A Beautiful Mind - Summary of the Movie free essay sample

A Beautiful Mind (Total Points for assignment = 40) For this assignment, you will watch the movie A Beautiful Mind. Your textbook has a brief summary of the movie and compares the movie to what is known about John Nash’s life. I have also provided you with supplemental information on Schizophrenia in the powerpoint that is attached to this assignment. Using this checklist, provide evidence of the criteria with examples of Nash’s behavior. For example, under Dysfunction, give me examples of things that Nash did that are indications of his dysfunction.He was unable to continue teaching, etc. Using this same document, you can add the text under each symptom. Please italicize your text in order to make it easier for me to grade. Finally, at the end of the document, I want you to determine (using the powerpoint information) whether you think Nash’s Schizophrenia could be categorized as Paranoid Type, Disorganized Type, Catatonic Type, or Undifferentiated Type, or Residual Type. We will write a custom essay sample on A Beautiful Mind Summary of the Movie or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Explain how you made that choice. The DSM-IV criteria for Schizophrenia are as follows: †¢ Symptoms.Two or more of the following symptoms that have lasted for a substantial part of at least one month (or less, is effectively treated with medication) For at least six continuous months, the patient has shown some evidence of the disorder. At least one much must include the symptoms of frank psychosis mentioned above.Mood disorders with psychotic features and Schizoaffective Disorder have been ruled out, because the duration of any depressive or manic episodes that have occurred during the psychotic phase has been brief. †¢ Other Exclusions. This disorder is not directly caused by a general medical condition or the use of substances, including prescription medications. †¢ Developmental Disorder Exclusion. If the patient has a history of any pervasive developmental disorder (such as Autistic Disorder), Schizophrenia is diagnosed only if prominent hallucination or delusions are also present for a month or more (less, if treated).Hallucations are present for more than a month as is evident that John has a roommate and a boss. John is a paranoid schizophrenia. He is preoccupied with his delusions and hallucinations as he avoids everyone and becomes wrapped up his math work and his â€Å"work† with the government. While he does show a flat effect and disorganized behavior none are prominent. He is so wrapped up his what he thinks is real he neglects his work, family, social life and anything that is actually real and not part of his delusions.

