Blade Runner

Texts offer insights into the human experience by conveying the values and attitudes predominant in society at the time. The context in which a text is composed affects the ideas that are explored and how they are presented. Invariably, texts from differing contexts cause the composers to have different intents and present different notions due to the change of audience and the difference in values and attitudes they hold. However, some issues remain universal issues that transcend time. The human experience is how humanity perceives and conducts themselves, and the values and attitudes that are predominant in their nature at the time. These values and attitudes change in accordance to context, due to the ever evolving nature of the environment around us and humanity itself. Examples of issues that have changed in value over time are the ideas of nature and the environment, and the concept of science and religion. These notions are explored and can be compared and contrasted in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (The Director’s Cut) and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The 19th century was a period of upcoming scientific & technological advancement, due to prominent scientists proposing controversial ideas, which defied the strict religious conventions of the period. Scientists such as Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini and Erasmus Darwin put forth theories that placed man in the perceived almighty position of God, which in turn questioned the authenticity of the religious beliefs that society held. These theories, such as Galvanism, are evident in Shelly’s work, most prominently in the animation of Frankenstein’s monster. This allusion to Giovanni Aldini’s public experiments, where he manipulated electricity to cause corpses to move, conveys to the responder a similar message to which Aldini did. Both Shelley and Aldini cause the society in which they were in to question the source of life, by presenting the notion that electricity was the â€Å"spark of life†. However, this idea was perceived as work against God, as shown in Frankenstein through the quote â€Å"the beauty of my dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart†. The juxtaposition of the positive and negative connotations of â€Å"beauty† and â€Å"disgust† convey to the responder that the theories which catalysed the Scientific Revolution were initially considered beneficial to society, however, due to the controversy it caused, it was also considered blasphemous, and to an extent, the work of the devil. It is through this that an insight into the human experience is gained, an insight which reveals the value humanity placed on religion at the time and how the questioning of these values were becoming increasingly common. Blade Runner Texts offer insights into the human experience by conveying the values and attitudes predominant in society at the time. The context in which a text is composed affects the ideas that are explored and how they are presented. Invariably, texts from differing contexts cause the composers to have different intents and present different notions due to the change of audience and the difference in values and attitudes they hold. However, some issues remain universal issues that transcend time. The human experience is how humanity perceives and conducts themselves, and the values and attitudes that are predominant in their nature at the time. These values and attitudes change in accordance to context, due to the ever evolving nature of the environment around us and humanity itself. Examples of issues that have changed in value over time are the ideas of nature and the environment, and the concept of science and religion. These notions are explored and can be compared and contrasted in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (The Director’s Cut) and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The 19th century was a period of upcoming scientific & technological advancement, due to prominent scientists proposing controversial ideas, which defied the strict religious conventions of the period. Scientists such as Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini and Erasmus Darwin put forth theories that placed man in the perceived almighty position of God, which in turn questioned the authenticity of the religious beliefs that society held. These theories, such as Galvanism, are evident in Shelly’s work, most prominently in the animation of Frankenstein’s monster. This allusion to Giovanni Aldini’s public experiments, where he manipulated electricity to cause corpses to move, conveys to the responder a similar message to which Aldini did. Both Shelley and Aldini cause the society in which they were in to question the source of life, by presenting the notion that electricity was the â€Å"spark of life†. However, this idea was perceived as work against God, as shown in Frankenstein through the quote â€Å"the beauty of my dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart†. The juxtaposition of the positive and negative connotations of â€Å"beauty† and â€Å"disgust† convey to the responder that the theories which catalysed the Scientific Revolution were initially considered beneficial to society, however, due to the controversy it caused, it was also considered blasphemous, and to an extent, the work of the devil. It is through this that an insight into the human experience is gained, an insight which reveals the value humanity placed on religion at the time and how the questioning of these values were becoming increasingly common.

Analysis of Two Views of the River by Mark Twain Essay

Wisdom and knowledge takes the poetry from our hearts.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Two Views of the River† is an essay that depicts the passing over of an individual from innocence to wisdom and how things loose their significance when they cease to be something new, and later on, what we thought we wanted will become something trivial and insignificant in our eyes as we discover what it truly is. The way Mark Twain said â€Å"the language of the water† reminds me of things in our lives, perhaps trades that we are trying to become the world’s experts of. Indeed, we try to work on our goals and become as great as we could be. We learn every facet of that object, as the river was to him. Referring to his mentioning of romance, it is comparable to falling in love. When people fall in love, they are in a fantasy world where everything is seen in rose-tinted glasses. Seeing only all the wonders of that world and refusing to see all the bad side. Once the glasses are removed, you can still remember all the memories and reminiscing all the thrills and happiness that those memories made you feel just as he recalled the way he was when he first fell in love with the river. When he learned everything he wanted to know, he discovered that what he has found was something worthy but in the process, he lost a part of himself that he could never ever regain nor recapture again and perhaps it is his ability to dream. What he has found disillusioned him. But then he remembers the way he was and the way he used to view things. All the beauty he once saw has turned jaded. It is perhaps his perspective that changed but even, it makes him sad to realize that. Maybe, he also realized that he has become cynical, if you will view his loss of passion in relation to life, politics even. He was reminiscing the way he had first seen the river, like someone â€Å"bewitched† and in awe of all the beauty that he saw and he said that instead of seeing the beauty of it, he should have seen the harm it could do. But then, he said that he slowly saw the beauty in a different light or maybe, he started to take that beauty for granted. In life, there are many times when we get disillusioned. We follow dreams and fantasies as though they are the best thing on earth, only to realize later on that the dream was never quite the way we envisioned it once it turns into reality. A lot of times, people get so absorbed in the chase of one rainbow after another to realize what they really want, in much the same way that in an individual’s pursuit of knowledge in his field of passion, they eventually loose their enthusiasm. There were cause and contrast in Twain’s essay which could be seen in the way he described the river, which differs from the way he described it as someone you would call naà ¯ve to his next paragraph, which I would interpret as a man who has gained knowledge and was disillusioned by that knowledge. In view of life, it is like the passing over of humans and learning the harsh facts of life. The world is still the great place that we know it is, and life is still a precious jewel that matters more than anything in this world. But in our daily lives, we forget to stand back and see the world’s beauty because we have encountered its dark pits, in much the same way that we find life so hard to appreciate because of the irony and unfairness of it. Mankind was all born idealists and optimists, but eventually, that idealism and optimism is lost as the person goes through the hardships of life. The experiences will teach him a great many things and it will leave him equipped to handle the obstacles that he has encountered in the past and overcome the obstacles of the present. But this will take some of the beauty from his eyes. Viewing the essay in different angles and in relation to aspects of society and humanity, it is indeed easier to remain innocent and left with our dreams and not know of all the dark angles because knowing can only hurt as dreams are indeed better than reality.

