Outline and Evaluate Research Into the Effects of Day Care on Social Development Essay

Belsky and Rovine (1988) conducted a study in order to assess attachment using the strange situation technique. They observed infants who had been receiving 20 hours or more of day care per week before the age of 1. Their findings suggested that, in comparison to children at home, these children were more often insecurely attached. With insecure attachments being associated with poorer social relationships this may be considered a negative effect of day care. The NICHD started a longitudinal study in 1991 to study many aspects of child development. Similarly the NICHD study found that children who were in day care for more than 30 hours a week were 3 times more likely to show behaviour problems when they went to school. By comparing the two studies we can see that the amount of time spent in day care plays an important role in whether or not children showed negative effects. However Violata and Russell’s meta-analysis showed that when time spent in day care exceeds 20 hours a week negative effects become apparent however the NICHD study found this time to be 30 hours therefore the results are contradictory and inconsistent. The EPPE study was a large scale, longitudinal study of the progress and development of 3,000 children in various types of pre-school education across the UK. The results of the EPPE study found that high levels of day care, particularly nursery care in the first 2 years, may elevate the risk of developing anti-social behaviour. To some degree the EPPE study supports the findings of Belsky and Rovine’s study as both found that the age of the child when placed in day care contributed to whether or not it was perceived to have negative implications. However the two studies can only be looked at comparatively to a certain extent as Belsky and Rovine’s study assessed infants under the age of 1 whereas the EPPE study assessed children up to the age of 7. Clarke-Steward et al studied 150 children and found that those who were in day care were consistently more advanced in their social development than  children who stayed home with mothers, enabling them to better deal with peer relationships. Likewise, the EPPE study found increased independence and sociability in the children who attended day care. Field (1991) found that the amount of time spent in full-time day care was positively correlated to the number of friends children has once they went to school. However, although these findings suggest that full-time day care had positive effects on the child, the results clash with studies conducted by Belsky and Rovine. This may be due to individual differences of the children assessed in both studies, for example shy children may have appeared insecure when assessed using the strange situation technique by Belsky and Rovine. Moreover the positive correlation shown in Field’s study cannot accurately be used as grounds to state that full-time day care causes children to be more popular as correlation is not causation.

Ancient Civilization Essay

Ancient Civilizations Essay: Understanding Geography and History Amanda Honors World History Period 2 Mrs. Ocasio October 15th, 2012 People. Mountains. People. Culture. People. Water. Ever wonder why history and geography very often studied together? Well it is because geography has a lot of influence on the worlds’ overall history and how it all connects together. Learning geography is also important in understanding history because people need to know where and how were the locations are and why the civilizations formed there.To continue, all civilizations are connected in some way, from trading to religious beliefs or wars to traditions; some of the civilizations that are going to compared are very similar. That is why the understanding of geography is crucial to the understanding of history because it impacted the development of city-states, caused isolation, and allowed cultural diffusion between the civilizations. To begin, geography impacted the development of many city -states. India and the Nile River Valley had been majorly impacted by the Earths geography in early civilizations.Many rivers flowed through India, which included the Indus and the Ganges Rivers. Most Indian city- states were close to these rivers because the people wanted to be near water making it easier to get excess to it. It was also important for Indians to be near the Ganges River because that river was sacred to them and â€Å"†¦one Indian name for â€Å"river†: lok-mata, or â€Å"mother of the people. † (World History Book, page 52). Now the Nile River Valley was very fertile, which made â€Å"†¦farmers take advantage of the fertile land of the Nile Valley to grow wheat and flax, a plant whose fivers were used for clothing. and have excess to water in the dry Egyptian heat. The â€Å"Black Land† was the rich and irrigated area of the Nile Valley and â€Å"no more than 10 miles wide, lay the ‘Red Land,’ a sun-baked desert that s tretches across North Africa. † (24). All these physical features impacted where the Indian and Egyptian city-states were set up and governed. Following that, most geographical features caused isolation. China and Egypt had a lot of isolation because of the mountain ranges and deserts that surrounded and bordered them. China had the â€Å"†¦high mountain ranges- the TienShan and the Himalayas-and brutal deserts blocked the easy movement of people†¦southeast, thick jungles divided China from Southeast Asia†¦the north lay the forbidding desert, the Gobi†¦to the east, the fast Pacific Ocean. † (59). Because China was so isolated by many physical features caused by the geographical movement they believe that they were the center of the Earth and the sole source of civilization. But Egypt was isolated from other civilizations by a vast stretch of desert and large bodies of water, making it a peninsula. This desert is the Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world.The Sahara is difficult to get through making it harder to reach Egypt, thus making it isolated from migrating people and trade. Although the bodies of water created some isolation, it however helped with Egypt’s trade and excess to many ports. This shows that geographical knowledge is also important to understand history because if one did not know what type of physical features were available thou would now know what to expect. Lastly, geography allowed cultural diffusion between civilizations. Greece and China had a lot of cultural diffusion because both civilizations depended on trade to grow and prosper.The Greeks had â€Å"†¦hundreds of bays, the Greek coastline provided safe harbors for ships. † (105). This shows that the Greek economic system highly depended on trading overseas; Greeks became skilled sailors, who carried cargoes of olive oil, wine, and marble around the Mediterranean area. Because the Greeks were traveling so much to other are as to trade they went back home with new ideas and different traditions, some making their lives easier. For example, â€Å"Greeks expanded the Phoenician alphabet. The resulting Greek alphabet became the basis for all western alphabets. (105). All of the trading and traveling overseas made Greece become more populated and prosperous forcing man Greeks to leave their own overcrowded valleys and vineyards and when they left they brought the Greek culture and ideas with them. Now moving eastward toward China to the Silk Road to the West, which was very important link to China and the rest of the world. â€Å"During the Han period, new foods such as grapes, figs, cucumbers, and walnuts flowed to China from western Asia. † (95) Making this region grow even more culturally more than ever.Although China is very isolated, it still traded as much as Greece would have; the Silk Road eventually stretched for 4,000 miles linking China to the Fertile Crescent. â€Å"China also traded t ons of silk westward to fill a growing demand for the prized fabric† (95) and in return China would return with furs from Central Asia, muslin from India, or glass from Rome. The Silk Road was not only an important trade route it was also had many controllers making it more likable; â€Å"at the western end, trade was controlled by various people, including the Persians. † (95).This makes geography even more important to understand history. In conclusion, the study of geography is very important to the understanding of history. People. Mountains. People. Culture. People. Water. Everything is connected. The development of city-states, suspended isolation, and cultural diffusion all has to do with ancient civilizations history and geography. It also has effect on today’s environment. In the end it is important to know both subjects even though that knowledge may not be applied to lives in any way, shape, or form it is still something useful to know.

