1) A Consumer Is Socially Defined As Someone Whom Is Pressured Into Bu

1) A consumer is socially defined as someone whom is pressured into buying items forced upon them my capitalist methods. They are also people who believe that if they buy a particular item it will make their lives better. Society has forced consumerism unto people and it has increased over the last century. A consumer was not constructed until the 19th century, when the times emphasized moderation and self-denial. At this time workers were to be frugal and save their money. Most of the time the typical family produced most of what they needed and had few household possessions. The families had little arousal of desire because there were no prepackaged items with brand names and most of the items were displayed in bulk. The main creation of the consumer was the creation of advertising. The goal of advertising was to aggressively shape consumers desires and create value in commodities by imbuing them with the power to transform the consumer into a more desirable person. In the 1880's there was only about 30 million spent on advertising in the US, by 1910 it was up to about 600 million, and today 120 billion is spent on advertising in the US alone. Another way of making people consumers is the development of department stores, where they market goods in ways that arouse desire to the peopl e. They also use different display and presentation techniques to inspire purchases. They also try to create consumers by making buying easier with consumer credit, this give the consumer a charging account or the ability to pay over installments. There are many things that helped transform people in to consumers including the institutional transformation, which is a major social institution redefining the function to promote consumerism. Some of these institutions are education institutions, for example creation of business and fashion design schools that were developed in the early 1900's. Others include government institutions, which is divided into local and federal governments. The local governments make up shopping districts and zoning regulations and federal governments have a commerce department, whose main goal is to encourage consumption of commodities. The federal government also endorses retail, cooperative advertising and individual homeownership, and single person dwel lings. All this is just to promote consumerism

Free Essays on Chinese Room

Through his writings on the Chinese Room scenario, John R. Searle tries to prove that there is no way artificial intelligence can exist. This means that machines do not posses minds. The debate between those who are in favour of strong and weak artificial intelligence (AI) is directly related to the philosophy of mind. The claim of weak AI is that it is possible to run a program on a machine, which will behave as if it were a thinking thing. Believers of strong AI say that it is possible to create a program running on a machine which not only behaves as if it were thinking, but does actually think. Strong AI followers argue that an installation of a computer program is considered a mind as real as the mind of any human. Searle's claim is that any installation of a program is an operation. The lack of meaning, he states, means that the computer program does not have true understanding and is not truly thinking, it is Through his writings on the Chinese room scenario, John R. Searle tr ies to prove there simply computing and processing symbols. Searle begins by talking about a newer computer program written by Roger Schank, which he uses to answer, or at least try to answer, questions about a problem it has been given. Searle remarks that this choice of program is not directly relevant to his argument, but is merely an example. He then suggests that instead of running the program on a machine that it can be represented as a series of written instructions that he could follow. To make sure he is following the instructions, everything is expressed in Chinese, since Searle did not know the language. The complete situation has Searle in a room where Chinese symbols are passed through one slot of the room along with English instructions on how to read them. He then computes them and passes out the meanings through the second slot in the room. Searle’s actions resemble the program of the functionalist Schank. The inpu... Free Essays on Chinese Room Free Essays on Chinese Room Through his writings on the Chinese Room scenario, John R. Searle tries to prove that there is no way artificial intelligence can exist. This means that machines do not posses minds. The debate between those who are in favour of strong and weak artificial intelligence (AI) is directly related to the philosophy of mind. The claim of weak AI is that it is possible to run a program on a machine, which will behave as if it were a thinking thing. Believers of strong AI say that it is possible to create a program running on a machine which not only behaves as if it were thinking, but does actually think. Strong AI followers argue that an installation of a computer program is considered a mind as real as the mind of any human. Searle's claim is that any installation of a program is an operation. The lack of meaning, he states, means that the computer program does not have true understanding and is not truly thinking, it is Through his writings on the Chinese room scenario, John R. Searle tr ies to prove there simply computing and processing symbols. Searle begins by talking about a newer computer program written by Roger Schank, which he uses to answer, or at least try to answer, questions about a problem it has been given. Searle remarks that this choice of program is not directly relevant to his argument, but is merely an example. He then suggests that instead of running the program on a machine that it can be represented as a series of written instructions that he could follow. To make sure he is following the instructions, everything is expressed in Chinese, since Searle did not know the language. The complete situation has Searle in a room where Chinese symbols are passed through one slot of the room along with English instructions on how to read them. He then computes them and passes out the meanings through the second slot in the room. Searle’s actions resemble the program of the functionalist Schank. The inpu...