African Media Structures and Content

African Media Structures and Content Free Online Research Papers A liberal pluralist approach to understanding African media structures and their content Understanding African media structures and their content can be very complex especially taking into consideration the fact that the continent has embraced democracy. This is mainly so because the media in Africa has mainly two extremes functions. On the one hand the media play a â€Å"watchdog† role and on the other it play public relation service to the government. Given these two extremes of media structures it is evident that not any media approach can help one to understand media structures within such a context. However it is also a fact that given the democratization of the African continent, the media must inform citizens on matters of public policy by presenting and debating alternatives. Hence the liberal pluralist approach appears to be the best approach in understanding African media structures because it looks into the media as a ‘watchdog’ that may uncover and publicize political corruption, other abuses of power, and inept policies. However it is also crucial that the problems of the media in Africa, such as the crisis of power, the crisis of ownership and the crisis of resources are acknowledged. It is pivotal that a liberal pluralist approach that is only interested in ending state ownership and control of the media without considering alternatives be avoided. By and large what is important is that a liberal pluralist approach reminds journalists and state leaders that they are accountable to the nation. Introduction Understanding media structures from an African perspective is tantamount to recognizing political developments over the last decade of the 20th century throughout the African continent. Historically most if not all countries in the African continent used to be colonies of western and European countries. However the last years of the 20th century, most African countries witnessed a rise in the democratization of their governments. This resulted in the phasing out of one party states and dictatorship. Most if not all countries started calling for free and elected democratic governments throughout the African continent. It is imperative to mention from the onset that the media are among the forces that have shaped and continued to define the establishment of democracy in Africa. It is also crucial to point out that in spite of the significant role of the media in the development and consolidation of democratic governance in Africa, there have been several influences where states misused or completely did not respect the role of the media in society. As a result it become difficult if not impossible to assess and understand how media influences politics of the day. It therefore becomes critical to evaluate the importance of media structures in the wake of African democracies. The theoretical approach that can make this evaluation resourceful is the liberal pluralist because of its â€Å"watchdog† focus and interest in upholding and protecting individual freedom in the face of government indoctrination. As a result of the above discussion this essay will endeavour to find out why a liberal pluralist approach to media appear the most insightful theory to understanding African media structures and their content. To achieve this goal this essay will first try to assess the role of the media in the democratization of Africa. In the same token the essay will also rewind a little bit by looking at the rationale behind the liberal pluralist approach. But it will be unfair to discuss African media structures without putting the entire media structures challenges into context. Hence the essay will try to discuss everything from the perspective of the three major crises of the media in Africa as identified by Paul A. V. Ansah (Ronning, 1994:02-11). Media and African democracy The demise of one party regimes and development of multi party systems and democracy in Africa resulted in a demand for more democratic structures (Ronning, 1994: 02). There are many theories and definitions of democracy and the process of democratization. With the emphasis on the role of the media in democracy, Winseck in Fourie and Oosthuisen (2003) characterized democracy as the historical process of eliminating totalitarianism in the state, civil society and in economic practices. It is clear that through the media and access to information and the formation of a strong public opinion about the values of democracy, the media play a crucial role in the democratic process (2003:417). Fourie and Oosthuisen argue that apart from the adoption of democratic, political and legal frameworks, democracy also means and involves the processes that allow the procedures of achieving the democratic goals of society to be opened up to citizen participation through [the media] (ibid). It is also critical at this stage to point out that to live in a democracy and to live democratically, means that the adoption of rules and laws of a society are shaped through the media that are open to all. Fourie contends that it is not enough to say that [a country] have a democratic constitution, a democratically elected government, democratically institutions and so forth, what is further needed is to continuously debate all those issues in the interest of the public and in the interest of the well-being of society through the means of the media (2003:419). Hence the demand for freedom of expression and the need for independent and critical media become imperative in Africa (Ronning, 1994:02). It will be an understatement if not a mistake to take it for granted that the media have a democratic role to play in Africa as a result of the dawn of democracy in the continent. A liberal pluralist approach which looks at whether the media fulfill the role of promoting a free exchange of ideas and opinions of informing the citizens in such a way that they are able to form opinions in a climate of independence must be taken if one is to understand the media structures. It is crucial to acknowledge that in most African countries the state used to control the media in all respects. Hence the role of the media in this continent is still mainly dominated by public service ideology. Thus the problematic role of the market in relation to the media has been underplayed, and consequently too little attention has been paid to a discussion of the media in relation to citizen’s rights (Ronning, 1994: 03). As a result of this development there are two main variations on the role of the media in an African context. The two are clearly defined by Ronning (1994) who see on the one hand, African critiques of the existing media who felt that strong state control only can be met by introducing market forces, and on the other hand government who see their influence of the media threatened and fear that they will loose control over the flow of information have had a tendency to regard all forms of independent media be they commercial or alternatively as mouthpieces for a political opposition. Considering some African governments’ perspectives on the role of the media it is very significant that one takes a liberal pluralist approach because it endeavours to closely observe and monitor the government activities. This is also important taking into task that the new democracies in most African countries need to be nurtured and preserved. To this effect McNair (1995) argues that the [media] should be free from government control and government influence, and there must be a free market for ideas and information. In other words, liberal pluralist approach shed some light on the exact relationship between the state and the media focusing on the implication of that relationship to rights of individuals. Hence the media becomes the ‘watchdog’ or â€Å"the fourth estate through which the governing elites could be pressurized and reminded of their dependency on majority opinion† (Bennet, 1982:40-41). It is crucial at this stage to point the root or the origin of most if not all of Africa’s two main conflicting views and perspectives about the role of the media in society. One of the reasons that most African countries are wary of the media is the legacy left by their former colonizers. Most of the media structures during colonialism was used not in the interest and advantage of African countries. Hence the new regimes today feel that the media must play a developmental role. It is a general norm that most if not all African states â€Å"advocate the positive use of the media to promote national development, autonomy and cultural identity† (Fourie, 2003:247). But this kind of theory is very much open to manipulation and abuse and can end up being used to the disadvantage of the media and democracy at large. Development theory is open to abuse and manipulation because certain liberties of the media should be made subordinate to the achievement of national development and economic development (Fourie, 2003:274). Some of the factors that makes development theory open to manipulation and abuse as discussed by McQuail in Fourie (2003) are that the state should be able to restrict the media if economic interests and development needs of the society are at stake, and that to protect development objectives, the state has the right to intervene by restricting and censoring the media. Hence in the latter factor state subsidies and direct control are therefore justifiable. Obviously these kinds of thinking pose several major problems for the media structure to operate as required in a democratic manner. To understand why the watchdog role of the media is relevant and necessary one also need to acknowledge the challenges the media face in the African continent. The problems were clearly captured b y Paul A. V. Ansah who â€Å"pinpointed three major crises of the media in Africa; namely the crisis of power, the crisis of ownership and the crisis of resources† (Ronning, 1994: 3-19). The crisis of power According to Ronning (1994) the crisis of power has two sides. One is related to weakness of the African states and the other is related to weakness of the media themselves. Ronning argues that weak states are particularly suspicious of the media as this are seen as tools of sowing of dissident and as a result the states tried to control the media with the help of a â€Å"variety of techniques ranging from outright censorship and oppression to more subtle means which often combine ownership with a system of economic awards to those in the media who tow the line, and reprisals against those who do not† (1994: 04). This perspective is also shared by Tetty (2001) who argues that a lot of governments in the African continent continue to impose judicial and extra judicial barriers on journalists and media houses in a manner which defeats the professed goals of democratic governance and the purpose behind constitutional provisions of a free press and freedom of expression. However the new democratic media are very sharp and resilient in reporting any incident of authoritarian abuse visited on pro-democracy activities. Hence the media have been very active in exposing activities within the state that would otherwise have been unknown to the citizenry (Tettey, 2001: 10). Tetty argues that it is through this kind of information that the populace is able to measure the pronouncements of politicians against their deeds, and hence make informed judgements about the political future of those individuals. In this regard the media can be seen to play a development role because the likelihood of exposure is also instrumental in, at least making government officials more circumspect in their activities. Moreover the media also impose a certain measure of accountability on the part of government officials that they did not have to worry about in the past (Tetty, 2001:10). In these processes of democratization, the media play a central role by mediating between views and opinions. Ronning contends that this way of using the media contrasts with the manner often