Intertextuality: Meaning of Life and Silk Cut Essay

What is intertextuality? How does intertextuality challenge E. D. Hirsch’s idea that a text has a single meaning created by its author? Explain with reference to examples drawn from any media format. According to American literary critic, E. D. Hirsch, in order to interpret a body of text, one must ask one’s self the only question that can be answered objectively ? â€Å"what, in all probability, did the author mean to convey? † He believed that the author’s intended meaning equates the meaning of a text and it is in fact, the reader’s duty to uncover the the author’s intentions. â€Å"The meaning of a text and its author’s intentions are one and the same. † Hirsch’s concept revolves around the assumption that a body of text is original, and is purely a body of the author’s sole â€Å"intentions†. The production of text, if one were to adhere to Hirsch’s theory, is therefore exclusive to the author’s own ideas and concepts and free of external influence. However, the notions of langue and parole disputes this idea. According to Barthes in 1984, â€Å"It [la langue] is the social part of language, the individual cannot himself either create or modify it†. Furthermore, Ferdinand de Saussure’s work on structuralism and semiotics demonstrates the subjectivity of language and can be said to have sewn the seeds for modern concepts of intertextuality (such as those developed by Roland Barthes and Julia Kristeva). Intertextuality challenges the idea of a text’s ability to be truly original and therefore disagrees with Hirsch’s theory. In this essay, I will focus on how conscious intertextuality as well as the semiotics involved in unconscious intertextuality both dispute the idea that the meaning of a text belongs exclusively to its author’s intentions. Julia Kristeva, who was the first to use the term â€Å"intertextuality†, proposed the idea that a text should not be interpreted merely by its words at face value, but also studied based on other works it has adapted and was influenced by. The concept can be further expanded upon by Gunther Kress’ notion of â€Å"ceaseless semiosis† which brings to light the social aspect of a text’s creation. â€Å"From the beginning, I use materials which I have encountered before, which bear the meanings of their social contexts, to weave a new text which, because it is woven from materials of other texts, everywhere and always connects with those other texts. † -Kress, 2000 Conscious intertextuality thus enables a reader to participate in this â€Å"ceaseless semiosis† by the identification and application of their prior knowledge to a text, along with creating their own version of the text by combining their existing knowledge gleaned from other texts with the works of others a text is based on (e. g. someone watching a satirical television show such as The Simpsons). The best example of this sort of intertextuality would be the process of a reader (or surfer) browsing the world wide web. Here, an author cannot control the way in which a reader approaches his or her body of text. There is seldom a linear fashion in which a reader consumes information while surfing the internet. It is common for him or her to absorb only small chunks of texts on one page of a website before being led to an entirely different webpage via links. Through surfing and following links of their choice, readers effectively thus begin to construct their own text of sorts as they make their way through various sites on the internet. Unlike newspapers or most other forms of printed media, intertextuality on the internet is often one of a blatant and conscious nature. Here, almost more so than anywhere else, it is clear that content is not entirely original, nor is it based on an author’s sole ideas and concepts. It is common for a great many websites to host a multitude of links, and consist of short articles that link to other sources of information that the work was based on, or that provide further elaboration. Even on the internet, certain etiquettes are often observed, one of them being the courtesy of giving credit where it is due. A graphic or piece of digital art someone uses on his or her website, for example, often requires credit and a link back to the page of the artist that created it. Upon following the link to the artist’s page, one might find further credit and a link to the photographer who provided the stock photograph from which the graphic was created. One then clicks on the link that leads us to a page of stock photography, on which, perhaps, yet another link to the homepage of the model in the photograph might be provided. One visits the aforementioned homepage, and might perhaps chance upon the history of the model or a little story about his or her life. The initial graphic no longer stands on its own, and new history and meaning is produced with every link the surfer clicks, tracing a â€Å"path† that paints a story beyond the original piece of art. Hirsch’s idea of a text having one sole meaning ? that of the author’s ? no longer applies. The readers construct their own text, and therefore their own meanings as they navigate through the internet, often with no apparent logical progression. The existing knowledge they possess, along with their ability to identify the other works a text is based on, shapes their interpretation of an idea being presented. Even the authors themselves often acknowledge the lack of complete originality in their content, and through links and credit on their page, make it obvious that their text is a coalition of ideas and texts by other authors, whose texts are a coalition of ideas and texts by yet, other authors etc. There are also varying degrees of intertextuality on the internet. Some sites, such as The Onion (www. theonion. com) restricts the level of interactivity on their website by limiting links to only those of their advertisers. However, the content of their site is a testament of classic conscious intertextuality. Much like the Simpsons, â€Å"The Onion† is a satire. It parodies legitimate news websites and global current affairs. Readers’ prior knowledge of these affects the way in which they view the site and interpret these satirical â€Å"issues† of The Onion. A webpage that allows for a greater level of interactivity through its onslaught of links is â€Å"How To Dress Emo† (http://www. geocities. com/howtodressemo). A site that makes fun of a teenage trend in today’s society, the text has potential to be humorous to its reader. However, the degree of appreciation and humour a reader might find in the text depends on the level of the reader’s prior knowledge of the â€Å"Emo† trend and sub-culture. Unlike The Onion however, the white text on â€Å"How To Dress Emo† is peppered with phrases and words that are grey in colour. Existing knowledge of the internet and html might inform the reader that these grey words and phrases are in fact links, and clicking on them will lead them to further sites, games, generators and articles that provide further references and elaborate upon the original article. The internet has made it possible for authors to quote another piece of work â€Å"wholesale† by simply and conveniently placing a link on their page. The two texts become inevitably intertwined and new meaning is generated as the reader pieces together information gleaned from both works. Another form of intertextuality is one that is often based on a more subconscious level. Arguing against the idea that a text is an isolated entity, Kristeva once stated, â€Å"any text is the absorption and transformation of another†. The text in question is not limited to only that which is literary in nature, and whatever form it should take is subject to its reader’s or audience’s interpretation based on their knowledge of other existing texts, their cultural literacy and associations they individually produce. In subconscious intertextuality, interpretation is based on a highly individual level and may even produce meanings that the author had no knowledge of whatsoever, let alone intended. However, a study of subconscious intertextuality and semiotics is often useful to advertisers who then use these subtle allusions to maximum effect. The reader or audience is often unaware of the subconscious effects an advertisement has on their perception of a product. Nevertheless, through signs in commercials and print advertisements, the meanings an advertiser wishes to convey about a product are presented. Silk Cut cigarettes in England demonstrates clever advertising in their campaigns. Strict laws and restrictions are imposed on tobacco advertisements in the country, forbidding any association of sports, glamour, success, luxury, masculinity and femininity with tobacco products. Targetting a tobacco advertisement towards a certain market or denomination in society was also banned. Silk cut, however, has managed to get around such stringent laws by the use of semiotics, thus showcasing intertextuality and the ability to generate multiple meanings out of a single text. In one of their most striking advertisements in the 90’s, magazine advertorials often featured a purple silken sheet with a single oval slit in the middle. The connotations were luxurious, sexual and feminine, yet in a way that was subtle and did not violate the advertising code for tobacco. On one hand, one could explain the text as being simply representative of a ruined piece of cloth ? no more, no less. Doubtlessly, this would have been Silk Cut’s explanation had they been questioned by the law. However, on a more subconscious intertextual level, the colour purple and the expensive silken fabric could have been interpreted as an association with luxury and royalty. The texture of the cloth could also have been seen as an allusion to the smooth nature of a Silk Cut cigarette, therefore making the product appealing to women (despite the fact that targeting a specific gender or market was forbidden). The diagonal slit in the cloth could be easily interpreted as sexual in nature, and representative of a woman’s genitalia, thus giving the cigarettes a suggestive appeal. Through these clever advertisements, Silk Cut became widely known as THE woman’s cigarette of choice. They were even featured in the bestselling novel, â€Å"Bridget Jones’s Diary†. In this book by Helen Fielding, the protagonist, Bridget, smokes Silk Cut. The brand is constantly referred to throughout the novel, therefore once again making use of intertextuality. Bridget Jones spends a great deal of the book attempting to quit smoking. However, she is simply unable to curb her craving for the Silk Cut cigarettes. The qualities that have come to be associated with Silk Cut cigarettes through their advertising campaigns, can now be seen as the qualities Bridget desires by smoking Silk Cut. Once again, Hirsch’s idea of a text bearing only one singular meaning can be easily disputed. The interpretation of the Silk Cut advertisement, as well as the use of Silk Cut cigarettes in Bridget Jones’s Diary, is highly subjective and dependent on the reader’s cultural literacy and existing knowledge. Intertextuality in the media, both print and otherwise, has become too powerful to ignore, especially in this day and age. The internet, satirical texts, advertisements and books are only some examples that demonstrate the effects other works and a reader’s prior knowledge have on any given text. Intertextuality in its various states, conscious and unconscious, is certainly a valid contention against the theory of E. D. Hirsch. Bibliography, References & Notes 1) Cultural Consumption and Everyday Life†, Reading As Production, John Storey, Pg 63, Arnold, London, 1999 2) Intertextuality, Allen. G, Pg 9, Routledge, London 2000 3) http://web. uvic. ca 4) http://www. theonion. com 5) http://www. geocities. com/howtodressemo 6) http://www. aber. ac. uk 7) Reading Ads Socially. Goldman. R, Routledge, London, 1992.

Discussion post Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion post - Essay Example Acute pain serves the purpose of a warning of existing tissue damage, and this is supposed to alert the patient to seek medical advice (Porth & Hannon, 2009). Chronic pain takes a long time that it is anticipated after the patient suffers from an injury. It is characterized by psychological behavior that is exhibited by signs such as depression, irritability, and depression. On the other hand, visceral pain originates from visceral parts and is caused by an illness. It is in regard to typical parts of the body of the similar dermatome. The general visceral pain syndromes are pains related to ovarian disease, liver disease, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and uterine diseases. I agree with Kim Pappas that pains are different and therefore the treatment given is different. The acute pain duration is between seconds, days and six months, while chronic pain takes a long time from six months to years. In chronic pain can be treated using cannabis, nerve blocks, biofeedback, acupuncture, painkillers, and narcotics magnets. Acute pain is treated to prevent the pain from developing to chronic pain. Moreover, somatic pain is as a result of activation of pain receivers in musculoskeletal or body surface organs. Patients suffering from the pain describe it as aching or dull (Porth & Hannon, 2009). I agree with Josyln Pridgen on presentation of bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in patients. The diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder must meet the diagnosis as required by DSm to determine if the client suffers from social impairment or clinically. The illness is characterized by low standard of life and increasing disability. The disability is in terms of impairment of work and distress and takes duration of two weeks to six months (Montgomery, 2009). Bipolar disorder is also called manic depression disease, and it causes mood swings in a patient. There are two mood swings that are mania and depression. During depression condition, the

Introduction to Globalisation Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Introduction to Globalisation - Coursework Example Indeed, a number of individuals warn that it is a huge mistake to â€Å"carry into the study of globalization the kind of view of culture that we inherit from the conventional analysis of the national society† (Benyon and Dunkerley, 2000, p. 13). Global Culture Conceptualizations Most of people such as journalists and academics use the term global culture and it is evident that there are different understandings of â€Å"culture† regardless of the different meaning devoted to the phrase â€Å"global culture.† There are different conceptualizations of global culture. First, global culture emphasizes spatialization and plurality. All cultural forms or different cultures are categorized based on their differences from one another. The cultural result of different individuals from some parts of the world which through the processes of electronic communication, migration, come to represented in a particular place. Cultural practices and form, which were characteristic of one region or location, have now been diffused in many different regions of the world. Plurality and spatialization are also emphasized by the non-isomorphic and multi-centred flows around the world. As an assortment of cultural phenomena or artefacts from different regions of the universe are now in one place; previously, they were thought as not belonging there, but now, they are perceived to be there (King, 2004, p. 26). Secondly, global culture emphasizes the deconstruction of the country state. Bodies of knowledge, lifestyles, conventions, and sets of practices have grown in ways through which they have become independent of the nation-states (King, 2004, p. 26). Global culture is seen in the forms of arts and the media, emerging from different regions and nations which are diffused across national borders. Global culture in this context sees the globe as a finite, inevitable bounded space, a place in which all the collectivities and the nation-states are drawn upon inevita bly. Thirdly, global culture emphasizes American cultural imperialism. Global culture is mainly considered as an American cultural imperialism. This is because the American commodities, malls, fast food, and media culture are developing a new global culture that is extremely the same on all continents (King, 2004, p. 27). Fourthly, global culture emphasizes a new or a homogenized system of culture. The surfacing of a new collection of globally shared practices and images, and an influenced condition of universality is mainly attributed to the idea of global culture. A completely new system of culture has emerged from the diffusion of cultural beliefs, practices, and values in the world, and this has taken a new attribute which has changed in the process. Therefore, global culture is a sole homogenized system of importance. Lastly, global culture emphasizes planetary. Global culture is a practical impossibility; however, it is possible in the context of inter-planetary terms. A globa l common culture was created as a reaction to the supposed threat to the continuous viability of life on the world through some ecological catastrophes (King, 2004, p. 27). Is There a Phenomenon Such As Global Culture? Does global culture really exist, and if it does, then what is it? The most tangible and obvious form of cultural globalization is the Western media products. These products include (a)

Cryogenic system, gas separation and liquifaction Research Paper

Cryogenic system, gas separation and liquifaction - Research Paper Example It is used in the production of gases like O2, N2, Argon, Neon, Krypton, and Xenon. Cryogenic separation has proved to be economical, increases the difference in the boiling points of constituents, process takes up large quantities and achieving purity of gases is tenable. Cryogens like LOX, LH2 are used in rocket propulsion while LH2 is being considered for automobile (Flynn, 2005). LN2 is used as a coolant in cryogenic systems as well as gas refrigeration in cases where low-temperature gases are required. Refrigeration makes use of the principle of heat change in the system, which is equal to the total internal energies (U) and the work (W); . It makes of the first and second Law of thermodynamics. Cryogenic systems are closed cycle systems comprised of the compressor, liquid containers, expander, and heat exchanger. Analysis of cryogenic process follows the Joule-Thompson expansion, which is an isenthalpic expansion process;  (Barron, 1985). The systems are engineered to obey Laws of physics from the field of thermodynamics, heat transfers and

