'Representation of the female body in Hip Hop music videos' An Dissertation

'Representation of the female body in Hip Hop music videos' An analysis of content - Dissertation Example The present day music scene is dominated by extravagant usage of accessories, sets and high end technologically sophisticated gadgets. In the present times music is not just restricted to monochromic or monotonous demonstration of one’s musical knowledge and talent. Rather it comes in packages, with visual appeal, brand value of the star, thematic or cult trends and factors like attractive editing, special effects and obviously a scintillating performance by the featured star that makes watching the video worthwhile. While there are many genres of music that have emerged more popular than others over the times, gathering mass acceptance and witnessing an increased audience, there are the other lost and forgotten musical cultures and styles that have faded away from the face of the international musical scene. Of the most popular genres are the following: Western Pop, Hip Hop, R and B, Rap, Electro, Punk Rock, Heavy Metal, Rock and Jazz. Due to the gradual evolution that these music categories have had, they have been able to withstand the onslaught of the modern-day demanding music enthusiast and avoid fading into oblivion. Our research area in this exploratory and investigative report is the usage and representation of the female body in hip hop music videos. We will be restricting our research on the topic by focusing on the genre: Hip Hop. Nevertheless we will also discuss and draw conclusions on the global music industry’s usage and representation of women and their bodies in glamorising music videos. Hip Hop Music – Its Origin. Hip Hop music is a modern genre of music that has its roots embedded in old folk music in the African continent. Over the years and decades it has undergone a series of modifications in its literary connections, style of presentation, themes, lyrical content, visual effect and overall sound. It used to be a tribal form of musical expression and had merged with other offshoots of ancient African tribal music, und ergoing several changes to get its present form. Hip Hop music is one of the trendiest and catchiest form of music not only involving the foot tapping groovy beats,

The Inelastic Price Demand For Wheat

The Inelastic Price Demand For Wheat From a case study South Africas price of an agricultural commodity wheat fall because their suppliers United States had a boosted productivity of wheat caused by snowfall weather conditions. It is therefore concluded that the supply of wheat is elastic as the production of wheat can vary from year to year due to competition on market and whether conditions .The demand of wheat is inelastic because the consumer responsiveness is small when there is a decrease in the price of wheat .Wheat can also be viewed as normal good. [Word Count 887] South Africas wheat price fall for the first time after the price of the grain in the US dropped as snowfall in US boosted harvest. This increase in productivity of wheat in United States has an impact on South Africas wheat price because South Africa is a net importer of wheat. The nation is the regions biggest importer after Nigeria and Sudan, according to US Department of Agricultural data (Bloomberg News, 2013, 1).The snowfall resulted in more productivity of wheat therefore creating a high competitive market between the suppliers and consumers since wheat has a number of daily products .The price of wheat is therefore forced by market competition to decrease to P0 also creating a new market equilibrium E1. P S0 S1 P1 E0 P0- E1 D Quantity 0 q1 q2 q3 Therefore this production increases according to Parkin et el An increase in supply brings a shift of the supply curve to the right, (Parkin et al, 2010:104). Therefore the quantity of wheat supplied by United States will results in the supply curve S0 shifting to the as shown by the bold arrow .In this article the wheat production was boosted by snowballs falling on wheat farms, making the weather more favourable to produce more of wheat. This is an example of natural cause of production as there was no any human input to increase production. On the other natural causes can also have negative impacts for example if wheat is attacked by some kind of disease or pest the production will be very low. Other factors that increases the quantity supplied are, technology according to Econport production technology is involved in the process part. Increases in the level of production technology can make that process more efficient, (Econport, 2013).Technological advancements for example if a new wheat harvester machine is introduced the results are more wheat productivity and more surplus. This production is also affected by the number of suppliers in wheat market which when there are many they create a competitive market whereby the suppliers will not determine prices Supply for wheat is elastic since the supply of wheat varies every year which is caused by weather, in this case snowfalls and also the market competition as shown by the supply curve S0 which are less steeper and elasticity is greater than 1.Therefore a small change in the price of wheat will result will result in a larger change of quantity demanded for example if the price of wheat increases 2% quantity demanded will change by 7%. The determinants causing shifts in supply are, proportion of income for example consumers prefer commodities they can afford, the amount of the commodity demanded for example if the demand is high the suppliers are most likely to raise the commoditys price, price of related goods consumers usual prefer cheaper commodities, substitute goods related for example if the price of coffee increases the demand for tea will be high. In this case wheat is a normal good which is inelastic as consumers are less responsive to change in price. Change in demand for wheat in this article will be a small increase in amount (q1-q0).In this article the small increase is caused by price fall and in this situation consumers are more willing to buy more of wheat. The responsiveness of consumers is very small. If the price was increasing the consumers will buy less and more likely to substitute wheat with the next available alternative. Other factors include level of income if the price increases it makes a negative effect to consumers income therefore they will buy less. Consumers choice and wiliness to buy. The size of the population a larger population consumes more wheat than a smaller one and government policies for example if the government sets its minimum price above the equilibrium point the quantity demanded is reduced. Price movements are shown on the vertical axis .before the price of wheat fall the price was p1 and equal to the market equilibrium E0 where the supply and demand curves intersect. When the supply curve moved to the right the equilibrium also moved to our new equilibrium E1.As wheat price decreased our supply curve shifted to supply curve S1.This results in the shift of the market equilibrium to E1.The quantity change is (q1-q0).Looking at the demand curve we can see that it is steep therefore it has a elasticity value closer to 0 .This means wheat is relatively inelastic that is elasticity ranges between 0 and 1. This implies that change in price of wheat is greater than the change in quantity .This classifies wheat as normal goods. Thus according to Tutor2u Inferior goods have a negative income elasticity of demand, demand falls as income rises(Tutor2u,2013).For example at ceteris paribus if the price of wheat increases by 8% the quantity demanded will changes with a small percenta ge like 1%.Other types of goods are normal, luxury goods. Wheat is an agricultural commodity that is needed to produce products like bread and pastas therefore it is normal commodity and in this case consumer responsiveness to change in price is small therefore wheat is income inelastic. As wheat farmers produce more there will create a competitive market which gives us a new lower price and a new market equilibrium point E1.The supply of wheat is elastic which means a small change in price will result in a large change in quantity demanded.

Michelangelo Buonarroti Essay -- European History Renaissance

Michelangelo Buonarroti There was a time period from 1400 C.E. to 1600 C.E., referred to as the Renaissance. The Renaissance was an age of discovery shown through , architecture, poetry, art, sculpture, and theater based on a Greco-Roman culture. Among the many Renaissance thinkers there was a man named Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo was an architect, sculptor, painter, poet, and an engineer. He preferred sculpting because he felt he was shaping mankind, which reflected the Renaissance era. The Renaissance encouraged everyone to express their human potential and become a master of their universe. In contrast to the dark middle age ideas of a supernatural orientation to life, the Renaissance encouraged a more natural world and human life orientation. Michelangelo reflected the Renaissance ideals through his works of art; such as, the Sistine Chapel, many sculptures including David and the Pieta, and architecture including Capitoline Hill in Rome. In these forms of art, Michelangelo lived up to being the universal man, which meant developing yourself into an individual genious. Michelangelo reflected the Renaissance in the central panels on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. A particular piece of art showed how Adam and God became members of the same race of super beings, reflecting a mixture of Greek mythology and Christianity. The concept of combining pagan and Christianity is clearly shown in the central panel the Creation of Adam. God’s finger reaching out to Adam is transferring his godly powers to Adam .which depicts the Universal Man. Whereas Medieval art would consider placing man and God as equals to be wickedness, whereas the Renaissance ideal consider art depicting that men as gods was not evil. The Sistine Chapel showed that Michelangelo reflected the Renaissance, because he portrayed his paintings using shadows, boldness, depicting three dimensional objects. Causing the characters on the ceiling to come alive. In contrast to the Medieval age, art consisted of dull, flat without shadow or dimension. The Renaissance created an era where artists could express themselves through lively art. Art during the pre-renaissance era, the Medieval age, was greatly influenced by the Catholic Church forbidding nudity and/or equality between God and man. Michelangelo challenged the church by depicting his work in the nude, yet idolizing God. During the... ...hree dimensional, bold art that depicted man as real and as an god in his own right. . Michelangelo accomplished portraying the Renaissance era as a Greco-Roman culture of art along with the blessings of the Catholic church. The bleak formless Medieval art forms were gladly replaced by Michelangelo’s works of art. BIBLIOGRAPHY Kleiner, Tansey. Gardner’s Art Through The Ages Tenth Edition II Renaissance And Modern Art. Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996 Ventura, Piero. Michelangelo’s World. Canada: Milan 1989 Cumming, Robert. Great Artists The Lives of 50 Painters Explored Through Their Work. New York : DK Publishing, 1998 Britain Express. "Medieval Architecture and Art". 30 Dec. 2002 This Website is valid because the website states : Students researching articles in our History section have asked about the credentials of David Ross for citing purposes. Credentials include: BA in English History (Memorial University, 1979) Author of "The Essntial Traveler's Companion to Medieval England" (1066 Publishing, 1996) Kren, Emil. â€Å"Creation of Adam†. 12 Jan. 2003 This Website is valid because it had its own sources which it got its information from.

