slept in bathrooms, and community shelters. But despite of all these, he is really willing to sacrifice everything just to achieve his goals. And this sacrifice was worth it because he was chosen by the firm to work for them. Now, Chris has been working hard to support the needs of his son. Lesson learned: The movie â€Å"The Pursuit of Happiness’ is really inspiring that made me realize the following thoughts: * It’s not enough for you to work instead it is better if you work hard for you to achieve your goals in life. Just always do your best and think that it is your last chance to prove your worth. * Be yourself. Don’t fake yourself just to impress anyone. As what this line says, â€Å"We cannot please everyone†, so just be yourself. We are all unique in our own ways and this uniqueness is your asset. * It’s worth the wait. Not all things you want will be favorable to you. It’s not like a blink of an eye then you get it, definitely it’s not. We must learn that achieving your dreams corresponds to a big responsibility, right time and off course working on it. You are dreaming because you want it to happen because it will lead us to our greatest achievements. * Big things come from small things. It’s like a step by step process. Before we reach our goals we need to undergo a lot of hindrances and difficulties because it’s part of our lives. But we need to face. Just believe that one day, you will be able to reach the top and the bigger dreams of yours. * Stay focus. Despite of the obstacles that you encountered, stay focused. Look for inspiration that will serve as your motivation to pursue. * My family is my inspiration. All the things I’m doing is not just for myself but for my family. They give me strength and motivation to pursue my dreams. Our family is someone whom we can be with in times of happiness and sadness. We should treasure them. * Perseverance and patience is needed if you want to become something. Be patient because everything will happen at the right time. Just learn how to wait. Entrepreneurial values/behavior executed by the main character and its application to our lives: The attitude that Mr. Chris Gardner, main character, executed in the movie is the following: Being a risk-taker. Mr Gardner was able to risk his investments to that portable bone density scanner and stick to selling this despite of their financial condition. He needs to sell at least one because this means money to them. As of today, a lot of entrepreneurs are becoming risk takers. This is one the entrepreneurial traits that we must possess. Risks are everywhere, the greater the risk the higher the return depending on how are you going to handle it. Being an opportunity seeker. Always look for possibilities. Be an observant and look for opportunities. As to what happened in the movie, Mr. Gardner found it difficult to earn money that will support their needs. Being a salesman is not enough so he looks for another job which is being a stock broker. If he was able to achieve it, a lot of opportunity will come along the way. As entrepreneurs, we must look for the opportunities and use this to come up with a good idea. For example, recently the use of social media is emerging so you may use this as one of your marketing strategies. Be optimistic. Despite of everything that happened to Mr. Gardner, he still looks at the positive side. He once felt unappreciated by the people but he tried her best to overcome these trials and determined to pursue his dreams. As entrepreneurs, we must not easily give up. In some instances, your business will undergo downs but you should take this as a challenge for you to pursue. Don’t let anyone antagonize you because you know yourself better than anyone. You should know your strengths and weaknesses. So be a positive thinker and believe that you will find yourself reaching your goals. Invest in yourself. Mr. Gardner accepts the internship for six months despite of not receiving pay. It is an indication that he wanted to learn more because learning doesn’t stop. We must think of ways on how we are going to improve ourselves. This case is also applicable to those who wanted their business to be known and succeed. They are conducting research and development studies so that they can go with the new trends. Look for solutions. Don’t let your problem hanging and find for possible solutions because problems are never ending. Favorite lines in the movie: â€Å"Don’t ever let somebody tell you can’t do something†¦you got a dream, you gotta protect it† This is one of my favorite lines in the movie because it reminds me that it is free to dream so dream big and do your best to let it happen. I am always dreaming to become successful in life and how am I going to achieve this? Well, I’m studying hard because this is the only way that I can repay the sacrifices of my parents. As entrepreneurs, we must believe in ourselves. Just don’t let others make you down. Be creative, innovative, work hard, possess entrepreneurial traits then you can do something. Take risks and conquer you weaknesses. Use your strength and don’t stop learning then you are protecting your dreams. â€Å"I know how to find the answer†¦ I will find the answer† Don’t say that you don’t know the answer instead look for the possible answers. As entrepreneurs, we are always looking for opportunities and we are looking for problems that our market had been encountered. And from these we need to find solutions because this can be our key to success. Just know how we are going to establish a good process to come up with a good solution. â€Å"How do we know the pursuit in it? † We all have different definitions of happiness. It is how we are going to achieve the happiness we are aiming for us to be contented. As long as you know that you’ve tried your best and you are satisfied, then you’re happy. As entrepreneurs we must find our own happiness because this may help in achieving your short and long term objectives. Important resource that the character used: Mr. Gardner uses his skills in dealing with numbers. He tried to become good to people and be friends with them. He tried to give time to the internship because he knows that it is worth the wait. He learned a lot. And this learning helps them to achieve his goal to pursue his own happiness. Mr. Gardner finds inspiration through his son that also helped him to overcome his troubles in life. It is inspiring that the main character used all the possible resources to pursue his happiness. My own resources and how I will pursue my own happiness: In my case, the resources I have are my efforts and perseverance to do such things. I’m always determined to fulfil a task. I’m always willing to learn because this can help me to achieve my goals in life. I may not have a lot of money but I have a lot of friends. They are the one who guides and supports me in everything I go through. Also, I have my family who is always there to support me through thick and thin. They are my inspiration. I want to be equipped with skills so that it will be not that difficult if I need to do something. Happiness for me is a very broad word. I am happy as long as I am satisfied. In pursuing my happiness, I use my resources. I will always try to do my best to achieve my goal and make others happy as well.