Detection of Attacks Executed by Multiple Users Dissertation

Detection of Attacks Executed by Multiple Users - Dissertation Example Some of these mass-users attacks are triggered by the big companies and manipulation of online items reputation can be hazardous for the customers. As a rule, well-known products are chosen for this type of attacks. For example, Amazon books, some hotels in travel sites, and a great number of digital content can be a fertile ground for mass-users attacks. Not only these vicious and hazardous attacks can be the greatest challenge of the electronic life, but still Netizens and other computer world dwellers are intimidated by mass-users attacks. Under conditions of this type of attacks, fraudulent users implement their well planned strategies and manipulate reputation of numerous target products. To consider these attacks and the ways of dealing with them, it is possible to apply a defense scheme that (1) develops heterogeneous thresholds for developing protection against suspicious products and (2) analyzes focus items on the basis of correlation analysis among suspicious items. Real u ser data and simulation data should be correlated and on the basis of such kind of correlation it is relevant to identify potential mass-user attackers. The given scheme shows the main advantages in finding out fraudulent users, recovering challenging errors in the systems, and reducing attacks related to normal products, sites etc. Â   The problem of attacks executed by multiple users is a complicated task and the modern researches are working in the name of these fraudulent groups identification. The main task of the modern researchers in this field is to apply advanced artificial intelligence and complex adaptive systems to stop, foresee and prevent distributed attacks of the network. Multiple attackers work together and very often it is difficult to foresee and prevent this type of an attack. Data Reduction Techniques is one of the most convenient means of preventing this type of attacks. IDS approaches are nowadays limited in a proper identification of relevant information in high-speed network data streams. The appropriate analysis of IDS enables taking control over such type of attacks. There is a need to conduct a dynamic and real-time control over current attacks. Relevant information can be processed and it can serve as an input vector to IDS. There is another challenge, which is a great variety of activity and processes occurring in the network environment to identify a subset of data that is very difficult for analysis. There is a suggestion to design an anomaly detection scheme for prevention of mass online attacks. This underlying scheme is based on several components integration: first is the importance of time-domain change detection, the second step is the importance of system-level visualization, the third are the selection of heterogeneous threshold and a conduct of a proper correlation analysis. Therefore, we can claim that for prevention and protecting computer systems from mass-users attacks it is necessary to pay attention to the new ph ilosophy. Currently existent schemes of attack prevention and protection are mainly based on homogenous correlation of items and the proposed scheme provides a much better performance in the process of malicious users' detection and reducing impacts on normal issues. Due to a wide range of activities and processes, the identification of fraud in a network environme

Market Entry and Exit Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Market Entry and Exit - Coursework Example Body The factors that influence market entry timing include demand of the product and the technological advancements that are related to the product. Whenever a new product is being launched, questions regarding the success of the product suffice. These questions include: what is the main purpose of the product or what need will the product satisfy, what are the features of the product that differentiates it from other products that are already available in the market (Schmoch, 2006). These questions revolve around the economics topic of Demand and Supply. The analysis of launching the product that takes place before the product is actually launched, involves discussion about: the substitute and the complementary goods available in the market of the product, and what segment of the market will be attracted by the product and whose demand will the product satisfy. When a product or service is launched into a market, consumers do not start purchasing the product right away and the prod uct does not capturers the entire target market in a very short period of time. Consumers need time to learn about the product and gain confidence in the product. Each product has a learning curve; this learning curve shows how well consumers have understood the product and how many consumers have understood the options and needs that the product satisfies. ... found it difficult to carry these bottles everywhere in their hands, thus a need for a smaller size bottle existed, Coke realized this need and introduced 300ml bottles which satisfied the existing needs of the consumers. As soon as the product is available in the market and consumers have learned about the product and have started using the product, the producers understand what the concerns that consumers have regarding the product are and they change the product accordingly to make it more acceptable among the target market. Another key element that is attached with the timing of entry in the market is the competitors. Competitors start entering with the same kind of new product as soon as they understand the nature and design of the product, they make certain changes to the product to differentiate their products from the existing product and then they launch their own product in the market (Miles, 2011). How fast competitors will enter the market depends on the product itself. I f the technology used to create the product is easily available, is inexpensive and the cost of switching to this new technology is low, then competitors will easily enter the market with their competitive edition of the product. On the other hand, if the product requires very expensive technology, high amount of investment and the switching cost to a new technology is high, the competitors will experience difficulty in creating a new product and their entry will be delayed. As long as competitors do not enter the market, the producer of a new product can maximize profits and have enough time to implement hurdles to stop the competitors from entering the market. Once the competitors enter the market, the consumer choices increase. Thus the profitability of the producer that has first come

Political Socialization Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Political Socialization - Thesis Example In addition, information from mass media becomes the basis of their political attitudes (Janda et al. 106). Mass media influence public opinion through priming, agenda setting, and framing of news (Harris and Tichenor 267). Wolfsfeld reiterated that agenda setting delves into the relationship between public agenda and media agenda. Meanwhile, priming explores the consequences or effects of modifying public agenda (104). Geer et al. noted that framing reflects medias ability to change the publics perception or view on an issue through presenting it in a certain manner (232). Mass media serve as the influential agents of political socialization (qtd. in Bardes, Shelley, and Schmidt 193). This paper explains how mass media shape individual beliefs, attitudes, and values relating to the political system of the U.S through agenda setting, priming and framing. The first section explores how agenda setting influences the political views of the public as well as their perceptions of policy and campaigns while section two concentrates on the influence of priming on the evaluation of political leaders, voter turnout and partisanship. Lastly, section three outlines the influence of framing on public perceptions, mobilization, and how people think about the issues. Agenda-setting is based on the proposition that media influenced public agenda through choosing particular topics for news coverage. This consequently determines which issues are perceived by the public as important (Bryant and Oliver 229). The decision of journalists, on which issues or events to cover, significantly matters as there are numerous stories available on a day to day basis. In addition, politicians attempt to convince media to highlight some stories and ignore others (Geer et al. 231). Donald Shaw and Maxwell McCombs concentrated on agenda setting in media coverage during 1968 presidential campaign and the study showed that voters put importance to issues in a manner that

Performance management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Performance management - Essay Example Studies have revealed that the simplification process has produced results that have not only been conflicting but also ambiguous. Due to the disadvantages stated above, Ferreira & Otley's formulated the performance management framework that clearly describes the operation and structure of performance management system. Researchers have emphasized that to obtain accurate results that are essential in developing skills and knowledge on management performance, it is important to use theoretical foundations. Managers of an organization need to select rational theories that will guide them when analyzing performance of an organization (Chapman, 2007p. 664). Performance management approach usually involves many processes that take place in an organization. These processes include analysis, measurement, control, and planning. The mechanisms employed in performance management systems are formal and informal controls. The controls are usually dependent on the size of the organization because larger firms use administrative controls (Margret, 2010 p. 210). Performance Management Framework by Otley’s In the year 1999, Otley developed a framework that was to provide a guideline in the study of the operations of management control systems. He focused on five areas that included identification of the main goals of an organization. ... The fourth area that Otley emphasized was the implications of either achieving or failing to achieve the targets set in an organization. Lastly, he focused on monitoring the performance of an organization. Levers of Control framework Simons proposed the levers of control (LOC) framework in the year 1995. These included beliefs, boundary, diagnostic and interactive control systems (Simons, 1995:p177). Simons’ framework was based on four major concepts especially core values, the risks, the variables of critical performance and strategic uncertainties. The belief system controls the core values while the risks are regulated by the boundary system. The diagnostic control system controls the critical performance variables. The main function of the diagnostic control is to monitor, assess and provide rewards based on the different levels of performance. Lastly, the interactive control system regulates the strategic uncertainties in a company. The levers of control framework have fa cilitated the study of the interaction between boundary systems and beliefs (Collier, 2005:p321). The LOC framework was criticized because of its incompatibility with the informal controls that exist in many organizations (Hutzschenreuter, 2009 p.10). However, the employment of LOC framework facilitates the assessment of the balance between positive and negative controls (Ferreira, 2002: 053). The Performance Management Systems Structure The existing frameworks had a number of limitations that prompted researchers to develop an extended framework. The extensive framework highlights the main aspects of performance management system, and provides foundation for the development of further investigations. The performance management system focused on several areas including organization structure,

