Franklin D. Roosevelt Vs. Abraham Lincoln Essay

This paper will compare and contrast Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. I will compare and contrast both of their childhood and education. Then I will compare and contrast their presidency. This paper will also cover the similarities and differences on how they tried to improve our country and what they wanted to happen when they were in office. Finally, I will close with the similarities and differences about both of their deaths. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States. He became president in March of 1933. He led a big part in the World War Two . He died while he was still in office on April 12 1945 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He became president on November 6, 1860. He helped free the slaves and he was a great speech and poem writer. He was murdered when he went to a play on April 14, 1865, with a gun shot to his head. The comparison of these two presidents early life is not really good comparison, But let me tell you the similarities. They both went to school and got an education. They loved to read and they preferred learning to working physical labor. They both would set there and read a book–after a book–after a book. This led to a difficult relationship with their fathers, who was just the opposite. Abraham and Franklin were constantly borrowing books from the neighbors. They both lived a sheltered life and never really got into big trouble. They were both Tall, handsome, athletic, and outgoing. They loved to go outside and play with the neighbors or just go out side and play by themselves Abraham and Franklin both moved around when they were little. They both adapted to their environment quickly. It never seemed to bother them. They both had to go threw the feeling of losing a member of their family at such a young age. The differences of Abraham and Franklin’s childhood were not much of a difference, But there was some differences Abraham was taller than all of the men in his neighborhood and Franklin was tall, but he wasn’t taller than everyone else. Abraham loved to go out and help his dad chop wood or do any  other chore that was needed to be done around the house. But Franklin on the other hand, He would help his dad and his mom but, he would rather read a book or go outside and play. Franklin went to a prep school, while Abraham went to a school that all you did was study at your own pace and and work indivitualy. This school was more like independent studies, yet, it wasn’t for bad children. â€Å"When Abraham was around 9 years old, his mother; Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died from milk sickness, a disease obtained from drinking the milk of cows which had grazed on poisonous white snakeroot.† (1) His sister, also died, But she died from childbirth. As you can see, Abraham went threw allot of deaths as a young boy. He had to deal with the mental pain of all of these feelings that come along with death. Roosevelt never had to go threw any deaths in tell he was much older. When they started to grow up, they started to explore the world. Abraham started to travel. But Franklin was a student at Harvard University. Then he went to Law school, but he never graduated. In Springfield, Lincoln met Mary Todd. Three years later they were married and over the next 11 years had 4 children. Lincoln became a successful attorney, and the family bought a home on Jackson. In 1846 Lincoln ran for the United States House of Representatives and won. When he was in Washington he became known for his dedication to the Mexican War and to slavery. He returned home after his term and resumed his law practice more seriously than before. Franklin married a distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, on Mar. 17, 1905. They had six children, but the sixth one died at birth. The Roosevelt’s were active in New York social circles and Franklin handled small-claims cases. He also won a seat as a Democrat in the New York state senate. Lincoln was against the spread of slavery into the territories but was not an abolitionist. He also ran for Senate, but someone else won. But after that, he gained national recognition. They both were trying really hard to get into politics, and they seemed to be doing fine. The Roosevelt name and his new image helped him win the Vice-Presidential nomination in 1920. The Democrats had little hope for him winning. The number one similarity of these two presidents was that they were both presidents of the United States. Lincoln won on the 3rd ballot of the  Presidential nomination in 1860. Lincoln was elected the 16th President on November 6, 1860. In 1930, Roosevelt began to campaign for the presidency. He started to run because the economic depression damaged Hoover, and it was a better chance for him to win. In 1932, Roosevelt won the nomination as the Democratic Party candidate for president. In November 1932, Roosevelt beat Hoover by seven million votes. They both wanted the best for the country and they tried their hardest to make the country the best it can be. There are so many differences between the two Presidents and what they had to do when they were in office. Lincoln really didn’t have much to do compared to Roosevelt. Roosevelt ran four terms and he had to make decisions for World War Two. In taking office in 1933, Roosevelt had promised the United States to a â€Å"good neighbor† policy. He had carried out this pledge in Latin America. He tried to follow the policy of goodwill with all of the world. As war became more likely to happen in the 1930’s, both the president and the American public wished to remain neutral. But at the same time, Roosevelt did not want to see the aggressors get mad. War finally broke out in Europe when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Roosevelt wanted to help the democratic nations without bringing the United States into the war. But after a while, it was harder to keep the US out of the war. After the fall of France in 1940, Roosevelt rushed allot of weapons to Britain to help the British in the war against Germany. As you can tell, Roosevelt was a really busy man. Abraham on the other hand, Had a totally different kind of presidency. He played a big role in freeing slaves and he also gave really good speeches One of his favorite poems was: â€Å"Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? Like a swift-fleeting meteor, a fast-flying cloud, A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, He passes from life to his rest in the grave. The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, Be scattered around, and together be laid; And the young and the old, the low and the high, Shall molder to dust, and together shall lie. The infant a mother attended and loved; The mother that infant’s affection who proved; The husband, that mother and infant who blessed; Each, all, are away to their dwelling of rest. The maid on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye, Shone beauty and pleasure – her triumphs are by; And the memory of those who loved her and praised, Are alike from the minds of the living erased. The hand of the king that the sceptre hath borne, The brow of the priest that the mitre hath worn, The eye of the sage, and the heart of the brave, Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave. The peasant, whose lot was to sow and to reap, The herdsman, who climbed with his goats up the steep, The beggar, who wandered in search of his bread, Have faded away like the grass that we tread. The saint, who enjoyed the communion of Heaven, The sinner, who dared to remain unforgiven, The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just, Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust. So the multitude goes – like the flower or the weed That withers away to let others succeed; So the multitude comes – even those we behold, To repeat every tale that has often been told. For we are the same that our fathers have been; We see the same sights that our fathers have seen; We drink the same stream, we feel the same sun, And run the same course that our fathers have run. The thoughts we are thinking, our fathers would think; From the death we are shrinking, our fathers would shrink; To the life we are clinging, they also would cling – But it speeds from us all like a bird on the wing. They loved – but the story we cannot unfold; They scorned – but the heart of the haughty is cold; They grieved – but no wail from their slumber will come; They joyed – but the tongue of their gladness is dumb. They died – aye, they died – we things that are now, That walk on the turf that lies over their brow, And make in their dwellings a transient abode,  Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road. Yea, hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, Are mingled together in sunshine and rain; And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge, Still follow each other, like surge upon surge. â€Å"ËÅ"Tis the wink of an eye – â€Å"ËÅ"tis the draught of a breath – From the blossom of health to the paleness of death, From the gilded saloon to the bier and the shroud Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?† (2) The deaths of theis two presidents are very different. Let me tell you how they both happened. On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, the Lincoln’s went to a play called Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater During the performance Booth arrived at the theater, entered the State Box from the back, and shot the Lincoln in the back of his head at about 10:15 P.M. Lincoln was carried across the street to the Petersen House where he passed away the next day at 7:22 A.M. This was the first Presidential assassination in American history, and the nation mourned its leader. Lincoln’s body was taken to Springfield by train, and he was buried in the Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery on May 4, 1865. Roosevelt’s health, which had been getting worse and worse ever since early 1944, did not improve. After returning from the Yalta Conference, he went to Warm Springs, Georgia, to rest. He was laying in bed on April 12, 1945 and he died he of a cerebral hemorrhage. As you can tell, The deaths of these two great men were very different and hard for the American people to handle, But they changed out history of our country in a big way. In conclusion, You can see how these two president were so alike yet so different at the same time. I believe that we can learn so much from these two people and benefit off of it in a great deal. If more of our presidents would be more like these brave, kind, intelligent men; our world be in a lot better condition than it is today. If these two men were not in out history, I think that our whole life would be so different. And that’s in more ways that one. I hope you have learned a couple of things from this report. Because I know I sure have.

18th Century English Poetry Essay

Eighteenth century poetry consisted of several types of literature including ode, elegy, epistle, verse tale, hymn, song ballad and epigram. This period is frowned upon by critics who compare the context of this era to that of another. They claim Eighteenth century poetry is considered frivolous because often times the content lacked a true essence that poetry upheld for many centuries. Perhaps this is true, for the times of this period were changing and people were facing greater hardships in their daily lives. Melancholy plagued those who were greatly concerned with social ills which may explain the presence of abstract and satiric themes that were heavily prevalent. Perspectives evolved from the Renaissance period into Neoclassicism where individuals became secondary and a greater emphasis on the straight forward mechanics of poetry existed ( Rowles). Although there were many artist noted among this genre of poetry, William Blake established himself as a simple yet dramatic writer who used irony, naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve subjects, and traditional ballad structure to baffle the many readers to come( Norton p. 2264). William Blake wrote â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† of â€Å"Songs of Innocence† in 1789. This poem is about young children who whose families were unable to care for them financially, therefore sent to work in English mines during the 18th century. These boys were often sold to master sweepers and in turn were treated inhumanely ( Arp and Johnson p.117). Blake took this harsh treatment of human life to reveal serous social criticism of his European society. Their heads were shaved bare to prevent black soot from soiling their hair and often suffered from serious diseases. Now, one can understand why Blake’s work was frowned upon by aristocracies and often viewed as insane as he strongly disapproved and openly dissented the social welfare programs in his country (Norton p.2268). There is no identifiable audience except for those that hear the third line of the first stanza, â€Å"‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!† in the streets of England. This is interpreted as a child’s attempt to sing â€Å"Sweep! Sweep!,† which was the chimney sweeper’s street cry. There are two ideas which evolve throughout â€Å"the Chimney Sweeper†. Depending on one’s outlook, the first possibility is that Blake is stating no matter how detrimental life becomes, no matter how bad the church (government/law) is; one will be with God after death. Sadly children are celebrating the morality of this concept. The idea is if these children continue to work hard, eventually life will resume in the peaceful heavens. This is revealed through a dream the little boy had when, â€Å"an Angel who had a bright key†¦opened the coffins and set them all free.† The last stanza completes this thought by stating, â€Å"Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm, so if all do their duty they need not fear harm.† The other possibility is a negative-toned belief that children are conned into accepting their lives as slaves for adults. Either way, these boys are mocked by their naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve states (Arp 117). Blake’s use of dramatic irony is shining bright as he deliberately creates a cheerful sound for six stanzas while simultaneously developing a drastically different meaning. Ironically, this poem shows that children succumb to a positive perspective on life and do not fear death for they are too young to understand the realm of the situation. In the first two lines, Blake gives us an image of a child in a state of agony or even in a state of corruption as he is left all alone with no parents. However, after a night full of merry dreams the boy wakes up feeling â€Å"happy and warm.† This leads the reader to believe life continues with no worries instead of completing the story with a boy whose future is bleak and laborious. Perhaps, although I doubt, Blake would desire the reader to believe that anyone has the ability to be content with a depleted life so long as his/her dreams fulfill that empty space. Blake uses the image of two colors to represent the simplicity of this picture. The color black which holds significant importance as it is used to represent death and corruption. Black is the color of the boy’s coffins in the little boy’s dream. The color black is also referenced to the soot which is filth that covers the boys as they perform their daily chores. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the color white represents purity and angelic-like spirit. The eighth line, Tom’s hair is white before his head is shaved. At this point, Tom is compared to feeble lamb, a symbol of the ultimate sacrificial animal, as he cries when his head becomes bare. And similar to biblical stories, Tom is â€Å"naked and white† when the angels carry him off to heaven where God will be his father. Blake creates an allusion by giving the reader a peace of mind while using God as a symbol for safety and care (Norton p. 2268). There is no discernible meter for the poem, the beats jump anywhere from eight to twelve, with no repetition or pattern found. The â€Å"Chimney Sweeper† tone sounds very much like a nursery rhyme. Similar to â€Å"Rock-A-Bye-Baby†, the sounds are sweet an innocent, but if you read the words, â€Å"when the bow break, the cradle will fall† the words are quite disturbing. Like the dramatic irony established in this poem, tone presents itself as two-dimensional, sounding soft but actually disheartening. Williams Blake writes an excellent poem in my opinion; he used terms and ideas that we have studied in this course such as irony, symbolism and allusion. Although his language is simple rather than manipulating complicated words that Shakespeare prefers, I find his style easier to evaluate. Please do not get the wrong idea, by easy I mean a better understanding. Old world writers are fascinating, but often times are too difficult to comprehend, much less interpret. Not only did I learn about 18th century poetry, I also gained knowledge of Europe social ills of the time. Woks Cited Arp, Thomas, and Greg Johnson. Sound and Sense: An introduction to Poetry. 10th Ed. Heinle & Heinle: Boston, MA, 2002 Hugo, Howard, and Patricia M. Spacks. â€Å"Revolution and Romanticism in Europe and America.† The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynoard Mack. New York City, NY: W.W. Norton & Co. 1997. 2264 & 2268. Rowles, Kelly. â€Å"Overview of 18th Century Poetry.† New Jersey, 2004. Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Aug. 2004

