I.C.T In Our Society Essay

This report is about how ICT has affected us as a society. For example, for entertainment purposes like games consoles, communication purposes such as mobile phones, storage purposes such as storing music on a CD or for social purposes such as email. E-mail The first thing I will look at will be email. With email you can quickly talk to friends, work colleagues, basically anyone who has an email address. I have two email accounts, one at home provided by hotmail, which is useful because I can log-on to it anywhere via the Internet. I also have one at school provided by Solihull L.E.A, which I can only access at school; both have a unique log-on I.D and password. With my personal account (hotmail) I can choose a unique login I.D and password when I register, providing it ends with @hotmail.com. With my school account I can only choose the password. As a student my school account is free and I get absolutely no junk mail thanks to the junk-mail filter and I can receive emails from anyone. The L.E.A also scans every email for anything suspicious such as files containing viruses; if one of these are found then the L.E.A will not let the email through. Email is useful and easy and is an efficient way to contact my friends and relatives. If I want to get in touch with several people in one email I simply put a semi-colon in between each persons email address. If I want to get in touch with several people, email is one of the easiest ways to do so. I can set up an address book which means I could email everyone in that address book at once, also by setting up an address book I don’t have to remember everyone’s email address and it helps me stop making mistakes. Workers in offices usually have email accounts open all day, which means if they receive an email the response time is very quick. The problem with email is that if the inbox becomes full I couldn’t receive any more emails until I had deleted some of my old ones. Pictures take up a lot of space and some pictures can be too big to send in the first place. Say for instance I had done a word document in history on Hitler and the Nazis, I may want to carry on with it at home but when I come to send it, I can’t because I have too many pictures on there that take up space. Also if someone doesn’t have broadband than it could take a long time to attach a document or presentation to an email and even with broadband it could take a long time depending on the size of the file. A good thing about most email accounts is that they are free but then I get a lot of adverts and pop-ups. If email companies are going to give people free email then they need to get the money from somewhere to make sure they can afford the payment of the site, this is where the adverts and pop-ups come in, other companies pay companies such as ‘hotmail’ to put their adverts and pop-ups on their websites hence ‘hotmail’ can pay for the upkeep of the site. I can set up a filter on my email account so that I only receive emails from people in my address book. The problem is though that before I can receive emails from someone I need to add them to my address book and if someone changes their email I need to edit my address book. The alternatives to email are fax, which can be quick but can cost a lot of money, or text that is quick so long as the other person has their phone on; you also need signal and credit, which can be a problem. Both can be useful if email is not available, but when compared to the quickness and the fact that email is basically free, email is the best thing to use. To conclude, email is useful to communicate with people no matter where they are in the world mostly free of cost, which means it can be better than a mobile phone or fax but due to the time difference between countries, there is no guarantee that they will receive the email in the time you need them to see it. Entertainment The next thing I will look at will be the entertainment side of ICT and for this I will look at games consoles. There is a lot of competition at the moment between the PS2 made by Sony, the Gamecube made by Nintendo and the Xbox made by Microsoft. People use games consoles for 3 main purposes; the first is single player use where the player simply plays the game on their own trying to complete the game. The second is multiplayer use where two or more people can play on one console and either try to complete the game cooperatively or go against each other in different game types. The third is online play, which has only recently taken off since broadband became so popular. At the moment there is no prospect for online play on the Gamecube but Xbox and PS2 have successful online play. Players who want to play online need broadband to play because dial-up can’t handle the speed that is required. The Xbox online play is called Xbox Live and players make an account for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½40 a year and can make a list of friends and whenever their friends are online they can join them and play with them. The problem is that if two friends want to play together they both need the same game and both need to be online. Also, if broadba nd is not available then people can’t play online. I use an Xbox and play Xbox Live quite often. I have experienced problems though, for example my broadband router had broken and I couldn’t go on Xbox Live until I got it fixed, also the Xbox Live service had not responded which again meant that I couldn’t use the service. The other problem is that paedophiles are able to use the service so you never know if the person you are talking to is being genuine or not. People also use games consoles for watching DVD’s but this has only become available in the newer consoles. With the Xbox you can also put a CD into the Xbox and save it to the integrated hard disk and can then play the CD’s while your playing a game. Again this is technology that has only recently been introduced. Another type of entertainment is digital TV. Originally TV and radio used analogue signals but over the past few years more and more digital radios and digital TV’s have become available. A digital signal is basically a TV or radio signal that is computerised and has to be decoded at the receiving end in order to watch digital TV or listen to virtually crystal clear music on a radio. Digital television (DTV) allows you to receive digital transmissions from different TV stations that have installed digital transmitters and record their programmes using equipment that can handle digital signals. With DTV you can enjoy excellent quality pictures and clear sound. But all good things come at a price and in order to watch Digital TV you must buy either a digital TV adaptor for an existing TV, which will cost about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100, or you can buy a new integrated DTV television set known as a iDTV for about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500. I use Digital TV because I have Sky Digital. It is a good quality picture and good sound and also doesn’t cost too much at approx à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 a month. I have a digibox, which is basically a small box on top of or underneath the TV and the signal comes through a Sky dish on the side of my house. The signal is then transferred to the digibox and I can watch the channel I want on my TV. There are a lot of channels on Sky and I only have a few of them. There are also movie channels which show movies 24/7 on about 12 different channels, and sport channel which shows sport 24/7 on about 15 different channels, but to have all these channels can cost over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 a month. The disadvantage comes when there is bad weather. In heavy rain the signal often gets interrupted which means that either no signal is received or a very poor signal is received. As in a thunderstorm, the signal gets interrupted and no signal can be received. Other problems can be if the station I am receiving the picture from is experiencing technical problems no signal can be received. Most of the time though the quality is good and there is no problem. A revolutionary new technology that Sky has introduced is called Sky plus. With this you get a new digibox and Sky plus allows you to pause live TV, record shows and watch them later without the use of a VCR. You can even rewind live TV if you want to watch something again, such as a good goal in a football match. If you do stop or rewind then a little counter comes up on screen that tells you how far behind the live TV you are, then by simply pressing play on the remote control you can carry on watching from where you paused it or you can just go back to the live TV by pressing the sky button. This is technology that has only recently been introduced and costs an extra à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10 on top of whatever sky package you already have. Storage Media There are a lot of different types of Storage Media. Originally data was stored on floppy disks but space was limited and the disks were quite large. Consequently there soon became a need for more and more space to store things on. Floppy disks could only hold 1.4mb of data but then zip drives became available which could hold different amounts of data, the maximum of which was 250mb. The disadvantage of this was that you couldn’t put the disk straight into your computer. You had to buy a zip drive which either connected to the computer through USB or you could plug it straight into the computer. This was only a short- term solution and demand came for more and more space. The answer was compact disks, known as CD’s for short. Originally designed to hold music, CD’s could hold up to 700mb of data, an ideal source for storing data. Nowadays computers are fitted with CD-Rewriters (CD-RW), which can store music on a CD, make a copy of a CD, or just store es.here are currently two types of disks available they are: CD-Record (CD-R) – this can only have files or music stored on it once and then you can’t add or take anything off the CD. CD-Rewritable (CD-RW) – this can have music or files stored on it as many times as you want. If you add something and feel you want to add more, you can easily do this. You can now get a DVD type disk. These can hold much more data than normal CD’s but they do cost more and will not work on some older computers. I usually use CD-R to store music because CD-RW does not work on some CD players, which can be a problem. If I want to store data on a CD however I usually use a CD-RW as most computers can read these and I can always add more data at a later stage. Businesses use CD-RW on their computers because if they have data that they want everyone in the office to have, then they can simply put the data on a CD and make numerous copies of it. They can then give everyone in the office a copy of the CD. At school we use CD-RW. For example, in the ICT course, the school wanted us each to have two CD’s. They had the two CD’s they wanted and then copied them and gave everyone doing the ICT course a copy to take home. The CD’s had useful software and information on that I will use while doing the ICT course. The obvious disadvantage to storing data or music on CD’s is that if the CD becomes full then no more data can be put onto the CD. If you want to put a PowerPoint presentation and a word document on a CD then the presentation may take up a lot, maybe even all, the space. This will depend on the content and how many pictures it has on it. If the presentation does take up all the space then there won’t be enough room for the word document and that would mean you would have to use another CD. That would be an inconvenient because you would have to carry two CD’s around. The alternative to CD’s is email but the amount of data that can be sent by email can be limited. Also the person who needs the information may not have access to a computer. Another alternative is to print all the information on paper and post it to the person who needs it. Communication Mobile phones are everywhere these days and virtually everyone has got one. Mobile phones used to be much larger than they are now and were a big inconvenience to carry around, as they couldn’t just fit into your pocket like the mobile phones of today. Only wealthy businessmen owned them, as they were expensive to both use and buy. As with all things, over time they got smaller and smaller and now they can be very small and more and more people have them. They are even regarded as a necessity to young people. People don’t just use mobile phones for calling other people though. Texting has become a very popular way to communicate, especially amongst the younger generation. There are two main types of message; Short Message Service (SMS) – this is the most common use of texting and one of the most useful. A message, just like an email, of up to 150 characters can be sent to one or more people at once for an average of 10p per message. Due to the small amount of characters a texting ‘language’ has developed to reduce space and therefore enable you to say more in a message. An example of this language would be ‘you’ has been shortened to just ‘u’. They both sound the same but one takes up fewer characters than the other. Hundreds of thousands of these messages are sent every day from mobile to mobile and providing signal is good and both people have there mobile phones on, a text message can be sent from here to Australia in an amazing 6 seconds. New services have become available using text messages. For example phone companies such as Vodafone allow mobile phone users to subscribe to a service where football or cricket scores can be sent to the subscribers phone as soon as they happen. Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) – Another recent development, MMS is an advanced form of SMS. Instead of just sending a message, new mobile phones will allow you to send photos, or you could send ringtones, or a pre-recorded voice message. These new phones are a little heavier then old mobile phones, but they are more sophisticated. For instance, if you go on holiday, instead of sending a postcard to your friends and family you could just take a picture using the inbuilt camera and send it using an MMS message. You can even add some writing to it. I have a new mobile phone with a digital camera; I can take good quality pictures and then send them to my friends. I also use a mobile phone to text my friends but to do this I need a good signal and sufficient credit. Businesses use mobile phones, especially people that travel around a lot and are not based in one location all the time. Salesmen would find it hard to manage without mobile phones, as they need to be able to keep in touch with their customers, and with one another, at all times. One major disadvantage of mobile phones is that they are thought to emit radioactivity. Although this has not been proven there are many people that believe that radio masts and mobile phones are a health problem to them and there are strict planning laws regarding the positioning of radio masts.

Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums Essay

â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† by John Steinbeck and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are short stories which have a female protagonist struggling through a suffocating marriage and living in a society that says that women can not exist outside of marriage. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† written by John Steinbeck is a story about a woman worn and oppressed by a male dominated world. A world which breaks a woman’s will, strips away their humanity, and obscures who they really are and what they really want out of life. Eliza, a married woman forgotten by her husband and the world, has found a bit of happiness in her garden. It is here that she finds solace and comfort. The flowers are her companions. Similarly, in The Yellow Wallpaper, written in the century before The Chrysanthemums, is also about the oppression of women in society by men. On the surface it was the story of a woman who has a child and suffered from depression. Her husband, who is also her doctor, prescribed the â€Å"The Mitchell Treatment†. This was a standard treatment for all mental disorders during this time which consisted of isolation and rest. The woman, the main character, was placed in an attic for a month of recovery. Her only companion was the peeling yellow wallpaper. In the end, both women find, brief as it may be, freedom. Though written decades apart, both Steinbeck and Gilman use symbols and character development to develop a theme of female oppression and survival. The major symbol in Steinbeck’s short story is the Chrysanthemum flower. Chrysanthemums are hearty flowers which need specific care, patience, and tending. Like children, they must be cared for daily, treated with delicate and gentle hands. Within her garden paradise she hides herself, as a woman. Steinbeck describes her as a woman that wears â€Å"a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1). Eliza, who is childless, takes pride and comfort in her ability to grow these amazing flowers. They represent for her the children she was never able to have. She is extremely protective of these flowers caring and feeding them like mother nursing her baby. She creates a â€Å"crib† of wire to ensure that â€Å"[n]o aphids, no sowbugs or snails or cutworms† are there. â€Å"Her terrier fingers [destroy] such pests before they [can] get started† (1). Like pointy corners of tables and light sockets, Eliza protects her â€Å"children† from the hazards of life. She cares for this flowers like she wishes someone had cared for her — gentle fingertips caressing her own blooms. These flowers inspire the only intimate moments that occurred between Eliza and her husband in the entire short story. He husband stops by her garden and tells her how lovely her flowers are. She blushes and Steinbeck observes â€Å"on her face there [is] a little smugness†(1). Eliza gives â€Å"birth† to these amazing creatures which bring so much beauty to the world, and supplies Eliza with her only taste of motherhood (Demott 3). Similarly, Gilman uses the symbol of yellow wallpaper. The Yellow Wall-Paper† is a small literary masterpiece. For almost fifty years it has been overlooked, as has its author, one of the most commanding feminists of her time. Now, with the new growth of the feminist movement, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is being rediscovered, and â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper† should share in that rediscovery. The story of a woman’s mental breakdown (Gilman 37). A major symbol in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ is the wallpaper itself. The â€Å"Yellow wallpaper was a familiar character in realist fiction and was often found to be distasteful.† (Roth). The narrator is annoyed and eventually repulsed by her only companion, the yellow patterned wallpaper. The evolution of what the wallpaper symbolized parallels the mental state of the narrator. When the narrator first settled down to her month’s worth of rest in the attic of her house, it is the wall paper she hated most. It was old, tattered, and a dirty yellow color. She commented that the worse part of the wallpaper was the dull pattern. She pondered about the wallpaper : It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide–plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions. The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight (Gilman 24). The pattern became the focus of much of the narrator’s time. She attempted on many occasions to figure out what the pattern was with no success. â€Å"She is mad, of course, by this time, reduced to a paranoid schizophrenic who writes, â€Å"I’ve got out at last †¦ in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!† (36).†(Bak). After several days of trying she began to see a sub pattern which can only be seen at certain parts of the day depending on the amount of light being filtered through the windows. She decided that the sub pattern is that of a woman who is creeping along the floor on her knees, not even being able to stand. She states â€Å"There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down† (Gilman 25). This woman was imprisoned by the main pattern and wished only to escape her cage. The main pattern became clear to the narrator. She believed the main pattern were heads of those women who attempted to escape but were caught between the bars. It was clear that as the month passed the mental state of the narrator became increasingly unstable. The wallpaper and it’s pattern also represented the societal chains (treatment, family, and marriage) which have imprisoned her for so long. The yellow wallpaper has become synonymous with the domestic bars which trapped women in their inferior roles as wives and mother in the 1800s. Through the use of both symbols, Steinbeck and Gilman track the internal conflict of their respective protagonists. In Steinbeck’s short story, it is the Chrysanthemum which are indirectly responsible for Eliza awakening. The chrysanthemums create a situation in which Eliza meets a man which stimulates and re-ignites her female sensuality, that has been long forgotten. Steinbeck describes Eliza stripped of her female side and like her home, that she was â€Å"hard-swept and hard-polished† (1). Henry fails to notice and takes for granted the feminine qualities which Eliza brings to the relationship. His love for her did not exist anymore. The couple lives like strangers. Eliza, submissive and loyal, does not addresses her discontent with her husband and their relationship remains empty. He remarks, to her about her chrysanthemums, â€Å"I wish you’d work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big† (1). She is resentful and unhappy which causes her to hide in her garden. One afternoon while she is attending to her flowers she meets a traveling salesman who stops and admires her flowers. Steinbeck describes the stranger in the following way: Elisa saw that he was a very big man. Although his hair and beard were graying, he did not look old. His worn black suit was wrinkled and spotted with grease. The laughter had disappeared from his face and eyes the moment his laughing voice ceased. His eyes were dark, and they were full of the brooding that gets in the eyes of teamsters and of sailors. The calloused hands he rested on the wire fence were cracked, and every crack was a black line. He took off his battered hat. (1) When he flirts with her indirectly, she melts. She is thirsty for the attention a man gives to a woman. The stranger visually caresses the flowers, commenting that the flowers were like delicate â€Å"quick puff[s] of colored smoke,†(243) and she can feels his fingers like they were on her skin. Chrysanthemums represent Eliza long last sensuality and her need to be fulfilled physically and emotionally. Eliza quickly responds and â€Å"[tears] off the battered hat and [shakes] out her dark pretty hair†(1). The cold Elisa suddenly becomes the image of perfect femininity soft and flowing, contrasting against the strong male. She is attracted to him and offers him the only gift she can, a singe red chrysanthemum — a symbol of her sacred femininity. Through this stimulation, Eliza is inspired to again get in touch with her body and soul (Wilson 34). After a dinner eaten in silence with a man who does not love her, Eliza is forced to endure the car trip home. Weeping, and staring out the window she sees her bloody red chrysanthemums tossed on the side of the road, and she feels her soul die once again. Gilman utilizes her symbol of the yellow wallpaper in the same way, her protagonist is first imprisoned and then awakened by the wallpaper. Gilman actively asserts through her use of symbolism and the mental deterioration of the narration that women, at the turn of the century, suffering from mental illness were mistreated. Her husband, who is also her doctor, prescribed the â€Å"The Mitchell Treatment† (Hume). This was a standard treatment for all mental disorders during this time which consisted of isolation and rest. The woman, the main character, was placed in an attic for a month of recovery. Her only companion was the peeling yellow wallpaper. Slowly the unnamed narrator slipped into deep depressive psychosis. It is not until she shirked off the treatment and the invisible societal chains that she becomes well again. The theme of oppression is overwhelmingly present in both short stories. Eliza’s gift of the chrysanthemum represents the physical interaction between a man and a woman. After the stranger leaves, with quicken breath, she almost floats into her house and draws herself a hot bath. She finds her â€Å"little block of pumice† and literally scrubs her body — â€Å"legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was scratched and red†(1). She urgently washes, symbolically bringing blood back into her lifeless body and soul. She dresses slowly finding her best lingerie and dress. She applies makeup and prepares to go out on a â€Å"date† with her husband. She patiently awaits for her husband to come in from the fields. She hopes her husband will feel romantically toward her again. She hopes that he provide her with the same sensual stimulation that those few brief moments with the stranger. Unfortunately, her hopes are not fulfilled. When Henry finally sees his wife, he casually comments â€Å"You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon† (1). Eliza laments her husband’s lack of charm, as if he is intentionally trying to crush her soul. She slowly loses the woman that she had found hours before. After a dinner eaten in silence with a man who does not love her, Eliza is forced to endure the car trip home. Weeping, and staring out the window she sees her bloody red chrysanthemums tossed on the side of the road, and she feels her soul die once again. Gilman’s narrator is also mistreated by her husband and society in general. John, her husband, a â€Å"wise† man of medicine, inflicts a loutish and gender-biased â€Å"cure† on her–and this tale, as Gilman claims, exposes such boorish barbarism. However, Gilman’s mad narrator unveils not only the ills of the rest cure treatment and a repressive domestic culture filled with Johns and Jennies, but also her hatred for a domestic (and maternal) role she has no desire to assume. â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper† not only rejects, as Gilman intended, the gender-biased rest cure of the nineteenth-century, but also indicts, less successfully, gender-biased definitions of mental illness. Married women during this time were â€Å"’freed’ from the necessity of contributing to society outside the home, presumably because marriage befit her for motherhood and motherhood required all of her energies.†(O’Donnell). Despite her triumphant unmasking of medical (predominantly male) gender bias in this tale, Gilman’s narrator falls apart so completely in the end that she tends, unfortunately, to reinforce the common nineteenth-century gender stereotype of the emotionally and physically frail nineteenth-century woman. Steinbeck through the use of chrysanthemums asserts that women are oppressed and imprisoned by world that was built for men. Through intricate detail, wit, and symbolism Steinbeck breathes life into the story of a woman completely controlled by her husband, and suffocated by world. She experiences momentary awakening during a brief interaction with a stranger. Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums evoke the feeling of rebirth, renewal, autonomy, and femininity. Eliza completely broken down and she crumbles â€Å"crying weakly-like an old woman†(X). Her husband takes her granted and does not notice that she is woman with needs and desires. Not only does her husband ignore her but so does the world. The stranger which seemed to admire all of Eliza’s qualities represents the world. Just as that man tossed away Eliza’s beautiful flowers because they were unnecessary. Steinbeck’s point is that is exactly the male dominated world views and treats women. Society is oppressive to women, allowing them not to â€Å"bloom†, keeping women submissive and docile. Eliza is not valued by the world because she is female. She meant only to exist for her husband and family. Eliza tries to be a woman in world where her womanly charms are ignored by her husband and the world in general. To survive she forgets about who she truly is and finds happiness in her garden. When she is briefly re-awakening, she attempts again to find her true self. However, her husband and the world will not let her and she must once again, for the last time, suppress who she is and what she wants. Through the use of similar literary devices the theme of female oppression and liberation is explored differently in â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† The oppression of women in a male dominated world has plagued society for centuries. The stories of women are often left untold and considered unimportant. To fully explore this theme both authors use symbolism and careful character development. The main symbol found in The Yellow Wallpaper is that of the decaying yellow wallpaper that is in the attic where the narrator is sent for isolation. It’s decay parallels the decay of the narrator. In addition, Gilman details this decline and explores the inner workings of the narrator through the character development leading up to the narrator’s decision that she did want to live. Similarly, Steinbeck uses the symbol of the Chrysanthemum to represent Eliza’s life, isolation, liberation, and emotional death. There is only a small set of literary tools available to authors, of any genre, through which themes like oppression can be examined. It is through the unique manipulation of these tools, and the intense expertise of great American authors that such a varied approach to survival can be interrupted, demonstrated, and shared. Works Cited Bak, John S. â€Å"Escaping the Jaundiced Eye: Foucauldian Panopticism in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.†.† Studies in Short Fiction 31.1 (1994): 39+. DeMott, Robert. Steinbeck’s Typewriter: Essays on His Art. Revised ed. Troy, NY: Whitston Publishing, 1997. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wall-Paper. Revised ed. New York: Feminist Press, 1996. Hume, Beverly A. â€Å"Managing Madness in Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wall-Paper†.† Studies in American Fiction 30.1 (2002): 3+. O’Donnell, Margaret G. â€Å"A Reply to â€Å"Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Reassessing Her Significance for Feminism and Social Economics.† Review of Social Economy 54.3 (1996): 337+. Roth, Marty. â€Å"Gilman’s Arabesque Wallpaper.† Mosaic (Winnipeg) 34.4 (2001): 145+. Steinbeck, John. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums.† Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. 4th Compact ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 2007. Wilson, Edmund. The Boys in the Back Room: Notes on California Novelists. San Francisco: Colt Press, 1941. Questia.