Product Differentiation Essay Example for Free

Product Differentiation Essay Definition: Development or incorporation of attributes (such as benefits, price, quality, styling, service, etc.) that a products intended customers perceive to be different and desirable. Advertising and promotion of a product is based on its differentiating characteristics. Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/product-differentiation.html Today, the market is crowded with similar brands, clamoring for the attention of customers. In order for their brands to stand out, companies strive hard to make them appear different from competing brands. This is product differentiation. Product differentiation is an objective that a business may try to achieve through its marketing. Any business, must try to differentiate products from those of competitors, so as to gain a ‘competitive edge’ over them, thereby attracting more customers. This difference can be achieved by altering the product- making it better than that of the competitor’s or it can be ‘perceived’- such as a strong brand identity developed in the promotional campaign. Need for product differentiation:  usually customers cannot tell the difference between competing products- hence the need to differentiate developing a competitive advantage Focus and differentiation A product may have a lot of attributes, but it is essential to focus on only few of the attributes. Eg: Volvo-safety, BMW-performance : but it doesn’t mean that Volvo does not perform or BMW is not safe. They have just focused on those aspects of their products. Therefore their products will be differentiated on that particular attribute. If a product claims to be good at everything, you run the risk of consumers not believing what you say, even though you may have all those attributes. If a product is focused: 1) more credible 2) customers will think that they are as strong in other areas. What to differentiate: Easiest way to differentiate is on price, but it is least effective as competitors can always copy it easily.Example: Indian computer market included companies such as HCL and IBM. Then came Siva from sterling computers which sold it’s computers at a cheaper price. Therefore others followed suit, and then Siva had to further differentiate it’s product in order to attract customers as competing products were similarly priced. Hence, it is better to differentiate on other attributes such as- features, performance, reliability, reparability, design, style, performance and so on. Examples: 1) Blackberry- Differentiated by addition of BBM in their smart phones. Although other smart phones with IM platforms existed, Blackberry was the one of the first to offer this service to customers as a standard on it’s devices. Their competition did not have any such service at the time. This attracted customers. 2) Promise- People thought promise was different from other toothpastes as it had clove oil however even some other toothpastes had clove oil, but only Promise focused on this attribute and hence it was perceived as a differentiating characteristic. 3) Hero Honda motorcycles- differentiated in terms of fuel efficiency- â€Å"fill it shut it, forget it† Branding and Product differentiation Branding is one way of differentiating products and services. Industries like the garments and tobacco industries, for example, use branding very effectively as the products within these segments are often very similar and have little to distinguish themselves from each other. Branding helps to retain customer loyalty. Example: Smokers, are very particular about their brand and believe that no other brand can satisfy them. In an experiment, 300 smokers who were loyal to 3 major brands were given an unidentifiable sample of each brand to smoke and were asked to identify their own brand. The result: only 35% were able to identify the brands; and under the law of averages, pure guesses accounted for a third of correct identifications. The reason for this was that brands of cigarettes within the same category (menthol for example) differ very marginally in terms of strength, flavour  and taste, and it is difficult for a smoker to truly distinguish between them. The reason why a smoker is loyal to a particular brand is the advertisment. Eg: Charminar: â€Å"it takes charminar to satisfy a man like you† reinforces that only Charminar can satisfy the man who smokes them! Product differentiation vs USP USP is not the same as Product differentiation. USP refers to advertising to communicate a products differentiation while Product differentiation is the process of describing the differences between products or services. Types of differentiation: Horizontal Differentiation: is by the customer’s preference/taste of certain characteristics of the product. (Same qualities/price, different style/taste/colour) Perceived value remains the same. (eg: different colours of lipsticks) Vertical: Products differ in some characteristic which all consumers agree is best. Based on quality. Prices differ as perceived value differs (eg: Different brands of lipstick: Mac, Lakme, Lipice) Horizontal differentiation is about consumers wants and preferences, while vertical differentiation focuses on the consumers willingness to pay for the quality. Remember: DO NOT offer wildly exaggerated differentiation that the market does not want. (eg: High priced men’s toilet soap â€Å"Aramusk† was unsuccessful due to price) DO NOT negate useful and expansive differentiation by under attending to other parts of the product- service package. The difference should be OVER AND ABOVE the MINIMUM expectations.†¨Example: Fancy hotels with poor service The product is not differentiated until the CUSTOMER understands the difference . The consumer perception is what matters.

Thesis statement Essay Example for Free

Thesis statement Essay Write a thesis statement each as per the Feminist theory of Criticism and the Reader-Centered theory of Criticism based on â€Å"A Rose for Emily†. Use the author’s name in it. Some of the tips you could use are as follows- Feminist- Use words such as â€Å"depicts† ,† illustrates† â€Å" portrays† etc. Determine what it says about women in general. Determine how it portrays the main female character(s) in the selection; about her traits. What does the selection reveal about the author’s attitude towards women? What does the conflict, or the setting reveal about the condition of women? What is the main female character’s reaction to the situation/ conflict? Reader-Centered Use words / phrases such as â€Å"evokes feelings of†,† forces the readers to think†, â€Å"impresses upon the reader† etc. . Decide what the most striking feature of the story is. What distinguishes the author’s style from those of others? The subject, vocabulary used, sentence length, point of view, imagery, local color, use of dialect, tone and some other aspects can be considered to comment on his/ her style. Make connections between text to text, text to world, text to media. Write a thesis statement each as per the Feminist theory of Criticism and the Reader-Centered theory of Criticism based on â€Å"A Rose for Emily†. Use the author’s name in it. Some of the tips you could use are as follows- Feminist- Use words such as â€Å"depicts† ,† illustrates† â€Å" portrays† etc. Determine what it says about women in general. Determine how it portrays the main female character(s) in the selection; about her traits. What does the selection reveal about the author’s attitude towards women? What does the conflict, or the setting reveal about the condition of women? What is the main female character’s reaction to the situation/ conflict? Reader-Centered Use words / phrases such as â€Å"evokes feelings of†,† forces the readers to think†, â€Å"impresses upon the reader† etc.. Decide what the most striking feature of the story is. What distinguishes the author’s style from those of others? The subject, vocabulary used, sentence length, point of view, imagery, local color, use of dialect, tone and some other aspects can be considered to comment on his/ her style. Make connections between text to text, text to world, text to media. Write a thesis statement each as per the Feminist theory of Criticism and the Reader-Centered theory of Criticism based on â€Å"A Rose for Emily†. Use the author’s name in it. Some of the tips you could use are as follows- Feminist- Use words such as â€Å"depicts† ,† illustrates† â€Å" portrays† etc. Determine what it says about women in general. Determine how it portrays the main female character(s) in the selection; about her traits. What does the selection reveal about the author’s attitude towards women? What does the conflict, or the setting reveal about the condition of women? What is the main female character’s reaction to the situation/ conflict? Reader-Centered Use words / phrases such as â€Å"evokes feelings of†,† forces the readers to think†, â€Å"impresses upon the reader† etc.. Decide what the most striking feature of the story is. What distinguishes the author’s style from those of others? The subject, vocabulary used, sentence length, point of view, imagery, local color, use of dialect, tone and some other aspects can be considered to comment on his/ her style. Make connections between text to text, text to world, text to media.