Aiding Children of Drug and Alcohol Addicted Parents and Siblings

As the child gets older, he or she becomes aware of the existence of many things that would help him or her to become a mature individual. In other words, the society will have a very important role in molding the youth to become responsible people in the future.However, regardless of a better society, the child learns at home first before he or she becomes exposed to what the society can teach to him or her. If the parents or siblings are taking illegal drugs, the health and well-being of the child will definitely be affected (Parenting and Child Health).Addiction to drugs and alcohol would affect the development of the child and the possibility of being a drug user in the future is high (Marina & McKeganay 554).There are many consequences in drug addiction of a member of the family. It may lead to domestic violence and may cause depression to the child (Hope Networks). Moreover, the child may imitate the acts of taking alcohol and using drugs in the future (Zuckerman et al 758).Man y proposals have been suggested to lessen the cases of violence due to drug abuse but the society often end up facing the dilemma of having too many people that keep on taking alcohol improperly and using illegal drugs.Even the government has amended laws to reduce the number of children that are victims of the consequences of drug use (Keheller et al 1586). One of the most popular techniques of reducing the problems with drugs and alcohol is the family treatment. The family having a problem with drugs is being treated in order to avoid the possible family conflicts in the future (Miller 1046).Drug addiction is often being paid attention only when the member of the family is already affected. Many health professionals may have been successful in treating the victims of alcohol and drug addiction which made people realized that problems brought by alcohol and drugs can easily be fixed (Fleming 95).This perception is one of the most common misconceptions of the society regarding socie tal problems. The society often fails to realize that the treatment can be most effective before the result of drug addiction takes place. In other words, people should answer the problems of drugs and alcohol even before the society gets affected by its consequences.

The Fall Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Fall - Essay Example The book explores the themes of redemption, self gratification and personal growth and offers a critical view of the protagonist’s views and experiences during the Second World War. This essay sets out to take an analytical survey at the character’s attempt at reinventing himself. Jean Baptist was a lawyer, who had built a reputation for himself as being a good defense lawyer, who helped the less fortunate fight for justice where they could not afford to hire the services of one. He used to give alms to beggars on the streets and offer his aid to blind people cross the streets. His good charitable deeds made him feel different from other people who he saw as being hypocritical and selfish. His kindly deeds fed his ego and made him feel righteous. One day when he was heading home, he came across a woman on the Pont de Art Bridge standing on the ledge staring down at the water. He did not pause to afford even the woman a glance, but just passed her, and after a few paces, he heard a loud scream and the sound of a body splashing the water down below. Jean Baptist did nothing to help the woman who was swept away screaming for help. The incident of the woman who committed suicide on the Pont de Art Bridge marked the turning point of Jean Baptist’s life. ... He came to the realization it was a form of show off to the passersby. At this moment, he realized that he was a far much worse hypocrite and selfish than those he criticized among his peers and government. He tried convincing himself that he failed to rescue the woman because rescuing her, involved risking his own personal safety, so it was better off that he did not help her so that he could continue helping others. No matter how hard he tried to justify his actions on that day, his conscience did not allow him to feel better about himself. Jeans Baptist Clemence’s realization that he was no different from leaders, in government and his peers, triggered the process of trying to justify himself by denouncing the exact principles that he stood by and jeopardized his career, in the process. No one believed his utterances because according to his reputation and how people knew him, he could only have been joking. He said, â€Å"I wish I could wring the beggar’s necks and beat them up in the streets† (Horton 48). Jean Baptist proclaimed that the poor and the oppressed were oppressing the decent working class of people, and wished they could be banished from the streets. People around him and his friends who knew him well and understood him well thought he was just making fun. This got Jean Baptist frustrated and he started avoiding his friends and immersing himself into alcohol. He stopped practicing law and ruined his reputation. The World War started during, his dramatic turn around, and France was occupied by the German forces. He endeavors to believe that he is a reputable man, but he finds himself in a society that is full of forgeries (Horton 35). Horton relates this to Jean Baptist’s situation because