Facebook, Strategic Management Analysis

An environmental scanning refers to the process that systematically uses information about trends, patterns and relationships within an organization’s internal and external environment to determine the future direction of the organization. Through an understanding of the nature and speed of changes in that particular environment, an environmental scan is likely to help identify possible ventures, challenges, and developments that are important to the organization. An organization that could benefit tremendously from strategic planning and especially environmental scanning is Facebook. Facebook is a social network organization that is considered the largest online network in the world (Piskorski, Eisenmann, and Smith, 2013). According to these researchers Facebook reported $1 billion profit in revenue, with 85% of this revenue coming from advertising. However since we are living in an era where technology is constantly upgrading and competition is fierce, it is vital that the managers of Facebook stay abreast of the competition by conducting environmental scanning to determine the trend and weaknesses of the organization to prevent strategic surprises. As competition increases in a particular industry, changes become swifter in the external environment; consequently, information from the external environment contributes important elements to the effectiveness of the long-term plans. In an external analysis of Facebook, three correlated environments are relevant: Natural Physical Environment According to Wheelen and Hunger (2012) the natural environment includes physical resources, wildlife, and climate that are a fundamental part of life on earth. It is obvious that in recent years the regularity and severity of storms, tornados, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events have increased in the United States and worldwide, and this trend is likely to continue. Pine (2011) informed us that increase in natural hazards and the rising of sea-level are expected along the coastal areas, therefore it is necessary to understand the nature of coastal natural, social, and economic environments and their interactions in guaranteeing a sustainable future. In the case of Facebook, extreme weather events could result in loss of Internet service, breakdown in telecommunication infrastructure, lifestyle changes, and regional shift in population. Although the loss of Internet service and breakdown in telecommunication infrastructure due to inclement weather may be perceived as threats to the organization; lifestyle changes and regional shift in population may reveal opportunities for Facebook. A scan of the external environment may lead to the creating of more modern system that is in-tune with the needs of the population. With the movement of people, Facebook media may be used to locate missing relatives and friends. A shift in population could result in an increase in the younger more tech-savy generation who view Facebook as a way of keeping in touch with others. Since mobile phone reception system may experience overcrowding during this time, Facebook could capitalize on this situation to use its â€Å"friends and family† network to keep others informed of storms and inclement weather events. Through an environmental scan, the managers may realize that planning is needed to extend their network to accommodate the movement of the population. A scan may also reveal weaknesses in infrastructure that could be modified ahead of weather-related crises to minimize the length of time consumers are out of service where weather situations are predicted but cannot be prevented. Although these factors may present threats to the stability of the organization, there are areas that may be presented as opportunities. Societal Environment The societal environment according to Wheelen and Hunger (2012) is the social system of human that makes up those general forces that do not directly affect the short-term activities of the organization, but can, and frequently do influence its long-term decision. Wheelen et al. (2012) mentioned that the number of possible strategic factors is very high because each country can be represented by its own exclusive sets of societal forces. Some well-known strategic forces includes: economic forces, sociocultural forces, and political-legal forces. 1 The Economic Forces. The Economic Forces of the environment alludes to the combination of economic systems of the country, the structural framework of economic policies of the government and the organization of the capital market, the type of endowment, business cycles, and the socio-economic infrastructure of the organization. A drift in the economic area can have effect on social media like Facebook. For example, in 2011 Facebook reported $1 billion profit with 85% coming from advertisement. A weak economy will lead to less sales and subsequently advertising. Equally, a drop in interest rate will mean sales of electronic products and services. The economic development of countries like Brazil, Russia, India, and China is having huge effect on the rest of the world, especially in areas of computer software and telecommunications. An increase in income will also likely to lead to an increase in spending for electronic products and investments in social media services. These factors should present opportunities for Facebook. 2 Sociocultural Forces Sociocultural forces encompass a number of variables such as demographic trends. In the United States, the demographic bulge known as the â€Å"baby boomers† has affected the demands of the market in many industries. This group of people according to Wheelen et al. is now in their 50s and 60s but is the largest group in all developed countries. Wheelen et al. contended that sociological variables such as customs and conventions, cost, cultural heritage, and movement of labor have severe effects on the business. The nature of goods and services is determined by the demand of the people which in turn affect the way the business operates. In the case of Facebook, several transformations are needed to attract the baby boomers who are the largest users of advertisements on the web. Since senior are normally worried about their privacy and security, it is important that Facebook institute an environmental scan that ensure the preservation of privacy of senior Facebook page, the failure of which would be a severe threat to the stability of the company. The desire for companionship with baby boomers whose children have already grown and have left the nest have increased so Facebook could provide the type of interaction some of these seniors need. However, there is the need to make the sire more attractive and senior-friendly by step-by-step tutorial for setting up a page and navigating the network. In addition, remembering passwords have become a tremendous burden for some members of the baby boom generation. In order to continue a viable operation, Facebook should institute a system that helps baby boomers to log on to their page by correctly answering a series of questions. This system would present opportunities for the company. 3 Political-Legal Forces According to Wheelen et al. (2012) the political-legal forces are the forces that distribute power and provide constraining and protecting laws and regulations. It may also include the decision made by the courts. The political environment of a country is swayed by the philosophy of political parties, ideology of government or the ruling party; stability of the political system, foreign policy, Defense and military policy, and the image the country and its leaders project outside the country. Some of the more well-known political-legal variables include, antitrust regulation, environmental protection laws, immigration laws, tax laws, Foreign sweat shops, foreign trade regulation and stability of the government. Trends in the political-legal area have important business repercussions, not only on the level of competition within the industry but also on which strategies might be successful. Many business leaders think that there are too much stringent regulations governing businesses in order to conform to society’s environmental concerns. On the other hand, many businesses would like to see more aggressive approach to enforcing anti-trust laws. A number of research and environmental scanning has been done by Facebook to explore the dynamics of its network. An online article by Weigel (2012) described Facebook as a vehicle for organizing and expressing dissent, and one that has been proven to be an effective tool in many protests, causes, uprisings, and conflicts, but they also lead to the possibility of monitoring by the government and exposing activists to surveillance and punishment. According to Streitfeld and Hardy (2013) the Internet was established as a tool of liberation and knowledge but recently a bleak vision emerged when it was revealed that the United States government is using it as a monitoring and tracking device. In addition, threats by Federal Reserve Commission to impose greater supervision on how personal data was being used online resulted in the formation in 1998 of the Online Privacy Alliance (Streitfeld & Hardy). However, except for this factor, political technology have very little impact on the stability of Facebook. 4 Technological Forces Technological forces are described by Wheelen et al. as those forces that generate problem-solving inventions. Changes in technology can also have tremendous impact on businesses since they all depend on technology to operate. Technological environment affects the business in relations to investment in technology, regular application of technology and the effects of technology on markets. Technology is constantly providing new method for communication; therefore the use of technology in our lives is always expanding. Facebook is at the center of technology advancement because as technology advanced so will the methods we use for communicating. The birth of Facebook brought in another era of communication in our lives, and it is obvious that the society will continue to develop new ways to pass on messages to each other. Facebook’s $1 billion profit in 2011 is an indication that technology will continue to advance; therefore this advancement in technology presents opportunities for the organization. The Task (Industry) Environment The task environment according to Wheelen et al. (2012) includes those elements or groups that directly affect a corporation and, consequently are affected by it; these include governments, local communities, suppliers, competitors, customers, creditors, employees/labor unions, special interest groups, and trade associations. In doing an external environmental scan the business manager must assess various industry forces. Wheelen et al. used the Porter’s 5-Forces model to illustrate the forces that make up the Industry environment. The Porter’s 5-forces model is a tool used by corporations to provide an analysis of their competition and to help determine strategy. This five-forces model examines the strength of five specific competitive forces which work together to determine long-term profit and competition within an industry. However, Wheelen et al. (2012) mentioned that a sixth forces has been added to reflect the power of other groups, and the government over the activities of industries. In a scan of an industry, a corporation must examine the importance of each of the six forces to the success of the company: threat of new entrants, rivalry among existing firms, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and bargaining power of other stakeholders. 1. Threat of New Entrants It is clear that new entrant to any industry bring new capacity, competition, and aspiration to gain a position of status in that industry. Therefore new entrants are threats to organizations that are already in the industry. A new entrant to an industry is able to learn from the mistakes of his competitors and improve upon these weaknesses. In the case of Facebook, new entrants will always be considered a threat since technology by nature is subjected to metamorphosis. The position of Facebook in the industry is strong; therefore the barriers to new entrants are high based on the following: (a) Economies of scales: Even though the start-up cost incurred by Zuckerberg was small at the inception, a new entrant to the industry would not be able to enter the market on a small scale and compete against a company like Facebook, and if they enter on a large scale, there is the possibility of reaction from Facebook who would be better equipped to contend against competitors in the industry. This prevents new companies from breaking into this industry quickly. In addition, the investment of large capital presents a significant amount of risk to a new company. (b) Switching cost: Facebook is an established organization, individual have spent a significant amount of time learning to use this network, so they would be somewhat reluctant to change for another media. (c) Government policy: There are already privacy issues arising from the use of social media so the government may be reluctant to give license to another such organization. (d) Access to distribution channels: A new entrant would have to establish its distribution channel in an industry that is already captured by Facebook. According to Piskorski, Eisenmann, and Smith (2013) 85% of Facebook’s revenue came from advertising. (e) Cost disadvantages independent of size: Facebook is already established in the industry, they have access to the expertise, technology, notoriety, and government approval to keep the organization functioning. (f) Product differentiation: Facebook is well-known, and this medium has a strong customer support. In October 2012 Facebook registered its billionth user, becoming the largest online social network in the world (Piskorski, Eisenmann, and Smith, 2013). Recently, the acquisition of Instagram has solidified Facebook in the industry. Essentially, with this force it is not easy for an organization to enter the industry. 2. Threat of Substitute Products or Services Substitute products naturally present competition in the industry because as more substitutes come on the market the demand becomes more flexible since customers have more alternative. In the case of social networking medium, MySpace has been able continue operation as a type of social networking medium but has not been have to hold a position of dominance in the social networking media because Facebook is more advanced and provides more options. Therefore, this substitute does not present a threat to Facebook. According to Piskorski, Eisenmann, and Smith (2013) LinkedIn has become the leader in professional networking; again this is a professional site and not a social networking site, and the site has not been used as a substitute for Facebook. The threat from substitute services is low in this case. 3. Rivalry Among Existing Firms Competition is likely to be high if entry to the industry is easy. Since entry to the social networking industry presents many barriers, it is unlikely that there will be much rivalry in this industry. However, Piskorski, Eisenmann, and Smith (2013) contended that Twitter and Google came into existence as rivals to Facebook although they have not been able to maintain any position of dominance since Facebook has been able to present more features than the other, thus there is a large differentiation between Facebook and its competitors, their strategies are different, and the rate of growth is vastly dissimilar since Facebook has been able to maintain its market position, and has potential for greater gain than its competitors. The strength of this force is also low. 4. Bargaining Power of Buyers In the social networking industry the bargaining power of buyers is important because if users are not inspired they will lose interest. Facebook has ensured the stability of its position in the industry by creating innovative and stimulating programs to keep users enthused. However, there is a vast difference in the service provided by Facebook and its competitors, so substitution is not easily found. This force does not present a threat to Facebook. 5. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers can influence an industry significantly as they determine price increases. In the case of Facebook, its suppliers include advertisers, game developers like Zynga, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu and the networks it uses to deliver its services. However, since these products are important to the maintenance of Facebook in the position of dominance in the industry, as they offer diversity to a site that could otherwise have been uninter esting. The bargaining power of suppliers in this case is medium.

Working with and Leading People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Working with and Leading People - Essay Example This means that a person has the ability to support the business venture if he or she believes that it will aid in achievement of outlined goals and objectives. In the case study, it is evident that Oliver, the chef/manager of ‘Fifteen’ depicts several leadership characteristics, which are in line with the definition of an effective leader. Key among these leadership qualities demonstrated by Oliver is his zeal and passion. The chef sets out to create a restaurant that taps the unexploited potential of young unqualified individuals. Despite the challenges, his desire to help individuals that are currently in a position that he once was, drives him to success. His passion is also evident when he uses it as criterion to select suitable chef candidates. By sharing this enthusiasm with his apprentices, Oliver motivates them to increase their professionalism and overall productivity. The chef also takes time to praise the candidates whenever they execute a duty efficiently or ask relevant questions. A leader’s tendency to give praise when appropriate acts as an extension of enthusiasm and fosters subordinates’ morale (Kressler, 2003, p.27). The other vital leadership attribute wielded by Oliver is his ability to communicate effectively with all the stakeholders with whom he works. As emphasized by Sinek (2011, p.17) effective leaders must have mastered the skill of communicating with staff, both at high and low levels of an establishment. This is because adept communication skills make it possible for leaders to explain tasks and undertakings in a manner that can be understood by all partisans. In addition, proficient communicators keep others informed about project updates or changes. In Oliver’s case, he takes the time to actually interact and impart knowledge on the trainees, making him effective in communication. As a result, the team is constantly aware of what is expected of them. The chef also possesses the crucial leadership quality of