Project Assignment On Doubly And Circular Linked Lists Engineering Essay

Project Assignment On Doubly And Circular Linked Lists Engineering Essay As a computer engineer I would like to deal with this topic following a step by step approach. Before going into the details and the programs of doubly and circular linked lists we need to concentrate upon the meaning of the term linked list. The meaning of the terminology link list can further be dealed by dividing it into chunks .In a laymans term a link list is a logical collection of data stored in a systems memory in which every record that is the part of the given list has a pointer or link part that contains the address of the next record .This is how it works! Linked lists are used to organize data in specific desired logical orders, independent of the memory address each record is assigned to. Firstly, we would discuss linked lists in the terms of singly linked lists or what we call as SLLs .SLLs can be thought to be non-contiguous block of memory consisting of finite number of nodes with the address of the successor node stored in the link part of the preceding node. Each node has a DATA part and a LINK part. DATA PART STORES THE ACTUAL DATA ELEMENT WHILE THE LINK PART CONTAINS THE ADRESS OF THE NEXT NODE i.e. THE ONE JUST AFTER THAT NODE EXCEPT FOR THE LAST NODE THAT DOESNT POINT TO ANYTHING OR WE CAN SAY NULL. This is depicted in the following diagram:- But to beginners this may sound confusing that if one node stores the address of the next node then where is the address of the first node stored? However this question isnt a big deal .To counter this problem we allocate memory for a dummy node that will store the address of the first node .This head or the dummy node has only the link part (and not the data part).This node is always supposed to point to the first node of the list. OPERATIONS POSSIBLE WITH SLLs CREATE CREATING THE LIST FOR THE FIRST TIME. INSERT INSERTING AN ELEMENT TO THE EXISTING LIST. DELETE DELETING AN ELEMENT FROM THE EXISTING LIST. SEARCH SEARCHING AN ELEMENT FROM THE EXISTING LIST. REMEMBER: SLLs CAN BE TRAVERSED UNIDIRECTIONALLY ONLY i.e. ONLY IN FORWARD DIRECTION. Since this assignment deals with doubly and circular linked list the programs on SLLs wont be discussed in detail. Only program on creating a SLL is included :- THIS IS SIMPLE FUNCTION IN C++ DEPICTING HOW TO CREATE A SINGLY LINKED LIST STRUCT nodeT { INT data; nodeT* link; }; nodeT* BUILD() { nodeT *first=NULL,*new node; INT num; COUT CIN>>num; WHILE(num !=178) { New node =new nodeT; //create a node ASSERT (new node! =NULL); //program end if memory not allocated New node -> data =num; //stores the data in the new node New node ->link =first; //put new node at the start of list First= new node; //update the dummy pointer of the list Cin>>num ;}; //read the next number RETURN first;}// this program is also called building list from backwards ITS OUTPUT CAN BE SEEN AS IN BELOW BLOCK DIAGRAM C:Usersthe PANKESHAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary Internet FilesContent.IE57OPVY3E3MCj01978470000[1].wmf As we have discussed earlier that linked lists are such data structures that contain linked nodes each containing a DATA part and a LINK part. But contrary to SLLs, in doubly linked lists each node has two link parts one to store the address of the succeeding node and the other for the preceding node. This makes doubly linked lists bidirectional i.e. they can be traversed in either direction, forward or backward. This is shown in the following diagram:- NODE 3 NODE 2 NODE 1 But there is a disadvantage to the use of doubly linked lists also, that is it requires more of memory space per node as two pointers will be needed but their advantage of sequential access in either direction make its manipulation quite easier which overcome its former shortcoming. C:Usersthe PANKESHAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary Internet FilesContent.IE57OPVY3E3MPj04424300000[1].jpg OPERATIONS DONE ON DOUBLY LINKED LISTS ARE ALMOST THE SAME AS THAT ON SLLs BUT HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN DETAIL HERE  Ã… ¸ CREATING AN EMPTY LIST  Ã… ¸ ADDING A NODE AT THE END  Ã… ¸ ADDING A NODE IN THE BEGINNING  Ã… ¸ DELETING A NODE IN THE BEGINNING  Ã… ¸ DELETING A NODE AT THE END  Ã… ¸ FORWARD TRAVERSAL  Ã… ¸ REVERSE TRAVERSAL  Ã… ¸ INSERTING A NODE AT A SPECIFIC PLACE  Ã… ¸ DELETING A LIST MISCELLENEOUS: USE OF CONSTRUCTORS IN DOUBLY LINKED LISTS IF THE LINKED LIST IS MADE USING CLASSES INSTEAD OF STRUCTURES THEN DEFAULT CONSTRUCTORS CAN BE USED TO INITIALISE THE WHOLE LIST TO A PARTICULAR VALUE EG: IT SETS FIRST AND LAST TO NULL AND COUNT TO 0. SYNTAX: Template Doubly_linked_list::doubly_linked_list() { first=null; Last=null; Count=0; } ; FOLLOWING IS A C++ PROGRAM DEPICTING ALL THE OPERATIONS MENTIONED ABOVE THAT CAN BE PERFORMED USING DOUBLY LINKED LISTS #include // header files in c++ #include typedef struct doubly //self referential structure for making a linked list { int info; struct doubly*frwd; //frwd and back are the two pointers of the linked list struct doubly*back; } node; //node is a global object void create empty (node**frwd,node**back) //create empty is to set the pointers to null { *frwd=*back=NULL; } void add_at_end(node**frwd,node**back,int element) // add_at_end is to add a node in the end { node*ptr; ptr=new node; ptr->info=element; ptr->frwd=NULL; if(*frwd==NULL) { ptr->back=NULL; *frwd=ptr; *back=ptr; } else { ptr->back=*back; (*back)->frwd=ptr; *back=ptr; } } void add_at_beg(node**frwd,node**back,int item) // add_at_beg is to add a node in the start { node*ptr; ptr=new node; ptr->info=item; ptr->back=(node*)NULL; ptr->frwd=*frwd; if(*frwd==(node*)NULL; *back=ptr; *frwd=ptr; } void delete_at_beg(node**frwd,node**back) // delete_at_beg is to delete a node in the start } node*ptr; if(*frwd==(node*)NULL) return(); if((frwd))->frwd==(node*)NULL) { ptr=*frwd; *frwd=*back=(node*)NULL; delete(ptr): } else { ptr=*frwd *frwd=(*frwd->frwd;(*frwd)->back=(node*)NULL; delete(ptr); }} void delete_at_end(node**frwd,node**back)) // delete_at_beg is to delete a node in the end { node*ptr; if(*frwd==(node*)NULL) return; if((*frwd)->frwd==(node*)NULL) { ptr=*frwd; *frwd=*back=(node*)NULL delete (ptr); } else { ptr=*back; *back=ptr->back; (*back)->frwd=(node*)NULL; delete(ptr); }} void inordertrav(node*)NULL; // inordertrav is to traverse the list in the forward direction { while(frwd!=NULL) { printf(%d,frwd->info); frwd=frwd->frwd; } } void reverse ordertrav(node*back) // reverseordertrav is to traverse the list in the back direction { while(back!=node*)NULL) { coutinfo; back=back->back; } } node*search(node*frwd,int item) //search is to search a given element in the list { while(!=(node*)NULL frwd->info!=item) frwd=frwd->frwd; return frwd; } // insert-after-node is to insert a node at a specified position after the provided node void insert-after-node(node**frwd,node**frwd,int item,int after) { node*loc,*ptr; ptr=new node; ptr->info=item; loc=*frwd; loc=search(loc,after); if(loc==(node*)after) { cout return; } else if(loc->frwd==(node*)NULL) { ptr->frwd=(node*)NULL; ptr->frwd=ptr; *frwd=ptr; } else { ptr->frwd=loc->frwd; ptr->back=loc; (loc->frwd)->pre=ptr; loc->frwd=ptr; } } // insert-before-node is to insert a node at a specified position before the provided node void insert-before-node(node**frwd,int item,int before) { node*ptr,*loc; ptr=new node; ptr->info=item; loc=*frwd; loc=search(loc,before); if(loc==(node*)NULL { cout return; } else if(loc->back==(node*)NULL) { ptr->back=(node*)NULL: loc->back=ptr; ptr->frwd=*frwd; *frwd=ptr; } else { ptr->back=loc->back; ptr->frwd=loc; (loc->back)->frwd=ptr; loc->back=ptr; } } void delete-list(node**frwd**frwd) //delete-list is to destroy the created list { node*ptr; while(*frwd!=(node*)NULL) { ptr=*frwd; *frwd=(*frwd)->frwd; (*frwd)->back=(node*)NULL; delete(ptr); } * frwd=(node*)NULL; } void main() { node,*frwd,*frwd; int ch,element,after; create_empty(frwd,back); while(1) { cout cout cout cout cout cout cout cout cout cout cout cin>>ch; switch(ch) { case 1: cout cin>>element; add_at_end(frwd,back,element); getch(); break; case 2: cout cin>>element; add_at_beg(frwd,back,element); break; case 3: in ordertrav(frwd); getch(); break; case 4: reverse-order-trav(back); getch(); break; case 5: cout cin>>after; cout cin>>element; insert-after-node(frwd,back,element,after); break; case 6: cout cin>>after; cout cin>>element; insert-before-node(frwd,element,after); break; case 7: delete-at-beg(frwd,back); break; case 8: delete-at-end(frwd,back); break; case 9: delete-list(frwd,back); break; case 10: exit(); } } } SOME INTERESTING FACTS :- One byte means 8 bits and a nibble means 4 bits. First hard disk available was of 5MB Ethernet is the registered trademark of Xerox. Google uses over 10000 network computers to crawl the web Google can be queried in 26 languages The floppy disk was patented by Allen sugar in 1946. More than 80% of web pages are in English. 88% percent web pages have very low traffic rate. An average American is dependent on 250 computers. Internet is most fastest growing platform for advertisement. About one third of CDs are pirated About 76% soft wares used in India are pirated. Only 10% of the WebPages are used by the search engines I feeling Lucky This button is used by negligible number of people on net. CONTINUED.. CIRCULAR LINKED LIST A circularly linked list is just like representing an array that are supposed to be naturally circular ,e.g. in this a pointer to any node serves as a handle to the whole list. With a circular list, a pointer to the last node gives easy access also to the first node ,by following one link. Using circular lists one has access to both ends of the list. A circular structure allows one to handle the structure by a single pointer, instead of two. Thus we see ,all nodes are linked in a continuous circle form without using any NULL pointer in the last node. Here the next node after the last node is the first node .Elements can be added to the back of the list and removed from the front in a constant period of time. We can classify circularly linked lists into two kinds- singly linked and doubly linked. Both types have advantage of its own .either of them has the ability to traverse the full list beginning at any given node. this helps us to avoid storing any FIRSTnode  Ã‚ « LASTnode ,although if the list is empty there dwells a need of a special representation for the empty list, such as a LASTnode variable which points to some node in the list or is NULL if it is empty; we use such a LASTnode here. This representation simplifies adding and removing nodes with a non-empty list, but empty lists are then a special case. See following figure:- FOLLOWING PROGRAM DEPICTS THE USE OF DOUBLY LINKED CIRCULAR LIST #include #include class C_link //DEFINING A CLASS THAT { struct node //SELF REFERENTIAL STRUCTURE node { int data; node *frwd; node *back; }*new1,*head,*tail,*ptr,*temp; //GLOBAL OBJECTS REQUIRED FOR OPERATIONS public: C_link() { head=tail=NULL; } void CREATE(); //CREATE() ,INSERT(), DELETE(), DISPLAYING() are the various functions void INSERT(); //that we operate using circular linked lists void DELETE(); void DISPLAYING(); }; void C_link :: CREATE() //defining the CREATE() function to create a list { if(head==NULL) { new1=new node; new1->frwd=NULL; new1->back=NULL; cout cin>>new1->data; head=new1; tail=new1; head->frwd=tail; head->back=tail; tail->frwd=head; tail->back=head; } else cout } void C_link :: INSERT() //INSERT() function for inserting a new node {int i,pos; new1=new node; new1->frwd=NULL; new1->back=NULL; cout cin>>new1->data; cout cin>>pos; if(pos==1) {new1->frwd=head; head=new1; tail->back=head; tail->frwd=head; head->back=tail; } else { i=1; temp=head; while(i frwd!=tail) {i++; temp=temp->frwd; } if(temp->frwd==tail) { new1->frwd=tail->frwd; tail->frwd=new1; new1->back=tail; tail=new1; head->back=tail; } else { new1->frwd=temp->frwd; new1->back=temp; temp->frwd=new1; new1->frwd->back=new1; }}} void C_link:: DELETE() //DELETE() function for deleting a particular node { int pos,i; cout cin>>pos; if(pos==1 head!=tail) {ptr=head; head=head->frwd; head->back=tail; tail->frwd=head; delete ptr; } else { i=1; temp=head; while(i frwd!=tail) { i++; temp=temp->frwd; } if(temp->frwd!=tail) { ptr=temp->frwd; temp->frwd=ptr->frwd; ptr->frwd->back=ptr->back; delete ptr; } else { if(temp->frwd==tail head!=tail) { ptr=tail; tail=temp; tail->frwd=head; head->back=tail; delete ptr; } else { head=NULL; tail=NULL; delete head; delete tail; }}}} void C_link::DISPLAYING() // DISPLAYING() function is used to DISPLAYING the list in either direction {int ch; cout cout cout?; cin>>ch; switch(ch) { case 1: if(head!=NULL) { temp=head; while(temp!=tail) { coutdata temp=temp->frwd; } if(temp==tail) coutdata; } break; case 2 : if(tail!=NULL) { temp=tail; while(temp!=head) { coutdata temp=temp->back; } if(temp==head) coutdata; } break; }} main() { C_link c1; int ch; char op; do {cout cout cout ?; cin>>ch; switch(ch) { case 1 : c1.CREATE(); break; case 2 : c1.INSERT(); break; case 3 : c1.DELETE(); break; case 4 : c1.DISPLAYING(); break; } cout ?; //while loop In case the user want to continue using cin>>op; //the functions that are declared formerly }while(op==y || op==Y); getch(); } OUTPUT: 1.on pressing F9 ass4.jpg 2.on pressing option 1 and entering 09173 now2.jpg Continuedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 3.pressing y and selecting option 2 ;entering 09175 ;storing at pos 2 now3.jpg 4.pressing y and selecting option 3 ;enter pos 1 now4.jpg 5.pressing y and selecting option 4 and then 1 ow6.jpg Note: Number is 09175 ~ 9175 CONCLUSION THIS ASSIGNMENT PURELY DESCRIBES HOW DOUBLY AND CIRCULAR LISTS CAN BE USED .WHERE DOUBLY USED TWO POITNTERS FOR THE SEQUENTIAL ACCESS OF THE NODES THE CIRCULAR LISTS MAY EITHER BE SINGLY LINKED OR DOUBLY LINKED DEPENDING UPON HOW IT SUITS OUR PURPOSE.THIS MAKES LINKED LIST AN IMPORTANT KIND OF DATA STRUCTURE.IT CAN BE USED TO IMPLEMENT BOTH STACKS AND QUEUES ALSO WHICH WE WILL STUDY ON LATER PART. THANKS.