Importance Of Civil Engineering in Britain

Importance Of Civil Engineering in Britain Civil Engineering is the key to many of the issues affecting our daily lives. Civil engineers solve most problems and make our live easy and enjoyable. Civil engineering covers several specialized sectors including: buildings of all kinds as well as transport and communications infrastructure, production, storage and distribution of electricity gas and water. Most everything civil engineers do affects our daily lives in many ways. The operation of the infrastructure that surrounds us is the foundation of our society. This infrastructure includes roads, airports, railroads, buildings, bridges, water and wastewater treatment plants, sewers, drainage, flood control, water supply, landfills, and many other facilities. All these are the jobs for Civil Engineers. This essay is about importance of civil engineering in Britain and roles of civil engineering in Britain. I will do this by explaining water sewers, buildings, roads, stadiums development, wastewater treatment plants, energy development, york eco depot, airports, railroads, bridges and, sewers, drainage, flood control and water supply. Civil Engineers saved time, money and resources by demolishing an old seven-storey building in Londons Buckingham Palace Road and replacing it with a new building that re-used the foundation of the original building. This technique reduced construction risks associated digging new foundations in London clay near the Circle and District Underground line. If more new piles had simply been installed between existing ones this would have restricted the future development of the site. Great care was taken to prevent water produced during drilling from swelling the clay and reducing the strength of the foundations. Other challenges included testing the structural integrity of the original piles and identifying their exact location as the original pen and ink drawings only showed the building as designed, not as it was actually constructed. The essential engineering work to ease congestion around Heathrow Airport would have caused chaos along a 23km stretch of the M25. M25 is regarded as on of the busiest motorway in Europe, visit [http://www.bbcel.co.uk/news/631_key-milestone-complete-on-m25-junction-16-23 ]. As well as ensuring construction work did not create traffic jams engineers also had to find clever ways of widening the road within existing highway boundaries and without using any new land. Getting land from the motor ways central reservations as well as the hard shoulders and verges of the motor ways, the civil engineers increased Junctions 12 to 14 from four lanes to five lanes as well the Junction 15 from four lanes to six. Around ninety percentage of material used for this construction was recovered from the site and recycled. This technique not just reduced the congestion but also transport needed for the construction. On the night, when the natural awareness in so small and traffic queues are so small, the line closures are scheduled. This project was completed in 2005 before the time allocated without being seen the traffice congestions expected before the project has been started. Engineers worked together to define unique characteristics of the Wembley Stadium and create a new English national football stadium that just looks like the original old building. While most modern stadium are orientated North-South so that the players seen well on afternoon sun, this new stadium is orientated East-West, just like the original Wembley (thanks to knowledge of the civil engineers). Visit http://www.wembleystadium.com/buildingwembley for more information regarding this project. On sunny days the South side of the roof is retracted so the whole pitch is in sunlight. This avoids valuable seconds of play being lost to broadcasters as television cameras adjust from bright sun to shadow. The iconic arch spans 315m, are visible for over 20km, carries 70% of the roof load and removes the need for any structural columns. This means that, unlike the old stadium, all 90,000 seats has unobstructed views of the pitch. [http://www.wembleystadium.com/buildingwembley] To solve the crisis Hampshire and its partners created an action plan to reduce waste, increase composting and recycling, support anaerobic digestion, adopt recovery technologies and create up to five new facilities to process up to 200,000 tones of waste annually. The new Chineham Energy Recovery Facility is exceptional because engineers altered a standard building format to fit the small 1.4-hectare site of a former Basingstoke incinerator. The facility produces up to 8MW of power of which 1.25MW is used to operates the plant. The remaining 6.75MW is sufficient to supply 10,000 homes with electricity each year. The building is partly clad in light-reactive coated aluminum that changes color depending on light levels and weather to appear grey, blue or purple. Semi-opaque polycarbonate cladding allows natural light into the building and reduces electricity use. The tipping hall has a living roof covered with plants that change color seasonally and require no maintenance. Visit www.v eoliaenvironmentalservices.co.uk/Hampshire for more information regarding this project. Beddington Zero Energy Development, (BedZED) is regarded as an eye-catching and affordable housing community in South East England. Civil engineers worked to reduce the energy demands of 100 homes and 2,500m2 of commercial space, according to http://www.bioregional.com/what-we-do/our-work/bedzed. The civil engineers reduced the demand for energy with renewable resources including passive solar heating and wood-fuelled combined heat and power. These energy sources resulted by reducing fuel carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere to as well fossil energy development to zero. While BedZEDs tenants are assured an efficient energy lifestyles by using the techniques used by engineers to reduce the amount of energy they require. Visit www.bioregional.com for more information regarding this project. The civil engineers used their to help City of York Council to move its department for housing, waste and roads from an expensive to an attractive new cheaper building. The civil engineers knowledge resulted in using a technique that maximizes natural light and ventilation by using sensors that detect high temperature, rain or high wind and open and close windows accordingly. Rainfalls from the roof of the building is collected in what is known as the underground tanks and used to wash vehicles. This resulted by reducing water consumption around fifty percentage. The warehouse construction also reduces energy use by up to seventy-six percentages and the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to one hundred and fifty five tones annually if compared when building to a traditionally built, air-conditioned office of the same size. The warehouse also includes an Interpretation Room that could be used for education of the community in the City of York Council. Visit [www.carillionplc.com ] for more information regarding this project. My conclusion is that the water we drink, the pavement we drive on, the air we breathe are the work of civil and environmental engineers literally surrounds us all. Transport systems join our communities together. Road, rail, air and sea networks span the world. All these are the work for civil engineers. Civil Engineers help us trade, travel, exchange ideas and information, and gain employment, healthcare and education. Our civilization is developing, but so too is our demand for electricity. Civil engineers are committed to protecting our natural resources, designing structures that use as little energy as possible. When it comes to providing energy for the entire planet, engineers are using nature to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. We should be proud of our civilization today, and its many great achievements. By applying the latest technologies, civil engineers can save structures and monuments from the distant past so that they can still be enjoyed well into the future. Civil engineers are using designs and materials that will protect our natural and cultural heritage for future generations. The civil engineering knowledge cannot be regarded as a new subject. It has been around for so many hundred years back to the Romans (for their ancient Roman civilization), Egyptians (best known for their building of the pyramids) and Mayans (the Mayans are people from America that have a history or around three thousand years) who built great civilizations before us, our civilization relies more than ever on the civil engineers whom the work on all the environment in and around us, such as the road, the bridges, the libraries, the buses, the trains, the aero planes, the water we consume in our every day life, the toilets that we use, the cars we drive, the houses we sleep, the shelters that we cover from the cold and hot and the many more things that we use in our daily life without them the life would now have been as the one we have today.