Armenia Needs Humvees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Armenia Needs Humvees - Essay Example However, this process was not finalised until December 25, 1991. It is also a member of NATO and the UN. As it is in the limits between Europe and Asia, it shares features with both. Due to this strategic geographical location, it is within the sphere of influence of the US and Russia. The Republic covers an area of 29,800 km2 and has a population of more than 3 million inhabitants of which 97.7% are Armenian, 1.3% are Yazidi Kurds and 0.5% are Russians. In 2005 the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, was 14.17 billion dollars (circa 4,270 dollars per capita), situating it in the 127th position of the list supplied by the International Monetary Fund, just above countries like Iceland, Jamaica or Brunei [1]. Armenia is a poorly industrialized country, with a manufacturing sector that represents circa 30% of the GNI. A total of 40% of the work force is employed in industry and the building sector. In terms of production, the most successful areas are mining (the extraction and refining of minerals such as gold, copper, silver or zinc) and manufacture, with the production of machinery and synthetic rubber at the forefront. It is a complex but beautiful language [2], which shows influences from Hindu, Persian, Arabic, Greek and Latin. It also incorporates expressions and words from English, Russian or French. Interestingly, Armenian has remained virtually unchanged since it was first used more than 1,500 years ago. Armenian alphabet is truly unique. It was designed by Mesrop Mashtots at the beginning of the 5th century. Due to the uncertainties of those years, it was received as a divine gift, as an intellectual tool in the fight against fanaticism. Until that point, any documents in the Armenian language had been written by "borrowing" the Greek alphabet. Armenians soon started using the new alphabet to translate, for example, philosophical, scientific or religious documents, which has allowed them to safeguard their identity during successive invasions and thus avoid the loss of their traditions and customs. 1.3. Culture Armenia is an interesting tourist destination. In total, on the territory of Armenia there are 10 natural lakes, 15 rivers and 5 canyons. Natural attractions include the hot springs of Jermuk and Arzni, where one can take a bath immersed in medicinal mineral water; the beautiful Lake Sevan, where one can relax on its shores or practice water sports; the spectacular waterfall of Shaki; the forests of Dilijan, Gugark or Bjurakan; and the caves and cliffs of the Southeast of the country, all locations of great natural beauty. One of the symbols of Armenia is the Mount Ararat, which at 5,265 m high can be seen from many locations in the Southwest of the country. Yerevan, the capital of

Personal reflective ( Critical perspectives in Global Management) Coursework

Personal reflective ( Critical perspectives in Global Management) - Coursework Example Volkswagen is a company that that had almost disappeared to obscurity in the early 1990s when Mr. Piech took over as the CEO, however through his leadership and management skills, the company has enjoyed sustained growth and development into the greatest European car manufacturer with expanded markets and a variety of products that respond to the needs of customers. The main issue here is that the former CEO Mr. Piech who has now retired upstairs to chair the supervisory board exhibited an authoritarian and autocratic form of leadership which is not characteristic of most modern organizations; as a result workers have little voice in the strategy and operations of the company. even though a new CEO in the shape of Mr. Bernd Pischetsieder has taken over, the main fear is that the former CEO has sufficient personal power to continue controlling most aspects of Volkwagen’s organization from outside, this raises fears of intransigence in terms of organizational operations. Obvious ly, most workers would like more space and ideological input in the operations of the company. ... Piech. It is clear that the former CEO appreciated discipline, authority, and unity of command with him being the major center of the last two. This indicates a distrust of other people’s leadership and a sense of authoritarianism. Max Weber’s bureaucracy also comes out clearly in the operations of Volkswagen with the former CEO appearing as a leader who ensured that every process and decision followed a clearly set path. This is clear in the fear that decision making will always be pushed upwards. Within the contingency theory, it is clear that Volkswagen under Peuch, was a company largely built around mechanistic structures characterized by centralization, strict division of labor, vertical communication, and low trust (Burns and Stalker, 1961). This is a system that current members of the organization fear will be continued under the new CEO, who has largely been groomed by the former CEO and that it will eventually be detrimental to the organization. There are a num ber of problems that can be identified in the Volkswagen case. The first and most clear of all is the problem around leadership and motivation. It is clear that although under the autocratic leadership of the former CEO the company flourished, many of the workers especially in the managerial level expected a new style of leadership synonymous with global trends that would afford them more input into the running of the company and its development to new heights. However, with the presence of the former CEO still looming large and the new CEO most likely to work under the guidance of Mr. Piech, distrust and lack of confidence has cropped up. This may affect morale and performance. On the face of it, the problem is intransigence, with organizational members having the feeling that things may

Propose a solution to a problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Propose a solution to a problem - Essay Example According to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center, 57% of the persons entering America illegally as at 2004 were contributed by Mexico. Southern American nations accounted for 24% of the immigrants, Asia9%, Europe combined with Canada accounted for 6% the rest of the world including Africa accounted for 3%. In this paper I will be taking a broader look of the whole immigration problem and proposing a solution for the government. The immigration law in the US has been and continues to be at the stage of heated political debates for decades now. Policy makers have to struggle with balancing between maintaining competitiveness globally through the tapping of top of foreign talents and curbing illegal immigration through beefing up the security of our national borders. Policy discussions are now focusing streamlining the process through which visa applications are made and addressing the problem posed by millions of persons already living in America illegally majority of which are youth being brought in by the parents. The focus is also directed at the implementation of effective local policies that do not jeopardize public trust in the government especially within the communities of immigrants. Such efforts positively signal a step in the direction of implementing a lasting and workable solution the current ever growing problem of illegal immigration (Lee, 2013). However, the enactment of comprehensive law reforms to address the whole issue of illegal immigration into the United States at the level of Federal Government has been at a standstill during the past few years forcing President Obama to take the approach of enforcement- based policies for curbing the issue in his first term of tenure. At the same time, restrictive laws by some states such as Arizona’s SB 1070 highlight the uncertainties that exist between states and the federal government in terms of authority over policies to address immigration problems. But following

Psychosocial Aspects in Discharging Decision in Physical Therapy Term Paper

Psychosocial Aspects in Discharging Decision in Physical Therapy - Term Paper Example Physical therapists can work in hospitals, private clinics, out-patient clinics, home based therapies, educational institutions, sports and fitness facilities, work/office settings and even nursing homes (APTA, 2009). The physical therapist can be placed anywhere in the system. Performing a variety of functions and activities, the physical therapist can be considered as a vital member of the rehabilitation team. Over the last three decades, physical therapists have asked for more autonomy with regards to their role in the clinical decision-making, although many physical therapy leaders believe that this increased autonomy can lead to a more complex ethical dilemma and responsibility for the physical therapist (Swisher 2002, p.693). Although since the70’s, physical therapy has progressed in terms of professional independence in the sense that they are given more and more liberty and independence when it comes to formulating and executing professional judgements (Babeu, Born & Ozar, 1993). The physical therapist is portrayed as having evolved from being only a treatment provider to being a patient’s evaluator, and developer of treatment programmes (Singleton 1987, p. 54). The APTA of late developed a vision statement in support of direct access to physical therapy services: â€Å"By 2020, physical therapy will be provided by physical therapists who are doctors of physical therapy, recognized by consumers and other health care professionals as the practitioners of choice to whom consumers have direct access for the diagnosis of, interventions for, and prevention of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities related to movement, function, and health.† (Jette et al 2006, p.1620). Realising the significant role that a physical therapist play in the care of their patients, it is important for a physical therapist to

Russian Art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Russian Art - Research Paper Example This Byzantine artistic practice of painting saints and biblical scenes was largely dictated and influenced by church canons. The late 19th century saw the shift to Russia’s version of the Arts and Crafts movement that mostly relied on traditional Russian applied arts. It was during this era that Style Moderne or Art Nouveau was predominantly embraced by Russian artists like Mikhail Vrubel (Charlton 23). The early 20th century Russia was a time of political upheaval which consequently fueled Russia’s artistic growth. It was during this era that Russian Avante-Garde movement flourished. It is characterized by angular shapes, vibrant colors, and representative of the urban landscape and lifestyle that effectively replaced the rural scenes that were the major subjects of the previous era. Abstract art were represented through genres of Futurism, Rayonism, and Suprematism. Belarusian Marc Chagall, Kasimir Malevich, and Mikhail Larionov were some of the artists that defined this movement. Political upheavals that characterized most of the 1920s up to the 1930s played a role in harnessing the creativity of free-thinking artists as their works were used for propaganda materials, posters, sculptures, and public spaces. It was the ‘propaganda poster’ movement wherein artistic expressions where predominantly aligned with political ideologies. By the late 20th century, when freedom is achieved and a new millennium is dawning, artistic constrictions pave the way for bold, experimental artistic expression (Charlton 23-24). Highlighting Byzantine Art movement of Russia is an interesting topic because it was in this country that this artistic movement is most enduring. Unlike other European countries, Russia’s artistic movement did not undergo a Romanesque or a Gothic phase. It did not even experience any comprehensive renaissance. Byzantine art endured and virtually remained unchanged despite the wars,