Example of a Small Business Performing a SWOT Analysis Essay

Learn more about performing a SWOT analysis before reading the case study. Background The three members of the leadership team at a small marketing consulting firm were interested in expanding their offerings to their clients. Currently the firm has 20 employees (including the three members of the leadership team) many of whom are consultants with the balance being administrative and marketing staff. The last time the company had done a SWOT analysis was when they were first starting up in business and were working on their business plan. The SWOT session enabled them to develop their business plan by having them think through their business goals and objectives for viability and feasibility. At the time, the three of them, plus a few members of their Advisory Council participated in the SWOT analysis. The goal of this SWOT session would be to: * Determine ways to better position the company in marketplace. * Determine new products and services to offer clients to better compete in a crowded marketplace. Preparing for the SWOT session The leadership team wanted to set aside 3 hours for the SWOT session. Given that the business was small, the leadership team felt that everyone should participate. The following decisions were made: * All 20 employees would participate in the SWOT session * A Friday morning in mid-summer would be set aside for the session (and†¦as a â€Å"thank you† for participating – employees would be given the balance of the day off to spend with family and friends) * The focus of the SWOT session would be toward determining products and services to offer to clients and that information would be provided to participants beforehand so they can begin to think about it * A professional facilitator would be brought in to lead the session since this SWOT exercise was essential to the company’s continued growth and success Additionally, the leadership team was going to provide all participants with a copy of the SWOT analysis done at the very beginning – before the business venture began. While it had a different purpose, it would be valuable for the SWOT session participants to view it and, from the leadership perspective, it would be interesting to compare then to now. The SWOT session Brainstorming was used during the SWOT session to gather data for the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The facilitator led the group – starting with strengths and working through to threats. An hour was allocated for this task. Each participant spent time writing on sticky notes their thoughts, ideas, opinions, beliefs and known truths regarding the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. When done, all of the information was posted on the walls under the appropriate heading (e.g. Strengths, etc.) Prioritizing the information The next hour and a half was spent reviewing the data with an eye toward: * Looking for themes/commonalities – combining similar sticky notes under themes (e.g., Customer Service) * Prioritizing based on: * Significant information/data provided by large numbers of participants (e.g, ineffective use of social media was mentioned 15 times!) * What could be â€Å"quick hits† for the company to start to effectively compete against the competition * Products and service ideas that can be created within a year’s time frame The table below is a small sampling of the data gathered during the brainstorming session. This particular data is selected as when they prioritized their efforts these were the areas of focus. STRENGTHS| WEAKNESSES| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Long-term employees committed to the company * Customers love the work done by the company * Customer retention is high * Well-known brand in the local area * Company has made a profit every year in business * Client base was growing| * No blog on the website * Ineffective use of social media * No global customers * The business hasn’t expanded in the last few years and seems stagnant. * No presence at trade shows or industry events/ conferences * No â€Å"new blood† bringing in fresh ideas * Client base not growing as quickly as in past| * Ask current customers to refer business * Use social media and blogging to build brand name and gain new customers * Expand business nationally * Target smaller start-ups who needed strong marketing to get their business off the ground * Provide sales support services for clients * Offer dashboards for tracking marketing| * Competition was increasing * A number of local competitors were already blogging and utilizing social media * Current customers wanted social media consulting and it was difficult to do so when the company doesn’t do social media themselves * Lots of individuals and other new small businesses â€Å"popping† up who do marketing consulting| Based on the information gathered during the brainstorming sessions and what the participants believed could be accomplished in a one to two year timeframe to have a significant impact on the business, the following was decided to meet the objectives: Objective: Better position the company for success in the marketplace | Objective: New products and services| * Develop a blog * Assign responsibilities for social media accounts: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook * Ask current customers to refer business * Expand business nationally| * Develop and offer dashboards for customers to manage marketing initiatives * Provide services to start-ups who need a strong marketing initiative * Provide social media services and support| Next steps The company’s next steps were to take the projects they decided to accomplish toward achieving their goals and: * Assign responsibility for that project * Develop a project plan including a timeframe and budget needs * Prioritize the projects further * Begin work! A survey done of all participants after the SWOT session showed that they were excited about the process and the path they had developed to help meet company goals. By getting all employees involved, the leadership team showed that they valued all employees and wanted their contributions to help make the company a success. Once a month the leadership team would meet with each project lead to check on project status. It was decided that on an annual basis employees would participate in SWOT sessions to work on strategy for the upcoming year. As the company grew, employees would have the opportunity to participate on a rotating basis.

Compare And Contrast Songs Essay

The two songs â€Å"Indian Reservation† by Paul Revere and The Raiders, and â€Å"Seminole Wind† by John Anderson expressed emotion, culture, and religion. â€Å"Indian Reservation† song has more of an ‘upbeat’ tempo, and the lyrics that the band sang are a personal view of a Native American or Cherokee tribe. The lyrics seemed angry as they sang about how the Cherokee tribe turned into a mess by becoming â€Å"Americans†. For example: when the song said , â€Å"and all the beads we made by hand, are nowadays made in Japan,† The song shows that the Cherokee tribe’s hard work was importantÍ ¾ but, the â€Å"American† people took over the Cherokee’s work and did not appreciate what they once created by hand. The Cherokee people are proud of what they accomplished in their way of life. The song â€Å"Seminole Wind† by John Anderson has a very country vibe to it. The song has a less ‘upbeat’ toneÍ ¾ however, the rhythm of the song flows well. The lyrics to this song have a more descriptive language to it. When John Anderson was singing, one can easily picture what he was singing about. â€Å"Seminole Wind† has many metaphors and they all have special meanings. Another metaphor is that, the song talks about having destroyed land rather than looking as if their tribe turned into ‘Americans’.

Free Essays on Odysseus As A Leader And A Hero

to Amphinimos, one of the suitors. This quote caught my attention because it shows the new role Odysseus had to take on and how well he disguised himself (aside from his scar). This quote represents his leader side and all of the lies and stories Odysseus told in order to get revenge on the suitors. Odysseus fits his part as a beggar so well that sometimes you (the reader) start to forget that Odysseus was once a great hero. Odysseus also has a heroic side to him. He doesn’t let fear get in the way of his actions. â€Å"Son of Laertes, versatile Odysseus, a... Free Essays on Odysseus As A Leader And A Hero Free Essays on Odysseus As A Leader And A Hero â€Å"†¦ Be quiet; keep it from the others, else I warn you, and I mean it, too, if by my hand god brings the suitors down I’ll kill you, nurse, r not, when the time comes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I would like to start off by showing Odysseus’ non-heroic or â€Å"leader† side. Those words he spoke to Eurymakhos, the women who nursed and raised him since his birth, are cruel and somewhat selfish. I don’t understand how anyone could even think of killing a person who cares so much about you, and after not seeing Eurymakhos for twenty years he should be happy to see her! But Odysseus, the leader, won’t let anyone get in the way of his plans. Another big part of Odysseus’ leader side was Aitheon, the man he disguised himself as. Almost every time Aitheon spoke a new lie was created. Odysseus didn’t have time to think of what he would say in which situation, which is why we often found him improvising while playing the role of Aitheon. â€Å"Of all that breathes and crawls across the earth, our mother earth breeds nothing feebler than a man. So long as the gods’ grant him power, spring in his knees, he thinks he will never suffer affliction down the years. But then, when the happy gods bring on the long hard times, bear them he must, against his will, and steel his heart. Our lives, our mood and mind as we pass across the earth, turn as the days turn †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Odysseus spoke these words to Amphinimos, one of the suitors. This quote caught my attention because it shows the new role Odysseus had to take on and how well he disguised himself (aside from his scar). This quote represents his leader side and all of the lies and stories Odysseus told in order to get revenge on the suitors. Odysseus fits his part as a beggar so well that sometimes you (the reader) start to forget that Odysseus was once a great hero. Odysseus also has a heroic side to him. He doesn’t let fear get in the way of his actions. â€Å"Son of Laertes, versatile Odysseus, a...

5 Reasons to Get a DailyWritingTips Pro Subscription Today

5 Reasons to Get a DailyWritingTips Pro Subscription Today 5 Reasons to Get a DailyWritingTips Pro Subscription Today 5 Reasons to Get a DailyWritingTips Pro Subscription Today By Daniel Scocco If you are still on the fence about becoming a DailyWritingTips Pro subscriber, here are five reasons that will certainly convince you to join today. 1. 50% discount ($3.99 per month) The regular price of the subscription is $7.99 per month. For a limited time we are offering the subscription with a 50% discount, so you pay only $3.99 per month. When you join you will also lock your subscription price and wont be affected when it increases in the future. If you think about it, you will be paying $1 per week for a service that will improve your English and writing skills over time. Beats buying some overpriced gum huh? 2. Daily articles + exercises The Pro subscription is the only one that will deliver to you our writing tips and exercises every day. The free subscription (which is no longer offered but still honored for old subscribers) delivers our writing tips only twice per week and does not include our interactive exercises. 3. Easy to join For many years we relied on PayPal to process the subscription payments. Many users complained about that because it forces them to create and maintain a PayPal account. For this reason we decided to migrate to a better solution. We are now using Stripe, which is the industry standard in online payments. Stripe offers you the same level of security (i.e. your financial information will never be available to us and only to Stripe) but it is much more user-friendly. In order to join you just need to provide an email address and a valid credit card, and the process takes literally 15 seconds. 4. Easy to try and cancel We wanted to make it easy to join but also easy to try, and thats why we offer a 15-day free trial. You do need a valid credit card to start your trial, but you will not be charged anything for the first 15 days. Canceling your subscription is equally easy, be it in the trial or after. All you have to do is send us an email and we cancel your account on the same day, no questions asked. It is also our standard policy to grant all refund requests. In other words, if you forget to cancel before your next payment happens we will be glad to refund it (after all we have been there ourselves with other subscriptions). 5. Three Awesome eBooks as a bonus Finally, we have three awesome e-books to give you as a bonus right after you join. You will get access to download the eBooks on the free trial, and they are yours to keep even if you cancel during the trial. The first bonus eBook is titled 100 Writing Mistakes You Should Avoid. It used to sell for $10 and always received great feedback. It will be yours for free. Ready to give it a try? Click here to get all the details and join. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?Empathy "With" or Empathy "For"?Plurals of Proper Names

The Difference Between e-Learning and Distance Learning

The Difference Between e-Learning and Distance Learning The terms e-learning, distance learning, web-based learning and online learning are often used interchangeably. But, a recent eLearn Magazine article explains how important it is to recognize their differences: ...These terms represent concepts with subtle, yet consequential differences....A clear understanding of these concepts and their fundamental differences is important for both the educational and training communities. Applying each of these terms adequately is key to assuring reliable communication between clients and vendors, members of technical teams, and the research community. A thorough familiarity with each concept and its distinctive characteristics is a critical factor in establishing adequate specifications, evaluating alternative options, selecting best solutions, and enabling and promoting effective learning practices. See Also: The 7 Mistakes Online Learners Make

Society likes to put us into little boxes. Male, female, black, white, Essay

Society likes to put us into little boxes. Male, female, black, white, homosexual, heterosexualeverything exists as a binary opposition, with no room for the - Essay Example Using a broad explanation, binary opposition is often a hierarchical tool that is used to pit one social group against another. It is generally a pair of theoretical opposites (Wikipedia.org) that justifies human thought tendencies, such as heterosexual-homosexual opposition, which often allows one side to label the other using stereotypical guidelines. Whenever you have a binary opposition, one of the definitions is usually marked in a negative kind of way. In the case of the hetero-homosexual binarism, invariably homosexual is the one that is marked (Fairyington, 2004). Across the nation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities are facing the challenge of advancing civil rights on the local and state levels (Otis, 2004), often finding small successes in legal battles while still plagued with societal binary opposition. For those individuals with a minority-based sexual identity, such as the homosexual, finding a middle ground within society poses more of a challenge. Sexuality research currently needs to reexamine critically its constructs of sexual orientation and identify for theoretical inconsistencies and simplistic assumptions about the nature of sexual desire continue to plague it (Paul, 1985). To highlight this statement, the "simplistic assumptions" are often driven by societys lack of education or exposure to the homosexual group and become markedly opposed to them based on conformity issues (peer to peer), misconstrued religious connotations, or falling victim to long-running, historical prejudices based on speculation rather than facts. Sexual identity is defined as an organized set of perceptions that an individual maintains about the meaning of their sexual attractions and desires, directed toward forming a sense of self within existing social categories (Frankel, 2004). With this in mind, recognizing