Kinds of Musical Instruments Essay

Trumpet A soprano brass wind instrument consisting of a long metal tube looped once and ending in a flared bell, the modern type being equipped with three valves for producing variations in pitch. Trombone A brass instrument consisting of a long cylindrical tube bent upon itself twice, ending in a bell-shaped mouth, and having a movable U-shaped slide for producing different pitches. French Horn A valved brass wind instrument that produces a mellow tone from a long narrow tube that is coiled in a circle before ending in a flaring bell. Tuba A large, valved, brass wind instrument with a bass pitch. A reed stop in an organ, having eight-foot pitch. Euphonium A brass wind instrument similar to the tuba but having a somewhat higher pitch and a mellower sound. Flugelhorn The could produce only the natural harmonics flugelhorn is a valved bugle developed in Germany. It has a conical bore. The bugle had no valves and therefore of the tube. Percussion instruments DRUM SET The first drum sets were put together in the late 1800s sometime after the invention of the bass drum pedal. This invention made it possible for one person to play several percussion instruments (snare drum, bass drum, and cymbals) at one time Bass Drum This drum is the largest member of the set and is played by using a foot pedal attached to a beater which then strikes the drum head. This drum produces a low deep sound. Snare Drum This shallow, cylindrical drum produces a sound that is very distinctive to the drum (higher in pitch than the bass drum). The snares,  which are bands of metal wires, are pulled across the bottom head of the drum. This produces a buzzing or snapping sound when the drum is struck using a variety of techniques. Bell Bells can be made from various materials including clay, glass or metal. It also ranges in shape and size. It may be played by lightly shaking it as in hand bells or by striking it using a metal or wooden striker or mallet. Bongo Drum Another type of drum that is mostly used in world music is the bongo drum. Bongos are played by striking the fingertips and/or the heel of the hand on the drumhead. Castanet For some reason I think of chestnuts when I hear the word castanets. True enough the word castanet was derived from the Spanish word castana meaning chestnuts. Castanets belong to the clapper family of percussion instruments. Conga Drum A conga drum is another type of percussion instrument belonging to the drum family. It is shaped somewhat like a barrel and is played the same way as the bongo drum. Conga also refers to a form of dance of Afro-Cuban origin. A perfect example is the song â€Å"Conga† by Gloria Estefan. Cymbal The player holds the strap attached to each cymbal and brushes it against each other or clash it together. It can either be held horizontally or vertically and played either loudly or softly depending on the music. Glockenspiel Glockenspiels have tuned steel bars or tubes which are struck by the musician using two beaters. The beaters may be made from metal, wood or rubber. Gong Remember that show on NBC during the 70’s hosted by Chuck Barris? It was called â€Å"The Gong Show† and it’s an amateur talent show where the gong was sounded to signal that a contestant was eliminated. Read more about the gong. Maracas The maracas is one of the easiest musical instruments to play; you just need to have a sense of rhythm, timing and a flair for shaking. Maracas are made in various materials including plastic and wood and it ranges from the very simple to the most intricate designs. Metallophone Generally, metallophones differ from xylophones because the tuned bars which are struck with a mallet are made of metal, hence the name metallophones. There are many different kinds of metallophones; here we will focus on those which are used by Indonesian gamelan orchestras. TRIANGLE The triangle is another commonly used percussion instrument. The instrument is made by bending a steel rod into a triangle shape with an opening at one corner. It is suspended by a string and struck with a steel beater to produce a tone. The instrument has been used in Europe since the 14th century. XYLOPHONE The xylophone is a mallet percussion instrument. It consists of a set of graduated wooden bars which are hit with mallets to produce a tone. Xylophones were used in Southeast Asia during the 1300s and spread to Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Woodwind Instruments Saxophone The saxophone is a member of the reed -sounded wind instruments. In its construction, it combines the single reed and mouthpiece of the clarinet, a metal body, and a widened version of the conical bore of the oboe. Bassoon The bassoon is a double reed instrument. It is made up of about eight feet of cylidrical wood tubing. There are four joints in the bassoon: the bass joint, the tenor join, the double joint, and the bell joint. Clarinet The clarinet, a member of the woodwind family, usually consists of a long tube with a mouthpiece at one end and a bell-shaped opening at the other end. Usually made of wood, the clarinet has tone holes that are covered by small metal levers Oboe The oboe is the smallest and highest pitched double reed instrument. It has a cylindrical wooden body with keys along the length of its body. English Horn The English Horn is part of the oboe family. It is also called an alto oboe because it is tuned one-fifth lower in pitch than an oboe. Its shape is similar to that of an oboe and is often played by the third oboe player in an orchestra. Flute The flute is the instrument that serves as the soprano voice in most bands, orchestras, and woodwind groups. Most flutes are made of metal and consist chiefly of a tube with a mouthpiece near one end. Piccolo The piccolo is a type of transverse flute that is pitched an octave above the concert (or standard) flute. It has a range of nearly three octaves and reaches the highest pitches of a modern orchestra. It is usually used for special effects in orchestras but is more widely used in concert and marching bands String Instruments Violin The violin, which is probably the best known orchestral instrument, is a stringed instrument that is played with a bow. The violin is the highest pitched member of the violin family, which also includes the viola, the cello, and the double bass. Viola The viola is the second highest pitched member of the violin family. It  has four strings tuned to the notes c, g, d, and a. Music for the viola is written in the alto clef. Violas vary in size, although they are always larger and tuned lower than violins. Cello The cello, also known as violoncello, is a stringed instrument which is part of the violin family. It is played with a bow much like the violin. It is also shaped liked a violin but is much larger. The cello is about four feet long and one and a half feet across at its widest part and, therefore, this member of the violin family is played sitting down String Bass The double bass (also known as the string bass, bass viol, or contrabass) is the largest and lowest pitched string instrument of the violin family. It is usually six feet high and has four strings.

5)'If anything is central to the creation and maintenance of a Essay

5)'If anything is central to the creation and maintenance of a unified Chinese culture, it is the standardization of ritual.' (Watson) Discuss - Essay Example Further research into how the Chinese have been able to create and maintain a unified culture has provided varying results. According to James Watson and Evelyn Rawski’s book Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China, the creation and maintenance of a unified Chinese culture were enabled by the standardization of rituals. The following study will provide evidence to justify this statement by evaluating several depictions of ancient and modern Chinese culture. Watson and Rawski (1988, p. 4) define [Chinese] cultural unification as the acceptance and adherence to set ritual routines by ordinary citizens. Standardization on its part, was the way in which these cultures were made known, proper and acceptable. They further reveal that standardization, which contributed to cultural unification, was in most cases voluntarily taken up by citizens without the use of force. As such, any Chinese aspects seen in the world today are by-products of the ancient processes of ritual standardization. Ritual in Watson and Rawski’s case is defined an active process of transforming something from one state into another wherein â€Å"something† could refer to things, people, or other beings. Again, rituals have a transformative power (4). Funerals had a uniform structure of rites that were practiced all over China, and particularly during the Late Imperial Era. Although it is not widely practiced in China today, some areas such as Hong Kong and Taiwan still practice them. Watson and Rawski (1988, p.7) state that the rites were standardized and practiced all over China, and they in turn played the role of â€Å"cultural† cement that bound the Chinese community together. In standardizing burial rituals, the Chinese believed that in death, the body and soul should not be allowed to separate before a ritual was done. It was said that if this happened, the community would experience some form of disaster. Again, they standardized the belief that death should not separate couples