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

ART - Essay Example This creates a horizontal line that shows stability. On the other hand, the big skull in the middle of the artwork does not only serve as the focus of the piece but it also adds to the height of the structure, giving a sense of balance to the length in proportion to the height. Most of the figures are made from bronze, painted with patina and pigment to create a convincingly natural look especially when seen from afar. The skull as the focal point is not only positioned at the center of the figure but is also exaggerated in size that it is made bigger than the other figures. Comparing the skull to the size of the beheaded red figure or the lion for instance, their sizes are not proportionate to each other although the figures are at almost the same distance from the viewer. This perhaps symbolizes the importance of the skull which probably portrays the farmer or caretaker of the wheat field. The skull looks scary with its eyes colored dark compounded by the dark inscribed lines and d ark disfigured nose in contrast to the lighter shade of its larger part. Such inscribed lines are also vertical and larger in size, giving a more defined contrast to the finer horizontal lines which have high key, showing off white to middle values. The skin on the skull resembles that of a mummified cadaver which is dry and brittle. On the right side of the skull, from the viewer’s point of view, is a dead tree with several branches that makes it look old and beautiful. The branches moving towards different directions add to the beauty of the artwork in general because of the contrast in lines that they depict. Just beside the tree is a polychromatic biomorphic figure of a parrot. The juxtaposition of the skull, tree and bird gives a contrast between death and life. The skull and the dead tree reflect death with their appearances but the color of the bird exudes life. Speaking of colors, the artist used the warm primary colors such as red and yellow as well as the cool prima ry color, blue. Secondary colors such as warm orange and cool green are also used. These contrast the lifeless and dull colors of other figures like the skull and tree. Moreover, the parrot is positioned in such a way that it implies life and movement. The position of its body suggests that it is turned away from the skull but with its head twisted to its side to appear like it is looking at the skull; the bird gives the appearance that it is moving. Towards the right side of the bird is a green amorphous figure holding a yellow pole, another contrasting image using a warm primary color against a cool secondary color. Further on the right side is an anthill with a large egg on top. The amorphous anthill again represents another contrasting element of the artwork considering the its uncertain shape to the spherical shape of the egg. Moreover, the anthill is created in such a manner that has the simulated texture of soil while the egg has an implied texture of the smooth shell of an e gg. Nevertheless, both the anthill and egg are not really monochromatic as they seem at first glance but they actually have different hues which could be noticeable upon careful inspection. On the left side of the focal point are an uncertain image in patina, a mask and a lion. The three images seem to have been deliberately placed where they are to

MGT 671 LEADER PROJECT INTERVIEW PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MGT 671 LEADER PROJECT INTERVIEW PAPER - Essay Example Finally, during the early part of the first quarter of year 2000, the company was able to gain business eligibility by completing all the necessary documentations necessary for its operations. Shortly thereafter, the first flight of JetBlue Airways took to the skies. The company then proceeded to add more routes as it expands its business operations. Before the year 2000 ended, the company reached a major milestone by reaching a million customers serviced while at the same time earning $ 100 million revenue for the year. All these have been achieved prior to the company’s first anniversary and shortly afterwards the company has flown about 2 million customers (JetBlue Corporate History 2011). The company further expanded its operations as the delivery of its Airbus units continues giving the company about 20 units of operational crafts. The company’s massive fleet continues to grow when in 2003 the company was able to receive its 50th Airbus. As such, a new hangar compl ex was needed and acquired at JFK International. The company grew rapidly and operations expanded extensively necessitating the additional order of 65 more airbuses and 100 more Embraer 190 aircrafts. In flight entertainment was improved further the following year and by the early half of 2004 the company already has on its laurels the honor of flying 25 million passengers. In just five years, the company was able to secure its 71st airbus and was subsequently awarded the prestigious Diamond Certificate of Excellence Award from the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). Also, JetBlue was able to receive its Embraer 190 aircraft, the first airline to have such a unit. Furthermore, the company was able to acquire a bigger hangar and is also able to secure a partnership with American Express to integrate credit card payments with their operations. The company further improved its in house entertainment and was even able to pioneer in-flight email and even instant messaging services. In 2008, J etBlue even became the official airline of the Red Sox and the following year even became the official airline partner of the New York Jets. All the while, the company is introducing innovations of the jet liner service and is also expanding its routes. With all these achievements and despite breaching the top 50 in just half a decade, JetBlue was not yet a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) . After a decade, JetBlue established its office in the bustling city of New York and was officially included into the folds of the IATA. Brief Biography of Robin Hayes – EVP, Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Robin Hayes joined JetBlue last May 2008. He was appointed to the commercial side as the Chief Commercial Officer handling the airline’s marketing strategy including sales and revenues as well as the network of the airline. His appointment gave him an Executive Vice President position, a title he also had before he left his previous company (JetBlue Airwa ys, Press Release May 2008). Prior to joining the JetBlue, Mr. Robin Hayes was with British Airways also as an EVP. JetBlue is banking on the experience Mr. Hayes had when he was with British Airways to help their company surge forward faster. No less than JetBlue’s CEO, Mr. Dave Barger, highlighted the vast capabilities of Mr. Hayes emphasizing on the years that he had in the industry as well as the knowledge that he amassed from his