Practice Management and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Practice Management and Leadership - Essay Example As the essay stresses post-modern thinking has become somewhat lost in it’s the celebration of differences rather than focusing on the searching for commonality. The post modern society is leading to the development of post modern organisational structures which are being used as contrasts to bureaucratic forms of organisation, which were unable to cope with the demands of the post modern condition. From the report it is clear that the post modern organization does not and cannot exist. For example, from a post modern perspective, a contemporary form of organization would put little emphasis on planning and control and would create an essentially chaotic and reactive environment. But this extreme example cannot be allowed to rule in today’s businesses, since most organizations today spend a large amount of their time and money on rationally calculating things like which market to move into, which firm to swallow up, etc. It would be valid to conclude that at this present time we can witness a mixture of modern and post modern forms in most organizations. This way of being can develop into a more open, and pliable organization. But then of course this so called openness can cause many uncertainties. Thus the role of design management has come to embody the ways in which organizations are redesigning themselves in order to free the workers from bureaucratic shackles and bec ome the involved, fluid and connected ‘post modern’ organization.

How did the rise of the corporation affect the United States What Essay

How did the rise of the corporation affect the United States What factors helped corporations form, and - Essay Example The strategy gave rise to big businesses that led to fewer people controlling the market. The presence of machines for agriculture made the United States pioneer in productions of agricultural products. The rise of the corporations transformed the United States because its economy matured (Sauvant, Mendoza & Irmak, 2008). During this time, there was a rapid expansion of big business and the rise of national labor unions. Despite all positive effects, the rise of the corporations led to the rise of wars against Americans and the removal of indigenous people from their early homes. The rise of corporations led to the growth of the population in urban centers. It also enhanced the proportion of immigrants. The most affected individuals lived in the urban centers due to the need to expand agricultural fields (Sauvant, Mendoza & Irmak,

Ideologies in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and Thomas Malthus' Essay Term Paper

Ideologies in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and Thomas Malthus' Essay on Population - Term Paper Example Although the ideologies presented by both the authors tend to focus on the implications of the classical theory, there are certain differences that can be observed in terms of the ideologies presented through these publications related with human nature as well as freedom and morality. Focusing on these aspects, the objective of the discussion henceforth is intended to compare and contrast the views presented by Adam Smith and by Thomas Malthus through their publications respectively. Adam Smith’s ‘Wealth of Nations’ and Thomas Malthus’s ‘Essay on Population’ It can be observed that the early classical economists, such as Adam Smith as well as Thomas Malthus stated the fact that business cycles function because of alterations in population in reaction to the availability of the resources, capability of the capitalists to exploit the labor, socio-psychological mass associations, unanticipated business inventories as well as public confidence (Ma lthus, 1798). Ideology for human nature Adam Smith was of the opinion that the number of the labors within an economy is directly proportional to the wealth of the nation. Moving in-depth towards human contribution for economic wealth creation, he further assumed the fact that human beings can be motivated emphasizing on their self-interest treating it to be the most powerful motive in human behavior’ (Coase, 2010). While, on the other hand, it was opined by Malthus that increase in labor would restrain the resources within an economy acclaiming a diverse relation with the aspect of economic wealth creation (Malthus, 1798). However, with regards to the explanation of Malthus, a contradictory view can be obtained with reference to the statement of Adam Smith, where he narrates that capital can be stimulated by frugality and every frugal man is a public benefactor (Smith, 1776). In his words, â€Å"This frugality and good conduct, however, is, upon most occasions, it appears f rom experience, sufficient to compensate, not only the private prodigality and misconduct of individuals but the public extravagance of government† (pp. 280). As per the views of Malthus (1798), the economic condition of the person is likely to worsen with the pace of time majorly because of innovations making difficult to maintain a pace with the needs of the human population. Furthermore, it was observed by the author that the rate of population growth generally can be observed at a geometric rate unlike the growth of food production which can be examined at an arithmetic rate. Thomas Malthus was also of the opinion that capitalism generally leads to a disparity in the distribution of income apparently contradicting that frugality can be of great significance to overall economic growth (University of California Museum of Palaeontology, 2012). However, it needs to be mentioned in this regards that Adam Smith also did not render much significance to the aspect of frugality in human nature explaining a moderate inclusion of the aspect in the economic growth process (Smith, 1776).  

Environmental Chemical Compound Research Writing Assignment Paper - 1

Environmental Chemical Compound Writing Assignment - Research Paper Example It is a non-corrosive, colourless gas2. At low concentrations it is odourless, but at very high concentrations it has an odour similar to that of ether3. It has a melting point of -157.7⠁ °C and a boiling point of -29.8⠁ °C4. It is soluble in water and many other organic solvents such as benzene and cyclohenxanone5. It has a molecular weight of 120.913 and does not burn in air6. It is normally compressed and stored as liquefied gas7. It has a vapour pressure of 4850 mmHg8. Because of the non-corrosive nature and very low boiling point of dichlorodifluoromethane, it was mainly used as a refrigerant in numerous home and industrial settings; it could not damage the mechanical components of the refrigerators. It was also used as an aerosol propellant in many pharmaceutical products such as Salbutamol and cosmetic sprays. Another use was in fire extinguishing systems, where it was used as a foaming agent. The chemical was also as an intermediate chemical in the production of other chemicals such as fluoropolymers9. Dichlorodifluoromethane was released into the environment during its production, transportation, storage and eventual use. Because of its high vapour pressure, any dichlorodifluoromethane that was released onto the ground quickly found its way into the atmosphere through volatilisation. Once in the atmosphere, the chemical accumulated in the troposphere. In this part of the atmosphere, the chemical was found to be very stable because it did not photodissociate at the wavelengths of light higher than 200 nm found in the troposphere. It accumulated in the troposphere and then spread around the world, and then diffused into the stratosphere after around thirty years. Once in the stratosphere, the chemical underwent photodissociation, influenced by the strong, short wavelength UV light10: These reactions contributed to the ozone destructions. The fact that a chlorine atom gets

An analytical managerial review of In or Outsourcing in the IT Research Proposal

An analytical managerial review of In or Outsourcing in the IT industry - Research Proposal Example the basis of its enormous importance, it was important to choose the Information technology industry as the basis of this research project; it will serve as a dynamic topic of discussion that will have immense importance in the future. Also, information technology is my field of career; working on information technology will benefit my employer as well. It will help me increase my knowledge on a subject that I have immense interest in. In order to work on analytical managerial review of an organization in IT industry, I have chosen my organization as the subject. The research on information technology will not only help me enhance my capabilities in this area, but will also greatly help my organization. With the advent of numerous outsourcing options; the question today is not about to outsource or not to outsource. The new dilemma is to introduce the right kind of IT System at the right time with the right price point. The right decision at the right time about the right system is the key. Therefore, the tile of this research proposal is In or Out? – using the words from in sourcing or out sourcing; which management strategy works better for organization. As the head of ICT services, the project is extremely close to my interest, my line of career and will greatly benefit my organization and the field of IT as a whole. As mentioned above, it is not about outsourcing, it is about the time and price at which outsourcing decisions should be taken. As the environment is changing with each passing day, so is the development of the field of IT and its relative importance to the business technology. This changing environment can be greatly noticed in the information technology industry. In the current global financial environment, organizations are required to produce immaculate synergy; producing more than ever from the limited resources put in the system. The geographical location is more of a limitation that is mitigated by operations all across the

Environmental Chemical Compound Research Writing Assignment Paper - 1

Environmental Chemical Compound Writing Assignment - Research Paper Example It is a non-corrosive, colourless gas2. At low concentrations it is odourless, but at very high concentrations it has an odour similar to that of ether3. It has a melting point of -157.7⠁ °C and a boiling point of -29.8⠁ °C4. It is soluble in water and many other organic solvents such as benzene and cyclohenxanone5. It has a molecular weight of 120.913 and does not burn in air6. It is normally compressed and stored as liquefied gas7. It has a vapour pressure of 4850 mmHg8. Because of the non-corrosive nature and very low boiling point of dichlorodifluoromethane, it was mainly used as a refrigerant in numerous home and industrial settings; it could not damage the mechanical components of the refrigerators. It was also used as an aerosol propellant in many pharmaceutical products such as Salbutamol and cosmetic sprays. Another use was in fire extinguishing systems, where it was used as a foaming agent. The chemical was also as an intermediate chemical in the production of other chemicals such as fluoropolymers9. Dichlorodifluoromethane was released into the environment during its production, transportation, storage and eventual use. Because of its high vapour pressure, any dichlorodifluoromethane that was released onto the ground quickly found its way into the atmosphere through volatilisation. Once in the atmosphere, the chemical accumulated in the troposphere. In this part of the atmosphere, the chemical was found to be very stable because it did not photodissociate at the wavelengths of light higher than 200 nm found in the troposphere. It accumulated in the troposphere and then spread around the world, and then diffused into the stratosphere after around thirty years. Once in the stratosphere, the chemical underwent photodissociation, influenced by the strong, short wavelength UV light10: These reactions contributed to the ozone destructions. The fact that a chlorine atom gets