Langston Hughes, Prolific Writer Of Black Pride During The Harlem Renai

During a time where racism was at its height in America, Jim Crow laws separated blacks from mainstream white society. Where the notion of â€Å"separate but equal† was widely accepted in America, blacks were faced with adversity that they had to overcome in a race intolerant society. They were forced to face a system that compromised their freedom and rights. Blacks knew that equal was never equal and separate was definitely separate (George 8-9). Blacks had to fight for their rights because it wasn’t handed to them. Racism manifested itself on many levels and had to be fought on many levels. This gave rise to influential black leaders in the fight for civil rights. Langston Hughes was one of those black leaders who arose during the Harlem Renaissance. He gave his people a voice and encouraged pride and hope through his literary work, to overcome racial discrimination. Langston Hughes lived during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, an African American cultural movement of the early 1920s and 1930s that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. It also came to be known as the New Negro movement, marked the first time that mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously and that African American literature and arts attracted significant attention from the nation at large. Although it was primarily a literary movement, it was closely related to developments in African American music, theater, art, and politics. This was also the time of the â€Å"Great Migration†, where more blacks were migrating from the rural South to the urban North, to seek better jobs and lives for their families (George 62). This new identity blacks to gain a new social consciousness and opportunity that was not available ... ...a fifty seven story famous historic landmark building in New York. â€Å"I’ve been a singer: All the way from Africa to Georgia I carried my sorrow songs.† There have been many famous black singers who have made a name for themselves. Singing songs of the blues, gospel etc. telling their stories through melodies and soul. â€Å"I’ve been a victim: The Belgians cut off my hands in the Congo. They lynch me still in Mississippi.† Here Hughes shows that blacks have been objects of violent hate. But at the end of the poem Hughes repeats â€Å"I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, black like the depths of my Africa.† This shows that although blacks have been treated in ways in which no human should be treated. We still kept moving forward never giving up hope and faith, that a change would come. We have accomplished many things in our past and we can use this to motivate our future.

British Serial Killer Essay -- Psychology, Allitt

She is best known as the famous notorious British serial killer. Her crimes horrified and sickened many British families. I first heard about Beverly Allitt when I was watching TruTV. The show had a feature on Allitt and her crimes, this instantaneously caught my attention. The fact that a nurse would intentionally harm children seemed immensely ironic and riveting to me. In my eyes, a nurse was someone who cared and showed concern for a patient. Not someone who intentionally caused anguish and trauma upon innocent children. Coming into this topic, I didn’t know much about the scandalous nurse. I scarcely knew about her history and background. I had heard that Allitt was mentally sick and had suffered some obstacles during her childhood. I also knew that her main way of killing was through over doses of insulin, and that she worked at a ward for infants. The speculations that Allitt suffered from an odd mental illness always intrigued me. I’ve always had many questions about Allitt and her murders. Like, why the children were killed and why they were so young? Children would’ve been easy targets for Allitt. Since most children are smaller than most adults, it would be easier for an adult to over power a child. Also, young children are innocent and might not realize what is happening in there surroundings. This leads me to my next question, how many children were killed and how were they killed? From my small knowledge of Allits history, I thought that she had killed five children. I also knew, that her main way of killing was through large amounts of potassium or insulin. Allit’s murder weapons were easily accessible to her. I’ve always wondered if Allitt really had a mental disorder, or if she was faking it for sympathy. I t... ...lthy appendix; she then plucked at her surgical scar, causing it not to heal correctly. Allitt had been in the hospital for numerous reasons. She complained of â€Å"gall bladder pain, headaches, urinary infections, uncontrolled vomiting, blurred vision, minor injuries, appendicitis, back trouble, and ulcers†(Ramsland 2). When she was hospitalized in 1991, Allitt puzzled nurses when she â€Å"tampered with the thermometer to produce [perplexing] readings, and [also] punctured her right breast to inject herself with water† (Ramsland 2). While working at the ward, Allitt was known for doing weird things. She was suspected of â€Å"smearing feces on the walls and putting it into the refrigerator for others to find† When Beverly was convicted of her murders; she cut herself with paperclips, and burned herself with hot water. She was later placed in a mental ward for her own safety.

Porsche 911 Road Cars :: essays research papers

PORSCHE 911 ROAD CARS Porsche 911 Road Cars is about model 911 cars and the history of them. The book explains who invented Porsche, how they modeled them, how the price changed over the years, how they designed the engines, and all about the speeds and racing ability. The two most interesting things I have learned about in this book concern Porsche’s characteristics; for example, how the engine for the 901 Porsche was designed and where it was placed in the car. The engine instead of being placed in the front end like most cars is placed in the back end of the car to make it a rear drive instead of a front-end drive vehicle. It was designed this way for better speed performance. The other thing I thought was interesting was the modeling. When Butzi Porsche modeled Porsche, not only did he want speed, he wanted to have something original, fast looking, and small so he and an artist got together and found a great design. Butzi would tell the artist what he wanted the car to look like and the artist would create a model drawing. It took them seven months to get the right design and the car sold great! I would recommend this book to someone who is really interested in Porsche cars and how they run. This book tells you everything from the evolution of the first 911 in 1960 to one they hope to build for the next millenium. You can learn every characteristic about the engine and sometimes why. For example, if you wanted to know about the new 911’s motor, you could go to the chapter about that particular car and get the information you needed. If you wanted to know about modeling you could research it the same way. You are also able to get some general information about other Porsche cars listed in the back of the book. If the author could change two things about this book, he should include information and comparisons on all Porsche cars, not just 911 Porsches. It isn’t that interesting reading a whole book on one type of car, unless you are a collector or owner. The author should also have put in more information about Butzi Porsche. He is the grandson of the company’s founder and the one who designed the 901 Porsche.