â€Å"employed in societies with weak states, where the media are linked directly to the state apparatus, and where they are often used for promoting various forms of personality cults of the head of state and other prominent politicians (1994: 04). Ronning also argues that the weakness of the African media in all aspects make itself vulnerable to be used in such undemocratic ways by the state. Obviously the fact that the media reach a small proportion of the population can be an advantage to the media. In other words government can let the media to broadcast or report unnoticed and unchecked if they know that they only reach a small number of audience. But that same advantage can be turned upside down by the state depending on the influence of target audience of the media. For instance, if the media target intellectuals the state can monitor its content. On the other hand the major disadvantage is that the state is the major news source. As a result the media have to rely on the state for the supply of news content. Hence if a news media is viewed in a negative light the supply of news comes with hidden strings attached. It is from this background that Tetty contends that in most African democracies, â€Å"the parameters of freedom of expression and of the press continue to be determined by how well the contents of the particular print or electronic medium portray power brokers in a positive or, at least neutral light (2001:12). Practically this means that in the case where the state wishes are not fulfilled the media will be victimized. The state can starve the media concerned of news and advertising revenue by not placing government advertisements. Tetty argues that these acts of state intimidation continues to be the case even though there are legal provisions for dealing with cases of unsubstantiated or libelous reporting (2001:12). He maintains that it is ironic that several years after independence, a lot of African countries continue to retain colonial laws, which were used to intimidate anti-colonial activists, including some of the current leaders of these countries. Tetty contends, â€Å"These anachronistic laws have stayed on the books because they now serve the political purpose of the post-colonial ruling elite. They have been employed under the guise of the rule of law and state security to undermine press freedom and freedom expression, as well as to intimidate journalists† (2001:15). Moreover the professional media organizations are also weak in terms of underdeveloped infrastructures and distribution systems. In most cases journalist received poor training that result often in them becoming extended public relations officers for government officials. These facts have a negative impact on how journalists report their news. In many instances they will just go with what the government officials give them because they do not have enough resources to do further research and investigations of their own. Ronning contends that in such trying circumstances the media has little ability to present their case in times of crises as there are few parallel media outlets, and they cannot count on support from other media in the country, which would be the case in societies with a fully developed media structure (1994:04). As indicated earlier in this essay, weakness in terms of financial viability makes most of the private media not to be really independent. As a result they tend to push particular, not always objective, political agendas as more powerful partners dominate them. Tetty argues that in a free democratic society, the media’s credibility tends to be called into question, when they present themselves as â€Å"disinterested surveyors of the political scene but when in reality their views and claims are tainted by narrow ethnic or political trappings, quite at variance with the interest of the nation which they tout as their motivational and call to service† (2001:22). Tetty further contends that in the worst scenarios the manner in which some of these media present their views has stretched the bounds of adversarial politics to the point where animosity appears to define the relationship between the state and journalists (ibid.). According to Tetty (2001) such circumstances led the citizen to begin to wonder whether the media are engaged in a campaign of vilification that would open up political opportunities for them when the current regime is replaced. It is obviously clear that once the citizen start to have such a negative perception about the media its credibility is at stake. It is also clear that much of the public is alienated by the extreme negativity which characterizes some of the contents from the media as acknowledged by The independent, a private Ghanaian newspaper (Tetty, 2001:22). Crisis of media ownership In the middle of who and how the media must report is the crisis of media ownership. According to Ronning (1994) the African crisis of ownership has three aspects. One is that the media in Africa to a large degree, in some way or other, are owned or economically controlled by the state. The result of this arrangement is much often that the media will be the mouthpiece of the government. The second is that international conglomerates often partly control the independent media with corporate interests in the national and regional economies. It is mainly from this side where the media try to play the â€Å"watchdog† role over the government. But in the worst case is when the media take a pure pessimistic negative stance. The last aspect of media ownership is concerned with the so-called alternative media. Alternative media are often owned by small trusts, which again are controlled by a small group of allies and friends or are totally dependent on one person’s dedication (Ronning, 1994:04). Ronning contends that alternative media are faced both with being economically weak due both to low penetration in that they cater for special interests, have little access to advertising and lack proper distribution system (ibid.). Practically, in South Africa we have the Mail Guardian, which is a good example of this kind of ownership. Originally this newspaper, which had some foreign backing, catered for sophisticated readers that were mainly composed of intellectuals and academics. Hence the newspaper used to have great support of advertising revenue that comes from tertiary institutions. As such it used to play a very independent and active â€Å"watchdog† role over the government activities. However after the newspaper experienced financial problems and eventually bought by Trevor Ncube the paper has to change its content drastically for it to survive the government relations. As a result the aggressive and investigative approach towards the government that the newspaper used to take has been softened in favour of advertisement revenues from the government. According to Ronning (1994) solutions to the crises of power and ownership have in a number of instances been sought through the establishment of various organs which represent a form of compromise between direct state control or ownership and private ownership such as press councils and media trusts. Ronning argues that the Zimbabwe Mass media Trust which controls among others, the majority of shares in the country’s largest newspaper group, the national news agency, the regional newspaper project and the country’s largest chain of bookstores is one of the most elaborate structures of this nature (1994: 04). Last year (April 2003), the South African government successfully launched a media structure to this effect through the Presidential Press Corps. In summary â€Å"the Presidential Press Corps was born out of engagements between the South African National Editors Forum and the government during 2001. It [was] recognized that while, as in any democracy, there is a necessary tension between the government and the media, this need not be characterized by animosity as all sides are working towards the same goal of building a vibrant democracy that faces up to the challenge of reversing poverty and underdevelopment. It [was] agreed that the countrys most senior political writers should form into a corps which would, in a systematic way, be able to access information and gain a greater understanding of the work of government†(http//www.gcis.gov.za) Ronning warns that structures such as this point to dangers inherent in a situation where â€Å"the dividing line between government interests and [journalists] independence are unclear and often carry with them a large degree of self-censorship† (1994:05). This fact can be cleary understood if one looks into the Code of Conduct of the Presidential Press Corps (PPC) especially conducts ‘b’ and ‘d’: a. Normal adherence to journalistic principles and ethics b. Observance of on/off record, embargo agreements c. Protocol in briefing room (cell phone interruption, rowdiness, etc) d. Broadly accepted protocols and standards of behaviour in relation to state functions. (Source: http//www.gcis.gov.za) To make matters worse, in addition to the above, government reserves the right to adopt its own sanctions against any PPC member who is deemed by his/her peers to have violated the Code of Conduct. The crisis of resources According to Ronning (1994) the crisis of resources pertains to all levels of the media. It includes the experience and education of media personnel in Africa. It is a general and accepted fact that most of Africa’s media personnel levels of experience and education are generally low by international standards. Ronning argues that poor levels of experience and education are more problematic when it comes to electronic media. This is ironic considering the fact that radio is the most used and viable medium in Africa. The shortage of material resources is obviously one of the major disadvantages, which hamper the development of the media and also make the media vulnerable to political and economic pressure. For instance economical and technological disadvantages prevent most African countries to have as many community radio and television stations as they would like. Conclusion It is a fact that African politics and government structures can be very difficult to understand especially after the continent embraced democracy. The same can be said when it comes to understanding media structures and their content. This is mainly so because the essay has showed that the media in a democratic Africa has mainly two extremes functions. On the one hand the media play a â€Å"watchdog† role and on the other it play public relations service to the government. Given these two extremes of media structures it is evident that not any media approach can help one to understand media structures within such a context. However it is also a fact that given the democratization of the Africa continent, the media must inform citizens on matters of public policy by presenting and debating alternatives. Hence the liberal pluralist approach appears to be the best approach in understanding African media structures because it looks into the media as a ‘watchdog’ that may uncover and publicise political corruption, other abuses of power, and inept policies. However it is also crucial that the problems of the media in Africa, such as the crisis of power, the crisis of ownership and the crisis of resources are acknowledged. A liberal pluralist approach that is only interested in ending state ownership and control of the media without considering alternatives will not shed valuable light. This has been experienced when certain media were freed from state control only to be swallowed by international interests. Hence Africa media becomes the dumping zones for old and often inferior western content. By and large what is important is that a liberal pluralist approach reminds journalists and state leaders that they are accountable to the nation. Research Papers on African Media Structures and ContentBringing Democracy to AfricaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XQuebec and Canada19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in Capital