Religious Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Religious Terrorism - Essay Example However there is a major difference between sect and cult. A sect is a consequence of an established religion where mostly people either die off or expand into a major denomination so a sect-based religious group is more likely to play the role of the victim, not the aggressor.A cult, on the other hand, is a more dangerous, spiritually innovative group headed by a charismatic leader who usually motivates his group and has several aims other than to become a major denomination. Today's terrorists are ultimately more apocalyptic in their perspectives and methods. For many violent and radical organizations, terror has evolved from being a means to an end, to becoming the end in itself. The National Commission on Terrorism quoted R. James Woolsey: Another feature of religious cults that makes them incredibly dangerous is the personality-driven nature of these groups. Cultist devotion to one leader leaves followers less able to make their own moral decisions or to consult other sources of reasoning. If that leader is emotionally or mentally unstable, the consequences can be catastrophic. The more dangerous religious terrorist groups from traditional faiths may often share this feature of the cult as a charismatic leader who exerts a powerful influence over the members of the group. (Matthew J. Morgan, 2004) Again I would like to link the acts of religious terrorism to brainwashing, as to how it relates to terrorism. Cults usually possesses one main aspiration in mind i.e., to motivate and inspire their groups to the utmost till a stage comes where the groups no longer needs to be motivated and appear in one of the following categories: Intentional Brainwashing - the victim knows as to what he is doing in terms of rights and wrongs. He is aware of all the consequences and still likes to be brainwashed. Unintentional Brainwashing - the victim is deeply inspired by the aggressor to the utmost that he is unaware of his own condition. (Uncertainty) Causes It is important to distinguish religious terrorists from those terrorists with religious components, but whose primary goals are political. Religiously motivated terrorist groups grew sixfold from 1980 to 1992 and continued to increase in the 1990s. Hoffman asserted: "The religious imperative for terrorism is the most important characteristic of terrorist activity today." Today's terrorists increasingly look at their acts of death and destruction as sacramental or transcendental on a spiritual level. The pragmatic reservations of secular terrorists do not hold back religious terrorists. Secular terrorists may view indiscriminate violence as immoral. For religious terrorists, however, indiscriminate violence may not be only morally justified, but constitute a righteous and necessary advancement of their religious cause. As Hoffman observed, the constituency itself differs between religious and secular terrorists. Secular terrorists seek to defend or promote some disenfranchised population and to appeal to sympathizers or prospective sympathizers. Religious terrorists are often limited to their own constituencies, having no

Formative Assessment For Learning

Formative Assessment For Learning Literature for many years has delivered many different meanings and definitions of what formative assessment is. Marsh (2004) believes that Formative assessment provides data about instructional units in progress and students in action. They help to develop or form the final curriculum product and help students adjust to their learning tasks through the feedback they receive Black William (1998) believe that Assessment refers to all those activities undertaken by teachers, and by the students in assessing themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. Such assessment becomes formative assessment when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching to meet the needs. Paul Black (2002) has also defined formative assessment as any assessment for which the priority is to server the purpose of promoting pupils learning. Formative assessment can be closely linked with Assessment for learning (AFL) . The two are very similar but have one definitive difference. Swearingen (2002) states that formative assessment is part of instruction that informs and guides teachers as they make instructional decisions. Assessment should not merely be done to students, rather it also is done FOR students to guide and enhance their learning. In Laymans terms, formative assessment is ongoing assessment to inform planning and aid in overall assessments. Assessment for learning (AFL) on the other hand has the child at the heart of it; knowing what theyre learning, how to perform effectively and assessing what they have learnt. Formative assessments promote student attainment of knowledge rather than testing a body of attained knowledge. We have to design a Curriculum that is rich with such methods of formative assessment that will result in a more student-centred approach to teaching. J Right (2010) believes that this often leads to student success. According to research and from personal experience teaching in various schools, there are many forms of formative assessment used in the classroom. Here are some:- * Observation This is one of the earliest known methods of observing nature, according to science. (Hein 1991) states that Observation in the classroom reaps benefits for not only the teacher but also the student. By observing children, teachers can identify their students verbal and non-verbal behaviour, and identify the method he/she uses to complete their work. Teachers through observation can identify areas in which students are finding challenging and provide them with corrective feedback. During all by teaching experiences in school, I have kept a Book of Observations to monitor behaviour over time. In the book I wrote the behaviour of a certain child and the method I used to help solve the matter. * Whole-Class/Group Discussion This involves discussion of open ended questions with the students by the teacher and the students with each other. The goal of whole-class discussion is to develop critical and creative thinking skills. Concept Cartoons are a very effective way of promoting these skills in Science. I will discuss this later on. Black and Wiliam 1998; Doherty 2003 believe that Discussions allow students to increase the breadth and depth of their understanding while discarding erroneous information and expanding and explicating background knowledge. * Teacher Feedback According to (Boston 2002; Ramaprasad 1983; Sadler 1989; Tunstall and Gipps (1996) The formative assessment activity helps students understanding their proficiency, and the feedback the teacher gives the student helps close the learning gap. Many researchers including Bangert-Drowns, Kulick, Morgan (1999) have written about how the more specific a teachers feedback about learners mistakes and ways in which they could improve their work, the more children improve with their learning. This type of feedback could help cater the needs of the lower ability children because the message is that children can improve their work by using the correct method rather than feel like they are unable to perform a task due to lack of ability. From practice to research it is obvious that Formative Assessment and AFL and both valuable for teacher and student. The teacher can use it to identify how learners are progression and can use this information to adjust their teaching. Students benefit from formative assessment by being able to follow specific steps to meet their objectives, spot what they are having trouble with and have specific feedback to develop their knowledge. From a pedagogic point of view it is difficult to argue against the benefits of formative assessment for both teacher and learner. For example:- * Formative assessment ensures that the learners remains focused and on task. The learners can discuss what they are learning. There is a shared learning process. * Formative assessment provides a diagnostic approach to approach to recording process and lets the learners know his/her strengths and weaknesses. * Formative assessment helps teachers with planning as it involves giving the learner specific learning intentions. * Formative assessment helps teachers design their lessons to cater for individuals or groups of learners. * Formative assessment develops learners awareness of self-assessment so that they can become more reflective and self- managing. * Boston (2002) believes that Formative assessment focuses on the childrens progression and achievement rather than focusing on the failure. Therefore motivating the learner. Formative assessment has been shown to be highly effective in raising the level of student attainment, increasing equity of student outcomes, and improving students ability to learn. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/31/35661078.pdf (12.2.2011) Mathematics Assessment for Learning is an important tool for increasing the level of learning in mathematics classrooms. There are many different techniques and strategies that can be used to develop childrens learning through formative assessment and AFL. Setting achievable learning objectives through Success Criteria To develop learners knowledge learning objectives should be put into place that are realistic and achievable. These learning objectives should include a set of Success Criteria that the learners follow to reach understanding and use this understanding to solve problems. Setting learning objectives makes the learner more focused on their learning. This enables the learner to become more self critical. Learning objectives and Success criteria should be shared at the beginning of the lesson, this gives the children the goal they intend to achieve and the steps they need to follow to insure they do. Briggs, Woodfiled, Martin, Swatton (2007) define Learning Objectives as a clear statement of what is intended that children will have learnt during an activity, a lesson or a sequence of lessons. The success criteria: * are based on the objective, and should shape the teaching and modelling and provide the childrens focus while they are working * are the key focus for the teachers and childrens feedback. www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/NationalStrategies 13.2.2011 Below is an example of a Learning Objective and Success Criteria in a Mathematics lesson: Learning Objective: To be able to identify what a good Graph needs. Success Criteria: I know what X axis is I know what Y axis is I can differentiate between the two. Working with a Partner Questions set to the children should encourage them to explore and refer back to what they have previously learnt. Children should work in partners or in small groups (this would be more for the lower ability children) to identify the correct answer. Much research has been carried to explore the response of a learner working collaboratively with a partner or in small groups. Vygotsky (1978) believes that Assessment is grounded in the theory that students learn better by collaborating and discussing concepts with peers than by constructing answers in isolation. Boe (1994) once stated that groups working in groups in the classroom should be followed by assessments in groups. He believed that it implements the ideals of democracy in the classroom. After working in groups the children could fill-in a short worksheets assessing themselves on their group work. The following method i was introduced to during my second year school based studies, teaching a year 6 class. The children could use the worksheet to assess themselves by answering the following Questions: * Did I listen to the instructions? * Did I listen to everybody in my group? * Did I help my group? * Did I stay on task throughout? * How much did I enjoy the activity? * Did I Respect the others in my group? * Next time I will.. As well as working with a partner or in a group, to improve childrens learning they should be given more time to think and answer questions. This is often referred to as thinking time or wait time. Mary Budd Rowe (1972) first came up with the concept of thinking time. After observing teachers she saw that the time between asking the question and the response rarely lasted 1.5 seconds. She noticed that the childrens answers and attitude was more positive after given more time to answer (3-4 seconds). According to research by Mary Budd Rowe (1972) many benefits came from wait time. They include:- * Increases the number of cognitive response by learner * Decreases the number of I Dont know answers and confusion In mathematics the thinking time would not be much more than 4 seconds as much of the answers are of quantity. Stahl (1985) defined think time as a distinct period of uninterrupted silence by the teacher and all students so that they both can complete appropriate information processing tasks, feelings, oral responses, and actions. Children need time to think. Research evidence shows that teachers usually allow only 0.9 seconds between asking a question and expecting an answer or even answering the question themselves. Leaving only 0.9 seconds demands that children simply react, they do not think. However if between 3 and 5 seconds is left before allowing children to answer this encourages them to provide more thoughtful answers and to analyse, synthesise and evaluate. https://www.ncetm.org.uk/public/files/725964 (12.2.2011) At the beginning of a Maths lesson, assign individual learners a partner, this could either by the person they are sitting next to or to develop their collaboration skills further they could be partnered with a random peer in the class. Through my experience teaching Key Stage 2 Children I have adopted this method grossly into my lessons. In Mathematics lessons, I often assigned children partners and asked them to record their final answers on mini white boards. From personal experience I have observed that children really like using the whiteboards in partners. I love using the small whiteboards because I get to talk to my friend and compete against the rest of the class. A boy in Year 6 Science Let us begin by asking the question, What is Science in the Primary school? In Britain, even though there are 4 different science curricula, they is an agreement that Science is used to engage interest and enjoyment in the learner by nurturing and developing curiosity and creativity. Then, when the scientific skills are imbedded, learning progresses. Claire Hodgson NFER review (2010) believes that Primary science learning is about living things, materials and phenomena. It is intended to be relevant to pupils everyday lives, helping them to learn about the world around them through hands-on investigation and exploration, with opportunities for making observations and measurements. Science is arguably the Core subject in school that incorporates the most AFL strategies. Science provides a rich opportunity for teachers and learners to develop their understanding through formative assessment and AFL. Discussion/Talk in Classroom Discussion is a key element used in science lessons to assess a childs learning. Asoko and Scott (2006) believe that, in science discussion: Language provides the fundamental means for communicating ideas, but it is also through talk, either with others or in our heads, that we can develop personal understanding. There are many methods used to promote discussion in the classroom. Concept Cartoons are very effective at this. Concept cartoons are illustrations of a question and 3 children giving different answers to the question. They are used to promote discussion between groups of children or the whole class. Keogh Naylor (1999) indicate that this method: has a positive impact on pupil motivation and may help to promote argumentation. Hodson (1998) has also listed conditions in which can further promote discussion with children. For example, the discussion topic must enthuse the children, keep them interested, it must also be problematic and relate to the childrens prior knowledge. Concept cartoons are an effective way to assess the childrens learning at the beginning of a lesson. Concept cartoons get children thinking, discussing and sharing their ideas and opinions with their peers. Keogh and Naylor (1999) said that this made the learners more active in the assessment process and helped to connect formative assessment with the learning that would follow. Harlen (2006) states that It is well known from research that learners construct their own understanding in science, based on their experience and that their ideas may be in conflict with scientifically accepted viewpoints. Elicitation is therefore very effective in Primary Science Education as it takes the learners ideas into account of the teaching. This is called a Constructivist approach to learning. Constructivism is a theory that was put forward by Piaget. It is used to explain how children know what they know. It describes problem solving being Key to childrens thinking, development and learning. There is a significant change in the learner when he/she engages in activities, discusses with peers and reflects on their learning. But what is the role of the teacher in this style of teaching? According to Brewer W (2009) the role of the teacher is to act as an expert learner who can guide students into adopting cognitive strategies such as self testing, articulating understanding, asking probing questions, and reflection. He basically states that a constructivist approach to teaching involves giving the children a Big Idea for learners to discuss, that keeps them engaged and interested and to connect prior knowledge to gain new ideas. ITCS6001 0701774 1