Curious Incident of a Family Break Up

Curious incident of a family break up Mark Haddon expresses the importance of family relationships within society itself. He does this through the clear and perfect understanding of the deficiency and absence of love portrayed between his parents and himself. Christopher’s suffering of Aspergers syndrome is transparent towards his parents as they find it difficult to react to Christopher’s behavior.Both parents had to deal with Christopher’s persistent obsession with mathematics, numbers (prime numbers used throughout the beginning of every chapter) as their son is a single minded human being with and extraordinary talent faced upon factual data that only he can obtain as many cannot. Christopher’s mother is an important factor among his life as he is told a lie from his father about his mother passing from cancer. But in fact from the hard troubled arguments from the relationship of his parents towards each other, Christopher’s inability to deal wi th affection is a huge factor of why Mr. and Mrs.Boone are driven apart. Christopher does not understand how affection works, which would mean that Mr. and Mrs. Boone do not have a romantic relationship to begin with. If Mr. and Mrs. Boone do not show affection towards each other, it is not setting a very good example towards Christopher. When Christopher’s mother wrote him, she said,† We had a lot of arguments like that, and by the end we stopped talking to each other because we knew it would end up as an argument and go no where. I felt really lonely† (107). Mrs. Boone is giving an example of how she runs away from all her problems leading up to when she left Christopher.The stress of having to raise a child like Christopher drove her to leaving the family. Christopher can be difficult and irritating in many ways because he is unable to show how he feels towards his parents, so they never know how he is feeling. Also, he never knows how his parents are feeling. When Christopher's mother said, â€Å"Christopher, let me hold your hand, just for once. Just for me will you? I will hold it hard†(194). Christopher told her that he did not like holding hands. It proves that he has no knowledge of what love means and affection towards your family. Also, Mrs.Boone said, â€Å"I could not walk for one month, do you remember? Your father had to look after you. I remember looking at the two of you and seeing you two together and thinking how you were really different with him. You were a lot calmer, and it made me sad, because it made the think that you did not need me at all(108). This quote can be confusing, because it is portraying that Mrs. Boone as upset that Christopher did not need her, but yet she leaves the family because of the stress of her autistic child. Mrs. Boone has a confusing way of showing affection, leading Christopher of not having a very good example of a mother.The lack of communication between Mr. and Mrs. Boone and Chr istopher puts a tremendous amount of stress on the family because the Boone’s never know what Christopher may be thinking or wanting at that time. Mr. and Mrs. Boone has to adjust to his ways of communication making it difficult for other people to understand how he communicates. For example, when the policeman grabbed Christopher, but they were never meaning to harm him(8). Christopher thought that by the policeman grabbing him they were trying to hurt him, when only they were trying to get his attention.Also, Christopher does not understand the importance of communication which means that i does not mean a lot of him. The Boone’s do not always know Christopher’s needs and wants. This leads up to Mr. and Mrs. Boone fighting over their views of what Christopher wants. Mrs. Boone would get very stressed out about not knowing what Christopher wants and just basically give up. Christopher can be a difficult child because he can sometimes not know when it is time to stop, and that is what is making Mrs. Boone so stressed out. Christopher might think it is time to play when really Mr. and Mrs. Boone are wanting some quiet time to relax.Haddon persuades the important quality of Truth throughout the novel towards the direction of our society. Christopher’s obsession with truth is organized among the world through his perceptions on the basis. During the story as he feels secure, he needs order and certainty, and facts and logic provide this security. Christopher feels the need to be ‘scared’ and yet ‘shaky’ towards the things that didn’t happen which makes him feel insecure etc. ‘Metaphors’ are a language technique in which Christopher cannot understand. He believes metaphors bring lies towards society as they are false stories and fiction falls within the limits of lies.Christopher accepts ‘similes’ as this technique provides truthfulness and they also emphasize the appearance of what two things have in common. With the acceptation of hard facts within Christopher’s life he refuses to obtain the knowledge and believe of god and the afterlife. Christopher says that he ‘can’t tell lies’. This is the way he truthfully copes with life itself and the imaginary events which fill him with ‘the infinite number of things’. Christopher then pushes the boundaries of lying to himself through continuing the investigation when he told people for example his father he would stop.His father then tends to find out with the quote of â€Å"you knew exactly what you were doing†. During the novel we find out as well as Christopher that his mother is true in fact alive. This is a great impact among Christopher as he hates lying as he quotes â€Å"A lie is when you say something happened which didn’t happen. † Another quote is â€Å"I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person†¦i t is because I can’t tell lies. † The repetition and usage of the word ‘And’ creates a sense of comforting and secureness for Christopher as well as a few number of rituals.The usage of ‘And’ provides Christopher with the ability to recount every information or incident he has accounted. As for me it is annoying to read but the fact that Christopher has a good memory for speech is observed. One of the rituals Christopher obsesses with is the observation of cars on the way to school as he organizes them into red meaning good and brown and yellow meaning bad. He implies this to his normal day routine. So if he sees a red car he will have a good/normal day but if he sees a brown or yellow he knows his day isn’t going to go too well. Mr. Jevons asked me whether this made me feel safe, having things always in nice order and I said I did† The justification he gives for using these rituals is formed on the ‘scared’ and Ã¢â‚¬Ë œshaky’ responses which mean that his great need to impose order on a lack of a word is in use. Christopher believes telling the truth is an important aspect among lives as he is revealed that his father killed Wellington the dog and told him that his mother had passed which makes Christopher become very frightened of his father.Christopher flees in terror as he quotes â€Å"†¦he could murder me, because I couldn’t trust him, even though he said, ‘trust me’, because he had told a lie about a big thing† The composer achieves real aspects of telling the truth and telling a lie which happens on a normally daily basis. Christopher’s constant need for attention pushes the Boone’s apart because they have no time for themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Boone revolve their lives around Christopher’s needy lifestyle which led to them to spending every moment with Christopher. Mr.Boone says how he is going to get Christopher ready for his bath, change him, and get him ready for bed(115). This is an example of how he spends every moment revolving his life to Christopher’s need for help because of his disability. In the book, The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher display a long list of the things that his mother and father have to deal with on a daily basis with his disability(46). All of these things are responsibilities and other things that Mr. and Mrs. Boone have to keep on their minds through the day.Having an autistic child is like having a second job to Mr. and Mrs. Boone. Mr. Boone gives no attention to Mrs. Boone, because he is always pursuing his life towards the neediness of an autistic child. Mrs. Boone may the want attention from another male, leading her to putting all of her attention towards another lifestyle. This stressful lifestyle caused Mrs. Boone to leave and want to have another life of no worries or responsibilities. Also, Christopher says that he is nervous about his pare nts getting a divorce because they have a child with behavioral problems(45,46).This explains one of the reasons why Mrs. Boone wanted out of the family because she wants to have children that do not give her such a headache every single day. Christopher’s confidence of truthful matter, in logic and facts, does not defend him from the real society. His many efforts to pursue the truth of Wellington’s murder results in the discovery of his understanding with the world as it is based on a lie. Christopher also learns that although he likes to have things â€Å"in a nice order†, real life is often very deranged, and he cannot always control this.By the end of the novel the composer achieves Christopher’s balance as he returns to normal life, he is regained both parents and has the knowledge that he has coped in difficult circumstances. Mark Haddon achieves the novel with great aspects of this and portrays the actual concerns among a society. Mr. and Mrs. Boo ne would have a much more suitable relationship if they would set their priorities straight, and make time for each other to be able to go out and have a romantic night together. Obviously, they did not have a romantic relationship, so that could have driven Mrs.Boone away from the family, along with the difficult lifestyle of raising Christopher. In conclusion, Christopher lived a very spoiled lifestyle by being shown attention by his parents all his life. He could not help that he had to have attention shown towards him because of his disability, but it led to the miserable lifestyle between Mr. and Mrs. Boone. If they could have balanced out their schedules, Mr. Boone would not have had to lie to his child about his mothers death, when really she moved away while having an affair.