Learning Plan Outcome Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Learning Plan Outcome Report - Essay Example Patient assessment skills in the area of emergency nursing are important for several reasons (Sbaih, 2001). The most important of them is gradually increasing patient loads and increased waiting time. Nurses may segregate patients needing immediate attendance by being able to identify the patients with serious problems. This also fulfils two graduate qualities of the nurses, which are ability to apply knowledge in real situations and ability to identify the methodological and substantive limitations of the field and to apply a disciplined mode of enquiry in practice. To be able to apply nursing assessment skills in the patients with TIA needs ability to execute a detailed central nervous system examination to know whether the patient is progressing towards CVA. This is a changing situation in the patient's clinical status which can be determined through a thorough clinical examination. This clinical information must be located, evaluated, managed, and used in the clinical context of the patient's condition. It is evident that the clinical skill of the nurse in this context will be limited, and an accurate assessment of learning will imbibe this point (Schriver et al., 2003). This means this would also involve the capacity to evaluate current knowledge. In the real clinical scenario of the Emergency Department, this means an independent demonstration of the skill, and therefore, it means taking the responsibility for learning development. In order to reach a diagnosis which would classify the urgency of the patient means responding confidently to changing clinical scenarios in a flexible and adaptable manner, and a critical thinking approach would develop through this which would also promote sustenance of intellectual interest for further learning (Hageness et al., 2003) Product Information Fact Sheet on Clinical Assessment of TIA and CVA in the Emergency Nursing Q1. What is TIA Ans 1. TIA or transient ischemic attack is a state of transient deficiency of cerebrovascular blood supply leading to alterations in vision or speech, dizziness, weakness, a sudden fall, or a temporary paralysis on one side of the body. Usually, this is reversible, but calls for a detailed neurological examination to rule out any permanent neurological deficits (American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, 2004). Q2. What is CVA Ans 2. CVA or cerebrovascular accident is also known as stroke or brain attack. By definition, it is occurrence and persistence of neurologic dysfunction for more than 24 hours as a result of disruption of blood supply to the brain in an irreversible manner (American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, 2004). Q3. How does CVA occur Ans 3. Most of the CVAs are ischemic. About 30% of these patients may have hemorrhage within the brain to be attended, supported, admitted, and managed immediately for higher mortality and morbidity. Thus, in the emergency nursing area, it is important to identify the categories of these patients so appropriate management can be provided (Hickey, 2004). Q4. What are the other associated conditions in these patients Ans 4. TIA or CVA originates from diseases of the blood vessels. In some patients the associated heart disease is the cause of TIA or CVA. Hypertension is commonly associated with most of these cases. While assessing a patient with CVA, it is to be remembered that many

Capital Budgeting Projects Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Capital Budgeting Projects - Research Paper Example The government of San Diego in undertaking these beneficial projects will face the difficulty in determining exactly the benefits. The benefits such as the effectiveness in transporting goods and reducing the cost of transportation can be easily highlighted. However, quantifying these benefits in monetary terms is very complex and cannot be accurately measures (Mikesell, 2011). The value of the goods transported and the speed of moving the human resource may not be determined without recording errors. The pursuance of these projects will also have some costs and negative externalities. During the development of the transport infrastructure, the government will incur costs of destroying the environment and moving the locals in order to get the space for expanding the projects. Moreover, destruction cost to the natural resources like rivers, trees and other resources cannot be easily determined. The increased number of automotives would increase the level of air pollution whose long term impact is hard to determine. Besides, the government must discount the future benefits and costs to determine the net present value. The rate of discounting the future benefits and the costs will pose the greatest challenge to the government (Mikesell, 2011). The use of an inappropriate rate may impair the decision of pursuing the project. In summary, the discounting of government projects remains difficult because of the non profit characteristics of the projects. The government in selecting the projects must however ensure that the projects pursued have more benefits compared to the costs. The San Diego capital improvement project in which the transport infrastructure is improved will definitely have more benefits than

Matrix of Theoretical Models Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Matrix of Theoretical Models - Coursework Example Nursing meets self care through a number of ways including action, direction, teaching and providing an environment to meet their future health care demands. In this theory Orem describes the responsibilities of nurses, role of nurses and patients, and the types of actions required to meet the demands of patients. Each time when the nurses provide care to the patients, there activities are evaluated to see whether the desired goals are met (source: Dorothea Orem's Self-Care theory, 2012). In the case of a patient who is suffering from malnutrition due to inadequate iron supplementation, the patient himself can get out the danger situation if he pays sufficient attention to the diet in order to maintain his natural health. Here what the nurses can do is to direct and teach him about what he has supposed to do for maintaining a balanced diet. Moreover, the nurses can list out the food items that carry rich iron content. The nurses and patients can then plan the objectives. The nurses c an make the patients aware of the required changes in their actions and behavior. If the patients understand the need of maintaining an optimum nutrition, the nurses win their attempt. Here the outcome of such a treatment is that the patient while emerging from the ailment becomes aware of the necessity of self care. The main feature of this theory is that it pays equal emphasis to patients and nurses (Source: Application of Orem's Self-Care Deficit theory, 2011). 2. Â  Virginia Henderson's Need Theory This theory is based on the basic assumption that the nurses are required to take care of the patients until they again become capable of caring themselves. The care would help him to progress after getting discharged from the hospital. Through this definition she was well differentiating nursing from medicine. Another noticeable assumption is that nurses devote to the patients day and night until they get back to the normal life. Nurses while carrying out their jobs help the patient s to care themselves as well. The third and final assumption is that nurses have to be educated at college levels with a specific focus on sciences and arts. The most aspects of this theory were adopted from Abraham Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. The components in this theory, especially the first nine ones are physiological in nature. The tenth and the fourteenth aspects are psychological. However, according to this theory a nurse is one who helps the patient to be independent from the bed and the terrific troubles of illness. The need theory of Virginia Henderson can be best applied in each and every area of the nursing field as it is a comprehensive nursing theory, which embraces fourteen basic human needs. This theory can be applicable to different phases ranging from a patient’s hospitalization to his discharge. Since this theory gives first priority to the patient’s independence, it requires nurses to make a patient’s recovery as fast as possible s o that he can leave the hospital without much delay. As per this theory, an individual will not be perfectly healthy unless he is able to meet all the fourteen basic needs (cited in Heath, 1995, p.7). Therefore, a person with an illness cannot meet all these needs. As a result, this theory can be best appli