Kurdistan Essay -- essays research papers fc

Kurdistan is a region that has existed in turmoil and is the â€Å"never was† country. The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group of the Middle East, numbering between 20 and 25 million. Approximately 15 million live in the regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, an area they called Kurdistan, yet they do not have a country of their own. Formal attempts to establish such a state were crushed by the larger and more powerful countries in the region after both world wars. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I, the Kurds were promised their own independent nation under the Treaty of Sevres. In 1923 however, the treaty was broken allowing Turkey to maintain its status and not allowing the Kurdish people to have a nation to call their own. The end of the Gulf war, Iran-Iraq war, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the cold war has reinvigorated a Kurdish Nationalist movement. The movement is a powder keg ready to explode. With the majority of Kurds living within its boundaries, no country faces this threat more than Turkey. Because of Turkey’s concept of unified, cohesive nationhood-in which the existence of minorities are not acknowledged- these tensions in Turkey are more difficult to handle than else where. In southeastern Turkey, extreme fighting and guerilla tactics are used by the Kurds in support of their political parties. The Turkish military is actively stationed in this area now. There are several political parties that represent the needs of the Kurdish people. They are the Kurdistan’s Workers Party (PKK) who represent the needs of Turkish Kurds and are the most violent terrorist like group, the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) who is active politically but not militarily, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) composed of Iraqi Kurds, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) who is also representing the Iraqi Kurds. The PKK was created in 1974 as a Marxist-Leninist insurgent group primarily composed of Turkish Kurds searching for an independence movement. Its first and only leader, Abdullah Ocalan, or Apo as he came to be called, was at that time a student of political science at Ankara University. From the late 1970s, Ocalan worked closely with both the then Soviet Union and with Syria, whose governments were attempting to generate a political breakdown in Turkey. In 1977, the PKK published a series of "com... ...for years. In 1980, Ocalan actually moved to Syria and used Syrian facilities as well as training grounds in the Bekaa Valley to drill terrorist groups for cross-border attacks against targets in Turkey. Greece, a NATO ally, backs the PKK and its affiliates by every means at its disposal. The PKK is a very malicious and radical group in their search for their independence. They believe that their human rights are being oppressed by The Turkish peoples and that they deserve what land is theirs, no matter the cost. The only forces that stand in their way are Turkey, the PUK, and the KDP. If these organizations fail to stop the PKK, a new nation will be formed in the name of Marxism. And other countries may soon follow, changing what we know as the Middle East. Bibliography http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/PKK/pkk5-3.html http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/pkk.htm http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/mfa-t-pkk-s.htm http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/kurds.htm http://www.turkey.org/apo-pkk/apo1.htm http://www.comebackalive.com/df/dplaces/kurdista/ The Kurdish Nationalist Movement in the 1990’s ; Robert Olsen, editor; The University Press of Kentucky, 1996

Developmental Psychology :: Psychology Psychological Essays

Developmental Psychology There are three main theories of development that I shall discuss in this assignment, 'Cognitive', the main theorist being, 'Piaget', (1896 - 1980), The, 'Psychosocial Theory', 'Erikson', (1902 - 1994), and, The 'Psychosexual', of, 'Freud', (1856 - 1939). Cognitive Psychology draws the comparison between the human mind and a computer, suggesting that we like the computer process the information we acquire from around us and then react accordingly. Hearnshaw, (1987), claims that Cognitive Psychology is both one of the oldest and also one of the newest parts of Psychology, cited in ?T. Malim?, (1994). Information is collected through our senses i.e. vision, touch, smell etc and then processed through our brain. Cognitive Psychologists largely seek explanations of Cognitive development, memory, attention, artificial intelligence, perception and social cognition. The methods used are usually Laboratory experiments under controlled circumstances i.e. memory tests, and, Case studies. Piaget, (J), (1896-1980), carried out case studies on his own children to study the stages of cognitive development. Piaget concluded that the child was an organism which adapts to the environment, he also studied with the opinion that all children went through the same set stages of development and that there were no individual differences. Piagets? Stages of Development: - The Sensorimotor stage, (0-2): - Early in the sensorimotor stage the child is entirely egocentric, everything is an extension to the self, they can?t distinguish themselves from their environment. The child has no concept of past or future all it is aware of is the here and now. The child relies entirely on it?s senses i.e. sight, hearing, touch. It is believed by Cognitive Psychologists that ?.. ?To begin with, a baby will rely on in-built behaviours for sucking, crawling and watching? as cited in Moonie, N, (1995). A child does not understand that an object does not cease to exist when it is out of sight. However, in contradiction, Bower & Wishart, (1972), used infrared cameras to see what the child does when an object disappears. The child is shown a bottle in the light, when the child reaches to grasp the bottle the lights are turned out. Bower & Wishart recorded that the child continued to reach for the bottle for up to 1.5minutes after the lights are turned out. Another point m ade by Piaget is that not only does the child look for an object, which is hidden, but also the child will not look for it even if part of it is showing.

Rock and elaborate spectacle

â€Å"Editors of Rolling Stone later summarized, ‘Rock ‘n' roll has always been a frank and sometimes vulgar music, with plenty of things for its critics not to like.' † (Fore 1999:96). There is no doubt about it. Rock and elaborate spectacle were meant to be together; Like chocolate and red roses on Valentine's Day†¦ only more dysfunctional (where the roses are tattoos and the chocolate gets to be licked off someone). From Elvis' swiveling hips to Jimi Hendrix making love to and then â€Å"sacrificing† his guitar (to whatever) by setting it on fire and smashing the hell out of it to KISS and their incredible costumes and make-up to Prince and his ass-cheeks-cut-out pants to etc. All part of the random theatrics enthralled fans expect from the rock show. The more attention you can get, the better your chances of becoming a rock star. Welcome to the world of glam rock. â€Å"We just get out there and rock. If your amp blows or your guitar packs it in, smash it up and pick up another one. And that's how it always was with us. We can't even stop and tune up. Those kids are all wound up. A second or two is too much for them. They've gotta have it.† -AC/DC guitarist Angus Young (Friedlander 1996:232) The simplest, most recognizable used form of rock spectacle is, of course, the destruction of thousands of dollars worth of instruments and sound equipment for the pure sake of breaking or blowing â€Å"shit up† (although in some instances, as in the case of Jimi Hendrix, it is a sign of respect). No one is really sure who first started this phenomenon (actually no one can agree) but rock fans have seen this act about a million times over, still remaining shocked and amused by the simplicity and perverse beauty of it. In fact, many people believe that you have not truly earned the title â€Å"Rock Star† until you have broken some piece of equipment in front of a live audience elevating the act to not only a way to satisfy the spectators' craving for damage but also to initiate yourself into a select few. And why not bang the hell out of a five thousand dollar guitar or nail all the furniture in your hotel room to the ceiling? You can afford it! Furthermore, as a rock star you are expected to be wild and do the things the average fan could only dream of doing. However, breaking guitars was only the beginning of rock's more aggressive attempts to shock the audience. While the act is still pretty cool to witness, by the 70's, rockers were ready to shock the hell out of you instead of just make you jump. Which leads us into make-up, hair, costume and the adoption of an outer-worldly persona. â€Å"Absent were the flower children and euphoria of psychoactive enlightenment, replaced by personal narratives of heroin addiction, ghetto drug connections, and sexual perversity. These shocking explorations of self-destructive behavior tested society's cultural sensibilities; they also didn't have much of an impact on the rock/pop mainstream.† (Friedlander 1996:250) The first band to come to mind when 70's rock, make-up, and costumes collaborate are the Knight's In Satan's Service, or more commonly known by their abbreviation: KISS. KISS, like many glam rockers, performed to huge stadium audiences. They had to be larger than life to get the attention of all the people in the middle and back rows as well as the front. Furthermore, their personas were highly marketable (From t-shirts to comic books to action figures, etc.). Despite their name and appearance though, their songs such as â€Å"Rock an' Roll All Night†, â€Å"Detroit Rock City†, â€Å"Calling Dr. Love†, were tame compared to the likes of Iggy Pop or David Bowie. â€Å"David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972) carries advice on the back cover: TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME.† (Gracyk 1996:100). The epitome of androgyny, Ziggy Stardust was Bowie's first persona, an intergalactic rock star, with orange hair, make-up, and futuristic costumes, trying to save the world but doomed to fail (Campbell 1999:196). As with all his personas, the music on the album served to complete his mysterious character. Fans could probably guess that Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter, Eric, and Vinnie of KISS did not walk around all day in their outfits but Bowie could play his part so well that it was hard to tell whether or not he was only trying to be the most outrageous or if he was like that in the real world too. † ‘As we approach the ‘8o's, the country is literally laughing, dancing, jogging and dressing up again. We have entered The Glitter Era.' † -John Davidson (Calder 1992:274) Androgyny became a trend in 70's rock that held over into 80's rock. It was the ultimate way to shock your audience and make a statement. In the 70's there was of course, Bowie, Marc Bolan, Freddy Mercury, and the immensely popular Rocky Horror Picture Show featuring everyone's favorite transvestite from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylvania, Dr. Frank N. Furter. The 80's brought in Prince, Boy George, Grace Jones, and sometimes Madonna. All challenging society's set gender roles. Why androgyny though? Many say that rock music itself, while still predominantly performed by males, is an androgynous form of music because it combines all other forms of music considered â€Å"male† or â€Å"female†. Others maintain that the trend was in response to the sexual revolution. Though these rock shockers succeed in getting the attention they so adamantly strive for, the most successful rock stars had always been presented as â€Å"real people.† The illusion that we could know the real Elvis, McCartney, or even the real Monkees was fostered by such superficial means as fan magazine interviews or facts on the back of bubble-gum cards, but it was also implicit in Elvis's insistence on his own style of recording the songs of others, and explicit in those performers who wrote their own songs. (Shumway 1992:131) Still, the diversity and color that glam rockers add to the spectrum is not something to discourage. Many fans strive on the fact that their heroes are super heroes, gods and goddesses with fantastical powers who they can fantasize about being. Who wants to be a â€Å"real† person all the time anyway? We get to be that everyday.