IT Development in Major Business Firms

The purpose of this White Paper is to inform you on the Information Technology situation at Enqvist Int. Information Technology is all the hardware, software, telecommunications, database management, and other information that we use to process technology using computer based information systems. IT helps create business strategies in many business fields, including Business Management. In this white paper, you will be presented with the current standing of our IT development as well as improvements that can and should be make to increase company productivity. By further developing our IT infrastructure, Enqvist Int. an improve so that we have the most up to date technology available in our field. More specifically, I am going to present to you the possibilities associated with upgrading our current software, databases as well as our telecommunications network within the organization. A few of the benefits that will be received will be increased collaboration, quicker, easier access to customer information as well as to supplier information. These details are discussed in depth in the scope of this white paper. Enqvist Int. is a manufacturing company that produces office equipment. The production plant is based in New Albany and we distribute mainly to Indianapolis, Louisville and Cincinnati. We also do business with other companies in between these metropolitan areas. At Enqvist Int. , our products are sold to other businesses that use our equipment in their offices as well at to retailers for resale. We have offices in all three major cities that set up sales with possible clients. It is important that all three locations share common information with each other as well as with the plant in New Albany to make sure that there will be enough equipment to meet the demand for those cities as well as the surrounding areas. A close eye is always kept on inventory at Enqvist Int. as we pride ourselves in having what consumers want when they want it. Management of this inventory is currently done by hand at the plant in New Albany before the products are shipped to their designated location. In the following pages of this white paper I will present to you the current situation of Enqvist Int. in the IT fields of software, databases and telecommunications. After discussing how we currently use these technologies I will follow up with some developments that can be made in each field to improve the way we do business. After discussing these issues I will give my recommendations on what I think the appropriate action would be to increase the productivity of Enqvist Int. I will conclude with what we can hope to expect from IT in the future. Scope of Situation in Business Management I have been working with an IT Specialist from Cisco. com discussing with him the alternatives of the way we are currently using IT in our company. He has been giving me suggestions along the way with what to offer you in this white paper. Again, I will focus on three major areas, software, databases and telecommunication. At the present time Enqvist Int. does not have any particular software suite common to the three major offices. All three locations have access to the Internet and internally in the three organizations there is access to an Intranet. Product inventory is kept by hand with the information being stored on a hard drive in computers. There are relatively few computers on hand at the plant in New Albany while each employee has their own workstation at each of the three metropolitan locations. According to my IS source, we have an array of options for improving out software condition. In today†s IT world, the trend in software is away from custom design programs and towards of the shelf software suites that are user friendly to our employees. The trend is leaning away from procedural and machine specific programming and towards specific business application uses. Speaking in terms of productivity, we can upgrade from our current software to software that will increase productivity. To continue doing business as usual we need to have a software suite that has the major types of software already installed and ready to use. Remember that we will need a system that meets our requirements of how we do business. Some of the basic software necessary will be a Web browser, e-mail, desktop publishing and word processing. These are all included in several suites such as Microsoft 2000. For example, 2000 has several business specific applications like Word and Excel just to name a couple. These applications can help keep track of our inventory as well as the product schedule of what we will be running on the production line at the plant. E-mail and other forms of virtual groupware will help increase communications between employees at all locations. Another alternative would be to implement a new operating system into the organization to meet our increasing software needs and requirements. An operating system is an integrated system of programs and software that manages the operations of computers. It controls the inputs/outputs and storage of information. In our case the primary reasoning behind an operating system would be to maximize productivity in a more efficient manner. An operating system has four major characteristics that help this process; User Interface, Resource Management, File Management and Task Management. These qualities will help Enqvist International†s management team accomplish specific tasks such as checking to see how much inventory is in stock for a particular product. An operating system will also help with basic business management functions such as storing and retrieving customer information. That is an overview of the software standing at Enqvist Int. and what is available for us to implement to improve they was we use software. Implementing this system at all locations of Enqvist Int. will be costly but the benefits derived should offset those costs. Some benefits will include efficient work, easy interaction with other software, reliability, and application specific programs. Enqivst Int. currently has a strong database infrasturcture but there is room for improvement. We currently have three separate databases, one for each metropolitan location. Each location can run several applications to find and configure data needed for themselves or to relay to customers. There is one big step we can take to improve our overall schema of Database Management systems. After consulting with my IS agent, I have discovered a more error free way to keep track of data. Instead of having the three databases scattered throughout the company, we could have one main database that can be accessed by all three locations. For example, when an employee is running an application to find data on a customer, he will be able to find all data about them in one place instead of going to different databases for pieces of information. A Database Management System (DBMS) is a set of computer programs that control the creation, maintenance and use of data. This DBMS will consolidate records previously stored in separate files into a common file. The benefits of this include the ability for ad hoc queries. These are unique unscheduled information requests from the DBMS, easily capable if we have the newest innovations in DBMS. Forming one main database will also reduce redundant data and errors about those data. For example when information is stored in separate files you need to change customer information in all areas, this problem is eliminated with what I am offering, once you change the information in one area it is automatically done in every aspect of that customer. This will be favorable for Enqvist Int. because customer information will always be up to date. We will have all our entities kept together with the proper attributes to those entities easily accessible to our employees. DBMS will also allow us to build new applications to apply to the way we do business. For example, we will have all of our customer information in one area as well as information on suppliers to the plant in New Albany. DBMS will improve our efficiency and possibly help Enqvist Int. expand to new markets. There are four major benefits we can receive from DBMS. They are: Database Development, Data Interrogation, Data