The Real World of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

The Real World of Management - Essay Example The document begins with an introduction and then discusses three cases which managers are facing in organization in this era and also how to manage them. This study focuses on the effect f the quality of life of managers on their performance, the downsizing of organizations and its effects on the envoy as well as the leaving party. The document finally analyses the effect on technology and communication in the work place. The recent past has seen the introduction of unprecedented economic change. The Euro crisis, the banking crisis austerity, the rising commodity and energy prices have made life not quite easy for the vast majority. These factors have made life quite hard for those in positions of making major decisions that affect businesses and those involved in the running of these businesses. Research has been done on the managers’ quality of life since the year 1997 (Worral and Cooper, 1997). The latest report (Worral and Cooper, 2012) made for grim reading especially after being compared with earlier findings in the 2007 study (Worral and Cooper, 2007) which was taken just before the popular banking crisis that took place in the year 2007/2008. At this point kit became very clear that there were many managers who were working in businesses that were undergoing hardships. There was an increase from 21% to 34 % of the number of these managers. The businesses were either suffering from declining employee job satisfaction and motivation, growth in job insecurity, work place ill-health, and the increase in long-hours working culture. Based on research conducted since 1997, several managerial dimensions were identified. I believe that all organizations that have a desire to audit their own performance as far as efficient management practices are concerned. Managers should focus on the following: In a report generated in the year 2012, it was concluded

HEALTH LAW AND ETHICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

HEALTH LAW AND ETHICS - Essay Example ve of creating expertise and providing information and tools, which are necessary in preventing diseases and injuries, promoting health and preparing for disease outbreaks. Moreover, as an individual provider, CDC conducts ethical research through sound science, which ensures that public health goals are, met (Bascetta 12). The organizational and community effects of CDC are based on collaborating with various partners on both national and international levels. By collaborating with various partners, CDC’s aims at monitoring public health through; conducting research to prevent the spread of new health problems, developing and supporting sound and ethical, public health policies, implementing health prevention strategies and promoting healthy behaviors. The information that is attained through research by CDC is to benefit the community, as opposed to the organization. In other words, CDC has prioritized the community’s public health, instead of prioritizing its economic gains. Additionally, CDC’s organizational and community effects, entail deriving public health decisions from high quality scientific data. In essence, CDC’s research data are objective and ethical (Bascetta

Contact Zones in Chicano Culture Essay Example for Free

Contact Zones in Chicano Culture Essay Meeting someone from another culture expands your knowledge of the world. As you receive new information, you are giving some of your own. The experience of two different people meeting is far less than the experience of two different cultures of people meeting. The most common outcome of these meeting is one culture dominates over the other. This domination eventually leads to hatred towards the oppressors, until the dominated are free. Over many years, the dominated population has integrated their culture with the dominant one but there is still conflict. In â€Å"Arts of a Contact Zone† Mary Louise Pratt writes about the effects of a contact zone, when two different cultures meet and interact, and why it is good. Contact zones bring people together to share ideas and cultures but it can also lead to slavery and conquest . We will focus on one effect: literate arts. Some of the literate arts are autoethnography, transculturation, bilingualism, critique, and denunciation. These literate arts are ways people use language to express a clash of two cultures. An â€Å"autoethnographic text†, a text that a writer uses to respond to the way other people sees their ethnic group, uses things familiar with a dominant race to make a point. Pratt gave us an example of â€Å"autoethnographic text† called New Chronicle and Good Government by Guaman Poma. The title New Chronicle comes from the name of the apparatus used by the Spanish to present their American Conquests to themselves. Poma uses this to create a new picture of the world by rewriting the Christian history with the Andeans at the center of the religion. The new â€Å"Christian-Inca† history resembled European manners and custom descriptions but included the meticulous details of information stored in the Inca societies. Poma used this manner to write his letter to make a parody the Europeans could understand. Glorias Anzaldua essays â€Å"Entering into the Serpent† and â€Å"How to Tame a Wild Tongue† are examples of an â€Å"autoethnographic text. † She uses her essays to destroy some of the stereotypes readers have before they read her essays. Some of the stereotypes of Chicano are they are hated by the US and Latinos and have a conflicted identity. The idea that Americans and Latinos hate Chicanos comes from the belief that they cannot identify with Standard English or Standard Spanish cultures. Since the Chicanos are born in the United States but are ethnically Mexican, they do not â€Å"belong† in the United States or Mexico. The hatred of Americans and Latinos caused the unknown identity of Chicanos. Transculturation occurs when two groups of people integrate different aspects of a culture with each other. An example of transculturation is Poma’s illustrations in New Chronicle and Good Government. The pictures had a European genre but they used Andean systems of spatial symbolism to express values and aspirations. In Anzaldua’s essays, we see transculturation in the religion. â€Å"My family, like most Chicanos, did not practice Roman Catholicism but a folk Catholicism with many pagan elements† (Anzaldua 73). The Roman Catholicism that was the religion of the Spaniards intermingled with Anzaldua’s â€Å"snake religion† to form the folk Catholicism version of la Virgen Guadalupe as Coatlalopeuh. Transculturation and autoethnography both manipulate language. Anzaldua wrote the essays in English and Spanish to identify herself with the Chicano and show us her experience with English speaking people. Poma’s wrote his letter in Quechua and Spanish so both cultures could understand the main points of the letter. In childhood we were told that our language is wrong. Repeated attacks at our native tongue diminish our sense of self. The attacks continue throughout our lives. Chicanas feel uncomfortable talking in Spanish to Latinas, afraid of their censure. Their language was not outlawed in their countries. But for a language to remain alive, it must be used. By the end of this century English, and not Spanish, will be the mother tongue of most Chicanos and Latinos (Anzaldua 89) The language of a culture identifies a person. If someone’s language is banned it makes the person feel unwelcome so to fit in they speak the main language but wonder what is wrong with their own language. When Chicanos speak Spanish they â€Å"spoil† the language and when they speak English they are traitors. This idea of having a wrong language causes confusion and shame, which will lead to not a Chicano identity but an American identity. By identifying with her culture, she creates a known identity for her people. Chicano Spanish is unlike English or Spanish but a combination of both, which results in bilingualism. Anzaldua’s first essay shows us what her religion meant to her, and she blames and criticizes the Catholics for taking away her sexual identity. Before the Spaniards conquest, the male dominated Azteca-Mexica culture had replaced all the female deities with male ones. This replacement split the female deities and the female self. If there were no female (spirit) deities then there was no female identity, according to Anzaldua. After the Conquest, Guadalupe became a virgin and all the other female deities (snake goddesses) were whores. The change in identity of these female deities encourages the virgin/whore dichotomy. This separation of mind and body made it hard for her to find her sexual identity. Pratt’s definition of a contact zone makes it a wonderful and horrible place to be but Anzaldua seems to disagree. Anzaldua’s experience with Catholic people seemed to be the worst thing that happened to her. These chapters from her book Borderlands/La frontera only show one type of opinion with no other positive outlooks. Her dislike of the Catholics inspires her to write these chapters to show us how her life was like and to â€Å"blame† everyone who reads her book. She was not able to have a true contact zone through her experience so she is unwilling to understand the Catholic religion. Anzaldua’s essays are another example for Pratt to use in her essay. The concept of literate arts is present throughout. The essays mainly show the bad parts of Anzaldu’s contact zones but that is the main result of contact zones with a dominant culture. Even though Anzaldua may not agree this is a contact zone. Her bias shows the readers the horrors of her cultures past to encourage a response.