Discussion 2 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion 2 - Term Paper Example A lot of information can be obtained easily from both countries hence helping the researchers to compare their progress. This may not be an appropriate topic for a dissertation in management. This is because the topic is not wide and darned few considerations have to be made. In fact, the topic is remarkably general hence darned little information can be gathered. For a dissertation, adequate information is required, and a lot of sources have to be considered. This topic is exceedingly shallow, and information can be gathered from one source for one to come up with an inclusive report (Damon et al, 2011, p.87). Therefore, any student intending to come up with a dissertation on this topic should consider such points. Dissertations require one to study a wide field which can provide diverse information hence making their work easy. This topic is not wide enough to be considered for a dissertation. In fact, if it has to consider the company’s computers, it means that kind of information to be collected is extremely limited. This is because an organization has only one point of information hence devilish little information can be obtained. Company technicians can be used to offer all they know about company computers, and validity of this information depends with the technician (Ongino, 2009, p. 67). It is necessary for anyone working on a dissertation to consider interviewing various people to ensure that the information is reliable. Authenticity of information is extremely beneficial because it ensures that the report has dire credibility from its audience. This topic is tremendously famous for any student intending to write a dissertation in management. Since the topic is about many countries, chances of attaining a lot of information. In addition, a lot of people may be involved in data collection hence providing researchers with diverse information (Aslib, 2000, p.98). This is hugely significant because

Strategic Management at British Airways Case Study

Strategic Management at British Airways - Case Study Example The present study on British Airways is to identify, evaluate and assess the planning, development and implementation process of its strategy management and to analyze the performance of the strategic decisions made as part of the strategic management on the organization because it is believed that British Airways has been able to achieve the present position since its establishment in 1919 only due to its strategic management decisions (Cole, G.A., 2003:191). This section deals with various literatures available on the present research in order to study the process of planning, development and implementation in British Airways and also to identify the role of various stakeholders in the decision making process. Thompson, Martin and Thompson (2009:p2) stated that strategy is about how organizations cope with the world which is dynamic and emergent with technologies, design and competitors getting revamped at regular intervals providing the impetus t reformulate the existing strategy and restructure the organizations in order to survive in the competitive market. It is further clarified that strategies are means to ends; whereas the process of strategic management involves clarifying the desired ends, mapping out a route for achieving them (development), putting those strategies into practice (implementation), changing what the organization is doing tactically in the face of competition and unexpected issues that arise and finally evaluating progress and performance. Mintzberg (cited in Idenburg, 1993) stated that there are at least ten schools of strategy development with two fundamental dimensions i.e. goal orientation (what) and process orientation (how). The process of strategy developme nt includes rational planning, planning as guided learning process, logical in incrementalism and emergent strategy. Idenburg (1993) stated that four alternative view of the process of strategy development must be reflected in business research and education. Thompson and Martin (2005, p8) mention that strategic management is a complex and fascinating subject with straightforward underlying principles but no right answers. It is further stated that companies succeed if their strategies are appropriate for the circumstances they face and are feasible in respect of their resources, skills and capabilities and the same companies fail if the fail to meet the expectations of its stakeholders or produce undesirables outcomes. According to Thompson and Martin (2005), strategies are means to end as opined various other researchers and management specialists and managers are strategy makers to some extent in the companies. This statement articulates that mangers are the key persons involved in the strategic management process of planning who then take decisions regarding the development and implementation in the organization. The aviation industry has undergone major transition phase wherein the main stakeholders were involved and have been granted a greater degree of autonomy. Airlines were the first to realize the importance of strategies and strategic decision making in a competitive environment (Delfmann, 2005; p3). British Airways (BA) is major international airline with multinational operations which came into existence with merger of two