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Compare and contrast - Essay Example Neal Caffrey is the star of the show who was a conman. He was a thief and forger for three years and knew all the tricks of the trade but then he got caught by the FBI. He was sentenced to four years in prison and his tenure was about to end in jail when he escaped the prison under maximum security and he found his girlfriend Kate. The agent who caught him was Peter Burke, caught him again and returned him to the prison. Caffrey actually tries to help Burke out this time; he is willing to give him evidence on another case but only if he meets with Caffrey in which he proposed that he would actually help Burke catch other criminals since he would know their tricks better and he would be released from prison on a work basis. Burke hesitates to accept this proposal however he ends up agreeing. This partnership starts the show with Caffrey promising to not escape his deal and help catch white collar criminals and they end up doing so successfully in many cases. ‘Suits’ is al so a US based television series that is now on its third season. It involves Mike Ross as its main character. Ross is a brilliant character who was aiming to be an attorney and this dream was crushed when he was expelled and had to drop out of college. He had a keen intelligence and a photographic memory and so even as a dropout he could help others; he did this by taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) for others. Therefore both Caffrey and Ross had an intelligent mind and a flair for doing the wrong thing and they need to make a living as well. Ross had to take care of his grandmother who he places in a nursing home and then he also agrees to transport marijuana for a friend of his; not just anyone but his best friend in the show who is Trevor. At the same time, Harvey Specter, who a top corporate lawyer in New York is promoted in a firm called Pearson Hardman law firm. He needs to take on an associate attorney and Ross accidentally sits for an interview for the post. This ho wever turns to be in his favor for two reasons. Firstly, the marijuana task turns out to be a sting operation designed to catch criminals. And secondly Specter is so impressed by Ross that he hires him despite knowledge of his dropping out. He likes him due to his wittiness, his knowledge and his desire. Only Specter’s attorney knows that Ross is a dropout but to the world, he has graduated from Harvard with a law degree. Both Ross and Caffrey are persuasive enough to be hired and convince men of great position and power to be on their side and keep their secret at the same time. However, at Specter’s firm, his partner and who is jealous of Specter isn’t convinced with Mike’s degree credentials and Ross faces not only those issues but the fact that his friend is a drug dealer and that keeps him linked to his past which was a failure. He is also confused about whom he loves by first dating his best friend’s ex-girlfriend and then a colleague Rachel Zane, and so his personality seems to be more complicated. And his complication catches up to him when his best friend returns and seeing that he is dating his ex-girlfriend, he tells on him regarding his credentials to his firm. He loses Jenny eventually as well due to his feelings for Rachel and things seem to be going berserk with him at work with accusations of also hiding evidence as well. His personal life seems to be displayed more than Caffreys’

Discuss how the concept of affect can be integrated into a usability Essay

Discuss how the concept of affect can be integrated into a usability study - Essay Example isciplinary valuable meta-theory involving interactions involving feeling and cognition which has several useful implications for daily life, contemporary media, marketing, political affairs, psychology and sociology. Hence the concept of affect is a comprehensive psycho-somatic condition analogous to a particular goal-directed example of energy utilization. (Sobiesiak, Jones, and Lewis, 2008, 283) Affect can be small or long-term, weak or strong, sensible or insensible. The word usability was initially used nearly ten years ago in place of the expression â€Å"user friendly â€Å"that had obtained an undesirably indistinguishable and prejudiced implication. Usability is the evaluation of the eminence of an individual’s understanding while working with content or services. Following are the 3 different views explaining how usability can be evaluated: This paper describes a real-life example of integration of concept of affect and usability in new media i.e. autonomic system with strong ease-of-use characteristics. This system, the IBM DB2* Universal Database* (UDB) Version 8.1 autonomic computing system, employs a number of usability features combined with autonomic technologies to deliver an administrative interface unlike anything else in the industry. Autonomic computing is all about self-managing systems. It is amongst the best examples of integration of affect and usability in new media. At the core of the autonomic computing initiative is the concept that computers need to be more self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing, and self-protecting in order to reduce the overall complexity of a system. Autonomic computing is described as a "closed loop" system, which includes a "monitor-analyze-plan-and-execute" process in order to make decisions. (Smith, A. 2007, 378) From ease-of-use perspective, autonomic computing offers a leap forward in the following ways: Rarely does an IT component work "out of the box." As part of the installation process, there is

Humanitarian Supply Chains & Disaster Relief Management Assignment

Humanitarian Supply Chains & Disaster Relief Management - Assignment Example â€Å"In addition, international humanitarian law and international criminal law prohibit acts of torture and ill-treatment not limited to those perpetrated by government forces, but also by members of armed groups.† (Caring for human rights challenges and opportunities for nurses and midwives, 2006). However, it is necessary and even imperative that disasters need to be stopped on their tracks through global satellite positioning techniques and Early Warning Systems (EWS). But this is easier said than done. Nevertheless, â€Å"practicing information gathering during a non-critical event or during a disaster to which the team is not responding is an excellent way to practice and hone skills.† (Budd n.d, p.14). There needs to be maximum consistency, coordination and assimilation between discrete, independent and diverse agencies along the humanitarian supply chain if the main objectives of such efforts are to fructify the threat of disasters itself rather than to underta ke relief and rescue operations after the horses have bolted from their stables. This study considers the critical appraisal and evaluation of the importance of logistics and supply chain management aspects and their impacts on humanitarian supply chain and disaster relief management. Humanitarian logistics underpin relief and rescue operations throughout the world. â€Å"The process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of goods and materials as well as related information, from the point of origin to the point of consumption for the purpose of meeting the end beneficiary’s requirements.†

Synthesizing two books regarding business Essay - 1

Synthesizing two books regarding business - Essay Example Managers are directed by professional and technical competence while leaders should be drivers for change and capable of inspiring people to greatness by converting talent to competence. He seeks to answer questions such as; What is the difference between leaders and managers? and What drives great leaders to their success? On the other hand, Sun Tzu’s â€Å"Art of War† explores the subject of war, which is not particularly different from the contemporary business environment. He focuses on the importance of strategy and effective leadership in war and tries to answer questions like; When is it worth going to war or making peace? He proposes that one must understand their enemy and like Buckingham, he talks about leveraging on ones strengths to ensure they get the upper hand. However, his methods tend to be rather Machiavellian, as he advocates deception where necessary if it aids one’s side achieve victory. According to the art of war, a great leader will know his strengths and weakness as well as those of the enemy (Tzu 50). Therefore, he will leverage on his knowledge to both take advantage of the battle and assume control over the environment subsequently securing victory. Admittedly, given that people who lived centuries apart wrote these books, they have little in common in respect to the cultural or even social experience. Nonetheless, from a business perspective, distinct similarities emerge in the underlying themes that both authors express in their works. Both books are focused on achieving victory; while the art of war is a military book it has been used by business students for hundreds of years because of its timeless and effective lessons. It advocates leveraging on ones strengths and the weakness of the enemy, which is essentially the same idea proposed by Buckingham. In Buckingham book, he proposes that great leaders must strive to understand their

M5a2 - research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

M5a2 - research methods - Essay Example In this way, the dependent variable can be defined as the variable that is not in the control of researcher. It can only be measured and observed with reaction of independent variable. How can managerial decisions affect the quality of customer service? Can a good customer service lead to customer loyalty? What is the significance of customer loyalty in relation to profits realized by the organization? Decisions made by the managers with regards to a positive or negative reinforcement can affect employees’ attitude and behavior at work. Therefore, it is necessary to ask the question â€Å"How management decision-making can affect the quality of customer service?† This study assumes that a good customer service quality can lead to customer loyalty which then can create a positive effect over the company’s sales and profitability (Bell, Auh & Smalley, 2005). Therefore, it is necessary to ask the question â€Å"Can a good customer service lead to customer Loyalty?† Basically, doing so will allow the researcher to examine the truth behind the research assumption. Qualitative study is the method of research that evaluates the conclusion by only observations that were evaluated as the result of interaction with the people. The interaction may involve the utilization of a research questionnaire or just interviewing people about the topic. Results must have an interaction with the hypothesis that was made and questionnaire was created. Irrespective of quantitative study that utilizes the scientific method; qualitative study can only utilize the collection of data through various sources associated with the hypothesis. However, both the methods have to be utilized by considering the effectiveness of both the studies. At some place the qualitative approach are considered to be more appropriate as compared to the quantitative study. To determine how management decision-making can affect the quality of customer service and whether a good customer service lead to

Exemplification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exemplification - Essay Example For instance, dialogue, holding and handling cell phones divert the driver’s attention and decreases their cognizance of their environments. Therefore, there odds of triggering an accident escalatesintensely. In response to this most state legislations have applied legislative and driver education measures. Virtually all car drivers are reported to have used a cell phone while driving. In this case, drivers are 5.4 times more likely to cause an accident while driving when compared to other drivers who are not using cells phones. For instance, car drivers who were using their cell phones were 0.09 times slower in responding to road use cues, 0.19 times more likely to be unresponsive to road lane speed limits (especially following braking), and 0.24 times more likely to misjudge vehicle distances while on the road. In this respect, cell phone distraction has been reported to cause a fifth of all reported road accidents (Strayer and Johnston 462). As earlier stated, cell phones distractions are to blame for a large number of road fatalities. In reference to that, most jurisdictions have enacted legislation that regulate cell phone use by car drivers with all drivers criminally liable of found contravening the legislation. For instance, New York State has enacted regulations that criminalize any form of cell phone use by drivers; terming cell phones use by drivers as dangerous and impractical. In addition to regulations, driver education has been termed as a key program to address cell phones use by drivers. Consequently, governments and legislators have determined that cell phone use by drivers is a dangerous habit (Noder 238). Research reports that most drivers are aware that cell phone use while driving increases their likelihood of causing an accident. In this case, they acknowledge that if they are repeatedly and consistently educated on the dangers of using cell phones while driving

Compare and Contrast Various Ethical and Leadership Theories Essay

Compare and Contrast Various Ethical and Leadership Theories - Essay Example Merrian-Webster, defined crime behaviour as â€Å"an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.† This indicates that when the police, courts and corrections all work together the system itself works well. The main element of the criminal justice system in the U.S is that of the jury system which is seen to be unique compared to other jury systems. Originally the jury system was made that the result of the verdict being guilty or not guilty would fall on one person’s shoulders but on a group of people. However, this did not occur. The system works that ten people have to agree or disagree if a person is guilty or not guilty. The job of the courts is to show the jury a satisfactory amount of evidence, this is to try and make sure that no-one is wrongly sentenced. The selection of the jury is acquired so strictly it is deemed to show that no-one would favour anyone that is being trialled. In the American criminal justice system today there is an emphasize on equal rights, this is seen to be because a procedure has been put in place. This procedure is meant to be impartial and equal for every person. However a number of statistical reports show that there are still a number of concerns related to discrimination and disparity. Both discrimination and disparity have different meanings and the best way to understand and define them is categorizing them separately. The meaning of Discrimination is described by Microsoft Encarta Dictionary (2007) as â€Å"treating people different through prejudice: unfair treatment of one person or group, usually because of prejudice about race, ethnicity, age, religion, or gender.† Disparity is described by Microsoft Encarta Dictionary (2007) as â€Å"a lack of equality between people or things.† Disparity in the criminal justice system is usually related to ethnicity or race. The issue that arises when it comes t o a race related problem because it can also be seen as discrimination. David Cole wrote, "our criminal justice system affirmatively depends on inequality." Cole made this vital statement due to the fact, class and race has been causing a concern in the criminal system for a number of years. American criminal justice is said to be blind. However over a long period of time there has been a large amount of inequalities this is because of social class, racial and economic differences. "Absent race and class disparities, the privileged among us could not enjoy as much constitutional protection of our liberties" The case of Gideon v. Wainwright can be used to illustrate this point. This case showed that justice is not evenly awarded if the conditions in which it follows are not reasonable to begin with. In the case Gideon could not afford a lawyer after he was charged with a crime, because this would have been Gideon’s fifth offence the punishment was severe. Gideon requested to t he courts for a lawyer however the request was denied. After Gideon was sentenced to five years imprisonment, he appealed to the Supreme Court against the State of Florida pointing out that during the case he was not given the correct rights and the Constitution’s sixth amendment was not followed correctly. Gideon v. Wainwright case was a breakthrough because it gave defendants more rights and it increased the services and time that that was