Promoting Cognitive Development Essay Example for Free

Promoting Cognitive Development Essay The best thing my family said about me when I was young was how smart I appeared to be. I had been a participant in the elementary school science fair; it always takes place in the spring time of the school year in May- It is a traditional school event. I was only in third grade, I had to be creative and come up with a science project for the science fair. My teacher suggested that all of the students go to the library and research some science books to pick a project. I remember not having a lot of self-esteem, so I did not think I could accomplish the task. I found a short story in a book about a plant without a root, so I decided to grow a plant without a root in an egg shell, my mother helped me put the project together and she was very encouraging and helpful for my self-esteem. My science project was a success and I won first prize. This was one of the best days in my life and my family was so proud of me, they all told me I was very smart and to keep up the good work. They were especially proud because I found the book and made the decision on my own do the project that made me a winner. According to Vygotsky, education should focus on activities that involve interaction with others. Both child–adult and child–child interactions can provide the potential for cognitive growth† (Feldman, page 301). Children develop a sense of competence roughly around age 6 to 12, in their elementary school years; theorists Erik Erikson believes these years are the industry-versus-inferiority stage; these years are very important for children to understand concepts and challenges that are prepared for them by their peers, parents and school. My mother was the person that made me feel so great about myself, as she often did. She put my plant without a root science project on display in our home for all to see, and she just bragged to everyone that came to the house and she was calling people on the phone telling whoever called the house; she was would brag and tell them how smart I was and how proud she was of my winning first place in the school science fair. I had and still have the strangest nickname, my mother named me Toby Margo Barr. But my nickname is Trisha. The story behind having two real names is because my godmother wanted to name me Patricia. My mother decided that Trisha could be my nickname, she really liked Toby and she promised to name me after a Jewish woman that she knew way before I was conceived. She said the woman looked the spitting image of Elizabeth Taylor. I actually very much disliked the name Toby and wished my real name was Patricia; everyone thought Toby was my nick name anyway because it sounds more like a nickname. My family members never told me what I would end up doing or becoming, they valued the fact that I just had to work. My mother wanted me to have an office job, because I took up office practice in high school. I wanted to work in an office setting, but it was hard to accomplish in the small town I grew up and lived in. It was predominately white and there was a lot of prejudices in the town back them. My family would have described me as a good kid; I was mannerly and respectful to others, very disciplined as well when I was a child and adolescent. I remember being afraid a lot and having low self-esteem. I did not like being a dark-skinned person especially in an all white town and school- it also seemed if you were light-skinned life was a little better, I was bullied and teased by both blacks and whites. I started to rebel as a teenager and did what teens do when they are insecure, like smoking pot and cigarettes. This is when my parents would say I gave them grief. My family was concerned I would get in trouble and end up dealing with the law. Elementary-school-age children begin to follow the same sort of reasoning when they seek to understand how able they are. When they were younger, they tended to consider their abilities in terms of some hypothetical standard, making a judgment that they are good or bad in an absolute sense. Children begin to use social comparison processes, comparing themselves to others; Vygotsky‘s approach has been particularly influential in the development of several classroom practices based on the proposition that children should actively participate in their educational experiences. In this approach, classrooms are seen as places where children should have the opportunity to experiment and try out new activities.