What Does Fitzgerald Establish in the Opening of the Great Gatsby?

What does Fitzgerald establish in this opening? In the opening of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald establishes to readers that the book will be narrated by a man who supposedly ‘reserve[s] all judgments’.Through Nick, Fitzgerald establishes the hypocrisy and possible unreliability of the narrator – he makes judgments despite claiming that he ‘reserves’ them (saying ‘the intimate revelations of young men’ are ‘plagiaristic and marred by obvious suppressions’); the ambivalence of the narrator (and consequently the reader) towards life in the East, for which he has both an ‘unaffected scorn’ and fascination; and ultimately how the ‘foul dust’ that surrounded Gatsby, and indeed the American dream has diminished the ‘infinite hope’ of humanity to come to nothing.Fitzgerald immediately establishes that Nick is a privileged person, who has had ‘advantages’ that other people did not. He was educated at Yale, and as such he has connections to some ‘enormously rich’ people, among them being Tom and Daisy Buchanan. At the same time, however, readers are made aware that Nick chooses to ‘reserve all judgments’, which he claims has made him ‘privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men’.There are times when Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom share confidences in him, which consequently allows Nick to see both the hollowness of Daisy’s (and indirectly humanity’s) ‘sophisticat[ion]’, as well as the ‘extraordinary gift of hope’ that Gatsby possesses. This also makes readers aware of these different characteristics, and through Nick, readers can form their own judgments of the different characters. Although Nick claims to ‘reserve’ judgments, Nick makes or encourages judgments throughout the opening (‘the intimate revelations of young men†¦ are usually plagiaristic and marred by ob vious suppressions’).He boasts of his tolerance, and then immediately asserts that it has a ‘limit’, encouraging readers to question just how true his statements and claims really are. Fitzgerald establishes hypocrisy in Nick, the narrator, and forces readers to consider just how reliable he is in terms of telling his story. Throughout the book, Nick continues to make judgments about people (for example, referring to Gatsby’s partygoers as a ‘rotten crowd’), and readers must constantly ask themselves just how reliable what they read is. The theme of hope, of believing in something better, is established when Nick refers to reserving judgments. Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope’ illustrates the optimism that Nick hopes he can have, that by reserving judgments he hopes someone can better themselves. Perhaps it is this ‘infinite optimism’ that keeps Nick fascinated by Gatsby, and subsequently life in the East. N ick is at first ambivalent regarding these wealthy individuals, having an ‘unaffected scorn’ for everything that Gatsby represents, but also a borderline obsession (which he untruthfully claims as ‘casual’) for the lifestyle and people.He is disgusted by the moral decay of the East, but enjoys the fast-paced lifestyle; this is accurately described by how Nick was ‘flattered to go to places with [Jordan Baker] because†¦ everyone knew her name. ’ Despite this, Nick’s optimism and hope is reflected in Gatsby, who is ‘gorgeous’ and possesses a ‘gift for hope’. This hope however ultimately comes to nothing, as Nick realizes the hollowness and immorality of life in East, and wanted the world ‘to be at a sort of moral attention forever’.This letdown links closely to Gatsby’s dream of Daisy that has gone ‘beyond everything’; Gatsby had built an ‘illusion’ that had a â⠂¬Ëœcolossal vitality’, of which Daisy had no hope of satisfying (‘no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart’). Nick states that ‘Gatsby turned out all right in the end’, yet Gatsby dies. This hints at the cynicism that Nick develops towards humanity after he sees the ‘foul dust’ that ‘floated in the wake of [Gatsby’s] dreams’ – the hollowness, the materialism, the moral decay.Daisy is eventually shown to be materialistic, and she chooses the ‘revolting’ Tom over Gatsby in a matter of minutes, causing Gatsby’s dream to fall apart irreparably. Gatsby had ‘added to his fantasies’, had poured so much into his single goal of winning Daisy, that when it was destroyed, he had nothing left to live for. Fitzgerald finishes the opening by hinting at how the people around Gatsby (the ‘foul dust’) and their actions led Nick to lo se faith in humanity and to ‘temporarily close out’ his interest in the ‘shortwinded elations of men’.In his opening, Fitzgerald establishes the questionable nature of the information transmitted to readers through Nick’s ironic statements, while also foreshadowing what is to come. The ‘intimate revelations’ and ‘scorn’ of Nick towards life in the East is overlapped with fascination, and it is ultimately established that despite his ‘tolerance’, the hollowness and immorality of the ‘foul dust’ that ‘preyed on’ Gatsby and the ‘last and greatest of human dreams’ made Nick lose faith in humanity.

New World vs. Old Essay

Global Wine War 2009: New World versus Old 1. How were the French able to dominate the worldwide wine trade for centuries? What sources of competitive advantage did they develop to support their exports? The wine production of France goes all the way back to being part of the first niche market for premium wine. Factor conditions of France, such as land and climate, were well suited for wine-production compared to other European countries. Since the early 19th century cross-border shipping was very expensive, France was able to cluster the related and supporting industries of wine production within their domestic borders. As a result, France increased its competitive advantage throughout other sources without much impact from other countries. As the industry became France’s second largest export, side by side with a culture of rich food, the demand conditions got affected, as consumers were expecting a certain quality. The French government provided the classification systems, which increased the rivalry and domestic competitiveness and raised the entry barriers so that entry of foreign competition was kept at a minimum. 2. Given the longstanding dominance of Old World wine producers, how were the New World producers, such as the Australians, able to expand their market share so rapidly in the 1990s? As postwar increased demand for wine rapidly, factor conditions of the New World producers, such as widely available suitable land and it being less expensive, made it possible to meet the new demand and boosted the New World industry. The new demand conditions demanded higher quality wines and as new generations were born, the consumers got more price-conscious and convenient oriented. New World producers met these changes in demands by introducing a completely new firm strategy, structure, and rivalry compared to the Old World producers, who were constrained by tradition. Innovation was the key word in the New World strategy; suddenly, mechanical technology reduced labor cost and pushed down prices, packaging innovations made distribution easier and provided convenience to the consumers, and technology ensured vintage-to-vintage consistency etc. As well, branding and marketing skills were performed on the basis of vintage-to-vintage consistency, which gave the consumers further preferences and strengthened the position of the New World producers globally. This made them capable at expanding even more rapidly. The New World producers changed the traditional patterns of related and supporting industries, which used to being long value-chains, as the big producers now controlled the full value chain, able to extract margins and control quality at every level. The size now gave them bargaining power – a power, which made them have a strong grip on the importing countries. The New World producers had created a strong innovative company culture; a culture that could easily adapt to the changes of consumer culture and government regulations. New generations were born and so was the rise of fashion in a completely different culture of lighter consumption. The New World producers responded to the swings of fashion by taking advantage of the factor conditions: much capacity and regulatory freedom. This was the complete opposite to what the Old World producers were able to do – still constrained by the long history of wine-making tradition and lack of innovation. By that, the New World producers were always a few steps ahead of the Old World producers when the global patterns changed.

Compose a report listing the possible ways in which your electronic Essay

Compose a report listing the possible ways in which your electronic files could be lost, stolen, or corrupted, and explain the steps you would take to minimise these threats - Essay Example The most common is intentional action where we purposely delete or remove electronic files from storage or system. The others ways that data may be lost unintentionally could be caused by neglect, failure, force of nature, and theft. a. Neglect – electronic files are often lost because the hardwares that stores them are often neglected. Either the disk or memory stick has been misplaced or the hardware itself was not taken cared of resulting to the corruption of data that was stored in it. b. Hardware, software or systems failure – this often happen when there is an power outage where the work in progress was not saved and thus lost. Files that has been corrupted either by a defective disk or deleted by scan disk are deemed to be hardware and system failure resulting in data loss. c. Force of nature – electronic files can be destroyed by nature too. This can happen when the hardware where the file was stored was destroyed either by a flood, earthquake or other forces of nature. d. Theft – the loss of data by theft is deliberate and often contains sensitive information which has economic value. Loss of data to theft is no different to losing other tangible things to thieves only that the object that was stolen was information. The possibility of losing electronic data cannot be totally eliminated but there are precautionary steps that can be undertaken to prevent such loss. The different type of losing data requires different precautionary measures. In the above category of losing data, the following precautionary measures can be undertaken to minimize the loss of electronic files. a. Neglect – to prevent the loss of data due to neglect, the hardware and the software that contains and enables the electronic file should be taken cared of. A simple maintenance will do such as regular cleaning of the disk that contains the file, scanning system for virus and avoiding usage abuse of

Business Data Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Business Data Analysis - Essay Example Besides, there is wide variation in the performance of different profit centers and therefore, there is a need to strengthen the operation and revenue of center 2 and 3 so that these centers can stand on their own and do not become burden on center 1 in days to come. Analysis of the cost of different options for the frequently faltering copiers have helped in taking the decision that it is better to acquire a new copier which is much more reliable even though it service cost per call is much higher. Analysis of number of calls per hour has helped in deciding the number of sales representatives Stan needs to ensure that no representative has to handle more than eight calls per hour. Further analysis of the active customers’ account size has helped in better understanding of the same. Introduction: Handy Hydraulic Industries is doing well after many changes in the corporate and operating structure. However, the managers know that one needs to excel to sustain in the current envi ronment of cut-throat competition. For excellence a business needs to evolve and execute a multipronged strategy targeting different aspects of performance and customer relationship. The aim is to become leaner on operating size to cut cost without compromising the expectations of customers. For this the managers of business need to take informed decisions and the information has to be derived from nowhere but from the data relevant to the business. It is here that statistics and probability comes to help them. Statistics is the branch of knowledge that processes data to discern hidden information, reveal patterns and extract executable results [1]. One can get lot of information by simply arranging data in frequency and relative frequency tables [2]. One can get a good idea of central tendency and dispersion of the data set. The organized dataset can also be represented pictorially as histograms, line charts etc. It is said that a picture is worth thousand words. This is because; e ven a person with common sense can see the patterns and trends in the data if the same is presented pictorially using suitable chart. Besides, statistics provides different parameters like mean, median, mode etc. to measure central tendency of data [3, 4]. But knowing merely central tendency of data is not good enough to describe a data set; one needs to quantify the dispersion of the data points around the central value [5]. This is done by means of different parameters that quantify dispersion of data points around the mean like variance, standard deviation, coefficient of variation etc. After describing a data set comparing different data set is also important. For this one needs to compare the values of mean and standard deviation etc. Using these values one can calculate value of a suitable statistics and then this value is compared with the critical value of statistics for a given significance level. This exercise helps in testing hypothesis on mean, variance etc. and hence in making decisions [6]. The concept of probability is very much the part and parcel of statistics. It relies on the assumption that