Maintenance, and Application Development. These benefits will help Enqvist Int. keep track of data about the business as well as being able to interrogate the data to be displayed in forms desired by our end users and employees. All this is available just by sharing a common database. The overall organization will be better informed about company data to provide better quaility decision making. There are issues to consider before changing our database infrastructure. We know that this system is able to update the database to reflect new transactions but we also need a DBMS that is reliable, secure and has a large capacity as we are a growing company. Determining who has access to what information in the database will be an important decision that will be made by upper management. Enqvist Int. employees currently have accessibility to a local area network (LAN) within the organization they work for depending on the city. Employees at the three respective stores have all their computers wired together within the office. While this has enabled the employees to communicate with each other and retrieve information about their office transactions, it does not allow them to communicate and have access with possibly needed information from the other two stores. We already have the basic components needed to improve our telecommunications network. We have the computer terminals and processors and the control software to manage the functions for which we use telecommunication. We could however take advantage of a more powerful channel over which our date is transmitted and received. We could also have this channel run fiber optic lines to connect the organizations three LANs creating a Wide Are Network (WAN). A WAN allows connection for large geographical areas, perfect for our situation. We could also form a VPN but our locations are close enough to form a WAN. Implementing a WAN will enable managers, end users, employees and workgroups to electronically exchange data and information from any of three stores with anyone in the company. This will increase collaboration between employees but can be costly. However, the benefits are incredible. Office workers will still be connected internally but also with all other offices including the plant in New Albany. By having all the offices connected to the production plant, employees will no longer have to send e-mails to find out information regarding product inventory or when shipments are being sent and arrived at their location. This takes time and may possibly cost us customers who will look elsewhere. With a WAN, employees could have access to this and other information to use in increasing customer service, another issue associated with business management. The speed and connectivity allowed through a WAN are just a few of the benefits that can be received from implementing one. Managers will have to take some things into consideration when implementing a WAN. With information so accessible to employees we must make sure it is secure so no one else can hack into our network. There are also the issues of who in the company can see and use what information. Employees at all locations are now able to work together on team projects and connect to the plant to check product information but their accessibility will have to have some end. Only office managers and management members above them should have access to company information such as income statements kept on our software programs and total operating cost or per unit costs, other important issues in business management. Once these rules are set, a WAN can increase our company productivity greatly. After informing you on the current situation that Enqvist Int. egarding Information Technology, I will now relay some suggestions that I feel can help this company improve and grow. Working with my IS consultant has helped me tell you the possible ways we can improve the current way we use IT at Enqvist Int. I feel that we could increase productivity to its maximum by using an operating system as our software suite. We could use this system to keep track on product inventory so that fewer errors occur in calculating inventory. Another advantage to Enqvist Int. from an operating system is that our employees will have access to user friendly, application specific business programs. I also feel that we should combine our organizations databases into one common database accessible to our end users. Keeping customer information as well as information on employees and data about the plant in New Albany will help our employees work better to improve customer service. A DBMS also reduces errors that may be in our data. All employees will see that same thing when they look up a common file where as when the information was stored separately two different users might see two different descriptions for the same customer. In reference to our telecommunications network, I think I already made my recommendation known in the scope of this white paper. I feel that implementing a WAN to connect our organization three current LANs will help Enqvist Int. improve in many areas by collaborating with each other. Connecting them with fiber optic lines will increase the speed at which this can be done. It will help us overcome geographical barriers and possibly expand to new markets. The recommendations made to you in this white paper won†t come cheap to Enqvist Int. ut I feel that the benefits we can receive from doing so will outweigh these costs and in time pay for themselves in increased employee productivity. Enqvist Int. has shown in the past that we can survive in our highly competitive market but to stay that way we need to improve our IT situation. By following some or all of the recommendations made to you Enqvist Int. will likely continue to thrive into the future with the help of IT. It seems as if the Information Technology world is changing everyday, which it is. By improving our IT infrastructure as mentioned in this paper, we will reap the benefits of what IT can do for business today. We can only wait and see what IT will have in store for us into the future, creating new innovating ways to manage data and help with business needs. It is likely that the IT tools we have today will be compatible with what will happen in to future thus allowing us to take advantage of those changes in IT. Into the future I think we should also start an Internet site to try in increase sales by expanding our market and also to add advertising. I know that the managers at Enqvist Int. ave been thinking on this for awhile now and with the help of my IS consultant, we could implement it relatively soon. Something that we could see in the future of IT is increased voice recognition. It is already possible for users to talk over the Internet to each other and hear each other. Something that we can look forward to in our computers is their increased voice recognition. We will be able to talk to our computers to accomplish tasks hands free. The computer may actually be able to communicate back with us in the future making working a computer easier and more productive than ever. Also in the future of IT we can expect to see increase in flexibility regarding what IT can do with increased power. This flexibility will open an expanding range of IT applications that help business processes. We will also experience increasing bandwidth making connection over networks faster and more reliable to access information. The future still remains to be seen but with IT, the possibilities are endless, I have only named a few. From writing this White Paper I learned that it is essential for today†s businesses to have IT has a backbone of their operations. To be competitive in today†s market, businesses need to have a strong IT infrastructure to assist them in running their organization. I also strengthened my understanding of how IT can help businesses expand and grow by making them accessible all over the world via the Internet. They can do business now with people anywhere but this is also something that many companies are having trouble doing today. However, I understand that by using IT to help you manage you information and to create the ability to work and collaborate together, it can help to improve your business and now I realize how this works a lot more in depth.