Management of Risk in an Organisation

Management of Risk in an Organisation As the central point of contact, and as the individual with both responsibility and accountability for the successful delivery of a project, it is the job of the project manager to put into place the necessary safeguards for the management of risk; safeguards which will help to uphold the anticipated value of the project. Before all of this, however, a project manager must grasp the notion that projects exist only to promote and benefit an organisation and that, by this logic, the value of a project is defined by the way in which the project accomplishes the business objectives. The value of projects can also be highlighted by the way in which they themselves extract value from opportunity by the carefully managed application of resources.[1] Academics argue that current performance is the best predictor of future performance and that using the trends in data it is possible to forecast risks such as budget variance or scheduling issues at an early stage in any project. Earned Value is one of the most comprehensive trend analysis techniques and is one way in which project managers can monitor a project. Basically, EV requires the manager to monitor the project plan, the actual work completed and the work completed value to check whether the project is on track. The EV trend analysis helps to indicate how much of budget/time should have been spent at any given stage and allows a comparison with actual work done to date. EV is different to the usual budget v actual cost incurred model because it requires the cost of work in progress to be quantified. This allows for a comparison of actual v expected in terms of work completion.[2] Where an organisation has failed to prepare to receive and apply the project deliverables the project manager must take control and formally verify all the information needed to fully understand the project and its expected deliverables. This requires a specific type of input and the project manager must determine the key players within the organisation. It is vital to the success of the project that the project sponsor is known to the project manager, and that the project sponsor takes on the role of ‘champion’ for the project. The project manager must also identify the stakeholders in order that each stakeholder’s precise expectations can be identified and managed. It is advisable for the project manager to establish a project repository: a place where all important documentation can be gathered together – this can be done manually, or can be an online document management system. In any EV system, there is a need for a benefits manager, too – and t his is usually the PS. The benefits manager ensures, through the process of KPI measurement and investment recovery to measure the attainment of the project. A project which attains its projected value is a project which delivers operationally against the business case.[3] In order to ensure that the project sponsor and manager understand the purpose of the project and its linkage to strategy, other projects and operations within the organisation, a project charter, or S.O.W., should be created. The charter formally recognises the existence of the project within the organisation and identifies the sponsor, manager and stakeholders and their respective responsibilities. The project objectives are clearly laid down, as is the scope of the project. In order to ensure the success of any project, the project manager must ensure that the objectives are SMART, and that the objectives are accompanied by a list of specific deliverables as well as any explicit exclusions.[4] The charter must provide a completion date as well as the completion project budget. The project sponsor must sign the charter as this indicates that s/he will provide the necessary funds and support to complete the project.[5] It is then vital for the project manager to identify the core team who will work on the project and to hold a kick-off meeting, at which the project sponsor should be in attendance: this will help demonstrate their support for the project as well as provide them with an opportunity to contextualise the project with regards the mission and strategies of the organisation. It is important for the organisation that the project manager identifies other team commitments that may exist within the core team, and that commitment is obtained from the resource providers.[6] The first stage in managing risk in any project is to ensure that, once the project manager has been appointed, regardless of whether the organisation has prepared itself to receive and apply deliverables, a WBS is undertaken. The WBS allows the project leader to work with the core team to identity the key stages of the project and once identified to task board these stages into a logical sequence. Generally the key stage id entification is undertaken at around level 2, in terms of detail, however, with an EV system the project manager must assign a budget to each work package. It is then essential to chart the dependencies that can be identified and at this stage this is generally done using a logic diagram.[7] The WBS, then, is simply a convenient way to present this work in a graphical manner but it is important to note that the WBS itself does not show dependencies other than at key stages and that it is not time based. It is also a dynamic tool which can be updated depending upon need. It may even be useful to add tasks for the project manager into the WBS since if the project managers’ time is being charged against the project this enables the manager to track their activities against the plan. Under the EV system, the WBS allows the project manager to monitor the earning of each work package against planned value and accord variance to plan, where necessary, in the case of creep.[8] Resources must then be assigned to the project and it is important for the project manager to consider who and what might be needed in order to make the project a success and to meet the value anticipated by the sponsor; the actual availability of staff; the manner in which any deficit in resources may be covered if they are not readily available when required; and whether any unresolved constraints with resources may cause creep.[9] When all of this has been identified and resources assigned the project manager must draw up a project task worksheet and people this. If it is thought to be too early in the project to produce a detailed allocation of tasks, it is equally feasible to allocate responsibilities for key stages and to identify a key stage owner who takes ownership over all the responsibilities of that stage. The benefit of the EV system is that the project manager can report to the PS with more confidence and can generally spot creep early on.[10] It is then the role of the project manager to create a realistic project plan or schedule and the manager must bear the following considerations in mind: the WBS to the task level; the specification of people to tasks; the dependencies between and amongst tasks, successor activities and potential slippage and the completion date for each task (in consultation with individuals).[11] The problem with much of the above is that is requires a great deal of estimation in terms of the duration of each activity and this can make the TPT projection difficult. It is important to build in contingencies to quantify the extent of uncertainty in the estimation process. The major portion of all project costs is frequently the time expended so it is important to schedule full team members at 3.5-4.0 productive working days per week; to include management time, where appropriate, as an additional 10%; avoid splitting tasks between individuals when planning; allow time for cross-functional data transfer and response and include contingencies at all levels of planning. It is possible to take an alternative method when planning estimations, particularly if the project is to take place over more than a couple of months. Rather than prepare estimates on the basis of individuals and seeking advanced agreement of commitments; the plan can be developed on the basis of some resources wo rking full time on the project. This is usually done on the basis of what is known as single person dependencies (SPD) so that each piece of work is given a duration based on how long it will take if one person carries out the work, assigned full-time to the job and with no other commitments. This helps to create a common baseline. So for example, a part of a project with an SPD estimate of 8 days can be completed with: one person full-time; two people at 50% capacity; four people at 35% capacity. In practice, however, the more people who get involved the less effective the capacity becomes, so 2 people will need 55% capacity and 4 people around 35% capacity and so on.[12] In order to deliver the value of any project, it is necessary to go much further than the above, in the planning stages. Thus far we have discussed simply the basics of the planning process, but to try and fully manage risk, a project manager must implement advanced planning techniques. There are two popular methods of indicating and tracking task completions: the Gantt chart and the PERT chart. The PERT method allows for the planning of critical paths and is based on representing project activities by nodes which contain essential information calculated to show the flow of data through its various paths in the logic diagram. The PERT method allows for an indication of the earliest start time and the latest start time, and conversely for such finish times. The advantage of this method is that it shows predecessor and successor activities and allows for the imposing of constraints with the start-to-start or finish-to-finish relationships between activities. Forced delay can be imposed using a lag between the start and finish of predecessor activity and the start or finish of one or more successor activities. The forced start or lead is used to start a successor activity before the predecessor activity is completed.