Promote good practice in handling information Essay Example for Free

Promote good practice in handling information Essay 1.1 Organisations that handle confidential health and social care information have to ensure that it is held securely and shared appropriately. A number of laws, principles and obligations govern how organisations should handle this information. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 gave us powers to advise organisations on how to handle confidential information securely. The Data Protection Act 1998 is a piece of legislation which defines the law on processing data of people living within the United Kingdom. One of the central codes of practice in health and social care has been provided by the GSCC and it sets standards of practice and behavior for staff working in that field, including standards for handling information and maintaining confidentiality This covers eight principles under which personal data must be protected and collected. DPA says that service user information must be confidential and can only be accessed with their consent. Service users must know what records are being kept and why the data is kept. Freedom of Information Act 2000: The Freedom of Information Act gives individuals the right to ask organisations all the information they have about them. 1.2 The 8 Principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 states the personal data must be: used fairly and lawfully  used for limited, specifically stated purposes  used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive  accurate  kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary  handled according to people’s data protection rights  kept safe and secure  not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection  the six main points set out by GSCC (general social care council) are: 1. Protect the rights and promote the interests of service users and carers. 2. Strive to establish and maintain the trust and confidence of service users and carers. 3. Promote the independence of service users while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm. 4. Respect the rights of service users while seeking to ensure that their behaviour does not harm themselves or other people. 5. Uphold public trust and confidence in social care services. 6. Be accountable for the quality of your work and take responsibility for maintaining and improving your knowledge and skills. . 2.1 Manual systems relate to paper records, such as Paper or card health records, case notes, care plans, staff files, assessment records, reports, computer print-outs and administrative records. Also Imaging records such as X-rays, CCTV film and photographs. These are required to be out of general view when in use and locked away when not in use or attended in lockable filing cabinets, draws, or locked rooms. We need to ensure only the appropriate individuals have access to these records and that confidentiality is kept at all times. Electronic systems relate to databases, emails and other stored information such as external hard drive, USB memory stick, CD or DVD. These should be protected by adequate virus software and passwords. Files that are confidential should be password protected and not accessible to unauthorised individuals. Information pertaining to individuals should only be shared on a ‘need to know’ basis. 3.1 When supporting others to understand the need for keeping information secure, I would explain the importance of confidentiality and give a summary of the Data Protection Act 1998. I would then explain which information that individual would be able to have access to, and give any guidance needed to enable them to complete records as necessary. 3.2 To support others to understand and contribute to records, I would assist them in completing all necessary records and ensure they understand what is expected of them. I would ensure that I set a good example when completing records, in the production and maintenance of records. Also by raising awareness of the consequences of records that are out of date, incomplete or inaccurate.

Patient Billing Software System Information Technology Essay

Patient Billing Software System Information Technology Essay In todays world, the population in various countries is increasing speedily every year, the Medical Billing System has grown-up in importance. The reason for this is that there are far more individuals that have need of some variety of health care, regardless of whether it is physical or mental. In order to receive these services patients need to pay for the services rendered by the hospital. This task requires a billing system that can generate bills of services to patients. Medical professionals are facing problems regarding the billing issue. My project for BSc Computing is to develop a web based patient billing software that is of importance to a hospital. . PHP was selected as the language for implementation and PL/SQL server as the database. The patient information will be stored in the database. Any new patient information can be stored in the database via a patient information input screen. The screen will take as input all the details of the patient, the amount to be paid, etc. The system is designed with the intension of allowing for scalability, portability, and re-use. The design of the system is such that it would permit future integration with other systems like online insurance billing for a patient that has a medical insurance, or even a completely different application. This system is also expected to provide a maximum level of security and reliability. Aim This project is aimed at developing a patient billing software system that is of importance to a hospital. The patient billing system is a local software system. This system can be used to maintain the location and the bed number of each patient either in the ward or the Intensive Care Units (ICU). Information about the patient and the charges to be paid is also stored. OBJECTIVE Research objective To study the feasibility of implementing a practical billing system for a hospital mainly focusing on scalability issues. As the hospital is speedily getting bigger the system should be able support any future expansions such as dealing with patients with health insurance. To conduct series of interviews in order to understand the organisational structure and the existing infrastructure service in the hospital and its problems and develop an alternative scenario for the system. To understanding the advantages and disadvantages of the current infrastructure service and how does the new system will be a benefits to the hospital? To conduct research about how patients billing systems is used in other hospitals? To examine the necessary tools that will be needed for the implementation of the proposed system and also examine whether the proposed system will be compatible with the existing system within the budget. Eg: What type of programming language can be adopted? What type of database would be best suitable for the system? To conduct an interview with the hospital data entry operator and the account department in order to find out the difficulties they are facing when generating bills to their patients. Practical objective The system is developed using PHP as the front end and SQL Server / Oracle as the back end. The following steps will be helpful to start off the project. Study and be comfortable with technologies such as PHP, SQL server / Oracle, Apache and ODBC Connectivity. Decide on the number of wards and the number of beds in each ward. Make a database of all tables and fill some sample data in the tables which can prove helpful for running / testing of the project. Assign a hospital data entry operator who will enter all the patient details, make updating to the table entries via front-end screens as and when a patient is being admitted to the hospital, transferred from a general ward to the ICU and vice versa and discharged from the hospital. Since the real-time project needs to be tested in real-time, you can take hours as days for testing the system. However, the display will still be in days only. Create the front-page of the PBS system giving a brief description about the system and a login box Create the help-pages of the system in the form of QA. This will help you also when implementing the system. Create other sub-systems like screens for various functions (new patient entry, viewing existing patient details, transfer of a patient between ward and ICU, etc). Research about client side and server side programming languages HTML, XHTML, ASP.NET, JSP, PHP, ASP Research about web based data base applications like Oracle,Mysql Research about Unified Modelling Language, Activity diagram, Use case diagram, Class diagram, Sequence diagram, Collaboration diagram Rationale of the project: Outsource medical billing system service provider is doing great help in terms of rendering medical billing services that could be of help to the doctors in order to concentrate more on their patients. The idea of medical billing outsourcing initiated from the need to hire experts in order to perform a minor task related to the medical profession. However, the most concerned issues of hiring a third party to manage the medical billing services are because secrete information about the company can be leaked out by outsourcing employees, even to their competitor and also they do not provide good quality services as most of their staff have limited medical background and all these issues can cause serious damage to the medical practice and finance. However with the introduction of my proposed system, it will result in the overall improvement of the medical billing processes. Significance: The proposed project can have great significance on the finance of the hospital and also reduce the work load from the account department. This does not only limit on the users, but will also be of great help to my studies and my career as well, as it would give me exposure needed in order to develop my skill on PL/SQL, PHP, HTML and RDBMS. Overview: My proposed web based application is fully focused is being user friendly, simple, but highly accurate at the same time. My program consists of different stages (pages). These can be described as follows. The project will provide a web-based platform where the hospital data entry operator can Login to the system through the first page of the application Enter the ward number for the patient either in the general ward or the ICU. Settle all bills pending to be paid by a patient before the patients discharge. Keep a track of all beds occupied / free in both the ward and the ICU. View information of all patients details, their admit time and the amount to be paid. Update the table fields (patient details, the amount to be paid / any balance remaining, the ward number, the bed number, the registration number, case number, etc.) as soon as a new patient is being admitted into the hospital or being discharged from the hospital. REQUIREMENTS System requirement The system requirements gives more details and explain how the user requirements should be provided by the system and can be used as part of the contract for the implementation of the system and should therefore be a complete and consistent specification of the system.(Sommerville, 2007pg.130) Therefore, Due to the nature of the project, the system is web base application that interacts with the user (hospital data entry operator and the account department) on client side and all the processing will be carried out on the server side. Therefore, both the client and the Server side have to meet the following minimum requirements. Software User is going to open the web page of the company that will contain the actual application form and then they have to fill it to make an application for the services. Internet Explorer or any web browser. Internet Connection. Data Base -MySQL server/Oracle (Optional) Client-side and Server-side scripting technologies PHP, ASP.NET, AJAX, Visual basic 6.0 WAMP. Security SSL, Hardware PC with Hard disk space more than 1 GB free always for database. (Optional) Minimum memory of 1GB (Optional) Back up running. Literature View: New technology creates new opportunities for forward-thinking companies. Higher level of automation, high-speed communications and improved access to information can provide significant benefits to a modern business organisation (Paul Boucij, Andrew Greasley, Simon Hickie 2008). Computer technology has highly transformed peoples lives tremendously. This innovation changes the way of our thinking and the way we perform our day by day activities. Computer-based information systems are now used to carry out all functions and activities of an organisation. Nowadays, improved innovations are being put in place in other to help a modern business organisation to make more efficient and automate business processes. Nevertheless, Medical practices are not left out of this great change. In order to run a medical practice appropriately, medical billing has to be automated. Lets imagine that there is no appropriate medical billing in place. What will happen to the issue of billing in medical pra ctices? Of course, the traditional way of billing will be adopted. Traditional way is doing all the medical billing like sending invoices and generating patients bills manually. This system is good if the medical practice wants to stay small. However, the issue of medical billing is sensitive in hospital management as the hospitals cannot afford losses because of careless billing generated from traditional way of billing. According to Charles Darwin, the prominent scientist of nature, said, It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change (Case, 2006 pg 27) The fact about nature is also true in today medical practice that works in a fast changing environment. The most efficient and successful hospitals run their finances with modern medical billing software. There is an urgent need to have a good way of managing the billing issue in a medical practice and this issue can only be managed with the help of good billing software. A good billing software is expected to make sure that the billing calculation are done efficiently and accurately. In addition, it is expected to be available to the users on internet so that medical practitioners can be able to have full access to their billing system anywhere in the world. Therefore, a web based medical billing is required. A Web application is a software application that is deployed on the web. It allows users to accomplish a task like obtaining information about the outstanding bills of a patient or any of the many activities possible on the web (Susan, Melanie, Solomon, Benjamin, 2003). The user can view, manipulate and control the software application through a Web browser connected to a web server through a network such as World Wide Web. In 1989, CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Switzerland) proposed the development of the World Wide Web in order to enable high-energy physicists across the world to collaborate through the easy provision and accessibility of information (Graham Curtis and David Cobham, 2002 pg 128). Another important aspect of web application is that there is a real-time update of generated content/data and they can be universally accessed via internet/web by the user. However, The effectiveness of any computerised system is dependent on the soundness of its design and this is particularly true for the database application. The importance of database system cannot be overlooked in medical billing system. For most business organisations, information held in databases can often be more valuable than tangible forms of asset, which are accounted for in monetary terms. To work most effectively for the organisation or company, data stored electronically must be properly managed and protected. (Domanski, peter, Philip, 2000). Thus, a consistence database must be in place in order to avoid inaccurate analyses of stored information, poor cash flow for the hospital and Patient dissatisfaction with the hospital. A web based billing software component comprises the Database Management system and the application program Methodologies: Different methodologies can be used for a project. However the appropriate one can increase the chances of better results. I have chosen to use the Unified Process approach and the reasons are; It concentrates on detailed documentation It minimises back tracking It maintains a full constant control on each stage of development We have a clear idea of all the problems during each stage thereby eliminating chance of bigger problems after coding I will get to learn useful tools do design Used case diagrams Enhancing my knowledge of class diagrams Strategic Issues Strategic issue can be explained as the organisation planning options in addressing crucial business issue, engaging in collaborative decision making. The strategic issue that the school of Technology and Management will benefit from the new system are; For the organisation Reduce the amount of paper usage e.g. assignment submission forms Reduce the amount of storage usage cost Reduce the number of manpower usage cost It will reduce the stress levels of the staff It save time for staffs For Student It eliminate assignment printing costs It reduce the long queues at the college e.g. during registration or at the registry. It saves time as well for the student Manpower requirements The project can be completed within 3 4 months if i work fulltime on it. Milestones and Timelines Number Milestone Name Milestone Description Timeline Week no. from the start of the project Remarks 1 Requirements Specification Complete specification of the system (with appropriate assumptions) including the framing of transfer policy of the patient between the ward / IBU, the payment / balance to be made by the patient etc constitutes this milestone. A document detailing the same should be written and a presentation on that be made. 2-3 Attempt should be made to add some more relevant functionality other than those that are listed in this document. 3 Database creation A database of atleast 25 entries of patients with some patients admitted in wards and the remaining in IBU should be entered. 5-7 It is important to finalize on the database at this stage itself so that development and testing can proceed with the actual database itself. 4 High-level and Detailed Design Listing down all possible scenarios (like new patient, transfer of a patient between general ward and IBU, some balance remaining to be paid at the time of discharge etc) and then coming up with flow-charts or pseudocode to handle the scenario. 7-9 The scenarios should map to the requirement specification (i.e., for each requirement that is specified, a corresponding scenario should be there). 5 Implementation of the front-end of the system Implementation of the main screen giving the login, screen that follows the login giving various options, screens for each of the options (shifting of patients, usage of beds). 10-12 During this milestone period, it would be a good idea for the team (or one person from the team) to start working on a test-plan for the entire system. This test-plan can be updated as and when new scenarios come to mind. 6 Integrating the front-end with the database The front-end developed in the earlier milestone will now be able to update the database when a patient discharges. In short, the system should be ready for integration testing. 12-13 7 Integration Testing The system should be thoroughly tested by running all the testcases written for the system (from milestone 5). 14-15 Another 2 weeks should be there to handle any issues found during testing of the system. After that, the final demo can be arranged. 8 Final Review Issues found during the previous milestone are fixed and the system is ready for the final review. 16-18 During the final review of the project, it should be checked that all the requirements specified during milestone number 1 are fulfilled (or appropriate reasons given for not fulfilling the same) Project: Internet based admission finder http://www.buzzle.com/articles/medical-billing-outsourcing.html