Contextual Environment For Business Commerce Essay

Contextual Environment For Business Commerce Essay This article talks about External Environmental forces which force the organization to change their business strategy and its effect directly or indirectly on their business. This article also reviews the current and future demographic and culture trends changing in UK. In this article you will find out the PESTLE and forecasting techniques of Micro soft in detail according to UK Market with SWOT analysis of organization Analysis the data to uncover and understand cause-effect relationships, thus providing basis for problem solving and decision making Including demographic, socio-cultural, legal/political aspects and demand trend 1.2 Synopsis This article highlights the various factors affecting, creating changes and impact on the organisations performance globally. It deals with those critical scenarios in which companies decisions are derived by the globalisation phase. When organisations are almost compelled to restructure their competitive strategies to achieve the overall organisations objectives. This article discusses about the changes in the global environment 1.3 Literature Review According to an independent research, over 95 percent of the worlds computers work on Microsofts operating platform. In the current global perspective, Microsoft has the largest market share, so thats make them as a market leader. This badge Market Leader opens great opportunities and unexplored market territories. Companies periodically carry out different analytical tools such as SWOT and PESTEL analysis, to be aware that how they are performing and they examine those overlooked segments for market which had been undiscovered. These tools help them to analyse internally pros and cons of the company and help them to identify the external environmental forces which tends to either organisation make others to follow or vice versa. Microsoft is currently facing tremendous change in the trend of consumers, people are more inclined towards Macintosh and Linux based platforms due to much stable platform and above all there are comparatively fewer viruses developed on Macintosh and Linux based platforms. People are diverted towards other brands and Microsoft is losing its creditability and market share which ultimately weaken its grasp on the monopoly which they have created. Microsoft has huge political pressure on it that US government is putting up efforts to divide the company into near about forty different companies, the company has expanded so tremendously that now its one of the greatest threats for US government that Microsoft will be in position to control politics within near future if they remain expanding with the same pace, furthermore US government wants to maintain a healthy competition in the market so that various products can be developed through competitive strategies. Whereas Microsoft is such a company which creates numerous business opportunities for their partner organisations. When measuring the economic impact of a company like Microsoft, organisation has to consider both either direct or indirect impact induced by the effective creation of the new business opportunities. Gates strategy has been to leverage Microsofts desktop operating system to dominate all software sales-from word processing to spreadsheets. Because most new PCs are equipped with the Windows operating system, Gates can place icons for Microsoft software packages on the desktops when a computer is purchased. Also, Microsofts large cash reserves give it an advantage over its competitors. Microsoft can enter a new market or introduce a new package without needing to make a profit from the outset. In April 1995, when Microsoft attempted to make the biggest acquisition in the history of the software industry by purchasing Intuit, a maker of personal-finance software, the antitrust division of the Department of Justice blocked the deal and Microsoft backed off. However, competitors continue to complain that Microsoft uses an existing monopoly to retard the development of new technology. It was the bundling of software, such as Web browsers with Windows 95 and 98 that prompted the Justice Department to file an antitrust lawsuit against the company in 1998. A U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that Microsoft was free to bundle its software, but a court date was set for September 1998 to determine the final ruling. In addition, Gates invested $1 billion in the cable company Comcast in 1998 in an effort to persuade the cable industry to assist in developing faster connections using cable modems. That same year, Microsoft formed the Cable Broadband Forum with Intel,  TCI, and Time Warner to promote cable modems. The company also invested $425 million to guarantee itself a 20 percent equity stake in the cable access venture, Road Runner. Microsoft employs around 20,000 people in 48 countries. A typical Microsoft employee is very intelligent, but may only have little if any experience much like Gates own background. Gates also invites challenge and confrontation to maintain flexibility (Microsoft Corporation, 2010) (Bruno Van Pottelsberghe De La Potterie, 2005) Read more:  Gates, Bill Overview, Personal Life, Career Details, Social and Economic Impact, Chronology: Bill Gates  http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6234/Gates-Bill.html#ixzz0k2F2Txf9 Gates took very efficient strategic change by setting up a software house in India, due to several reasons behind. The basic purpose behind was to acquire huge market of India which was a tremendous business opportunity for Microsoft Corporation. The other related target was to control Indian IT immigrants to come to US finding opportunities at Microsoft when they can find wide scope in their home land. The added benefit which Microsoft Corporation has got was of low cost IT personnel which ultimately help them cut down the cost of developing new softwares. In return what advantage India has got is massive amount of economical growth into their country, substantial amount of foreign investments came into their country, demand for IT personnels drastically went up and moreover they got the technology for designing and developing softwares. Due to this several different local software houses emerged into and they now built it into a Software Industry. These are the pros of globalisatio ns, well sometimes it may be misused in order to fulfil specific interests and objectives. With this strategic movement of Microsoft Corporation, it enhances up the demand of IT personnel in India thus resulting up a great vacuum for IT people. People not only from India but several different ethnic groups came to India to join Microsoft, which ultimately helps India to stop brains into their country and a great opportunity for them to get the most out of those brains. Plus India has got an extra benefit from Microsoft that, it got a huge discounts on Microsofts licensed softwares only for Indian market which on the other hand help them to capture huge market of India which were before using pirated softwares. Microsoft lowered down their software prices which could be affordable for the local market and made compulsory for every single person to use Microsoft Licensed Softwares. Organisations periodically carry out SWOT and PESTEL analysis just to be aware of them where they are standing and where they have to reach. The most important issue and which Microsoft has been facing since early stage are of piracy. Microsoft still couldnt be able to overcome this problem and facing substantial losses due to its pirated products. Microsoft has developed and followed various different software monitoring teams which search those cooperate users which do businesses on pirated products. To overcome this thing in India they developed a strategy they lowered the prices of those softwares which were commonly used in both cooperate and domestic sectors, so that it came in the reach on every user. This strategy reduces the usage of pirated Microsoft products in India, whereas in other Asian countries like Pakistan, Microsoft didnt follow the same strategy in Pakistan too, due to insubstantial market as compared to