The Character of Gertrude in Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- GCSE Course

The Character of Gertrude in Shakespeare's Hamlet The Gertrude in Shakespeare’s tragic drama Hamlet is controversial in the sense that some critics uphold her morality and some deny it. Let’s consider this question and others related to this character. Gertrude has many good qualities in the play; she is not evil through and through. Rebecca Smith in â€Å"Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother† presents an image of the queen in Shakespeare’s Hamlet that is perhaps not consistent with that presented by the ghost: Although she may have been partially responsible for Claudius’ monstrous act of fratricide and although her marriage to Claudius may have been indirectly responsible for making a â€Å"monster† of Hamlet, Gertrude is never seen in the play inducing anyone to do anything at all monstrous. . . . When one closely examines Gertrude’s actual speech and actions in an attempt to understand the character, one finds little that hints at hypocrisy, suppression, or uncontrolled passion and their implied complexity. . . . She speaks plainly, directly and chastely when she does speak. . . .(81-82) Gunnar Bokland in â€Å"Hamlet† describes Gertrude’s moral descent during the course of Shakespeare’s Hamlet: With Queen Gertrude and finally also Laertes deeply involved in a situation of increasing ugliness, it becomes clear that, although Claudius and those who associate with him are not the incarnations of evil that Hamlet sees in them, they are corrupt enough from any balanced point of view, a condition that is also intimated by the â€Å"heavy-headed revel† that distinguishes life at the Danish court. (123) Gertrude’s â€Å"contamination† does indeed affect the hero. Courtney Lehmann and Lisa S. Starks in "Making Mother Matter: ... ...//ds.dial.pipex.com/thomas_larque/ham1-col.htm Jorgensen, Paul A. â€Å"Hamlet.† William Shakespeare: the Tragedies. Boston: Twayne Publ., 1985. N. pag. http://www.freehomepages.com/hamlet/other/jorg-hamlet.html Lehmann, Courtney and Lisa S. Starks. "Making Mother Matter: Repression, Revision, and the Stakes of 'Reading Psychoanalysis Into' Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet." Early Modern Literary Studies 6.1 (May, 2000): 2.1-24 <URL: http://purl.oclc.org/emls/06-1/lehmhaml.htm>. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos. Smith, Rebecca. â€Å"Gertrude: Scheming Adulteress or Loving Mother?† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of â€Å"Hamlet†: A User’s Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996.

Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration by George D. Pozgar Essay

Chapter fifteen in Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration by George D. Pozgar covered a major topic in health care. I found this chapter the most attention-grabbing of the options given to the students to base their paper on. While the chapter only covered one disease it is how this one disease has affected so many people from patients to health care employees. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome better known as AIDS first appeared in 1981. There are more than 21 million people that have died from the infection of AIDS. A highly contagious blood borne virus caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a fatal disease that destroys the body’s immune system. With the body having a defenseless immune system bacteria and viruses are free to affect the body. I chose to cover the topic of HIV and the effects is has on the health care environment. HIV has had a dramatic effect on the history screening and testing of blood donations. Since May 1985 all blood donated in the United States received testing for HIV antibodies, p 354. Still there are cases of negligence when the collection of blood is done. In 1983, a blood center knowing that blood from homosexual and bisexual men should not be accepted. The blood center even had a written policy stating that donors who volunteer that they are gay should not be allowed to give. In the case of, J.K & Susie L. Wadley Research Inst. v. Beeson, Mr. B a patient received several units of blood from the blood center during his surgery. Mr. B later going back to the hospital for being sick tested positive for HIV and his wife tested positive. At trial, damages of $800,000 were awarded to Mr. B’s widow. Failing to follow their policy cost a significant amount of money. Patients... ...In conclusion, since the first documented case of HIV and AIDS in the 1980s, it has affected health care in several ways. Donor centers have changed their screening of donors and testing ways of the blood collected. It has increased the awareness needed for taking universal precautions when dealing in any patient care. Medical equipment modified to protect health care providers from accidentally being stuck with infected needles. Health programs designed to educate patients and raise awareness of the disease among the at-risk population. HIV and AIDS have had an impact on patient care but in a positive way also. Works Cited Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration by George D. Pozgar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_transfusion Bordelon v. St. Francis Cabrini Hospital J.K & Susie L. Wadley Research Inst. v. Beeson, 835 S.W.2d (Tex. Ct. App. 1992)

Quackery :: essays research papers

Quackery This year, we Americans will spend billions of dollars on products that do nothing for us - or may even harm us. And we'll do it for the same reason people have done it since ancient times... We want to believe in miracles. We want to find simple solutions and shortcuts to better health. It's hard to resist. All of us, at one time or another, have seen or heard about a product - a new and exotic pill, a device, or potion - that can easily solve our most vexing problem. With this product, we're told, we can eat all we want and still lose weight. We can grow taller or have bigger breasts. Or we can overcome baldness, age, arthritis, even cancer. It sounds too good to be true - and it is. But we're tempted to try the product in spite of all we know about modern medical science - or perhaps because of it. After all, many treatments we take for granted today were once considered miracles. How can we tell the difference? Not all advertisements for health products are false, of course. In fact, the vast majority aren't .So just what is quackery? Simply put, quackery is the promotion of a medical remedy that doesn't work or hasn't been proven to work. In modern times, quackery is known as health fraud. But call it quackery or call it health fraud, the result is the same - unfulfilled wishes, wasted dollars, endangered health. Often quack products are fairly easy to spot, like the magic pills you are supposed to take to stay forever young. But sometimes the products are vaguely based on some medical report that you may even have heard about in the news. In general, when looking over ads for medicines and medical devices, watch out for those that seem to promise too much too easily. Quack cures rob us of more than money. They can steal health away or even take lives. Quacks may lure the seriously and often desperately ill, such as people suffering from arthritis and cancer, into buying a bogus cure. When people try quack remedies instead of getting effective medical help, their illnesses progress, sometimes beyond the treatable stage. Quacks have always been quick to exploit current thinking. The snake-oil salesmen a few generations back carried an array of "natural" remedies to sell to a public that was still close to the frontier. And today, quacks take advantage of the back-to-nature movement, capitalizing on the notion that there ought to be simple, natural solutions to almost any problem.

People talk of natural sympathies Essay

A running theme from Charlotte Bronte throughout her novel, Jane Eyre is the idea, I have previously used that ‘conventionality is not morality’. This idea is continued throughout the novel. It would be thought, in the Victorian era far more conventional for Jane and Rochester to just be Governess and Master; however Jane, throughout the novel, rejects the norm for what she believes to be morally correct, and this is why she could ‘never unlove him;’ she believes, despite what society thinks, something that her late friend Helen Burns taught her, that they are in fact a good match. From their first meeting it would be easy to say that Jane and Rochester aren’t well matched and there are various reasons for this is. The moment that Rochester appears into Jane’s life the weather is ‘cold’ and the wind had ‘froze keenly’ highlighting the Gothic nature of Rochester and the fact that it would be seem completely unconventional for Jane to ever love this man. The atmosphere of the lane reflects Rochester. There is a mystery and suspense that Jane creates due to her love and certainty of the supernatural world, such as stating that the object that is moving towards her has no name, she says ‘it approached’. The fact that she refuses to believe that this object could be a person shows her willingness for a supernatural incident. As we can see from her assumption that Rochester’s dog is the ‘Gytrash’, her imagination is full of fiends, and the fact that she is sensitive to omens becomes important later in the novel. Jane’s imagination works overtime in this scene and she starts becoming very stereotypical of women in this Victorian Ear, irrational. Bronte builds the tension for the reader by leading us to believe that Jane’s ‘fancies’ are ‘bright and dark’. At the beginning of this scene Jane is sitting on a style, which indicates that she is in liminal, in between two worlds. You could say she is in liminal about whether she can love this man. Rochester appears onto the scene fast and subsequently falls off his horse which could suggest Jane falls off her fence, as the barrier between this man is broken due to his pathetic fall of his steed. A man should not fall from his horse therefore Bronte is showing us that both characters here are unconventional and therefore in this opening scene between them we can assume that, yes they are well matched. Rochester’s character presents a cold exterior with the ‘roughness of the traveller’. His arrival is somewhat of an anti-climax, there is no warmth brought by him and no thanks to Jane for her concentration throughout the scene. The hint of his Byronic characteristics creates a certain appeal for Jane. She is reflecting on the man she has just seen, she describes him as ‘masculine, dark, strong, stern’. This is, I think we have to remember the first time Jane has interacted by herself with a man older than herself. He is broody and moody, Jane finds an allure to this nature about Rochester. Although Jane hasn’t made her mind up whether she likes him or not yet, it is ironic to remember that Jane is writing from the position that she is presently married to him, though she tries to convey her meeting with him as well as she can. On that note, it is worth mentioning that Jane does end up marrying Rochester, therefore with the images Bronte is feeding us, they must be ‘well-matched’. The scene in which Jane and Rochester meet for the first time is dramatic and its outcome, when he finds that ‘necessity compels me to make you useful’, foreshadows his ultimate dependence on her later in the book. Again, it is significant that they meet over ice, and that later she finds the fires lit at Thornfield where the grates had stood empty. Indeed, until Rochester comes, to return to the house is ‘to return to stagnation’. Jane does not want the trappings of conventional femininity, as she says herself, she is ‘becoming incapable of appreciating’ the ‘very privileges of security and ease’ her job at Thornfield will be given to her. Under his power she will begin to melt and unlearn much of her Lowood reserve, while for her he will renounce his wandering ways. In the second meeting Jane’s ideas about Rochester are reinforced, as she and we see him in more detail. His physical appearance is very attractive to Jane such as his ‘jetty eyebrows†¦sweep (hair flows back) of black hair†¦decisive nose†¦.. ,grim mouth’. Although she find these attractive, is it for the right reasons. These are all very strong mysterious features. Is it the attractiveness of Mr Rochester or the feeling of danger that lures Jane. Though, Jane believes that Rochester’s ‘superiority depends on the use [he has] made of his time and experience. ’ Not just a financial difference. Jane believes that she has achieved more than him albeit with less money. So although there may be ‘twenty years difference in age’ and a huge contrast in their experiences, Jane claims that all of this is irrelevant whether they are socially equal does not matter. What is important for Jane, however, is that they are well-matched in character and personality. Despite this, it is interesting how Bronte allows the reader to explore the complicated and liminal social position of a governess who is not expected to ask questions let alone be on equal status of masters, like Rochester. Not for the first time in this bildungsroman Jane becomes a character of ambiguous class standing, much like Mary Wolfstencraft wanted, but although Jane may not be Rochester’s social equal she is certainly his intellectual equal. Mr Rochester is a Romantic, almost Byronic, figure that is shown to be forceful and independent; in this respect he is in part Jane’s alter ego. A Byronic hero is so called after the poet Lord Byron, and this term is especially apt as it refers to a charismatic yet brooding and misanthropic character. Jane and Rochester’s convincing witty banter brings both character’s alive, with fire. She may have feminine accomplishments, but she is as unconventional and strong-minded as he is and can always match his blow for blow in any conversation, Rochester often refers to Jane as a fairy, a sprite and an imp, ‘when you came on me in Hay Lane last night, I thought unaccountably of fairy tales’. This is not per chance, Bronte has deliberately created this line for Rochester to show the reader that even in, a subconscious level they are thinking alike, they are ‘well-matched’ Rochester has wealth, a high social class, far more age and experience and is male, however he is determined to ignore all of these superiorities and take notice only of Jane’s inner-spirit and personality. This shows the extent of Rochester’s unconventionality, and this irregularity of character is what really allows their relationship to develop. Jane and the Witch’s conversation begins in a way that mirrors a conversation that she had with Mr Brocklehurst. ‘You’ve a quick ear’ ‘I have; a quick eye and a quick brain’. The conversation between the Fortune Teller (Rochester) and Jane becomes more intimate who stirs the fire to light her up, though she complains that the fire ‘scorches me’. This shows that although not perfect, as a couple they are fairly well matched. This also further suggests Rochester kindles passion in Jane. His reading of nature, of the way ‘passion may rage furiously†¦but judgement shall have the last word in every argument’ tells us that he is a close observer of Jane and captures every essences of her character. Later, when she leaves she is angry, at the way her story has been stolen from her by the Witch, though she now knows is Rochester. But, this is their most intimate encounter between them to date. Although it would be easy to say that Jane and Rochester are not ‘well matched’ due to, primarily, complications that their difference in social class produce, Rochester is very quick to remove these layers of unnecessary complications, as well as letting Jane ‘learn to be more natural’. By removing these obstacles, the reader begins to see how ‘well matched’ they are; they both have the similar moral values, and ‘are intellectual equals’ with Jane matching Rochester in any argument, which is what Blanche Ingram, with all her ‘beauty and accomplishments’ lacks. A sense of originality, which Jane possesses. Conventionality would have forbidden their relationship and it would have never become anything more that strictly professional, but as it is both are extremely unconventional they were, therefore wiling to break the stereotype in that era of having a marriage for financial resources, and it is therefore fair to say that they are, in fact, ‘well-matched’.