[13] The Gantt chart allows the project manager to take all of the information derived from the above steps and display it so that the core team can understand it! The chart allows the project manager to show a listing of key stages of the project, their duration and the key stage owner. The Gantt chart also allows the project manager to build in float time, the limit of which is the limit of the work if the schedule is not to be threatened and possibly extend the project. Any critical activities will have zero float. Dependency links can also be shown on the Gantt chart as should milestones, project meetings and project reviews. The total float which the project manager can calculate from the analysis of the PERT diagram etc. provides the Gantt chart a range of capabilities as a decision-processing tool. It allows the project manager to decide when a piece of work should start or whether it can be broken up into smaller sections. As the project manager knows the float time available they are able to take a decision as to the feasibility of delaying the start slightly or delaying as late as possible. The real value of this is that it allows the project manager to establish ‘what if’ scenarios. High risk areas can be identified easily and can be examined for the impact of any serious slippage. This allows the project manager to make the necessary contingency plans. The logic of such processes allow the project manager to enter into neutral dialogue when organisational, market or political pressure for a ‘pushback’ receives a negative response from the project sponsor. At this planning stage it is also necessary to estimate the cost of each activity and this usually includes people’s time, overheads and materials used. This provides the project manager with a total project cost which becomes the project operating budget (plus an allowance for contingencies). To be effective, the budget has to be time-phrased for each level of the project plan with accurate estimates of costs. In practice, the project manager will achieve this through the WBS. To manage risk, it is vital that any operating budget contains a contingency to cover unknowns: this is nominally a 10% variance. Once the budget has been established it is the job of the project manager to undertake const control which requires the manager to pay constant attention to the cost consciousness of all those involved in the project; company standards and the change control system. Cost control usually focuses on the value of the work completed (ACWP) at any time and compares it to the actua l cost of the work in terms of the originally predicted costs in the operating budget (BCWS/BCWP).[14] It is vital that the project manager accepts that not everything will go to plan so it is prudent to ensure that due consideration is given to an assessment of all possible risks to the project and the necessary contingencies that may be required. Risk can be defined as a function of three variables: an event that could disturb the project, the probability that such an event will happen and the impact of such an event happening. When a risk becomes a reality it is known as an issue. Once the risks have been assessed the project manager must constantly monitor risk to ensure that when it arises it is controlled. Controlling risks means that the successful project manager should be able to allocate responsibility for action; monitor and report actions and monitor valid risks for change. This is continuous phase throughout the PLC, and because it involves a significant amount of analysis should be documented through a risk status log. This should be reviewed at intervals (generally mont hly) and risks must be reviewed and updated. Using the Gantt chart and the WBS ensures that if things do start to go wrong it is possible to undertake an impact analysis of the consequences of issues arising, and provides the project manager with the necessary information to take informed decisions regarding the action needed to mitigate slippage. [15] The project manager should also ensure that they undertake a certain amount of communication planning. Poor communication can hinder the progress of projects and can result in unnecessary risks. The project manager must work out the number of communication channels, especially in large projects, for example with 7 core members in a team there are 21 channels. The project plan should, therefore, detail who needs information; why they need it; what information they need; when they need it; the way it should presented; and when the core team should meet to discuss project status etc. Routine status reports can take the form of simple memo.[16] Another very important part of managing risk is having an effective change control process. Scope creep can drive a project schedule and budget over an approved baseline and so it is important for project managers to have the appropriate mindset when dealing with the possibility of change. The most basic change control process ought to include: the submission of change requests to the project manager via a change request form; the logging of change request; an assessment by the core team of the impact of the change – when this has been done the impact of the change is then discussed with the individual who requested the change, as often, when the impact is known the request is withdrawn. If the change request is not withdrawn, the proposed change is discussed with the PS and the customer, and is either approved or disapproved and the requester is notified, as are stakeholders. The change is then incorporated into the project plan and the deliverables.[17] This then is the basic methodology which allows project managers to deliver value through all stages of a project life cycle, and to carry out the project in accordance with both the objectives and strategies laid down by the organisation[18]. The success of the project manager is directly measured through the perceived results in each dimension of the project, and in order to achieve this attainment, the project manager needs to achieve these results with and through others.[19] Bibliography Augustine, N. Managing Projects and Programs. Boston. Harvard. 1989 Cleland. D, King, W. Systems Analysis and Project Management. New York. McGraw-Hill. 1983 Cleland, D., Ireland L. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2002. Collins, J. Good to Great. New York. Harper Collins. 2001 Cook, C.R, Just Enough Project Management. McGraw Hill. New York. 2005 Frame, Davidson. Managing Projects in Organizations. San Fransisco. Jossey-Bass. 2002 Goodpasture, J.C., Managing Projects for Value. Vienna. VA. 2002 Harvard Business Review. Project Management: A Harvard Business Review Paperback. Boston. HBSP. 1991 Haughey, Duncan. What is Earned Value? Project Smart. 2007 Katzenbach, J., Smith, Douglas. The Discipline of Teams. New York. Wiley Sons. 200 Kerzner, H. Project Management: A Systems Approach to planning, scheduling and controlling. New York. Wiley Sons. 2001 Leech, D. Turner B.T. Project Management for Profit. Chicester. Ellis Horwood. 1990 Lewis, J. Project Leadership. New York. Mc-Graw Hill. 2003 Lewis, J. Project Planning, Scheduling and Control. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2001 Project Management Institute Standards Committee. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge/ 2001, p205 Smith, Steve (ed.). Make Things Happen: Readymade Tools for Project Management. London. Kogan Page Limited. 1997 1 Footnotes [1] Goodpasture, J.C., Managing Projects for Value. Vienna. VA. 2002 [2] Haughey, Duncan. What is Earned Value. Project Smart. 2007 [3] Goodpasture, J.C., Managing Projects for Value. Vienna. VA. 2002 [4] Cook, C.R, Just Enough Project Management. McGraw Hill. New York. 2005 [5] Project Management Institute Standards Committee. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge/ 2001, p205 [6] Augustine, N. Managing Projects and Programs. Boston. Harvard. 1989 [7] Cleland, D., Ireland L. Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2002. [8] Cleland. D, King, W. Systems Analysis and Project Management. New York. McGraw-Hill. 1983 [9] Harvard Business Review. Project Management: A Harvard Business Review Paperback. Boston. HBSP. 1991 [10] Frame, Davidson. Managing Projects in Organizations. San Fransisco. Jossey-Bass. 2002 [11] Smith, Steve (ed.). Make Things Happen: Readymade Tools for Project Management. London. Kogan Page Limited. 1997 [12] Katzenbach, J., Smith, Douglas. The Discipline of Teams. New York. Wiley Sons. 2001 [13] Lewis, J. Project Planning, Scheduling and Control. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2001 [14] Lewis, J. Project Planning, Scheduling and Control. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2001 [15] Kerzner, H. Project Management: A Systems Approach to planning, scheduling and controlling. New York. Wiley Sons. 2001 [16] Lewis, J. Project Leadership. New York. Mc-Graw Hill. 2003 [17] Lewis, J. Project Planning, Scheduling and Control. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2001 [18] Leech, D. Turner B.T. Project Management for Profit. Chicester. Ellis Horwood. 1990 [19] Collins, J. Good to Great. New York. Harper Collins. 2001