Is dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple Essay

Is dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personalities, real or a modern-day scam - Essay Example This is a defense method used to overcome severe emotional or physical pain or anxious anticipation of such circumstances. Through the dissociative process, feelings, memories, thoughts and perceptions of traumatic circumstance are separated from the person psychologicall, and enables the person to live as if the circumstances never occurred (Dissociative Identity Disorder 2003). Dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder is considered from a sociocognitive perspective as a socially constructed disorder. The disorder is goal oriented, context bounded and the social behavior is evolved to meet the expectation of others significant to a circumstance and the characteristics o the behavior changes according to changes in circumstances (Spanos, N. P. 1994). Though multiple personality disorder has gained acceptance in the medical perspectives, there are several reasons that point out that this is not a disorder because it does not meet specific criteria to be recognized as a disease. Piper and Merskey (2004) notes that even close relative often do not recognize multiple personalities before patients begin therapy. In certain cases, relatives of the patients are given explanations, and the changes in behavior are specifically pointed out to understand multiple personalities because it was not evident before. Experts who advocate DID have not been able to strategically point out symptoms of the disorder since there is no specific personality state, identity, behavioral changes or other criteria that qualify the existence of the disorder. There is no definition for one personality taking control of the other or the methods to differentiate the changes in personality (Piper, A. & H. Merskey 2004 p.679). It may be concluded that from a sociocognitive perspective, dissociative identity disorder seems to exist in individuals in extreme circumstances. However, considering practical symptoms and

New technology development in the primary sector Assignment

New technology development in the primary sector - Assignment Example oned activities, the packaging and processing of raw materials associated with these sectors is also considered to be a component of the primary sector. In developed and developing nations, a decreasing percentage of workers are employed in the primary sector either directly or indirectly. For instance, around 30% of the U.S labor force is involved in primary sector activity at the moment, compared to more than two-thirds in the mid-19th century. Without even knowing it, everybody comes into contact with the products of the primary sector every day. From the food we eat for breakfast, to the train we take to work, each and every part of our day contains things made from products of the primary sector (Peng 2009, pg. 12). Apart from extracting and processing raw materials, the primary sector is also involved in the creation of the basic materials for use in other sectors. For instance, growing and harvesting cotton which can then be turned into clothes which we wear every day, or bags for carrying luggage from the market, or when travelling. In summary, the primary sector produces goods which we cannot do without. Goods which we need to survive and operate, hence the â€Å"primary† part of its name. The terms research and development (R&D) and their synonyms are usually used co-terminously when referring to them in many contexts, and almost as interchangeable terms in some contexts. Terms applied in such close proximity to each other deserve a closer semantic analysis and should also attract interrogation from professional subjects involved with regard to not just their relationship to each other, but also their individual value to several contexts in regard to the quality of evidence that each offers. Research is the first step in new technology development. It starts with a problem and collects, records and tests data to develop a remedy. On the other hand, development involves working out the details of the solution, such as what materials for construction are

How and why did the visionary architectural drawings of tienne-Louis Essay

How and why did the visionary architectural drawings of tienne-Louis Boulee and Claude Nicolas Ledoux challenge the classical style of their time - Essay Example The structures that they envisioned looked unbuildable because of their technical standards. The following paper tries to elaborate how both architects Etienne-Louis Boulee and Claude Nicolas Ledoux challenge classical style of their time. The historical importance of Ledoux is the fact that he introduced a new system in his architectural works. The new system incorporated new elements that became evident in the old system dominating it and replacing it with the new system. In French revolution period, theses architects are considered to have developed opposing principles. The work by Etienne is a demonstration of the new system in architecture where he asserts the importance of new principles in architecture and isolation of the other parts. In most cases, both architects are considered together but they are not similar in their architectural works. Ledoux is considered pragmatic because his works were developed to be constructed putting into consideration the needs of the people. On the other hand, Boullee does not seem to share the same interests. He was appointed as an architect by king Lous XVI in 1773 and before he could publish his work he was dismissed and arrested in 1793 by the revolutionary committee for al leged conspiracy of cooperating with Madame du Barry and for not acknowledging the king. His book was published in 1804 prior to his death, and this enabled him to share his ideas concerning architecture (Lawrence 25). Boullee’s theoretical designs for public cenotaphs sought to instigate lofty feelings in the view by architectural designs that suggested immensity, sublimity, and awesomeness of nature and divine aptitude underlying its creation. He was greatly inspired by indiscriminate interest for antiquity form Egyptian monuments experienced by his contemporaries. Boullee work is characterized by geometric forms put