Learning organization Essay

Marquardt (2002, p. 211) presented 16 steps necessary to build a learning organization. A closer look at our organization revealed that there is still so much to learn and change. Using Marquardt’s metaphor, our organization is still in the caterpillar stage, â€Å"earthbound† and â€Å"nonlearning† (p. 235). The major challenge keeping our company in this status can be linked to only two things, attitude of employees and leadership style. Unfortunately, the 16 steps proposed by Marquardt boil down to these two things. Employees have negative view about change. They are not willing to leave their comfort zones, take risks or commit to transforming the company. They lack the motivation to educate, improve and develop themselves professionally. The old, tested way of doing things remains the norm. However, the more disturbing fact is the lack of effort from the leaders. Based on Marquardt’s discussion, the main effort for change should come from the top, from the leaders. Presently, the leadership style in the company does not cater to the needs of a learning organization. The organizational culture does not empower the empoyees to express their creativity or explore their potentials. In short, our organization is 16 steps away from transformation. Based on the guidelines, to effect change, the leaders need to recognize their role as the agents of change. According to Marquardt’s book, â€Å"The first step is for leadership to commit themselves to transforming the company into a learning organization† (p. 210). Before that could happen, leaders should first of all need to recognize the need to transform our caterpillar ways to that of a butterfly. This step corresponds to the creation of an organizational vision. The company needs a more dynamic, interesting, inspiring vision to keep both leaders and employees stimulated into transforming and improving the company as well as creating an environment for continious learning.

Leadership strategy Essay

A primary task of high performance leadership is to provide strategic direction to the organisation, various departments and divisions within the organisation, and to the people who ultimately implement strategic leadership. But regular employees are seldom involved in the process. Authoritarian governance has had two powerful and mutually reinforcing dynamics: People at â€Å"the top† of the organisation, normally in senior managerial positions, have tended to maintain control over strategic processes. They have often become alienated from the realities of operational or shop floor demands and challenges People at operational levels have been part of authoritarian behaviour in different ways (passivity, fear, frustrated) The core challenge is to position strategic leadership as an integrated set of activities and processes which ensure that people across all levels and functions understand their own roles and accountabilities as it relates to the organisation’s strategic leadership Successful strategic leadership occurs when people across all levels and functions have a common understanding about a few essential issues: Knowledge of how strategic leadership is formulated, translated and communicated, implemented and assured within the organisation The formal business processes. The specific and different roles, rights and accountabilities of stakeholders Clear understanding of personal and team roles Comprehension of the various requirements and roles Popular acceptance that legitimate hierarchy and rank are essential components Definition and acceptance of the roles, rights and accountabilities The challenge is crafting solutions which create legitimate and popularly supported rank and hierarchy, and with clearly understood boundaries which describe what may and what may not be done by optimally empowered people Rank, hierarchy and boundaries per se are not only a feature of authoritarian systems. They are an essential part of successful democratic workplaces where a culture of high performance through high involvement can thrive There is still a need for clear definition of a range of roles, rights and accountabilities. There is a need to define two mutually reinforcing parameters: What are the roles, rights and accountabilities that have to be acknowledged by everybody to ensure the organisation’s capacity to fulfill the requirements of high performance What are the constraints, the limits or conditions of high involvement Drucker proposes that strategic leadership needs to fulfill requirements in four areas: Effectiveness Efficiency Long-term Short-term VISION (Long-term effectiveness): Understanding the organisation’s total competitive environment, and positioning it in the present so that it is appropriately placed INTERDEPENDENCE (Long-term efficiency): Identifying, balancing, integrating and aligning all of the external and internal variables that are likely to have an impact on the organisation’s capacity to fulfill its strategic leadership STRUCTURE (Short-term efficiency): Establish replicable standards, approaches and methods which minimize the need for duplication and enhances the capacity to deliver uniform or required quality as a matter of course ACTION (Short-term effectiveness): Taking the necessary steps and action to ensure the delivery of products and services which meet the needs of both internal and external customers An integrated strategic leadership consists of all four VISA elements. The dominance of only one element could perhaps be described as: Only vision: Exciting bankruptcy. People cannot identify with the development of strategies Only Interdependence: Happy bankruptcy: never-ending cycles of consultation Only Structure: Precise bankruptcy: bureaucracy and red tape Only Action: Busy bankruptcy: people perpetually busy but not necessarily productive The absence or weakness of any component of strategic leadership will undermine the success of the organisation: 0ISA: Weakness of vision leaves people without common direction V0SA: Poor interdependence almost always leads to some stakeholders feeling that their legitimate interests are not being met VI0A: Insufficient emphasis on standardization leads to lack of essential disciplines and conformance to necessary standards VIS0: Ultimately the organisation can only survive and thereby satisfy the interests of all its stakeholders if it has a high propensity for action Organisations and teams regularly develop a bias that values some elements more than they do others. Personal styles and approaches also contribute to establish our individual preferences and approaches. It is useful to rate your personal approaches and preferences, as well as that of your team or organisation Vision provides a compelling dream that galvanizes and aligns the behaviours and contributions of people across all levels and functions. A real vision is very active. It is filled with drive, energy and perpetual motion. The vision, or long term effectiveness element of strategic leadership, is achieved by fulfilling the following requirements: 1. Scan the external environment and conditions 2. enable leadership to anticipate long-term forces of change 3. create a challenging view of the future 4. tension between the desirable future and those elements of the present that could inhibit progress 5. communicated with passion 6. evaluated against the present 7. new challenges emerge 8. leadership must always act with insufficient information 9. interacting with stakeholders 10. dynamic and living process Interdependence acknowledges that no organisation operates in isolation. Every organisation is a system operating within a system. It requires the acknowledgement and willingness to embrace the interests of a variety of diverse stakeholders. The interdependent or long-term efficiency component of strategic leadership is fulfilled in the following ways: 1. Variables must be identified 2. The interests of all stakeholders must be defined and appreciated 3. Balance and meet all possible diverse stakeholder needs 4. The support of all stakeholders must be gained and increased over time 5. Interaction must be facilitated between stakeholders for them to appreciate their interdependent nature 6. There will inevitably be conflict between stakeholders 7. The roles and accountabilities that various people and stakeholders have to fulfill must be defined quite clearly 8. Keeping people adequately informed is a crucial element of interdependence 9. Mutual trust and respect 10. help people to define their own specific contributions to the organisation As organisations become more complex, and as the world within which we operate becomes increasingly unpredictable, the need for Structure increases significantly. Successful organisational strategic leadership has to establish and maintain a range of activities that introduce and maintain Structure: 1. The specific interests of stakeholders need to be both quantified and qualified 2. In today’s competitive environment it is essential for organisations to establish required benchmarks of performance 3. There is a constant interplay between specific stakeholder interests and meeting required benchmarks of performance 4. provision of relevant and useful information 5. Standards have to be set and communicated on an ongoing basis 6. Standards are no longer a fixed point on the horizon 7. The discipline of continuously and regularly monitoring performance is one that cannot be sacrificed 8. It also has to look at elements such as leadership style, living of values, and commitment to the subtleties of people development 9. Consequences of non-conformance need to be defined, understood and applied 10. people across all levels and functions thrive on information–driven problem solving Action is the level at which products and services are actually delivered to meet the interests of customers. Creating and keeping more customers. A sustained and high propensity for action is achieved in the following ways: 1. The organisation’s vision must be made relevant to operational areas 2. Customer needs cannot be fulfilled only by sales and distribution functions 3. Accountability has to be placed as close as possible to the source of action 4. people have to be continuously part of determining the limits and constraints within which they are expected to operate 5. Successful action is driven by leaders who establish their personal power of presence (top executives have no time) 6. Quality and productivity has to be an in-built function 7. demonstration of attitude and will 8. Emphasis on people development 9. attitude that accepts error as an inevitable consequence of innovation and action 10. A propensity for innovation and action LEARNING The growing complexity and competitiveness of the international and local economic environments within which organisations have to survive and prosper makes it essential for leaders of the future to value learning Leaders must develop the capacity to think simultaneously about paradoxical and contradictory requirements. The act of leadership is, as Peter Drucker puts it, the challenge of constructive destruction, of doing things differently and doing different things Kolb: real learning has only taken place when every one of the four facets has been included in the process: Abstract Conceptualization: â€Å"think about the previously unthinkable or unknowable†. It requires the capacity for hypothetical formulation Reflective Observation: need to stand back and observe what is happening Concrete Experience: ability to continuously asses what has worked and to pass this experience on to others. concrete experience remains one of the only ways in which organisations can develop replicable application of processes and activities that ensure minimum conformance to standards Active Experimentation: often organisations still limit the ability and space for people to become involved in such activities. Active experimentation requires calculated risk-taking The relationsip can be described as follows: Abstract conceptualization x reflective observation x concrete experience x active experimentation = Learning and Leadership Abstract Conceptualization x 0 x 0 x 0 = 0: we often remain hamstrung by old experiences which may have become irrelevant 0 x Reflective Observation x 0 x 0 = 0: Nothing happens and there is no real threat that anything will happen! 0 x 0 x Concrete Experience = 0: People relying predominantly upon concrete experience for their learning are caught in a perpetual search for the infallible, predictable, pre-planned, scheduled, structured, all-eventuality, and all bases covered solutions to problems – â€Å"late adapters† 0 x 0 x 0 x Active Experimentation = 0: All that matters for them is the exhilaration of making things up as you go The Consequences of Undervaluing any Facet of Learning: 0 x Reflective Observation x Concrete Experience x Active Experimentation = 0 (The absence of Abstract Conceptualization): It is much easier to define this symptom than it is to resolve it Abstract Conceptualization x 0 x Concrete Experience x Active Experimentation = 0 (The absence of Reflective Observation): The number of continuously changing variables which are capable of influencing the performance of an organisation are virtually endless. people either stopped taking a hard and reflective look at what was going on, or they stopped asking appropriate questions. he managers, and more often the specialist staff functions, start to confuse doing lots of things with an integrated and holistic approach, but they lack congruence and theoretical integration. without an integrative framework and commonly shared model, people rapidly lose their commitment and stamina to sustain focused activity Abstract Conceptualization x Reflective Observation x 0 x Active Experimentation = 0 (The absence of Concrete Experience): things become redundant while they are still on the drawing board or as soon as they are launched. age-old and essential facet of learning – the assimilation and valuing of concrete experience. The single most common symptom is that untested assumptions abound Abstract Conceptualization x Reflective Observation x Concrete Experimentation x 0 = 0 (The absence of Active Experimentation): People develop an inward approach to problems and issues. It does not take too long for such insularity to develop into suspicion of external developments By critically evaluating how organisations learn, and constantly determining whether all the facets of learning are being fully developed and utilized, we can provide a much more tenacious learning environment.