Psychological Perspectives for Health and Social Care Essay

The influence of individuals The key principals of the learning theory is when a child sees certain displays or acts of behaviour, that they are more likely to copy it. He argued that we learn through a process of imitating role models, but that we also imitate the actions that are seen that could be a possible interest. (Bandura, 1961) conducted a study to investigate if social behaviours such as aggression can be acquired by imitation. Bandura tested 36 boys and girls from the Stanford University Nursery School with children between 3 to 6 years old. The role models were one male adult and one female adult. Bandura then arranged for 24 of the boys and girls to watch a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a toy known as the bobo doll. The adults began to attack the doll in a distinctive manner, throwing the doll in the air and shouting. The researchers pre- tested the children for how aggressive they were by observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behaviour on four five p oint rating scales. It was then possible for the children in the groups to be matched so that they had similar levels of aggression within their everyday behaviour. The children were then tested individually through three stages, which consists of modelling, which is studied as observational learning, as one needs to be paying attention, being able to store information effectively, and reproduction, which involves performing he behaviour that has been observed. Further practise of this skill will then lead to improvement and skill advancement. In stage two (Aggression Arousal) the child is then subjected to ‘mild aggression arousal’, which is when the child is taken to a room with relatively attractive toys. As soon as the child starts to play with the toys the experimenter tells the child that these were the experimenter’s very best toys and she had decided to reserve them for the other children. The final key stage is being tested for delayed imitation, which consisted of taking the children into a room with a number of aggressive toys consisting of mallets, tether balls, dart guns, and the Bobo Doll. The room also includes several non – aggressive toys, including crayons, paper, dolls, plastic animals and trucks. The children were then allowed to play in this room for  a period of 20 minutes while raters observed each child’s behaviour from behind a one way mirror and judged each child’s levels of aggression. This is the process of testing the individual on how much information has been previously retained, and how they transfer this information. The findings from this and similar studies have been used in the argument that media violence might be contributing in some degree to violence in society. The obvious criticism of this argument is that there are many other factors influencing whether or not we are likely to imitate screen violence. One of the major factors also is perhaps the level of aggression we already have, which might have been learned, in our family relationships or elsewhere. Social Learning Theory has also been used to explain the so-called ‘cycle of violence’, or more technically ‘the inter-generational transmission of aggression’. The basic idea is that if one has been the victim of (physical) abuse as a child, you are more likely to be an abusing parent than if you haven’t. It also increases the chances that you will be a wife – or a husband – â€Å"batterer†. It is also important to note that such early experiences make it more probable that people will become more aggressive but it is never certain, or inevitable. In addition to influencing other psychologists, Bandura’s social learning theory has had important implication in the field of education. Today, both teachers and parents recognize the importance of modelling appropriate behaviours. Other classroom strategies such as encouraging children and building self-efficacy are also rooted in social learning theory. The statement â€Å"Children who witness domestic violence are at increased risk of having abusive relationships as adults, researchers have found.† (BBC,2003) is based on the process of modeling, as the children who are susceptible to violence and abuse are more likely to take in what has been done and copy the behaviour. I personally think that Health and Social Care Services could not be able to target this on-going problem, because I feel that child abuse and domestic violence can still happen behind closed doors, when not reported, or when no tell-tale signs are shown. I feel that the Social Services could target this  problem more accurately by advertising it more, and spreading the word that it is okay to speak out. Charities such as NSPCC and NCDV help those who are being abused, or witnessing abuse. Other projects such as enlisting in more guest speakers to speak to children in schools about abuse or domestic violence, and how it can affect individuals around them. I think there should also be more counsellors enlisted in schools, to assist and assure pupils or children who are being abused that they have someone to speak to about their problems. Counselling sessions should also made widely available for groups of women who are experiencing domestic abuse, to come forward and know that they are not alone, because they do not deserve to suffer in silence. More family inspections should be carried out, as these can give away vital signs of abuse, so it is often critical that the services carry out these checks. The Social can also target this problem by urging schools or teachers who know of any child who is being abused to come forward. Doing all of the above will significantly help the increasing levels of children who are witnesses of domestic violence, and hopefully create a slightly safer environment for victims or witnesses and decrease the amount of domestic violence which occurs in the home. Campaigns The first campaign I am going to be analysing is the â€Å"Stop Knife Crime† campaign, launched in 2008, which was endorsed by David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and David James, who are all football greats, and role models to many who are interested in the sports or football sector. This particular promotion has used these role models by photographing them holding up signs, which endorse the campaign’s slogan, â€Å"Stop Knife Crime, it doesn’t have to happen†. Also, the use of Beckham and Rio Ferdinand having encountered a knife crime experience, further adds to them being role models, as they can relate and understand the dangers of this topic more, and broadcast their understanding to the public. There was a 10% decrease in knife crime rates in London after this campaign. Funding was also being contributed to pay for 85 more portable search arches and 566 church wands to allow more operations to take place. The second campaign I am going to be analysing is a Weight Watchers campaign, endorsed by Jenifer Hudson, who managed to lose more than 80 pounds, going from a size 16/18 to a size 8. This particular promotion has used Jennifer as a role model because she is a successful singer, and she can relate and understand the situations that those who are trying to lose weight are going through. The campaign have further endorsed this by photographing her in pretty, glamorous outfits with slogans such as â€Å"I believe in WeightWatchers† and â€Å"I lost with WeightWatchers and I feel stronger than ever†, which would make women want to be or look just like her. WeightWatchers were successful with their promotion using Jenifer Hudson, as they had an increase in memberships in 2013. Application of the psychodynamic perspective The key contributors to this psychodynamic approach are Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson and Carl Rogers. The psychodynamic approach includes all the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within the person, particularly unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality. Anxiety is a disorder, and is according to (nhs.co.uk) â€Å" A feeling of unease, fear, or worry, that can be mild or severe†. Anxiety is something that everyone can also experience from time to time, without being given a diagnosis of it. Most people can relate to feeling