The Concept Of Identity And Cultural Identity Media Essay

The Concept Of Identity And Cultural Identity Media Essay This literature review will start by introducing the concept of identity and cultural identity. It will then move to talk about how the British colonialism influenced Hong Kong in the past. It will followed by discussing how cultural imperialism, globalization affected the formation of peoples identity in Hong Kong. The literature review will then end by talking about how states influence affect peoples identity in Hong Kong. Introduction of the concept of identity and cultural identity The word identity is rooted from a Latin idem same which also mean identical (Lawler, 2008: 2). Identity suggests that people share the sameness as human but at the same time people are unique that make them different from others (Lawler, 2008: 2). Richard Jenkins (1996) defined identity as our understanding of who we are and of who other people are, and reciprocally, other peoples understanding of themselves and of others (which includes us) (Jenkins, 1996 cited in Kidd, 2002:25). The individual and collective forms of identity are closely linked with ideas of family, local and national history and tradition; the sense of history and tradition is learnt from the family, through media, school, National anthems, flags, costumes and holidays, state rituals, national sports teams, pageantry museums, heritage centres, buildings and monuments, historical novels, drama, films, documentaries, etc which create and sustain who we are and where we come from (Weeden, 2004:24). Different forms o f identity can be found on a person therefore they should be seen as interactive and dynamic with each other (Lawler, 2008:3). However, there are forms of identity that mutually exclusive from each other. As Stuart Hall argues: Throughout their careers, identities can function as points of identification and attachment only because of their capacity to exclude, to leave out, to render outside, abjected. Every identity has at its margin, an excess, something more. The unity, the internal homogeneity, which the term identity treats as foundational is not a natural, but a constructed form of closure, every identity naming as its necessary, even if silenced and unspoken other, that which it lacksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦So the unities which identities proclaim are, in fact, constructed within the play of power and exclusion, and are the result, not of a natural and inevitable or primordial totality but of the naturalized, over-determined process of closure'(Hall, 1996: 5, emphasis in original cit ed in Lawler, 2008:3). It demonstrated that identity is not exist naturally or people born with it but constructed by closing and exclusion. Hall (1990) identified two versions of views on cultural identity (Hall, 1990 cited in Barker, 1997:192). The first version of view of cultural identity claiming that cultural identity in terms of one, shared culture, a sort of collective one true self, hiding inside the many other, more superficial or artificially imposed selves, which people with a shared history and ancestry hold in common (Hall, 1990: 223). This reflects the common historical experiences and shared cultural codes which provide us, as one people, with stable, unchanging and continuous frames of reference and meaning, beneath the shifting divisions and vicissitudes of our actual history (Hall, 1990: 223). This version of view of cultural identity is known as essentialism because it assumes that social categories reflect an essential underlying identity (Barker, 1997:192). From the words of Hall, it can be seen that this version of claiming of cultural identity is based on the common history, culture that shared wit hin a particular group from the past, and it looks at cultural identity without changing and flexibility. Halls second version of view of cultural identity claiming that cultural identity is not seen as a reflection of a fixed, natural state of being but as a process of becoming, cultural identity is not an essence but a continually-shifting position, and the points of difference around which cultural identities could form are multiple and proliferating (Barker, 1997:194). Hall argues (following Derrida), meaning is never finished or completed and so identity is a cut or a snap-shot of unfolding meanings; it is a strategic positioning which makes meaning possible (Barker, 1997:194). This second version of view of cultural identity is an anti-essentialist position, which shown the political nature of identity production and to the possibility of multiple and shifting identities (Barker, 1997:194). It can be seen that the second version of looking at cultural identity as much more fle xible, changeable. Stuart Hall (1990) claimed that Identity is not as transparent or unproblematic as we think. Perhaps instead of thinking of identity as an already accomplished fact, which the new cultural practices then represent, we should think, instead, of identity as a production, which is never completeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, so Identity is in a moving, fluid, dynamic form in Halls view (Hall, 1990 cite in Kidd, 2002:26). The above two versions of viewing cultural identity are very different. It will be interesting to know how people see their cultural identity in reality. The history and influence of Hong Kong under the British colonialism Colonialism refers to the establishment by more developed countries of formal political authority over areas of Asia, Africa, Australasia, and Latin America (Scott Marshall, 2005:88). Britain and The Qing government signed three treaties stating that the Qing government to give up sovereignty of Hong Kong which includes Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territories and Outlying islands (Thomas, 1999:47). Since then, Hong Kong had become a British colony from 1842 to 1997. In this hundred and fifty year time, the people who lived in Hong Kong experienced differently with those in mainland China. Hong Kong has its own history and cultural identity. How does this distinct Hong Kong identity formed? From 1842 to 1997, Hong Kong was under British colonial rule and British colonial government had adopted an economic laissez-faire and social non-interventionist policy that it just treated Hong Kong as a commercial entre-pot (Ma, 1999:23). First, it wanted to avoid conflict with the Chinese government, second, it wanted to maintain a commercial, apolitical place for economic and diplomatic reasons (Ma, 1999:23). In the late 1940s, there were huge amount of newcomers went from mainland to the British colony Hong Kong and these people sought to escape from the civil war, economic crisis, and the ruling of the rigid communist, etc and this brought a large number of labour force and manufacturing base to Hong Kong (Thomas, 1999:79-80). In the late 1940s, among the refugees there were experienced entrepreneurs, who brought capital and technical knowledge with them (Wong, S.L., 1988 cited in Ma, 1999:25). In 1950s, Hong Kong established a solid light industrial sector; in 1960s, it shifted to plastic industry; in 1970s, it transformed to manufacturing industry of clocks, watches, electronic toys; in 1980s, Hong Kong started to develop a tertiary industrial sector, emphasis on financial and human resources sectors, and this created a large group of middle class (Thomas, 1999 :80-81). On the education side, the Anglicised education system had reduced the Chinese identity of the local people in Hong Kong (Ma, 1999:29). The British colonial government was seriously concerning about the content of Chinese studies and it deliberately did not create a sense of national identity to the students (Luk, 1989 cited in Ma, 1999:29). Students didnt learn much about the modern Chinese history and development since the colonial government just emphasized and focus on the economic value of Hong Kong as a middle person between the trade of China and Britain (Lane, 1994; Sweeting, 1992; Tang, 1994 cited in Ma, 1999:29). The colonial government also aimed at making a Hong Kong Chinese who can speak both the languages of China and Britain but at the same time without any strong sense of belonging to either country, as well as local history was ignored to prevent Hong Kong to become independent itself politically (Ma, 1999:29). On the social policy side, the development of the public housing policy carried out by the British colonial government in the 1950s created collective experiences of mobility and resettlement and social memory for the HK people (Ma, 1999:30). The resettlement process was often showed in the mass media: children running along corridors of the government estates; parents coming back from work; residents watching TV together after dinner, and these familiar images on TV dramas and government-produced documentaries formed of a home in HK mentality (Lui, 1988a cited in Ma, 1999:30). These collective memories of the residents indirectly reinforced the sense of belonging to Hong Kong and enhancing the HongKongese identity. As a British colony, Hong Kong was imported a lot of cultural products from the Great Britain and also from other western countries. It can be seen that in post Second World War period, Hong Kong was modernizing by incorporating Western lifestyles; it was attuned to a hyb rid, cosmopolitan cultural environment which was increasingly receptive to imported cultural products like Hollywood movies (Ma, 1999:27). The capitalist ideology of Hong Kong and the communist ideology of Mainland China generated the us vs. them identification between both sides and this assisted that development of the distinct Hong Kong identity with demonstrating the difference between Hong Kong community and Mainland China (Thomas, 1999:83). The above factors leaded to something unique emerged in Hong Kong which is the Hong Kong Man. The Hong Kong Man is go-getting and highly competitive, tough for survival, quick-thinking and flexible, also he wears western clothes, speaks English or expects his children to do so, drinks western alcohol, has sophisticated tastes in cars and household gadgetry, and expects life to provide a constant stream of excitement and new openings, however, he is not British or western, at the same time, he is not Chinese in the same way that the citizens of the Peoples Republic of China are Chinese (Baker, 1983:278 cited in Ma, 1999:32-33). It can be seen that a distinct Hong Kong identity was developed under the British colonial rule. Although the Great Britain adopted a non-interventional attitude for the colony Hong Kong, it surely still had impact on shaping the cultural identity of Hong Kong in the past as colonialism produced new losses and gains, allowed new forms of identity to ascend, and debased or crushed others (Papastergiadis, 2000:180). For instance, the British colonialism brought the western capitalist ideology, the language of English, fashion, etc to Hong Kong. The style of ruling also helped to create the indigenous identity and sense of being HongKongese to the people who lived in Hong Kong. However, how much influence of the British colonialism in shaping the cultural identity of Hong Kong still remains today? Is this still a strong element in shaping cultural identity of Hong Kong now? Or it has already been replaced by other factors? Cultural imperialism, National