India. With the implementation of cost reduction strategy in India, Microsoft was seems to be obliged to do the same strategy with Pakistan too, but it doesnt happen due to the market analysis conducted before implementing the same strategy in Pakistan. The major reason was the size of the substantial market of Pakistan, which wasnt enough to compensate with the reduced cost. Microsoft is currently facing change in buying behaviour of their well known gamming console called Xbox 360, customers are demanding shake and twisting intelligence systems in their gaming consoles whereas their competitors Nintendo Wii gaming console has more advance shake and twist intelligence features in it which Microsoft is compelled to follow if they still want to be in market leader position. This compilation of bringing up same or more advance features in their products is actually customer driven and according to the demand in the market, Microsoft has to modify their product. In developing and implementing a business strategy, organisation should follow the standard set of procedure so that every step should be organised, well prepared and organisations must also develop a backup plan if in case strategy doesnt go in favour then a backup plan must be ready all resources being used in it also have to be ready in order to act fast. Sometimes after doing secret homework and all company was just in position to announce any marketing campaign, these campaign sometimes leaked my one of an official and competitor launch campaign before the original developer of the campaign, so these cases organisations have another plan to attract potential market towards their products. Microsoft has various different mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures with other organisations. Usually Microsoft acquire small to medium size competitors to remain their monopoly in the sector but big giants like Yahoo and Google, Microsoft has partner collaboration with them. Microsoft acquire Yahoo, but in this acquisition the brand of Yahoo remained, Microsoft didnt eliminate the brand of Yahoo because Microsoft still wanted to remain competition within these two giants in either cases profits will be on Microsoft. Yahoo lovers remain with them and similarly Microsoft market remains with them. Couple of years back, Microsoft and Google did a joint venture named as a GooSoft the two formal archrivals will work cooperatively for the first time in history. Google will use an Open Source version of Windows Mobile to develop similar platform like Apple iPhones platform. On other hand, Microsoft will get chance to redevelop its search engine operations with collaborations with Google, this is one of the sectors in which Microsoft is losing battle very badly. This joint venture will help both of the companies to develop their weak parts and can better perform against Apple, Palm and other handheld devices manufacturers. (Freeman, 2010) Currently demography has been changed a lot within the last couple of year due to various reasons. There is now three censuses based record covering all constituent parts of the UK. All three of them include linked data from vital registration systems. During the last couple of years population of United Kingdom drastically increases due to the easy approach of immigrants in to the country. The amount has been projected to be increased tremendously as Olympics 2012 event is going to be in United Kingdom. Organisations are constantly scanning the external environment where they can cater market with their services. People from all ethnic groups, age groups, religion arrive here and it could be a huge opportunities to cater them. Globalisation plays very potent role in expanding the canvas of business of an organisation. Due to this several different entry barriers are removed and most of the time organisations started new market development where they started to explore new territories. With the globalisation of the company as Microsoft, when Windows Vista was going to launch, Microsoft launched it in its 4000 stores across the globe at a same time, all marketing strategies and planning were done centrally and they launched it on a same day everywhere. Globalisation is bring up various different changes in social trends in United Kingdom, now a days people prefer more to chat and greet virtually (i.e. online, mobile phone and etc) with their relatives rather than meeting them personally. This trend has drastically increased with the development of advanced IT and telecommunications products. While on the other hands young children are also now slaves of these high tech products. Children prefer more to play on virtual devices rather than involving in physical games. Following are the statistical data for United Kingdom Migration is an important driver of population change but migration patterns vary across the EU. Much migration is economically driven but there are other drivers of migration which include for example educational and familial factors. Factors that influence migrant choices of destination country include geographical proximity, historical and cultural ties and economic globalisation, whereby jobs are created outside the country of the sponsoring company. Data are not available to assemble a complete matrix of migration flows between the individual countries of the EU. None the less, a recent Council of Europe report that presents analyses of the data that are available shows the following patterns in moves by people of working age. The majority of economic migrants from central and eastern EU countries move to elsewhere in the EU, Germany and Austria receive a high proportion of economic migrants from central and Eastern EU countries. This containment within Europe is also seen in ot her countries such as Sweden. On the other hand, looking at migrants to countries such as the UK, the Netherlands, Malta, Spain and Italy, there is a high proportion of migrants from outside the EU. A subject of much debate in Europe is the extent to which EU enlargement will impact on migratory flows. Since accession there has been some movement of citizens of the acceding countries to some other parts of the EU but the extent to which migration to and from non-EU countries might be affected is unknown. Changes in the patterns of marriage, divorce and cohabitation have implications for family formation and dissolution. The traditional nuclear family through marriage is still the norm in the EU but a wider range of family and household types is emerging, from lone parent families to step and extended family types. Within Europe, the rise in cohabitation, divorce and remarriage has been particularly evident in the Nordic member states, the Netherlands and the UK. The trends in partnership formation and dissolution mean that children are likely to experience family disruption whilst growing up and some will experience it more than once. There has been a marked increase in the number of births outside marriage over the last decade. The rate has raised from 9.6 percent of all live births in 1990 to 28.6 per cent in the countries of Europe prior to enlargement and similar rises have been seen in many of the acceding countries. The increasing numbers of older people and increased life expectancy have very significant implications for retirement, pensions, health and care, particularly as the number of the oldest old (aged over 85) continues to grow. With improved health the less old are much more active participants in society, for example, taking on caring roles for younger generations in their family, participating in the voluntary sector or continuing in the labour market. Recent reports have highlighted the need for people to anticipate that they should expect to live longer and build this into their financial planning for their retirement, particularly for their oldest years.9 Higher life expectancy means there is a longer period between departure from the work force and becoming highly dependent on services. More people may want to work past retirement age or adopt more flexible working patterns as they get older, perhaps making more use of part-time working opportunities past the usual retirement age . At the same time, larger numbers of older