Taking into account current theories and research on organizational Essay

Taking into account current theories and research on organizational culture and climate, critically appraise the role of organizational culture on the management of occupational safety and health - Essay Example As these different humans could only create a different working culture, the success rate will be minimal. And, if a common working culture, if correctly said, the perfect, feasible and winnable working culture is ‘operationalised’, through out the organization, the organization will be a success story. And, the script for this success story can only be scripted, by an effective leader. That is, leaders can only actualize an organizational culture and with it other associated culture or practices like quality culture, culture of time management, disciplined base culture and importantly safety culture. Safety culture in the sense, the organization and its leader as part of the organizational culture should incorporate occupational safety and health. So, this paper taking into account current theories and research on organizational culture and leaders’ role in it will critically appraise the role of organizational culture on the management of occupational safety and health. One of the important first tasks of a leader in an organization is the creation of a Culture. That is, the task of the leader is to create a working culture, embed the working culture in the working group and environment, sustain it and also rectify it, when faults occur. According to Edgar Schein (2004, p.17), â€Å"The culture of a group can now be defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems†. So, apart from policy formulation and decision-making, it becomes all more important to look at the other side of the leader, in culture creation. The leader, who as a founder of an organization need to create a culture, then as a managing director or CEO of an

Leadership Within Pixar Animation Studios

Leadership Within Pixar Animation Studios Pixar(2010) Pixar is an American animation production company based in California, United States. The company was started in the year 1979 as the part of the computer division of Lucasfilm and was bought by The Walt Disney Company in the year 2006. The company during its 17 years of existence has delivered several movies that has redefined the world of visual technology and animation. Pixar is known for its some of the basic values that form the foundation of its unbeatable success. People at Pixar are extremely talented and there exists an open collaboration among people coming from multiple disciplines. However, a formal structure is followed at the company where it is necessary for every member to ensure enhancement of three inter-related facets of the business, namely, leadership, process and accountability. Leadership is taken very seriously at Pixar and it is ensured that leaders are able to tune their communications, and value the vision of the organization and come up with the ability to provide lots of ideas (Jeremy, 2010) Managers as well as workers of the enterprise have the freedom of expression so that their vision and ideas can be communicated freely that helps the organization to come up with innovative ideas ensuring a sustainable position in the market (Morris, Jeremy, 2010). Another important element of Pixars environment refers to its collaborative approach towards work. It is fine to have talented people hired in the company, but it is equally important to make these people work in a motivated manner towards achievement of organizational goals (Milter and Matveev, 2004). At Pixar, everyone is made to understand that his/her success lies in the success of all other members. This helps in moving in a collaborative manner to ensure that everyone working in the company succee ds. The team spirit at Pixar helps in development o fold hires and new hands in a similar fashion with a healthy respect for each other resulting in an environment of credibility and trust prevailing throughout the organization. Apart, from these two elements, accountability forms the foundation of the working environment at Pixar. Leaders and managers at Pixar follow a clear line of accountability that helps them in seeking ways to improve themselves. Every project is headed by a Director/Producer duo, to whom all members of the project are accountable. These directors and producers are in turn accountable to leaders of the company and have the opportunity to utilize the experience and knowledge of senior filmmakers who are the part of top management of the company. In short, Pixar follows a highly structured process aims at fostering a meaningful collaboration resulting in a culture that comprise of value for ability and contribution of others. Cultural Analysis Before going for a discussion on cultural analysis, we need to understand the meaning of culture in a proper manner. Various scholars and academicians have given several definitions for culture. Formally, culture has been defined as a pattern of shared beliefs that were developed by a group during the process of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. Martin (2002) explained that everyone knows about the groups, organizations, and societies in which certain beliefs and values prevail at cross purposes with the beliefs of others, resulting in a condition where conflicts and ambiguity prevails in a high degree. This is often the result of insufficient stability prevailing among members, insufficient shared history of experience, or the presence of several subgroups with difference in their personal experience s (Thorngate, 2004). Many a times conflicts and ambiguity also results because of the fact that an individual is not a part of a single groups but belongs to several different groups and this has an impact on the assumptions and beliefs that one brings to a particular group and is influences by the assumptions that re appropriate to some other groups to which an individual belong. Khan (2005) argued that it is necessary that people are matched with the organization in order to ensure success of the company. There is a set of collective rules through which a company operates, which is termed as the culture of the organization. (Conolly, 2008) explained that employees of the enterprise should be well aware of their workplace that will clearly define appropriate and inappropriate behavior. In the present paper, an analysis of cross-cultural issues arising out of the merger of The Walt Disney and Pixar will be undertaken. It makes it necessary to understand the meaning of cross-cultural analysis. Under a cross-cultural analysis, an investigation is made into the ways through which people coming from different backgrounds communicate with each other. Whenever any merger takes place there is an amalgamation of the culture of the two organizations participating in the merger (Stening, 2002). Here several cross-cultural issues may arise because of the interaction of people coming from two different groups with different background, beliefs, values and functions. Cross-cultural analysis thrives to harness the utilitarian function of culture in order to use it as a mode of increasing the adaptation of people and bringing an improvement in patterns of communication (Nigel, 2001). It is one of the discipline of international management that focus on cultural encounters, aiming at discovery of methods that can be adopted to handle cultural differences that often give rise to conflicts, ambiguity and miscommunication. There are several different models that can be used to conduct a cross-cultural analysis. Various models includes those suggested by Hawkins (1992), Terpstra and Sarathy (2000), Hofstede (1994), and Wills (1991). The framework suggested by Hawkins and Terpstra are similar in nature and explains some of the common elements such as values, education and learning, social status and organization. Hawkins has tried to approach culture from the perspective of a consumer lifestyle, while Terpstra approaches culture in somewhat wider contexts. Thus, it is much more easy to use the model suggested by Terpstra and Sarathy. In addition, Hofstedes model will be used to understand the various dimensions of culture that are based upon individualism, power distance, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Wills (1991) considered learning as the key element of their model of culture. This will explain the basic idea of culture at Pixar as after the merger with The Walt Disney, the major aim of the co mpany was to establish Pixar as a learning organization. The dimensions of learning are used to consider a model of cross-cultural analysis suggesting a relationship between high/low context of a culture and the rate at which new products are adapted. In addition, it is to be noted that culture and leadership are interconnected. These are viewed as the two sides of the same coin, in that leaders first create cultures when they create groups and organizations (Edgar, 2004). Once cultures exists they determine the criteria for leadership and thus determine who will or will not be a leader. The unique function of leadership helps in managing the existing culture in case the elements of a culture becomes dysfunctional. Leadership also manages evolution of culture and change in such a way that the group is able to thrive in a changed environment also (Bal, 1999). Thus, it is right to say that it is necessary to understand the culture both for group members as well as for their leaders. The cultural analysis in relation to leadership roles will also be discussed and analyzed for Pixar. Cross Cultural Issues at Pixar The Walt Disney acquired Pixar with the view that Pixar would be able to bring some creativity to Disney, which had lost the luster in its animation. However, various major factors of the success of a merger were recognized by both the parties and they emphasized on The concept of transformational leadership and the importance of its existence for the success of the merger Creating a new strategic vision and mission for the new organization that is shared by both the parties to the merger Developing and maintaining learning teams resulting in fostering a learning environment throughout the organization. Creating and maintain a learning culture throughout the merged organization. Pixar is well known for its culture of collective creativity. Management think in a way to build capability to recover when some failures occur and not in the direction of preventing the risk. It is believed that smart people are more important as compared to good ideas (Catmull, 2008). The company aims at enhancing the power of creative people and builds a creative culture on the foundation of active feedback among peers. An open culture and communication prevails in the organization where people at all levels support each other and help each other to turn out their best (Catmull, 2008). All members of the organization respect each other and there are very rare cases of any unhealthy conflicts with groups having considerable problem-solving powers that act as an inspiration to be creative and innovative. However, with the merger of Pixar with The Walt Disney, the culture of the two organizations also merged and then arouse several cross-cultural issues that could have resulted in a failure of the merger if not managed properly (Haspeslagh, 2006). The Walt Disney is characterized with a highly regimented culture while Pixar is known for its unique, free-spirited, independent work dynamic culture (Lam; Chi and Lee, 2007). The successful combination of these two totally different cultures was the hallmark for the success of the merger. In case Disney would have made any attempt to get the people of Pixar work under pressure to generate efficiencies, even though the way of increasing its productivity or bringing about an elimination of the overlapping support positions, would have resulted in high rates of turnover with skilled employees leaving the Disney Pixar (Lam and Lee). It is to be noted that many a time sin such highly skilled industries such as animation and communication, people are allowed to let go because of skill gap. However, it is the issue of cultural gap that makes most of the skilled people switch companies frequently in animation and communicat ion industry (Keating, 2006). It is the clear understanding of magnitude of synergies that makes the mergers successful. Analysis of the cross-cultural issues at Disney Pixar As discussed in the previous section, to manage cross-cultural issues at Disney Pixar, management concentrated on four important elements of transformational leadership, shared vision, learning team and learning culture. These elements and Disney Pixars approach to these are discussed as follows: Transformational Leadership at Disney Pixar It is necessary that an organization have transformational leaders in order to develop creative thinking and problem solving to foster organizational growth. Transformational leaders are those who lead through social exchange. They help their followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group and the larger organization (Riggo and Bernard, 2008). It is the elements that can encourage organizations to develop and change more rapidly so as to be able to meet challenges of dynamic and competitive environments. Disney Pixar followed the approach of defining and developing the transformational leadership. The company decided to follow the approach in order to make employees easily adapt the new culture, which is a mix of the cultures of two organizations. It is believed that creative powers come from creative leadership (Riggo, 2008). It is so because effective leadership helps in effective development of support structures, the necessary resources and access to the experience and knowledge of the top management of the organization. At Pixar, access to the brain trust of the organization was easy for all individuals because of its independent and free-spirit culture. However, it was for Disneys culture to adopt this key feature in order to be successful in the competitive environment. Transformational leadership was chosen as a route to achieve this objective and make Disney Pixar a learning organization. Shared Strategic Vision Another key element ensuring the success of a merger is the sharing of a shared vision of goals and objectives by the merging organization. This helps in providing proper guidance and reducing the anxieties and uncertainties associated with the process of merger. It is necessary in case of a merger to develop an environment of learning throughout the organization. This is possible only if there is an availability of diverse learning teams that are led by leaders who are sharing a common strategic vision. An organization is able to create a sustainable competitive advantage through such a process (Jemison, 2006). This further makes it easy to manage the increasing complexities associated with economies of scale and then competitors find it more difficult to copy a companys operational methods (Janik, 2006). As explained by Gill (2010), managing through a shared vision proves to be much more productive as compared to the management done through coercion or control. Creation of a shared vision refers to the process where a consensus has to be achieved on the direction of the group and on the desired results. The basic aim is to make the members of a team approach their work with aim of achieving same goals for the future and being guided by same principles. A shared vision is also necessary for developing and fostering learning and change in an organization. In the case of Disney Pixar, a formal team of leaders was created in order to integrate the two companies. Among these steps, the Vice President of Pixar was appointed as the chief creative officer of Disneys and Pixars animation studios. Despite of his having the authority to green light films for both the studios, the ultimate authority to approve rested in the hands of Disneys CEO. The main aim was to maintain the Pixars culture. However, it is not enough to develop teams of leaders. It is necessary that leading teams emerge throughout the organization and leaders try to develop learning of each and every individual about the new cultural values, mission and vision of the organization and the objectives for which the various operations are being carried out in the organization (Gancel and Rodgers, 2002). Every individual is required to have a commitment towards the strategic vision of the merger. There is a need of combining the best skills as two organizations to enhance the shar ing of the strategic vision and avoid any cultural issues. Developing Team Learning At Pixar, it is believed that providing freedom to take decisions helps in development of teams. People are given full chance to be creative and use their ideas in order to learn from their success or failures. The cofounder of Pixar and his executives gives tremendous authority to their directors. All decision-making authority rests in the hands of teams and no single individual is considered as a decisions making authority. The rule is that the opinions and advice received from the brain trusts of directors will be used only as an advice and directors have full authority to refuse their suggestions if it does not fit their plans. However, Disney having a tight control culture, followed an approach where corporate executives micromanage by keeping tight control over budgets and entering in the departments to take final creative decisions. These two different approaches resulted in several cultural issues after the merger. Many of the key employees left the company because of Disneys dominating cultural values. Ed Catmull, the cofounder of Pixar had recently changed his vision to build the organization where everyone work in the direction of creating a magic even when the directors and cofounders are gone (Prokesh, 2008). This called for a strong transition in the culture of the organization where executives were expected to do something of themselves even when people carrying out the organization were not there. Same was expected out of Disney, and unfortunately Disneys staff lacked the spirit and failed to develop a strong learning approach towards their work. Creating a Learning Culture Traditionally, organizations used to follow a top to down bureaucratic, controlled and narrow approach to management. This approach used to limit the learning process in the organization. In case of a learning organization, new directions of growth and development can be identified and recognized that makes it possible to handle challenges and problems. In todays competitive global era, diversity and cross-cultural complexities have become the synonymous to the challenges that a business organization face while improving their operational efficiency. Disney Pixar failed to recognize the method through which an organization can turn into a learning organization (Keating, 2006). The process is being undertaken successfully at Pixar through developing relationships and recognizing the fact that talent is rare and thus its retention is essential. Ed Catmull believes that the assumptions of the organization must be constantly challenged and the search for flaws that can destroy the culture of the organization should not stop throughout the operations of the organization. However, the process could not be undertaken successfully at Disney Pixar and resulted in several cultural issues. The new company was unable to keep Pixars talent together as there were vast differences between the cultural values and working styles of the two companies (Haspeslagh, 2006). Management was not successful in creating a learning culture throughout the organization and the unionized culture of Disney may not successfully coexist with non-unionized culture of Pixar. Recommendations Disney Pixar has failed at many levels while making the merger successful. The company has taken strong steps to initiate learning in the organization but it is doubtful whether such learning will be institutionalized throughout the organization. Some recommendations to foster learning and avoid any cultural clashes are discussed as follows: A utilization of differences can be made through the use of matrix strategy. This will help in finding a perfect balance between the competencies of managers of both the companies. In addition communication plays an important role in managing cultural differences (Lodorfos, 2006). Leaders should allow open communication and integration between team members as well as between teams to ensure smooth flow of knowledge and information. This will help in people from both the organization understand each others values, beliefs and working style resulting in more respect for each others culture (Harding and Rouse, 2006). Treating the partner company members with respect is the key to the success of a merger. Additionally, formal as well as informal training should be provided to the employees of Disney in order to adjust themselves with the open and free culture of Pixar. The decision making authority should not rest in the hands of few authorities and managers must be delegated more and mo re decision making power as in case of Pixar. Furthermore, Disney and Pixar studios are kept separate in order to reduce the complications. However, it is advised to design a single studio where a combined set of values coming from the combination of the ideas of both the companies should be fostered to ensure success of the merger. This is so because keeping the two parts of the Disney-Pixar merger as separate organizations can create the conditions for separation in future. Such a separation will result in more differences on account of cultural values and style of leading to more clashes and conflicts among the individuals of two companies. Disney-Pixar should aim at developing a learning organization through efficient flow of information and knowledge throughout the organization in order to be successful in future. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that proper management of cultural differences is one of the key factors in success of a merger. Todays business environment is characterized with an increasing number of organizations desiring to avail the advantage of globalization. Many of the companies take the route of mergers and acquisitions to achieve the objective. Many of such mergers fail due to cultural clashes among people of different organizations. Each of the merged company is required to integrate the corporate cultures of their organizations. It is the leadership style, management styles and communication lines that are necessary to be developed and managed in order to be successful in managing cross-cultural issues. It is evident that there is always a possibility of cross-cultural issues in case of a merger that cannot be avoided at any cost. However, it is possible to manage these issues through developing the organizations into a learning organization in order to fo ster knowledge sharing throughput the organization resulting a in a successful merger.