The Education Structure Of Two Countries Education Essay

The Education Structure Of Two Countries Education Essay Education and training human sense of responsibility to the community and country To do the tasks mentioned above, the education agency to help children discover their unique talents, aware of all potential and develop enthusiasm for learning throughout life. The main reason that education is the basis of all nations, root of all skilled, educational development will be synonymous with economic development and prosperity of the country. I will compare and contrast the similar and different types of education in my country Vietnam and education of the country that currently I am studying in the USA. The education structure of 2 countries is quite similar: elementary school, secondary school, high school, university and some courses after graduate in university. Elementary school (from 5-10 years old): Six years or up in age, children in the kindergarten and usually complete elementary school level in grade five or six classes. The school year is called class. Middle school (from 11-13 years old) two or three years, depending on the school system , Also known as secondary school . At age five, children often learn a kindergarten and then in grade 1 to grade 6 in primary schools. Grade 7 to grade 9 is held in a high school separate facility, also known as secondary schools. Curriculum is focused on major studies such as math, science, literature, history and language, as well as historical and educational subjects on objects and the environment. Next is high school, we know that ità ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s from grade 10 to grade 12. At this point, students can usually ch oose the subjects to choose from the different areas. Graduate students in the U.S. currency will have passed the exam in the country called the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). However, international students often just prove proficiency in English with a TOEFL score. The high school level, education in Vietnam proved more difficult, relatively large amount of knowledge along with the rules, regulations, examinations rigorous. Vietnam grade students 10 to 12 proved better about the theory of natural subjects, as well as society; but lacks of practical and physical. Also in contrast, in the U.S., students are exposed more to the fact, to participate in experiments such as physics, chemistry, biology, along with the many sports activities are included in order to help students develop more comprehensive. I believe that differences as clear as possible to the university courses, colleges, and courses after graduation such as masters, doctorate. So this is the reason that I choose go to the US to study in university and not Vietnam. In general, the system of postsecondary schools are classified into five American type: Vocational School, Community College, Public University, Private University, Liberal Arts College. That is the point so different from education in Vietnam. System of vocational schools is few and almost not considered important, along with private universities are not high quality but very expensive fees. University type of public good quality is required exam too hard and strict, while the normal type of school just to have poor quality students. But in compare, Vietnamese students are very curious and hard, so should the students pass difficulties and learning in schools even that school is not good , they still become successful. Anyway to catch up the speed of devel opment with the world, Vietnam has been somewhat more attention to the important residential schools gifted as music, painting, film, photography, with attention also to the quality rather than quantity of teaching . I will say more about this issue to see clearly the difference. Usually the American education system, including 12 first year undergraduate school. Thus an international student can complete 12 years of upper secondary school before going to school in America. This is a very good opportunity for foreign students like me to be trained in the US. This most prominent of the education system is the most American presidents, prime minister and other leaders, research has advanced U.S. degrees and graduate or postgraduate study in the education system U.S. American education system is the sum of universities world-renowned academic programs which have reached its peak with the most modern in the world. American education system is a typical characteristic is the number of foreign students is very high. Almost all classes, schools, the number of international students account for more than half to the east. Environment for international students is also very rich in culture, foreign langua ges and people. Not where you will see the number of foreign intellectuals as large as in the U.S. The international students can attend school in the university obtained a 2-year-associate degree or obtained a four year-bachelors degree. Although most universities in four years for students accepted into the majors but not selected to the second year all students must be informed and choose their majors. The students finished second in the certificate may continue to study at the school in four years and obtained the certificate in four college graduates. Students achieve certification 4-year college graduates can continue to study for a certificate or Masters Degree Doctoral Degree. Certificate is a Masters Degree with two years of service for intensive training in a specific field. Students can get into training programs master if they have a university degree in the field. However, there are many exceptions, such as an MBA (master of business administration) students do not need to graduate with a degree in business administration. Students can continue to improve the knowledge and intensive research on a narrow sector can participate in any training program Doctoral Degree (PhD). A college student with a 4-year college graduates can not achieve sufficient depth career, so they are often studied by the higher level as a masters degree or PhD degree. For example, if a person want to economists at the level of local authorities, he or she should have a master, and if want to teach economics at a university is required by the PhD. In addition, some subjects in depth study level only high school, such as law, medicine, dental school of the masters program and doctoral. Completely opposite, in Vietnam, of course masters or doctoral not good and not very much. However, as the initial step should be acceptable. And this is also the weaknesses of education in my country, where very few masters doctorate trained in Vietnam. often they are scholarship to study and t rain abroad. But I hope that this will be the foundation for future development of education over Vietnam when these people have experience, qualifications, they will help the young generation, helping to develop education.

My Philosophy :: Philosophy Education Teaching Teachers Essays

My Philosophy Everyday we learn, whether we are conscious of it or not. Since primate times to the new generations. Primates taught their kids how to hunt, those kids taught the next generation, and the chain of teaching still exists because we still learn new data, and information every day in our lives. We gain this new information primarily from our parents and teachers. I thank God for all the people who had taught me the things that I know, and helped me to realize that education is a necessity in my life. Education is a necessity in our lives. We need to go to school to become well prepare persons in the future. If I did not have the education I have today, probably I would be working at a Jack in the Box fast food restaurant, or at Wal-Mart. I am not saying that these work places are not dignify, but I would not had the benefits I have, and all the knowledge I have conquer through out the years of education, and experience. Becoming a teacher is one of the greatest experiences in my life. I will confess, teaching was not in my plans, but Gadsden School District gave me the opportunity to become a music teacher. In the district, I found out that becoming an educator is not about money, vacation, or sick leaves. This profession has to do with the satisfaction of seeing your kids accomplish their dreams, and goals. We all have experience these wonderful school satisfactions, through kindergarten, all the way to University. I remember when I f irst wrote my name in a piece of paper, I was all happy because of what I have accomplished. Since then, I have achieved many goals, and dreams. Now, I have realized that I am giving the same educational opportunities to f ind fulfillment to my music students. This fulfillment is visible when I teach them a new rhythm, or a new song. Like myself, my music students walk out of my classroom happy, and proud due to the new knowledge they have accomplish. On the other hand, I could not have achieved these goals and dreams without the help of all my professors. In all the years I have been going to school, many teachers are still in my mind.