people are taking advantage of property markets to spend significant periods living in another country. There are fundamental difficulties in making reliable estimates of migration, due principally to the lack of data, particularly on emigration. It is generally recognised that more needs to be done to obtain estimates that are accurate, coherent and comparable. Not only is information required about the flows of immigrants and emigrants and their characteristics but also about the numbers of immigrants and their integration into the society and economy of their new country. In individual countries there is considerable interest in international migration that is between Member States as well as migration from outside the EU region. Such information is important in understanding population change and in assessing the diversity of the population and its structures. In addition to international migration, Member States require reliable information about population migration within the country because there are significant implications for housing provision, service provision, local regen eration and local labour markets. The UK are planning for the next Census in 2011, working closely with colleagues in other census-taking countries, both in the EU and internationally, to share experience and lessons learned from the 2000 round of censuses. In Europe a UN ECE Census Task Force exists to review recommendations for the 2010 round of censuses. Between now and 2011, considerable efforts are in hand to improve the quality of intercensal population estimates for local areas and migration estimates. Post 2011, the vision is to move towards an integrated population statistics system that utilises address registers, population registers, administrative sources and surveys. This approach will involve the linkage of records at an individual level for statistical purposes. There are substantial issues to be resolved, such as barriers that currently prevent the linkage of administrative records and the need to gain acceptability from the public, but the benefits in terms of the quality of population statistics wi ll be significant. Policy makers in much of Europe have expressed deep concerns with regard to the increasing pressure on health and social care costs arising from the demographic ageing of their populations (Richter 1992). Although a number of (cross-national) studies have considered the determinants of (especially) health care costs, only one has found that the age structure of the population (proportion of population aged 65 and over being taken as the age structure indicator) is an explanatory factor alongside the effects of income, lifestyle characteristics, and environmental factors (Kleiman 1974; Getzen 1992; Gerdtham et al 1998; Hitris and Posnett, 1992; Leu 1986; OECD 1987; OConnell 1996; Gerdtham et al 1992, 1992a). This brief paper attempts to address relevant issues relating to population ageing and health and social care expenditure, including economic evaluations, drawing primarily on UK and North American literature from both medical and economics journals. Particularly the paper by Sesh amani and Gray (2002) is worthy of extra note. It should be pointed out that this is not intended to be an extensive exhaustive review of the literature on the effects of population ageing on health and social care expenditure nor on economic evaluations of health care. Indeed, as we point out later the number of journal articles on economic evaluations has increased dramatically through the 1980s and 1990s, totalling more than 5500 in peerreviewed journals in those two decades, with approximately 4000 of these in the 1990s alone. However, there seems to be a consensus of opinion in the literature addressed in this brief paper supporting a non-extensive review that economic evaluations lack methodological robustness and integrity in relation to resource allocation. Especially cross-national comparisons appear to be problematic. Before via the literature we consider the impact of ageing on health (and social) care expenditures (in the UK) and the economics of health care (evaluations/interventions), we present briefly UK (and European) population data as a demographic backdrop to that work along with a brief review of UK policy initiatives for the health and social care of older people particularly aimed at preventing dependence. Regulatory bodies are formed to create check and balance system for organisation; these bodies monitor the performance of organisations and develop fair dealing between buyer and seller. These bodies help customers if they are getting unfair deals or being ripped off from the seller. Regulatory bodies also keep strict eye on the competition practices between competitors. In United Kingdom an independent organisation know as The Office of fair Trading. A system has been developed to control and directed accordingly is known as Corporate Governance, with this system business activities of an organisations are regulated. The process includes manages customs, legislations, policies, laws and institution affecting the way a corporation is directed, administrated or controlled. Corporate governance also includes the relationships among the several stakeholders involved and the goals for which the corporation is governed. The basic stakeholders are the shareholders, management, and the board of directors. Other stakeholders include employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, regulators, and the community at large. Corporate Governance has positive impact on organisation that it strengthened economy and hence good corporate governance is a tool for socio-economic development. Corporate governance is a set of framework of accountability to users, stakeholders and the wider community within which organisations take decisions, and lead and c ontrol their functions to achieve their objectives. In this globalised world, it has various aspects which affect the world in several different ways major of them are; Industrial emergence of worldwide production houses and wider access to a range of foreign products for consumers and companies. Movement of goods between and within national boundaries. International trade of manufactured goods across borders increased drastically. Financially emergence of worldwide financial markets and better access to external financing for borrowers. Few studies have sufficient people aged 85 and over to obtain reliable results. Demographers of ageing are frequently required to compare age groups for example, 55-64 years, 65-74, 75-84 and 85 years and over. However, numbers of very old people (those aged 85 and over) in most surveys are not sufficient for more complex statistical analyses: for example, around 300 for the GHS, 400 for the BHPS. An exception is the Family Resources Survey, which has a large sample of 800 very old people. Otherwise the most usual strategy is to use two or three years data from a cross-sectional survey, assuming the same questions were asked each year. A sample of very old people can thus be assembled.29 Again, the Census, SAR and the ONS LS are the best sources for analysing the demographic characteristics of very old people. The increasing proportion of very old people, however, may generate new problems for collecting data: questionnaires should be readable by people with visual impairments; inte rviewers should be ready to cope with people with hearing problems. Interviewing older people usually takes a longer time. Additionally, very old people may not capable of being interviewed, so it is possible that the use of proxy interviews will increase in the future. Very old people may also be less likely to participate in surveys, especially when interviews are conducted door to door. Courtesy of http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/PT118_V1.pdf 1.4 Conclusion and Recommendations Finally, in the end I would like to say that although Microsoft is very good organization and they are the market leader of information technology industry but if they cannot change their strategy accordingly the demand then they will lose their position they will not over confidence but they will need to make USP of their product according to market demand.