operation overlord Essay -- essays research papers

Operation Overlord   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By 1944 World War II had lasted nearly four and a half years. The entire war now depended on the success or failure of an invasion of France. The first three years of the war had almost entirely been a chain of Nazi victories. They had succeeded in crushing Poland and forcing France to surrender. Hitler’s attempts at capturing England were halted by the RAF, Royal Air Force. After the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler declared war on the United States and forced Italy to follow.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By November of 1942 Hitler began to pay for his string of mistakes. In Egypt his favorite General, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, had been defeated at The Alamein by the British Eighth Army, after being trapped between two armies. Hitler, fearing he would be captured, ordered him back. The fighting in Russia had been so severe and deadly that Marshal Stalin was demanding an allied landing in France, so as to force Hitler to move his troops from Stalin’s divisions in the East. The line of trust between Stalin and the allies was thin, but fearing Russia would leave the was, the United States and Britain send Canadian soldiers and British commandos to raid France’s Port of Dieppe. Nearly five-thousand troops were either dead, wounded or captured by the alert German forces, it had been a disaster.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Britain and the United States were butting heads on whether to invade Europe at the earliest possible opportunity. Britain argued that a failure of not capturing a strong hold on a beachhead could set them back two years. In August of 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Quebec, Canada and the invasion was approved. The plan included the landing of allied troops on different beaches, and also the battles that would follow, on the quest for Berlin. The shortest route would be Dover to Calais, but that would be a place where Germany would expect an invasion and would be heavily guarded. Now all eyes were pointing towards Normandy. The distance was almost twice that of Dover to Calais.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The final review of Operation Overlord was held on May 15,1944 at the St. Paul’s school in West London. The plan had taken nearly two years to plan. Attending the review was everyone who had a role i... ...o late, the Germans had waited too long. The Germans fought to reach the gap and the British fought to reach Caen. Allied planes came to relieve some troops in the Cotentin, and planes and naval gunfire cut off the Germans. It was a stalemate. When Hitler awoke and released the two divisions, he thought it would be enough to rid the allies in Normandy. The Panzer divisions got word at 5 p.m. and were ordered to move out at first light. It was too late. By June 8th, the holds on the beachheads were strong. 155,000 soldiers were poured into Normandy on the first day alone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No accurate number of how many allied troops died in Normandy can be determined. After fifty-five days the allied troops had reached where they should have five days after the initial invasion. Still they prevailed. D-day had been the beginning of the end for the German rule. Today signs of the massive, and deadly battles that took place on the Normandy beaches can still be seen. Rusting hulks of ships still sunk in the sea can be seen. But the most visible, is the military cemeteries and the rows of carefully placed white crosses that remind people the cost of the invasion that day. operation overlord Essay -- essays research papers Operation Overlord   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By 1944 World War II had lasted nearly four and a half years. The entire war now depended on the success or failure of an invasion of France. The first three years of the war had almost entirely been a chain of Nazi victories. They had succeeded in crushing Poland and forcing France to surrender. Hitler’s attempts at capturing England were halted by the RAF, Royal Air Force. After the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler declared war on the United States and forced Italy to follow.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By November of 1942 Hitler began to pay for his string of mistakes. In Egypt his favorite General, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, had been defeated at The Alamein by the British Eighth Army, after being trapped between two armies. Hitler, fearing he would be captured, ordered him back. The fighting in Russia had been so severe and deadly that Marshal Stalin was demanding an allied landing in France, so as to force Hitler to move his troops from Stalin’s divisions in the East. The line of trust between Stalin and the allies was thin, but fearing Russia would leave the was, the United States and Britain send Canadian soldiers and British commandos to raid France’s Port of Dieppe. Nearly five-thousand troops were either dead, wounded or captured by the alert German forces, it had been a disaster.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Britain and the United States were butting heads on whether to invade Europe at the earliest possible opportunity. Britain argued that a failure of not capturing a strong hold on a beachhead could set them back two years. In August of 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Quebec, Canada and the invasion was approved. The plan included the landing of allied troops on different beaches, and also the battles that would follow, on the quest for Berlin. The shortest route would be Dover to Calais, but that would be a place where Germany would expect an invasion and would be heavily guarded. Now all eyes were pointing towards Normandy. The distance was almost twice that of Dover to Calais.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The final review of Operation Overlord was held on May 15,1944 at the St. Paul’s school in West London. The plan had taken nearly two years to plan. Attending the review was everyone who had a role i... ...o late, the Germans had waited too long. The Germans fought to reach the gap and the British fought to reach Caen. Allied planes came to relieve some troops in the Cotentin, and planes and naval gunfire cut off the Germans. It was a stalemate. When Hitler awoke and released the two divisions, he thought it would be enough to rid the allies in Normandy. The Panzer divisions got word at 5 p.m. and were ordered to move out at first light. It was too late. By June 8th, the holds on the beachheads were strong. 155,000 soldiers were poured into Normandy on the first day alone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No accurate number of how many allied troops died in Normandy can be determined. After fifty-five days the allied troops had reached where they should have five days after the initial invasion. Still they prevailed. D-day had been the beginning of the end for the German rule. Today signs of the massive, and deadly battles that took place on the Normandy beaches can still be seen. Rusting hulks of ships still sunk in the sea can be seen. But the most visible, is the military cemeteries and the rows of carefully placed white crosses that remind people the cost of the invasion that day.