Identity, Globalisation and Hybrid identity Cultural imperialism may play a part in shaping Hong Kongs cultural identity. Cultural imperialism refers to the domination of one culture over another, most commonly posed in terms of nationality, so cultural imperialism is understood in terms of the imposition of one national culture upon another and the media are seen as central to this process as carriers of cultural meanings which penetrate and dominate the culture of the subordinate nation (Barker, 1997:183). This theory stresses the homogenization of global culture through the spread of capitalist consumerism; also it stresses the loss of cultural diversity and the growth of sameness (Barker, 1997:185). Is this homogenization of culture under the cultural imperialism implying Hong Kongs cultural identity is being more like other countries in the globe which following the American and the West but lost its own distinct characteristic of identity? However, Tomlinson (1991) argues there are problems that related to the cultural a utonomy inherent in the cultural imperialism (Tomlinson, 1991 cited in Barker, 1997:187). He argues that cultures are not bounded entities but consist of changing practices and meanings; one cannot legitimately endow an amorphous set of practices with ontological identity and agency (Tomlinson, 1991 cited in Barker, 1997:187). The above demonstrated the problem of cultural imperialism theory that the nationally-based cultural domination is problematic (Barker, 1997:187). This thesis didnt explain the formation of collective identities in general, and cultural and national identities in particular, also, in this theory a national cultural identity is assumed as a finished product rather than a process which is constantly emerging and changing (Barker, 1997:188). For the development of national identity, as Benedict Anderson (1983) argues that national identity is an imagined and constructed one assembled in relation to a territorial and administrative category taking as its reference symbols and rituals intend by administrative authorities to enlist identification which the nation is an imagined community (Anderson, 1983 cited in Barker, 1997:189). It can be seen that national identity isnt come innately or people born with it but is socially constructed by social action and activities. Both the cultural imperialism thesis and Andersons conception of national identity posit the subject as a whole person and national identity as a unified position so that diversity and difference are subsumed beneath the sign of the nation (Barker, 1997:190). Stuart Hall saw that national identities as potentially in decline and replaced by new hybrid identities (Barker, 1997:191). Globalization is the main factor that leads to the forming of this hybrid identity. Population movement and settlement, during the periods of colonial and post-colonial globalization, and globalization of electronic communications have made the juxtapositioning, meeting, mixing available, therefore, globalization enhanced the production of hybrid identities by providing the range of sources and resources for identity construction (Barker, 1997:191-192). Hybrid identities prevent a person with a fixed or given identity, but let a person to change or choose to adopt different identification according to different circumstances (Barker, 1997:195). For instance, a young Asian woman may have identifications with being Bengali, English, a woman, with youth culture and with rap, an American-Caribbean hybrid, Anglo-Bengali at the same time (Barker, 1997:195). What we c an see from the above example is that this young Asian woman can shift and adopt the different identifications above in different circumstances. Moreover, the above example also demonstrated a hybrid identity by picking and adopting multiplying global resources (Barker, 1997:195) like rap culture from the Caribbean, etc. Pieterse claimed that Introverted cultures, which have been prominent over a long stretch of history and which overshadowed translocal culture, are gradually receding into background, while translocal culture made up of diverse elements is coming to the foreground (Pieterse, 1995:62 cited in Barker, 1997:197). It may imply that the national identity that formed by culture that bounded or tied to place is declining. In contrast, the hybrid identity that formed by culture that learnt trans-locally is enhancing. However, there are limitations of the thesis of hybrid identity. It was claimed by Parker that the hybrid identities are limited by the number of empirical evi dences despite there is theory to support that (Barker, 1997:196-197). So, how about the situation in Hong Kong at the moment? As Hall argued that hybrid identity is replacing the national identity under the globalization process, it seems that the hybrid identity should be winning in Hong Kong. However, there is an opposite view from Gordon Mathews. He argued that Hong Kongs international character in belonging to the global cultural supermarket and its national character in belonging to the Chinese state are presented as opposites, and it seems to be the latter which is winning (Mathews, 2001:308). He also claimed that Hong Kong is one of the few places in the affluent world today in which the market is giving way to the state, and in which international identity is being eroded by national identity (Mathews, 2001:309). So, is the national identity in belonging to the Chinese State winning or the hybrid identities that draw from the global cultural market winning in Hong Kong? The influence of state to Hong Kongs cultural identity: British colonial state and Chinese state The word state refers to the body politic or the political community; it is the major locus of power and authority in every modern society (Thomas, 1999:43). State is a concept that against the global cultural supermarket, by shaping people to believe not that they can pick and choose who they are from all the world, but rather that they belong to a particular culture, whose values and traditions they must uphold (Mathews, 2001:291). Practically state moulds cultural identity by school education and mass media; train their citizens to believe that they must defend their cultural tradition and their way of life (Mathews, 2001:291). The concept of state contradicts to the concept of cultural supermarket since state ask people to treasure and protect their own country and culture; however, global cultural supermarket ask people to pick things that you like around the world (Mathews, 2001:291). Hong Kong has never become a nation-state, not in the period of colony nor after the hand-over (Tse, 2006:55). During the colonial period from 1950s to 1980s, Hong Kongs civil education was a-political and a-nationalistic; students at that time were just being taught as residents or subjects who live in a colonial state, but nothing about nationality and citizenship (Morris 1992b; Tsang 1994, 1998 cited in Tse, 2006:56). From 1984 to 1997 was the transitional period of the civil education in Hong Kong. Since the sense of Hong Kong-centeredness and Hongkongese identity were being established under the different mode of governing by Hong Kong and Mainland China (Lau and Kuan 1988; Choi 1990, 1995a cited in Tse, 2006:57), reform of civil education to foster the national identity and unity were needed for preparing the time after 1997. After 1997, the new Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government focused a lot on the civil education. It aimed to create unquestioning political commitment and strengthen social order through the promotion of a unifying Chinese identity and values to the exclusion of a distinctive Hong Kong cultural identity and individual rights (Tse, 2006:61). The actual measures that being carried out under the HKSAR government included reintroduction of independent civics as a school subject, revisions of school syllabuses, the strengthening of Chinese history as a school subject, textbooks changed to reflect the new political reality, wider use of Putonghua as the medium of instruction, more schools displaying the national flag and singing the national anthem, exchange activities with mainland to boost nationalism and sense of social responsibility, etc (Tse, 2006:62). The above demonstrated that Chinese state has been influencing the Hong Kongs cultural identity by commanding the HKSAR government to use different strategies in civil education in order to reinforce the national identity and Chineseness of Hong Kong people. However, how much influence does the Chinese state itself and its policies play a part in shaping the cultur al identity of the people in Hong Kong actually?

401(k) Plans :: Finance Financial Money Retirement Essays

401(k) Plans   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many economic issues facing the nation today. While some are extremely important in determining how the economy is balanced, others are not. Although this is true, that does not necessarily make these lesser important issues obsolete. Take, for example, the recent issue of corporate leaders matching contributors to the 401(k) plan with company stock, instead of with cash. Though this is a relatively National issue, it still greatly affects a large number of people in foreign areas as well as you and me. Because of this effect on such a large number of people, it is necessary that this issue be discussed, as will happen within the next few paragraphs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the way that a 401(k) stock matching plan is set up; timing is everything. In a basic 401(k) plan employees put forth a set amount of dollars (usually pre-determined personally by the employee) before taxes are withheld This portion of the employee's paycheck is put toward his or her retirement. What some companies prefer to do in order to make the 401(k) plan more attractive for employees, is to match each employee's investment in the plan by a certain percent. Here is where the problem comes in. Though some companies match contributors either with cash or with a direct credit to the plan, other companies match with corporate stock. According to Richard Sasanow, a former assistant of public communications at Ernst and Young, "many experts consider this to be one of the riskiest investments for a 401 (k)-but may be worth it if you think your company has a great future." (Sasanow, 45) A recent survey shows that 18 percent of all companies made their matching contributions this way. Now for small, fast-growing businesses this would not seem as much of a risk since these companies' stock are generally on the increase. But for some large corporations, this is a great risk for employees since a lot of their retirement money is now based on how well the company does.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some say that because contribution matching is now based on how well the company does, then employees will strive to do a more efficient job in order to increase the overall stock price of the company, which, in turn, will increase the amount of retirement they will receive. Now the problem of timing comes in again. Mr. Jim Davenport, a Staff Writer for The State Newspaper uses a good example: "An imaginary worker for an oil company was looking forward to retiring at the end of the week. His 401(k) is fat and has been getting fatter thanks to company stock.