tense and uncertain, and worrying about for example, going for a job interview. One may be worried about feeling uncomfortable, appearing foolish, or in how successful they will be. In turn, these worries can affect one’s sleep, appetite and ability to concentrate. Someone may experience anxiety for no reason because maternal conflicts can make a person feel anxious. In Freud’s view, anxiety arises when the ego cannot adequately balance the demands of the id and the superego, and the id begins to demand gratification of it’s impulses, and the superego demands maintenance of it’s moral standards. Some of the ways one can use to control their anxiety vary, as methods such as writing down any worries or concerns one might have, on a laptop, on a phone, or on paper. Also, by beginning to accept uncertainty could help one’s understanding that life’s problems do not require immediate solutions. By also doing things such as practising relaxation techniques, adapting healthy eating habits, reducing alcohol and nicotine intake, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep, could also help control anxiety. Application of the Humanist Perspective They key contributors to the Humanist Perspective were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. The key concepts to this psychological approach are that humanistic psychologists study human behaviour, not only through the eyes of the observer, but also through the eyes of the person doing the behaving. The model of counselling developed by Carl Rogers was based on the psychological environment described as being one where a person felt free from threat, both physically and psychologically. This environment could be achieved when being in a relationship with a person who could have been deeply empathetic, accepting, and genuine. Empathy is defined by (google.com) as â€Å"The ability to understand and share the feelings of another†. An example that I have picked up on, or felt when someone has been empathetic towards me, is when I ask my best friends for my advice on a situation, and they are very understanding and listen to what I am telling them, by showing me actions of empathy, such as for example, nodding, saying â€Å"yeah† and â€Å"mm hmm†, which are general empathetic indicators. Active listening is not just about taking information in and processing it, but it is also our physical demeanour and body language. Egan (1986) devised five key components, which contribute to active listening, which goes back to the â€Å"SOLER† process. By inputting SOLER into active listening, an approach can be adapted with friends, family, or even colleagues The SOLER process can be interpreted to active listening in the following steps: S – Sit straight (this is important in conveying the message that ‘I am here with you’) O – Open posture (indicating openness to listening to anything that the speaker chooses to share) L – Lean forward (indicating an interest in the speaker’s words) E – Eye contact (another way of expressing interest and reassurance) R – Relax (a relaxed posture puts the speaker at ease). Applications of the Cognitive Perspective The key contributors to this particular theory were Ulric Neisser, Jean Piaget and Edward.C Tolman. The key concepts within this approach is that this perspective applies a nomothetic approach, which is an approach to research that seeks to establish broad generalizations or laws that apply to large groups of individuals to discover human cognitive processes, but has also adopted idiographic techniques through using case studies. Typically, cognitive theorists use the laboratory experiment to study behaviour. This is because the cognitive approach is a scientific approach. CBT is a form of talking theory that combines cognitive therapy and behaviour therapy. It focuses on how one thinks about the things going on in their life – their thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes, or cognitive processes, and how this impacts the way one will behave and deal with one’s emotional problems. It then looks at how one can then change the way they behave and deal with emotional problems. It then looks at how one can change any negative patterns of thinking or behaviour that may be causing difficulties. In turn, this can also change the way one feels. CBT can help one understand that this is what is going on and can help to step outside of automatic negative thoughts. By continuing to think and behave negatively, one will not have the chance to find out that their thinking and prediction may actually be wrong. Instead, the way one thinks  and acts can lead oneself to be more convinced that what they are thinking is true, which therefore breaks the cognitive triad. By using the CBT method, one will learn to recognise how they think, behave and feel, and also encouraged to check out other ways of thinking and behaving that may be more useful. A PTSD, better known as post-traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events, such as serious road accidents, violent personal assaults, prolonged sexual abuse, witnessing violent deaths, military combat, being held hostage, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters. Some of the symptoms associated with a PTSD will often relive the traumatic event that they went through, through nightmares and flashbacks, and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt. They may also have problems sleeping, such as insomnia, and find may find concentrating difficult. These symptoms are often quite severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on one’s day to day life. CBT can be applied to treat PSD by using one of the various, but most preferred method, which is known as deep- diagraphamatic breathing, which is taught to patients as a quick method to calm the patient prior to and during real life exposure to the patient’s most – feared situation, for example, like starting to drive again after a lengthy period of avoidance, which could be brought on my their PTSD. Application of the Biological Perspective The key ideas or concept within the biological approach consist of three main components, which are the Physiology – which is how the nervous system and hormones work, how the brain functions, and how changes in structure or function can affect behaviour. Then there is the investigation of inheritance, which is what an organism inherits from its parents, better known as genetics, and finally, there is the comparative method, which involves studying different species of animal and studying and transferring these ideas to the analysis of human behaviour The biological approach was effective when looking at the study of children because all development within children tends to take place according to a biological plan, and by studying the physiological aspects of a child’s brain and how it works and progresses, and their inheritance, by studying them and their parents to see what has been inherited and link this to their developmental progress. Sources Used: Bandura, A., Ross, D. & Ross, S.A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-82. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/pages/introduction.aspx http://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html http://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html http://www.holah.karoo.net/bandurastudy.html http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/cognitive-behaviour-therapy/#.UthsQmTV9es http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume5/chapter08_social_learning.aspx http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_types_symptoms_treatment.htm http://www.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm http://www.simplypsychology.org/Systematic-Desensitisation.html http://www.simplypsychology.org/psychodynamic.html http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anxiety/Pages/Introduction.aspx http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/personality/section2.rhtml http://www.bapca.org.uk/about/what-is-it.html http://healthpsychologyconsultancy.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/active-listening-through-body-language/ http://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counselloradvice36.html http://www.simplypsychology.org/biological-psychology.html