Evaluating a technology concepts lesson Essay

The learning environment observed was one that had the use of computers in mind. The classroom size was big enough to seat around twenty or so students that had a student:computer ratio of 1:1. The computers were arranged in such a way that two rows of computers were back to back so that students would be facing each other. There were four rows in all with the teacher seated on the end of one row. This arrangement allowed easy student to student interaction and at the same time easy teacher to student interaction since the teacher was situated where she had a full view of all the students. An overhead projector was also set up beside the teacher with the screen facing her and the students, allowing a real time view of what the teacher was doing on her own computer making it for her to explain the tasks she gave to her students. This made it easy for students to easily check their work against the teacher’s without having to disrupt the class. 1-b: Many education activities could be observed in the class. The given task was to identify from the given paragraphs the main ideas and the supporting details to the main ideas. The students were then tasked to use the computers to put their ideas down and make sure they edited their work. Thus, the most important parts of the whole activity were brainstorming, graphic organizing, and word processing. In the brainstorming activity, the students had sharing in ideas in small group discussions that the teacher utilized to give the students time talk about their ideas. These helped the students in identifying the main ideas and supporting details. They then summarized their discussions. These small group discussions help the students learn better since they are able to check whether their ideas have merit or not. In a way, they are doing checks and balances. The graphic organizing and word processing then bring them to the realm of technology where they can put their ideas and their work to life. They can actually view the work they came up with by typing these in, editing it, and checking whether the spelling and grammar are all correct. 1-c: Effective teaching is always seen when a teacher begins the lesson with a short statement of goals, presents the material in small steps with clear instructions and explanation, and provide a high level of practice for all the students. An effective teacher also checks for student understanding and guide the students through the exercise. The teacher also provides a venue for feedback to see whether the lesson was understood and know what areas can be improved (Rosenshine & Stevens, 1986). Keeping that in mind, my observation was that the teacher did exactly what is expected of an effective teacher. She stated the goals of the lesson and delivered the instructions of the lesson step-by-step. She also gave examples of what she meant and used the computer and overhead projector to show the students what she meant. She provided the students a venue to discuss their ideas and thereby giving them a high level of practice within the lesson. Not only that, by letting the students do their work with the use of the computer, she provided another venue for real life situations wherein writing is done on computers including editing and revising. At the end of the lesson, she asked one student to read to the class his writing output and gave feedback by acknowledging that the student was able to do his work correctly since the student had a main idea and some supporting details in his work. 2-a: The students were very much engaged with the task and the vehicle of technology used to deliver the lesson. They seemed comfortable with the use of the technology and I attribute this to the teacher’s step-by-step delivery of the lesson. Her style of going through the task by showing the students what she meant made it easy for the students to follow and most likely gave them the courage to do the task. 3-a: The instructional purpose of the lesson was to simulate real life writing wherein writers make use of the computer to write, edit, and revise their work. Her additional goals included a better knowledge of the use of graphic organizers after the lesson. Her choice of technology was the best choice in terms of simulating real life situations. Not only that, it gave her students an introduction to the use of a computer in writing. This is important since this knowledge is very important not only in real life situations but also in schooling. Evidently, most assignments nowadays are expected to be handed in typewritten, in a certain format, and in a certain font. Her choice then was the best choice in driving home the lesson that students should learn to use the computer in doing the task of summarizing an essay an identifying the main ideas with supporting details included. 4-a: The effectiveness of the lesson delivery is seen in how a student is able to achieve then endpoint of the lesson. The use of technology then is a vehicle towards that endpoint. Now, if a teacher is able to effectively deliver the lesson, the endpoint can easily be achieved. This was clearly seen in the video. The teacher was able to use the computer technology in arriving at the endpoint of having a professionally made summary containing the main ideas and supporting details of her given essay at the start of the class. In the same vein, she was able to improve the students’ abilities in the use of the graphic organizer and word processor. Also, since the ratio of student:computer was 1:1, it gave the students a certain satisfaction that the work they did was actually work made by their own hands. They could say that it was a product of their own hard work and be proud and they were proud of their achievement. 4-b: I was trying to analyze how best an English lesson could be incorporated with the use of technology and tried to reflect how I could maximize not only the use of technology but also maximize the endpoints that is always best when teaching English—meaning I would not only want that my students know how to use a graphic organizer and word processor, I want them to learn how to brainstorm, share ideas, work on their own to arrive at the correct answers, and still achieve metacognitive learning by letting the students themselves arrive at reflection on whether the lesson did improve their knowledge and by how much. This is the kind of endpoint I would want in every lesson I have. Thus, this is why my evaluation of this evaluation came about from this viewpoint and why it mattered much to me that the students were able to get the best of the world of English writing and technology. 5-a:One alternative or additional form of technology that could have been useful was the use of audios. Students could be given separate paragraphs or essays that they had to listen to individually or in small groups. This would also test their listening skills as well as their comprehension skills. This alternative would make use of what is known as the VAK attack or Visual, Auditory, and Kinetic learning. This can increase learning since more senses are used. 5-b: My choice of recommendation relies in my belief that multisensorial learning is a good way to increase their chances of remembering the lesson. It also give a wider range of engagement in terms of capturing students’ attention since some students are visual, some auditory, and others kinetic. When a teacher tries to deliver a lesson that makes use multiple senses, it increases the chances of more students retaining the lesson. 6-a:My initial reaction to the use of technology in the observed classroom was one of approval. I find that the use of modern day technology should be used more often in the classroom setting since I believe that learning should reflect situations in real life. It would not be beneficial for a student to be kept ignorant of the use of technology when in school since once they are out of the campus they face a different situation. The use of modern day technology is very evident in every corner of our lives. A good example would be the use of ATMs which needs at least a very basic knowledge of keyboard use or touchscreen interface knowledge. It may be difficult to accept especially if the teacher belongs to an older generation that did not incorporate as much technology but I believe that it should be part and parcel of most lessons today. 6-b: As I expressed in my thinking process of this evaluation, I really considered how technology can be maximized in teaching as much to a student without giving them an information overload. My personal view has always been a multisensorial approach to learning helps. The professional implication of this is that I always try to incorporate a multisensorial approach to my teaching style. REFERENCES Rosenshine, B. , & Stevens, R. (1986). Teaching functions. In M. C. Whittrock (Ed. ), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed. , pp. 376-391). New York: Macmillan.