All About Eve :: essays research papers

All About Eve   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eve is a character which represents personal ambition and manipulation. The character is a person who is willing to do anything necessary to get what she wants and has, apparently, no remorse or feelings of guilt for her actions. Watching this movie I saw that All About Eve was also all about me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In watching this movie I personally saw Eve of a sort of mirror to my own manipulative tendencies. As I watched how carefully the character chose her words, and moved in a certain way in order to obtain precisely the reaction desired for those around her. I thought of how often I have done the same things myself. I thought of how often I have carefully selected what I told others about me in order to create a certain desired image of myself. It made me conscience of the fact that I have, on countless occasions manipulated people for my own benefit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It drew my thoughts back in a tour of my past and brought forth a multi-tude of times in which I behaved much as the character Eve did. I remember acting in such a way even when I was as young as six. Until I watched this movie I had never consciously realized that I do these things to get what I want. But now, after observing such a wonderfully carried out portal of someone else discreetly controlling others, I realize that I do this quite naturally as a part of my everyday life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I see it the character of Eve represents myself and the dangers of what I could become if I should permit myself to continue these practices. I believe that the character of Eve is intended to show viewers of the audience, who re-semble her, a mirror of themselves, so they can see how they look from the out-side. It is advantageous to do this through the medium of a film because it al-lows the viewer to see the point from a more objective view then may be pro-vided through other means. I think that this movie is one which will have a ex-tremely powerful effect on such people. It made me realize that this way of con-trolling others is not a natural part of life in general though it has become a natural part of my life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eve represents, to me, what I could become.

So Much Media, So Little News

So much information, so little Idea The disease of new media has greatly shrink human minds that rub off on more and more people in this technology-accelerating world at present. Daily life nowadays has significant changed compare to ten years ago that office workers used to waiting for subway by reading a daily newspaper, housewives seating at balcony and reading a newspaper in the morning. But now, most people read news on their cellophane or television instead Of newspaper.What is rubbing off on their behavior? Peter Fun who is an pop-deed writer for the New York Times, writes about polysyllable on his essay â€Å"So much media, So Little Nevus†. Neal Gabbler who is a journalist and culture historian, writes about the relationship between big idea and post-idea world. On his essay â€Å"The Elusive Big Idea†, he argues that people don't care as much about ideas as they used to be. The connection between the two authors has one of the most important reasons that new m edia gradually twisted the true value of newspaper that smother big ideas.Thus, in order to correct the twisted value that media are rubbing off on news, the society needs to redefine the value of news and reexamine the concept of big ideas. The broadsheets offered daily coverage by publishing company, but no commentator or analyst gave any context and readers were left to make up their own minds. Peter Punt believes that there is barely people would create ideas on news, men sad truth is that while some of us are naturally curious about what we don ‘t know, an increasing number of readers and viewers want only reinforcement of what they already know. Pig. 1 98) Newspapers believed that their prime duty was to report what had happened the previous day and give a space to reader a way to think, to brainstorm rather than make argument to an event or judge on someone that post online. Were newspapers then better or worse? Certainly, they seem calmer, just followed a formula that required true story rather then come along with a high quality argument to rub off on reader and offer them a ready-made idea.Neal Gabbler argues a social fact that people loss attitude to create ideas in his say, â€Å"It's not because we are dumber than our forebears but because we just don't care as much about ideas as they did. In effect, we are living in an increasingly post-idea world that fewer people are generating them and fewer outlets are disseminating them, the Internet notwithstanding'(Pig 533) New media offers a way that what people can get idea from others immediately. Post-idea is a shortcut to make someone become lazy without thinking or taking advantage of technology as the modern science to make unceasing progress.But more and more people choose new media in order to save effort and expect a quick result, which is called the culture of instant gratification. New media provides a fast way to help them to get to know the others' opinion of news directly. Obliviousl y, newspaper is a better choice to help people create idea and prompt advance of society. Although 24-hour radio news stations had been established, TV equivalents were some years away. The pages may have been fewer, but the number of news stories was, if anything, slightly higher than in today's papers.Peter r-nut argues that people pay less attention on on what they not interest, â€Å"today's boutique media allow many people to skip news altogether. You can set your Internet home page so that it serves up only what you're interested in. â€Å"(pig 97) New media has diversity format of news, video, audio and fancy advertisement catches people's attention. Fun is pointing out a very important social trend in how people approach news media although they have the same nostalgia for the old days. People are seeking out information that confirms their own beliefs and interests as opposed to seeking to be informed†.This creates myopic views of the world resulting in corrupting. The prevalence of more and more â€Å"information isolation† is one of the causes of divisiveness. Like what Fun said the best prescription has always been a combination of what Want to know and what we Ought to know. Neal Gabbler proposes the reason why people would pay more attention on new media, â€Å"It keeps us in the loop, and keeps us connected to our friends and our cohort. Ideas are too airy, too impractical, too much work for too little reward. Few talk ideas. Everyone talks information, usually personal information. (534). New media takes more advantages from newspaper that could direct to readers mind. Newspaper still has a strong positive influence on both spread information and help inspire people's ideas, but the effect was less overwhelming. This was not just because newspapers had fewer intemperate columnists. It was also because even the miners' strike did not dominate page after page, creating a kind of emotional tsunami, as a similar issue might now. On the broadsheets particularly, width of coverage counted are more than PPTP of report.People have come to learn more and more and to be given more definite ideas about less and less. We live in a golden era of information when you don't have to passively rely on the news sellers but can go directly to the source yourself. New media effectively endows us with common eyes, ears, and brain. People should not blindly believe some rumored event occurred as described. Anything remotely of interest is available permanently available for anyone curious enough to look for its true different big idea.

Healthsouth Fraud

An obstacle to Aaron Beam’s moral behavior is when he moved some of the businesses start up costs as expenses and list them as capital investments, which inflates the company profit margins. Beam initially did this because of the pressure from Scrushy to make the company appear more profitable. Then the cycle continues. The way I understand the meaning of the â€Å"loyal agent’s argument† is that you do what you are instructed to do by your employer regardless. However, I do not believe Aaron Bean could or should have used the loyal agent’s argument to defend his actions.The only way possible would have been because his boss, Scrushy pressured him into â€Å"cooking the books† so to speak. Based on our text, Beam knew he was stretching the truth because he continued to believe that the investors had to have some kind of knowledge of what he was doing. According to my understanding of the 3 levels of Kohlberg’s moral development, I would place Beam in Level Two; Stage Three: Interpersonal Concordance Orientation, based on how he conforms to how Scrushy expects him to act.It is important for a person in this stage to feel well liked and I believe Beam needed that validation I found identifying a stage for Scrushy to be more difficult. Based on the information I would pick Level One: Stage Two: Instrumental and Relative Orientation primarily because Scrushy ultimately gets what he wants. He will use the system or manipulate people to fulfill his own needs. Healthsouth Fraud An obstacle to Aaron Beam’s moral behavior is when he moved some of the businesses start up costs as expenses and list them as capital investments, which inflates the company profit margins. Beam initially did this because of the pressure from Scrushy to make the company appear more profitable. Then the cycle continues. The way I understand the meaning of the â€Å"loyal agent’s argument† is that you do what you are instructed to do by your employer regardless. However, I do not believe Aaron Bean could or should have used the loyal agent’s argument to defend his actions.The only way possible would have been because his boss, Scrushy pressured him into â€Å"cooking the books† so to speak. Based on our text, Beam knew he was stretching the truth because he continued to believe that the investors had to have some kind of knowledge of what he was doing. According to my understanding of the 3 levels of Kohlberg’s moral development, I would place Beam in Level Two; Stage Three: Interpersonal Concordance Orientation, based on how he conforms to how Scrushy expects him to act.It is important for a person in this stage to feel well liked and I believe Beam needed that validation I found identifying a stage for Scrushy to be more difficult. Based on the information I would pick Level One: Stage Two: Instrumental and Relative Orientation primarily because Scrushy ultimately gets what he wants. He will use the system or manipulate people to fulfill his own needs.