Technology and Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Technology and Decision Making Essay The quality of patient care, communication between health care staff, and the safety of patients has greatly improved since the onset of technology. Through the improvement of information technology, the ability to collect data and manage the decisions based on the data collected has enhanced in the clinical setting as well as in the business portion. Health care informatics incorporates theories from informational science, computer science, and cognitive science (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). This information helps to gather and process it in order to make an informed decision. Important information could be missed if the data is ignored. Some of the most recent technology which includes the internet and cell phones has made it possible to access information quickly in order to make the best decision for the patient in order to provide good quality care. Technology changes every day and it is important to keep up with these changes that will help support clinical decisions made by the caregivers. This paper on informatics will show the systems and information theories, the DIK model, and the role of the expert system in nursing care and medicine. System and information theories System. â€Å"A system is a set of related interacting parts enclosed in a boundary† (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p.5). There are many types of systems which include but are not limited to: computer systems, school systems, health care systems, and people. Systems can be living or nonliving, open or closed. Closed systems do not act with the environment whereas open system have the ability to act with the environment. Open systems can be used to understand technology and those individuals associated with its use. This type of system takes input from the environment, processes it, and then returns it back to the environment as output, which serves as feedback. This theory can better help the individual understand the way people work with systems in the health care industry and allow for a visualization of the whole picture. A common term using in computer science is GIGO, â€Å"garbage in, garbage out†. This applies in the sense that a system is only as good as its user. If the user is inputting garbage, or poor quality data, the computer is likely to output the same. A system requires an accurate source in order for accurate material to be produced as a result. Open systems have three types of characteristics which include: purpose, functions, and structure (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). The purpose is the reason for the existence of the system or the program and is most often stated in the organization’s mission statement. This is true for health care organizations, churches, and schools. For example, the mission statement of the local public health department to promote health, prevent illness, and control communicable disease by providing quality services, health education, and environmental services for the community. Computer systems are often classified by their purpose and may have more than one purpose. By selecting a purpose that all individuals agree upon within the organization, a system can be chosen. It is important to take the time to identify the purpose with all those who will be using the system. Functions identify the methods in which the system will achieve its purpose. â€Å"Functions are activities that a system carries out to achieve its purpose† (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p.6). When a computer system is chosen a list of functional specification must be put in writing to identify each function and how it will be performed. Systems are structured to allow the functions to be carried out. Some examples of structured systems include the nursing department. The nurse in charge will assign patients to the staff nurses with the purpose to provide care. The charge nurse will ensure that the team is functioning with the ability to provide the care the patient needs and deserves. Two different models can be used to visualize the structure of a system: hierarchical and web. In the hierarchical model, each computer is a part of the local area network (LAN) which in turn is part of a wide area network (WAN) that is connected to the mainframe computer system. The mainframe is the leader of the system or lead part. The web model functions much like that of a spider-web. It has the capability to pass information to many departments that may use it for different purposes. For example,  laboratory results may be sent to the pharmacy to calculate a medication dosage and patient vitals may be sent to another department for review and use. â€Å"A system includes structural elements from both the web and hierarchical model† (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p.7). Everything living or nonliving are in a constant state of change. Six concepts are helpful in understanding the change process: 1)dynamic homeostasis, 2)entropy, 3)negentropy, 4) specialization, 5)reverberation, and 6)equifinality. Dynamic homeostasis consists of maintaining an equal balance within the system. At times, increased stress can throw off the balance and cause challenges to the organization. A health care informatics specialist’s job is to decrease the stress and restore the balance within the organization. Entropy can be best described as the tendency of the system to break down into parts. This can be the loss of some data when transmitted from one department to another. All systems, living or nonliving, reach a point where they are no longer repairable. When this point is reached, a system must be replaced. Negentropy is the opposite of entropy and is best described as the system’s ability to multiply and become more complex. As the size of the health car e industry grows, so do the health care information systems. Information technology. â€Å"Information technology has the potential to greatly streamline healthcare and greatly reduce the chance of human error. However, there is a growing literature indicating that if systems are not designed adequately they may actually increase the possibility of error in the complex interaction between clinician and machine in healthcare† (Borycki, E., Kushniruk, A., Brender, J., 2010, p. 714). The term information has more than one meaning and the term information theory refers to multiple theories. The two common theoretical theories of information theories are: Shannon and Weaver’s information-communication model and Blum’s model (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p. 10). The information theory was presented as a formal theory in 1948 with a publication by Claude Shannon titled â€Å"A Mathematical Theory of Communication†. In this theory, the sender is the originator of the message and then the encoder converts the message into a code. A code can be a number, symbol, letters, or words. The decoder then converts the message to a format that can be recognized by the receiver. Shannon was a telephone engineer and explained this theory in a way that the decoder was the  telephone converting sound waves into a message the receiver could understand. â€Å"Warren Weaver, from the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, provided the interpretation for understanding the semantic meaning of a message† (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p. 12). He used Shannon’s works to explain the interpretational aspects of communication as each individual perceives things different from the next. Different types of circumstances may occur causing a message to be interpreted wrong. For example, if a physician is using medical terminology that the patient cannot understand there is definitely a communication problem. If the patient cannot hear what is being said because the ear is not transmitting sound, then there is a different type of communication problem. The message must convey meaning and produce the intended result. Bruce L. Blum defined three types of health care computing applications called Blum’s Model. He grouped these applications in data, information, or knowledge. Data are those things such as height, weight, age, and name. Information is defined as data that has been processed. Knowledge is the relationship between data and information. Using these concepts, it is possible to identify different levels of computing and automated systems. Data, Information, and Knowledge (DIK) model Healthcare informatics can be explained using a model consisting of three parts: data, information, and knowledge (Georgiou, 2002). The three parts are demonstrated using a hierarchy pyramid. Data is the platform in the model, representing the foundation. Data is represented as facts and observations, but without supporting context, the data is irrelevant. Until the information is validated or manipulated the data is not significant, once it is manipulated, the data can provide value to the user. Information is the product of data once the data has been manipulated. The result of data and information is evidence-based knowledge. Evidence based knowledge can be used to support evidence based medicine. Some individuals feel that too much focus has been put on data, limiting the ability to practice medicine as a science. Instead, the use of data suggests that medicine is being practiced based on statistics instead of science. Yet, the same critics will use the same hierarchy of data, information and knowledge to treat a patient that develops a fever after hip surgery. The fever alone does not provide significant information but combined with information of a  recent surgery, a physician will test further for signs of infection. The end result is the knowledge of why the patient is feverish. Viewing informatics in the form of the decision-information-knowledge (DIK) model allows individuals to see the process as a whole. The data must be accurately representing what is occurring or the information will not be accurate. The statement, â€Å"dirty in, dirty out,† can be applied to the platform of the model. It is essential that clean data be entered into the system, allowing clean data and information to be produced. The product, knowledge, can then be substantiated through the evidence produced. Just as evidence is used to make clinical decisions, the DIK model is used, in conjunction with the scie ntific information, to build evidence based medicine. Health informatics involves spreading and distributing information as just one piece of the process of producing knowledge which is multifaceted (Georgiou, 2002). The role of expert system in nursing care and medicine Nurses and other health care professionals make decisions on a daily basis that affect patients’ care and treatment. Nurses and health care professionals are not expert in all areas of nursing care and medicine. Health care workers specialized in certain area or field of medicine or nursing are not always readily available to everyone. Expert systems have been developed to assist medical and health care providers with decisions about care and treatment of patient. An expert system is a knowledge-based computer program designed to â€Å"enhance the human ability to analyze, problem solve, treat, diagnose, and estimate prognosis of health-related conditions† (Englebardt Nelson, 2002, p. 114). â€Å"Nursing expert systems can improve the overall quality of care when designed for the appropriate end-user group and based on a knowledge base reflecting nursing expertise† (Courtney, Alexander, and Demiris, 2008, P. 697). Examples of expert systems include MYCIN, a system that advise physicians about antimicrobial selection for patients with meningitis or bacteremia and INTERNIST-1, a system that assist with diagnosing complex problems in general internal medicine (Shortliffe, 1986). Health care workers may not always have the knowledge base to diagnose and treat every condition or situation encountered. Expert systems are used to close the gap in knowledge providing effective, efficient, and  accurate care. The concept of expert system is driven by the desire to improve patient care, reduce cost, and disseminate expert knowledge. Expert systems are used just as x-rays and lab values are obtained to improve the human understanding of a patient’s condition. The human memory has limitations. Expert systems can be the answer to eliminating a large number of preventable medical mistakes. This system can alert health care workers about drug interactions and allergies, and provide preferable form o f treatment. Expert systems can assist in diagnostic suggestions, testing prompts, therapeutic protocols, and practice guidelines. The utilization of expert systems has an impact on the quality of care, economy, and medical education of staff. Expert systems, when used effectively can improve patient outcomes and decrease health care costs. Fewer mistakes lead to lower financial expenditures and increased profits. Improved quality of care result in improved patient satisfaction that leads to increased reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. Expert systems can also decrease the variation in medical practice emphasizing standardized and evidence-based practice of care. Along with expert systems, decision aids and decision support systems are used to improve patient care. The use of decision aids and decision support systems Clinical decision aids help to identify solutions to clinical situations. Decision aids can be either paper-form or electronic. The electronic decision aids can be accessed via recorded media or the Internet. Decision aids are utilized to facilitate shared decisions between the patient and interdisciplinary team taking care of them. They help the patient to think about the multiple decisions they must make in the course of their treatment regimen. An example is the Ottawa Patient Decision Aid. This decision aid helps to determine whether or not patients should seek antibiotics for bronchitis. Another example is a decision aid about whether or not someone should place his or her family in a long-term care facility for Alzheimer’s disease (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). A decision support system (DSS) is an interactive, flexible, and adaptable computer-based information system (CBIS), which was made to support decision-making as it relates to the solution of an individual problem. â€Å"A clinical decision support system (CDSS) is an automated decision support system (DSS) that  mimics human decision making and can facilitate the clinical diagnostic process, promote the use of best practices, assist with the development and adherence of guidelines, facilitate processes for improvement of care, and prevent errors† (Englebardt and Nelson, 2002, p. 116). Decision support systems utilize data and provide easy user interface that permit for the decision maker’s own insights. Four components of decision support systems are user interface, model library, model manager, and report writer. User interface makes communication between the executive and decision support system. Model library includes statistical, graphical, financial, and â€Å"what if† models. Model manager accesses available models. Report Writer generates written output (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). Four types of CDSS used in patient care decision-making are systems that use alerts to respond to clinical data, systems respond to decisions to alter care by critiquing decisions, systems suggest interventions at the request of care providers, and systems conduct retrospective quality assurance reviews. Examples of nursing-specific decision support systems are nursing diagnosis systems such as the Computer Aided Nursing Diagnosis and Intervention (CANDI) system, care planning systems such as the Urological Nursing Information System, symptom management systems such as the Cancer Pain Decision Support system, and nursing education systems such as the Creighton Online Multiple Modular Expert System (Courtney, Alexander, and Demiris, 2008). The uses of technology for patient and client management As Information Technology continues to have more presence in health care, patients, physicians, and staff are benefiting from on-demand access to information anyplace, anytime it is needed. Advances in technology provide healthcare organizations the ability to improve the quality of patient care. An ultimate goal of using technology is to improve the quality of care patients receive (Become a Meaningful User of Health IT, 2010). Technology can be found patient homes, clinics, extended care facilities, and hospitals, to name just a few. As the number of chronic diseases continues to increase technologies like telemedicine and video-conferencing can improve the quality of life of patients with chronic conditions, and reduce costs caused by these illnesses (Finkelstein Friedman, 2000). Improving quality, access, and client management is done by enhancing the  exchange of information between providers, institutions, and payers, allowing patients to receive uninterrupted continuity of care. For the people living in rural areas, the restrictions placed on services and specialists can be improved using technology (Smith, Bensink, Armfield, Stillman, Caffery, 2005). Telecommunications in the healthcare environment can provide patients and providers an opportunity to meet and even exceed expectations clients and the community have. A physician accessing a patients’ record from his home can provide treatment and develop a plan of care without sitting in his clinic to access the patients’ chart. Caregivers are no longer at the mercy of ongoing education provided at a variety of locations and cost. Learning management systems available via the Internet allow staff to review material and participate in competency testing. Tools are available through the advances in technology, which allow training by developing simulations of patients used for assessment training in virtual environments, assessing cognitive skills of providers (McGowan, 2008). As technologies in healthcare continue to improve, caregivers and patients will continue to experience changes in many areas.  Communication, teaching, and documenting will be affected, which change the way clinicians provide care and the way clients will receive it. Analysis of the effect of technology on health care and health status Prior to computers and digital equipment seen in today’s healthcare facilities, most of what was done for patients was done manually. Manual processes could be time consuming and the opportunity for human error, which could affect the quality of care a patient received, was real. In a recent report from the Institute of medical care, it was stated that humans are inherently imperfect, and error is frequent in medical car (Patton, 2001). Technologies affecting patient care and a person’s health status include improvements to imaging systems, documentation solutions, and scheduling systems. Modern medicine relies on technological systems coming together: the operating room, clinical laboratory, radiology department, and radiation oncology facility each incorporate interrelated networks of technologies (Patton, 2001). Surgeries that once required large incisions can be done through microscopic incisions resulting in shorter hospital stays. Early diagnosis and improved treatment plans have been inevitably affected by technology. Although technology allows healthcare to improve access to patient information allowing easier access that is current and up-to-date there are also disadvantages to this kind of access. Consumers and caregivers have large volumes of information, which can be accessed, not all of the information accessed will be understood or accurate. Society must be aware that not all sites will be able to monitor and ensure information being accessed is credible; it is inevitable some of the information provided and retrieved will be inaccurate. Worse yet information which are by law confidential, may also be accessed without the consent of the patient. In addition to the ability to monitor healthcare information, technology may also make it challenging for physicians to practice under complete autonomy. With the increase in the complexity of technology, physicians must agree on how components relate to one another, also known as standards (Patton, 2001). As a result, some physicians can be seen resisting the adoption of new processes, but with ongoing development of user-friendly systems, resistance can be overcome. References Become a Meaningful User of Health IT. (2010). HHN: Hospitals Health Networks, 84(12), 47. Borycki, E., Kushniruk, A., Brender, J. (2010). Theories, models and frameworks for diagnosing technology-induced error. Studies In Health Technology And Informatics, 160(Pt 1), 714-718. Finkelstein, J. J., Friedman, R. H. (2000). Potential Role of Telecommunication Technologies in the Management of Chronic Health Conditions. Disease Management Health Outcomes, 8(2), 57-63. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Courtney, K. L., Alexander, G. L., Demiris, G. (2008). Information technology from novice to expert: implementation implications. Journal of Nursing Management, 16(6), 692-699. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2007.00829.x Englebardt, S. P. Nelson, R. (2002).Health care informatics. An interdisciplinary approach. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier. Georgiou, A. (2002). Data information and knowledge: the health informatics model and its role in evidence-based medicine. Journal Of Evaluation In Clinical Practice, 8(2), 127-130. McGowan, J. J. (2008). The Pervasiveness of Telemedicine: Adoption With or Without a Research Base. JGIM: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 23(4), 505-507. doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0534-z Patton, G. (2001). The two-edged sword: how technology shapes medical practice. Physician Executive, 27(2), 42-49. Shortliffe, E. H. (1986). Medical Expert Systems- Knowledge Tool for Physicians. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1307157/?page=2 Smith, A., Bensink, M., Armfield, N., Stillman, J., Caffery, L. (2005, October-December). Telemedicine and rural health care applications. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 51(4), 286.