Bush Meat: African Apes Essay

The African people, particularly those who live in and near forest areas, have been eating meat of wild animals or bushmeat for centuries. They hunted for subsistence, as bushmeat was a main source of protein in the forest. But as Africa’s forests increasingly become more accessible through urbanization, the hunting for bushmeat in West and Central Africa is now developing into an enormous and extremely profitable commercial trade. In fact, bushmeat is now being exported to and sold in underground markets in the United States and Europe, where bushmeat is treated as a luxury food item like caviar or shark meat. With the increasing demand for bushmeat in and out of Africa and the growing trade that supplies it, bushmeat hunting is now the greatest threat to Africa’s great ape population. Meats from chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos may only be a small proportion in the bushmeat trade, but because these great apes reproduce more slowly than other mammals the hunting puts them in danger of extinction. The absence of parent apes to nurture their young also poses a risk to the great ape population. Young orphaned apes, because they still don’t have much meat in them to eat, are being sold as pets. Conservationists argue that unless the bushmeat trade is stopped there would be no more viable great ape population within 50 years. There are three African great apes: bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas. All three are now endangered species. The subsequent ape population estimates provided here, unless otherwise stated, are from 1996 figures. Bonobos can only be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and were estimated to be 10,000-25,000 in numbers. Western chimpanzees, estimated to be 12,000, could still be found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Ghana and Senegal. This sub-species of chimpanzees are now extinct in Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin. The central chimpanzee population was estimated to be 80,000. They can still be found in Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Angola (Cabinda enclave only). The last sub-species of the chimpanzee is the eastern chimpanzee and could be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Sudan. Their population was estimated to be 13,000. There are also three sub-species of the gorilla: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla. The western lowland gorilla, with an estimated population of 110,000, live in the states of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo (Brazzaville), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria and Angola. The eastern lowland gorilla, meanwhile, could only be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its population is estimated to range from 8,700-25,500 in 1998. Lastly, the mountain gorilla is the fewest of all the great apes. There are only about 600 of them and they could be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Rose (1998) had cited various studies on bushmeat trade across West and Central Africa. The bushmeat commerce around the Congolese city of Ouesso done by Hennessey found that 64% of the bushmeat in the area came from just one village and that a single hunter could have supplied more than 80 gorillas annually. He also estimated that 19 chimpanzees are killed every year in the city. In the Sangha region, many hunters prefer to trade their bushmeat at Ouesso rather than sell them at logging concessions because in Ouesso they can sell it for a higher price. As cited by Rose, Stromayer & Ekobo had reported that Ouesso and Brazzaville are the â€Å"ultimate sources of demand† for bushmeat. There is also an intense hunting of gorillas and chimpanzees in southeastern Cameroon. Most of the meats hunted here are shipped to the provincial capital of Bertoua and to Yaounde and Douala where hunters could make more profits. Bushmeat trade is also present in villages near Lope, Ndoki and Dja Reserves, and in city markets at Bangui, Kinshasa, Pt Noire and Libreville. Based on the studies on bushmeat commerce, Rose extrapolates that â€Å"the bushmeat trade across equatorial Africa could be more than a two billion-dollar annual business. If logging and hunting continue to expand unchecked, the numbers of monkeys and apes killed for the cooking pot will increase. † A good payoff is a great motivation for hunters of bushmeat. Bowen-Jones (1998) said chimpanzee carcasses in Cameroon could pay as much as $US20 to $25 each. The increase in bushmeat hunting has been fueled by general improvements in infrastructure, which makes road access to forests and transportation to urban markets easier. The growing timber industry, dominated by European-owned companies and increasingly joined by Asian industries, also increased demand and helped facilitate the supply end. The forestry employees hunt so they could provide for their own needs. Commercial hunters abound to provide for the needs of forestry workers and other consumers outside the forested region. Buyers of bushmeat are not just the logging camp families, but also restaurateurs and private feasts in wealthy national capitals. Bushmeat is sold at prices ranging from two to six times that of beef or pork, both of which are readily available to consumers in larger towns and cities. The increasing availability of guns also adds to the pervasiveness of the bushmeat trade. The expansion of commerce in Africa also threatens the cultural heritage of African communities. As cited by Rose (1998), Mordi’s study of attitudes toward wildlife in Botswana found that â€Å"contemporary Africans have lost their traditional ‘theistic’ reverence for wildlife and many have taken on the harshest utilitarian view. † Rose further explained that â€Å"tribal values of conserving and protecting non-human life are rendered spiritually inoperable, while new ecological and ethical foundations for sustaining nature have not emerged. † He also cited Ammann’s talk in Washington DC to report that African tribes that had before forbidden the consumption of primates are now beginning to eat their meat. Rose further says that, in Africa, â€Å"A ‘live for today’ attitude prevails. This holds for people struggling to survive, as well as for wealthy Africans. † Citing Hart’s 1978 study, Bowen-Jones (1998) reported that the change from subsistence to commercial hunting began half a century ago. Hart’s study of the Mbuti Pygmies of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo found that the pygmies had began making contact with meat traders in the 1950s. These meat traders went with them to their forest camps to promote â€Å"intensification of traditional hunting methods such as communal net drives. † Meat, then, was a means for barter. They exchanged it for iron tools, tobacco or agriculturally produced food. In many other places in Central Africa, indigenous forest dwellers have also been trading meat for other commodities for a long time. Bowen-Jones suggested that â€Å"This trading ethos, accompanied in some cases by varying degrees of coercion, has led to an often hierarchical structure in the newly prospering commercial trade in meat from the forest, where Bantu patrons [who are agriculturalists] make use of Pygmy hunters. In other cases, the hunting is carried out by immigrants attracted by work or the prospect of making money by poaching and hunting. However, the common denominator is that, increasingly, animals are hunted not for local consumption but for the urban population centres, where demand keeps prices high and inspires others in the forest to hunt. † Another problem posed by bushmeat hunting is the risk of transmitting dangerous diseases to humans. This is because apes, being the closest living kin to humans, harbor pathogens that also affect humans. The Ebola virus, which is epidemic in chimps and gorillas, has been found to come from dead carcasses of primates and could spread during butchering. Scientists have reported in an Independent Online article by Fox (2004) that the virus breaks out when people slaughter chimpanzees, gorillas and small antelopes. The Ebola virus had killed 29 people in the Congo Republic in January 2004. And always increased animal mortality always comes before the first human cases. HIV, which causes AIDS, is also said to have been transmitted to humans from apes. Hunting and butchering produces blood splatters which can easily create infective aerosols. Rose (1998) reported that medical scientists have discovered evidence that points to western African chimpanzees as the original source of the viruses that causes AIDS. Bushmeat hunting â€Å"could transmit new forms of SIV that could further expand the AIDS epidemic. The illegal bushmeat commerce had before been viewed as a wildlife crisis. But now, with evidence supporting the transfer of epidemic diseases from apes to humans, the bushmeat crisis extends from a problem of ape extinction to a threat to human civilization. To sum up, the illegal bushmeat trade is fueled by: the increasing demand in and out of Africa; the diminishing cultural reverence for wildlife; the rapidly growing timber industry: the improvement of forestry infrastructure like roads, vehicles and camps; and the increasing availability of guns. Some of the consequences of an unregulated bushmeat commerce are as follows: vulnerable and endangered species, including all three African great apes, face extinction; unprotected and unstudied species are put in danger; the ancient culture of African indigenous communities are imperiled; and there is an increased risk of transmitting dangerous diseases to humans. Bibliography: Rose, A. (1998). Growing Commerce In Bushmeat Destroys Great Apes And Threatens Humanity. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://bushmeat. net/afprimates98. htm Bowen-Jones, E. (1998). A Review of the Commercial Bushmeat Trade with Emphasis on Central/West Africa and the Great Apes. In The African Bushmeat Trade – A Recipe For Extinction. Ape Alliance. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www. 4apes. com/bushmeat/report/bushmeat. pdf Fox, M. (2004, January 15). Ebola may come from ‘bush meat’ – study. Independent Online. Retrieved February 22, 2007 from http://www. iol. co. za/index. php? click_id=117&art_id=qw1074190685813B243&set_id=1