Learning Journal †Time Management Essay

The learning journal consists of my personal reflections on events in the workplace and on how I have tested new ideas from studying the module materials like Topic Guides in my work. It also consists of implementations of work based objectives or inquiries, plans for development of future work practice, shows how I have applied reflective thinking frameworks as I conducted my work based inquiries. Firstly, I would focus on the cycles of work-based inquiry on Time Management. Currently, I am undertaking trade training and representing the Army Martial Arts team. Adapted from TMA02 Task1(15/12/2013): Time management has always been an ideal topic of interests for me as it is fundamental factor which aids learning process in the workplace. Managing is evidently an effective technique as it maintains time appreciation and resources which aids in the production of positive results. Adapted from TGF Yellow(15/12/2013): (Doran, 1981, p. 35-36)SMART Framework S – I will have respective schedules for studies, work and sports planned out. By doing so, I will be having more time, achieve my set goals with more focus and produce better results too. M – I will reflect daily on my list of schedules and tick them off. If for any reason, I lack behind the schedule, I will ensure prioritising and spending time accordingly. A – If I could  finish my workload as planned out, I would be reasonably well ahead of my assigned date. This would give me more time to spend with my family especially with 2 year old son. R – I would be able to meet my goals set by myself. Not only will there be more family time to spend, I would also be eligible for my next promotion in good time and a step closer to becoming eligible for the Commissioned Officer course in the Army if I complete my OU degree. T – I am planning from the start of week 5 of BU130 till the end of the module. The framework has shown some effective results ever since and I am spending more quality time with family as well as coping with studies and training sports wise.’’ Journal(15/12/2013): Essentially, considering one of my workplace inquiries – Time Management, I am doing an Apprenticeship course plus OU modules, maintaining my fitness and representing the Martial Arts Team too. I have a son to look after at times and sometimes I struggle to make time for anything. (Simmering, 2014)I have been facing difficulties but after reading the article of the Topic Guide on Time Management from Reading 3 (The Open University, 2014a), I used the new ideas in conjunction with the application of the SMART framework. This made my schedule more practical and manageable. Journal(19/01/2014): I needed to outline the problems that I would face manage with my trade training and OU studies. I felt that it is difficult to start out and concentrate to get things done according to the set programme. (Simmering, 2014)Time management is testing as it requires motivation and discipline to work efficiently. It was easy to extend beyond schedule as procrastinating has been difficult to avoid. Adapted from TGF Green(29/01/2014): Introduction Critical Incident At times, I would have a responsibility of looking after my 2 years old son as my wife who works part-time doing her night shifts straight after my work. Just recently, I had to take my son to the A&E Department because he started having breathing problems for 2 days and we are regularly administering his doses at the given timings. The following day, as I  returned to my training, my NVQ course instructor came to me and told me to speed up to catch up with the programme schedule or he would mark the particular practical task a fail if not handed in time. I felt really upset because I thought he was being unreasonable and unfair but I had no choice so I hastily worked on my task and managed to complete it in time with an average score. Journal(21/01/2014): I have completed the introduction and incident section and I will be able to progressively focus. However, it has not turned out as planned on some areas, particularly, in my course where I have been struggling to catch up with my other classmates. Moreover, I will also have to take days off from the vocational course to train for Army Martial Arts Competition. Plus, I know that I will have more workload piled up from the time loss from Martial Arts training as my apprenticeship deadline is on the 18th of March. Unexpected incidents have caused me delays making it difficult to follow the schedule. Ideas(22/01/2014) Using the stages of Kolb’s learning cycle, we could learn to Reflect from Concrete Experience like the incident mentioned above and Generalise to put it in Action. (Kolb, 1984) Journal(25/01/2014): I found that reflecting from ideas tested is a brilliant way of learning as it teaches me to work effectively by generalising and putting it to action. I noticed by using the four stages of Kolb’s learning cycle, it does give a broader view of the learning process. Adapted from TGF Green(29/01/2014): Hi Joyce I have tried the time management schedule as planned out with achievements. However, I have had lagged behind schedule due to unexpected problems that crops up every now and then. Currently, I have cut short my breaks and worked harder to catch up with time by half, which is about an hour, daily. I thought cutting my breaks shorter has worked effectively and I am also able to be a step ahead. Journal(29/01/2014): I thought if I could do it differently, I would change my ways or improve to work quicker and catch up with the programme. It seems to work better each day as I am speeding up progressively in doing other project work and practical assignments. I am able to spend ample time on my TMA03 assignment as well. Framework for evaluation(29/01/2014) I have chosen the Pedler’s framework of bringing our feelings into our reflection According to Pedler et al. 2001 stats that it helps us to rationalise one’s thought and various ideas that could be used to improve their actions and performance in difficult situations. Taking emotions and feelings into account and analysing situations through questioning and response. It is basically learning through reflection. Our feelings – I felt disheartened by the way the instructor who unreasonably told me that I could fail the task. I had no options but to continue my work with speed as I know that arguing with him would not have got me anywhere. I am glad that I managed to pass it though. Our thoughts and ideas – My thoughts are to give a critical review of my schedule and allocate ample time for assignments and project works. I might consider cancelling some Taekwondo classes and start completing tasks faster. This will also give me extra time for my family as well as keeping me ahead of things to come. Our action-tendencies – Following strictly with the deadline will help keep myself on track with everything. I have been struggling to meet the deadline but will persevere to achieve them. As I cannot afford to lose any more time and make it a habit. Journal(20/02/2014): In addition to using the Kolb’s learning cycle, I thought the Pedler’s framework would work together. So far, results have been excellent as I could practise and maintain schedule overall. This supports my Self and Career management well. Journey Reflection(28/02/2014) In summary, I thought the process of reflecting from the beginning was really challenging and a difficult one because lots of changes were made to achieve the result wanted. Sometimes, it is not possible to control everything as planned and adjustments have to be made along the way. I thought that I had  to transform myself doing this module to become better at managing and organising my time. Word count: 1313 References: Arney, E. (2011) BU130 Writing for work and study, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Arney, E. (2012) BU130 Learning Contract Guidance, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Arney, E. (2013) BU130 Study Guide, 7th edn, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Doran, G. T. (1981) There’s A S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives, Management Review, vol 70, no. 11(AMA FORUM), pp. 35-36. Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential Learning, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall. Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J. and Boydell, T. (2001) A Manager’s Guide to Self Development (4th edn.), Maidenhead, McGraw-Hill. Ramsey, C. (2010) BU130 Introducing Reflective Learning, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Simmering, M. J. (2014) Time Management – Reference for Business, (2nd edn) [Online], Encyclopaedia of Business. Available at http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Time-Management.html (Accessed 15 December 2013). The Open University (2014a) ‘Reading mate rial 3’, Topic Guide 1: Time management [Online]. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=372553 §ion=3 (Accessed 15 December 2013). 2. Reflective Report Introduction Corresponding to the Time Management which gives support to the learning development in the workplace, the Self and Career Management, is fundamental in ensure relevance in the chosen pathway. It has to be made certain that the individual is not being trained or forced into something that is irrelevant. The importance of the Self and Career Management is stressed in the Learning Contract under Section 1 – Possible learning topics: ‘’Likewise, self and career management comes into what the individuals’ capabilities are and how one can establish their aims to achieve their goals. Without learning the appropriate skill or having the relevant qualification, it does not help for the assigned tasks. Hence, I would ensure that the courses and experiences needed are attained according to my  career path.’’ Occurrence Having acquired 8 years of service in the British Army and experienced various dilemmas, the economic and financial constraints have significantly affected the Regular Army Structure as a whole down to the hierarchy of ranks from 102,000 to 82,000 (The Guardian, 2014). Colleagues who were highly professional and skilled are forced into changing their trade skills or made redundant because of the non-availability of the quota and relevance in trade skills required including expenditures. Moreover, with pay freeze and staff retention and cut backs, it has been ever more difficult for serving soldiers. In order to ensure job suitability, one has to be competent with a relevant qualification and experience. Therefore, ideas generated from sources such as Topic Guide 3: Self and Career Management Readings 5 and 6 materials were used to adapt to such changes. (The Open University, 2014b) Discussion Session Action Taken At the moment, I am undertaking a vocational, NVQ level 3 course in order to be more competent and qualified as a senior tradesman with acquired knowledge to secure my profession and develop personally. Ideas (The Open University, 2014b)Additionally, I also obtained several ideas from Readings 5 and 6 materials and they are: – The skilful use of the self Strengths and weaknesses Self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence Managing change Framework for reflection The reading material ideas, utilised in conjunction with the stages of Kolb’s learning cycle, we could learn to Reflect from Concrete Experience like the incident mentioned above and Generalise to put it in Action. (Kolb, 1984) The ‘Kolb’s experiential learning cycle’ is to be used for reflective learning on our own circumstances. This model enables one to breakdown situations into a clearer more structured way. This framework allowsassessment of a particular situation and reflection of oneself and experiences which directs into putting actions to practical adjustments Concrete Experience – I have planned out my vocational pathway to promotion and tried the Self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence to discover my potential capabilities and limitations (Bourner, 1996). However, I realised that sometimes I am not so confident with my given task even though I had the subject knowledge. Reflection – I need hone my weaknesses which will boost my self-esteem and practise with confidence in any given situation. Generalisation – It was because I had a vocational learning gap for 2 years and had few exposures. Therefore, I had to practice more which could obtain me to double promotion if I get a distinction and recommended. Action (Bourner, 1996)Hence, whatever the circumstances, I must manage the changes meaning innovating and improving the standards and quality of work in order to achieve distinction and be capable of reaching my own prospective pathway. Framework for evaluation Adapted from TGF Green: I have chosen the Pedler’s framework of bringing our feelings into our reflection (Pedlar et al., 2001) It is stated on (Pedler et al., 2001) that the framework helps us to rationalise one’s thought and various ideas that could be used to improve their actions and performances in challenging situations. Taking emotions and feelings into account and analysing situations through questioning and response. It is basically learning through reflection. Components Our feelings – I thought that having seen some of my colleagues made redundant, I felt disheartened in some ways. I knew that if I had to secure my job position, I would have to move on with strong mindset and set goals. I managed to be safe as for now plus got myself loaded onto a mandatory  vocational course which will qualify me for next promotion. Our thoughts and ideas – My thoughts are to be more decisive of my qualifications that I strive to acquire and making sure my options are available according to my experiences and knowledge gained. Ideas are taken from as many resources available especially from Reading materials from the Topic Guide 3 of Self and Career Management. This will put me on track that will ensure a stable career and perhaps give me better prospects in the field of business studies (The Open University, 2014b). Our action-tendencies – It is very simple to lose focus and interests during some point of performing on the course or even give up on the qualifications. Therefore, one must have self confidence, strong willed and persevere in order to overcome such weaknesses. One must also learn relevant skills needed. I have learnt that Self and Career Management that the crucial to keep an individual’s competency updated and experiences gained appropriate to my career pathway and also keeping opportunities available. *Adapted from the Learning Contract, under Section 3 Learning Objectives. Self and Career Management (Doran, 1981, p. 35-36)Developing and maintaining records of achievements, qualifications for future planned pathways. S – Gain relevant qualifications and experiences and also recommendations. This will create foundation to secure my current position giving better opportunities too as I will also be completing my Apprenticeship – Fabricator (NVQ Level 3) in 14th of March. M – Every week, I will critically reflect on areas covered and if I am struggling, I will concentrate more to improve my weak areas, and record everything done to date. A – I aiming to achieve a distinction (above 85%) in my Apprenticeship in order to be recommended for Clerk of Works and also pass BU130 module with flying colours at the end of March. R – I would follow the organised path chosen which avoids confusion and distraction plus produce results. T – I started as of 2nd November till the 18th March to acquire as much qualifications and experiences as possible to improve my career. Conclusion In overall, I have been able to adapt ideas from resources such as the reading materials from the Topic Guides and BU130 module books with the help of classmates and Ms Joyce (Tutor) in the TGF discussion forum. Essentially,  I am more confident on dealing with situations and coming up with solutions to tackle daily problems along the way. I am able to gauge my own capabilities and push myself to enhance my personal development and have better job prospects by using the SMART framework for further future development.