Digestive System Essay

Digestive System Essay Digestive System Essay Food consists of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates which when eaten provide the body with proper nutrients. Once the food is swallowed and reaches the stomach the process of digestion takes place (Digestion and absorption 2013, pp.1). When food is in the stomach it mixes with gastric juices and creates churning movements by the muscular wall and turns the food in to chyme (Digestion and absorption 2013, pp.1). The enzyme pepsin is the proteolytic enzyme of the stomach which turns the proteins in to peptides (Digestion and absorption 2013, pp.1). Proteins and peptides from the chyme will reach the duodenum of the small intestines by enzymes from the pancreatic juices and also by enzymes from the succus entericus, which now ends the digestion process of proteins (Digestion and absorption 2013, pp.1). The remaining proteins and other various products will enter the jejunum and ileum that is located in the small intestines (Digestion and absorption 2013, pp.1). Proteins will then be brok en down in to amino acids. When amino acids are not needed they can be stored as fat used for energy or completely eliminated from the body through the urine (Digestion and absorption 2013, pp.1). Hormone regulation is the role of the hormones involving the digestive tract. The three main hormones are CCK, gastrin and secretin (NIH, 2008, pp.1). These hormones are released in to the blood stream surrounding the digestive tract to then circulate through the heart and back to the digestive area in which they are then able to stimulate the digestive juices resulting in movement of

Recording Industry essays

Recording Industry essays The recording industry is one of the great global industries of today. It brings pleasure and fulfillment to people of all ages, cultures and creeds; it is one of the leading creative industries that increasingly drive the development of modern economies; and it is pioneering in the era of digital technologies and electronic commerce. In todays age when it comes to getting something for cheap, or something for nothing people will try their best to get it. One of the most unstable industries today is the recording industry. The reason for this is in todays society everyone tends to download music instead of buying it form a store. So the hundreds of hours and money put into recording an album has to be made back some how. It happens like this, one person would spend the $14.99 to buy an album then they would put it on their computer and log onto the Internet. Then millions of people are able to go on the Internet and download that same album for free. Then you have the people who dow nload the music and sell it on street corners for less than half the original price. Their making 100% Tax free profit off of someone elses hard work. All of this can be done form anyones personal computer. What their doing is stealing. Its called music- piracy. For someone to download and sell music that they didnt make is a felony. One of the many non-profit organizations that try to stop this is the IFPI. Protecting copyright, fighting piracy and promoting the value to modern economies of a thriving legitimate music industry, are core activities of IFPI. The IFPI is an organization representing the international recording industry. It comprises a membership of 1500 recording producers and distributors in 76 countries. They stop people from swapping music over the Internet. IFPIs priorities are fighting music piracy, and promoting fair market access, and having adequate copyright laws. ...

Nursing research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nursing - Research Paper Example She is normal and not depressed although she retired from her job. Interviewing is similar to courting where two individuals have to agree on something before doing it. Connection between an interviewer and an interviewee can be seen through numerous aspects. In this interview, there was a sound and outstanding connection between the interviewer and the interviewee. This was seen through the attention that the patient gave to the questions that she was asked (Peate, 2010). She held onto her judgments and opened her mind. The patient kept her ears and eyes into what she was asked and held onto her feelings or body language that would indicate any sort of body language. Additionally, the patient remained curious and deferential throughout the interview. When the patient was engaged in the interview, she responded succinctly. The interview took place in the patient’s house, in her living room, on Monday 10th June 2013 at 6pm and took 30 minutes. Part II: General Assessment Whenev er individuals get to the age of 75 and above, they experience changes in their life. Such changes include deterioration of the person’s immune system, memory loss, wear and tear on joints and bones, skin changes and loss of sight. The patient has grey hair, vision loss, walking problems and difficulties in using the bathroom. Eyesight weakens as people get older. Research indicates that at the age of 60, eye cataracts degenerate resulting to weakened sight. Cataracts are cloudy regions in the human eye lens that cause loss of eyesight (Anderson et al, 2010). Cataracts may form and stay small and not affect eyesight while they may become large and affect eye sight. Graying of hair is a clear sign of aging. It can only be understood through delving into biology. Hair color is manufactured by melanin, a protein underneath the skin. When individuals age, the melanin cells also age and start dying out and stop making hair color. Therefore, the color of an aged person turns gray d ue to the loss of color by melanin. She cannot bear to stand in the bathroom since her joints and bones have worn out. Additionally, she needs help in order to take a bath (Anderson, 2010). The patient notes that she cannot walk for long periods and cannot walk too without a walker. The weight bearing joints and bones in an individual wear down as he or she ages. As a result, the weakened bones prevent an individual from walking. These bones could either be infected with arthritis. This results from the wearing off of cartilage in joints and, therefore, leaves the bones to rub against each other (Anderson, 2010). Additionally, the patient noted that she could not hold her bladder and stool. Loss of bladder control, commonly referred as incontinence, is a common disorder among the aged. Statistics indicate that out of 10 aged people, one is likely to have urinal incontinence. However, this problem seems to be more prevalent among women than in men. The patient is aware of her aging c ondition and understands that she cannot carryout normal daily activities without help. This is because she is unable to walk and cannot hold her bladder and stool. This makes it hard and challenging for her to do anything for herself. For instance, she faces difficulties when using the bathroom. This is because she cannot stand for long due to her weak bones and joints. The patient satisfies her basic needs through retirement or work through attending church meetings, hobbies through taking trips,

McDonald's strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

McDonald's strategy - Assignment Example ged across the globe because of the economic recession of 2010, McDonald’s adopted a combination of the cost focus and differentiation strategies to boost sales. This campaign comprised of initiating cost cutting measures in business operations, maintaining the affordable of menu offerings and improving the menu to address changing customer preferences. According to Mourdoukoutas (2013), McDonald’s has previously demonstrated similar patterns of adopting a specific strategic direction in the past starting from the 1960s when the company identified the customer’s demand of having access to a menu which offered both affordability and convenience. Consequently, the organization realized the onset of globalization as a fundamental trend that emerged in the decade of 70s and 80s thereby, choosing to take the McDonald’s brand worldwide because of favorable conditions. The company’s strategic decision-making in the past therefore, reflects that the organization carefully tailors its strategy around its most valuable element – the customers. Henceforth, the organization’s strategies have surfaced as winners when other companies have failed to make a mark or have succumbed to unfavorable economic conditions. Moreover, the company also recognizes the implications of competition in a highly volatile i ndustry which is also an important consideration behind the success which it has been able to achieve and sustain. Mourdoukoutas, P. (2013). Starbuck’s and McDonald’s Winning Strategy. Forbes. Available online at [2nd July,