United States v American Online, Inc Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

United States v American Online, Inc - Assignment Example Firstly, the two companies involved, AOL and PPRO, deal with computer-related business. For instance, AOL is an online business partner of PPRO, a software services provider. Additionally, the matter involves accounts entry, in which AOL is accused of illegal entry. Ordinarily, company's accountings are executed using computer software as paperwork accounts are already outdated (Chung, Park, Lee & Kang, 2012). For the revenues to be inflated there has to be unreal transactions such as contracts and ghosts sales. Therefore a computer has to be used to prepare the contract agreements and invoices for such fake transactions. Q2: In the probe of the AOL’s alleged frauds, the involvement of some professional experts would be crucial in establishing the prosecution evidence. The first relevant professional is a certified public accountant. As the Department of Justice (2007) explains, the case involves an alleged piloted error in accounting. Therefore, a professional accountant would elaborate to the court whether indeed there were illegal entries in the AOL books of accounting. Additionally, a forensic Information Technology (IT) expert’s, particularly a computer forensic professional, would be relevant in this case. A computer forensic expert’s testimony would have been used to add weight to the prosecution claim. The expert would retrieve deleted communications from the two alleged parties, the AOL and PPRO. Apparently, the two are believed to have engaged in a conspiracy. Thus, the computer forensic specialist would have been used to unmask the conspiracy through retrieving past com munications. Q3: There are various techniques and tools that could have been employed in the US v AOL case investigation. For instance, the cross-drive analysis method could have been used to establish any correlation or lack of it between the information found on AOL.

Midnight summer dream play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Midnight summer dream play - Essay Example Like other Shakespeare’s plays I would have imagined the outfits to me a bit more antique. Although the costumes were not what I expected I was not disappointed. One of my favorite parts of the play was the outfits worn by the characters. I mostly enjoyed the outfits of the fairies, specifically the fairy king and queen. The outfits I learned were designed and hand-made which I thought was cool. Throughout the play, I paid special attention to the two outfits as well as all the accessories worn by the fairy king and queen. I could imagine that the hair on the fairy queen took very long to be made. Another ensemble that I enjoyed is that of all the fairies and Puck. The paint all over their bodies and their faces added to their animalistic look, all the characters made their hair crazy in a different way from each other, which I thought was really cool because each fairy claimed to have different powers. Another aspect of the play I enjoyed was the set. The theatre room is small yet the entire play takes place in the forest and although you would think that this would limit the movement of the characters, it ended up being the complete opposite. Many actors moved across the whole set, going in and out of different exits making great use of the stage. Characters such as Puck and the fairies had some of the most unique movements. I loved the structure and transition of the play and actors movements. It made audience glued to the stage and always in suspense. Certainly, the performers incorporated all the aspects of an excellent play namely main story, pinnacle, and an epoch of falling action yet surpassed by joyous moments that seemed to show the end of the story. The atheists made the story strange yet interesting. Importantly, they never lost Shakespear’s original theme and glamour despite of the differences and acting styles of integrating happy amusing epilogue even during tensions.

Employment Research about Marriot Hotel Assignment

Employment Research about Marriot Hotel - Assignment Example The hotel was founded by J. Willard along with Alice Marriott and managed by Marriott family administration for more than 80 years. The business has headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and reports revenues of almost $13 billion in the financial year 2013. The year 1927 saw J. Willard Marriott open the nine-stool root beer stand. The stand grew into the Hot Shoppes eatery chain and developed into the present Marriott International hotel company ("Doha Prepares for the Opening of Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel," n.d.). In the next 58 years, he constructed the Marriott product on a basis of guiding standards that stay entrenched in the business’s culture presently. At the moment, Alex Kyriakidis is the hotel’s leader and managing director. The organization’s Vision Statement is: Growing globally and opening up a world of experiences, as well as opportunities for individuals from all walks of life. The organization is as well driven to constantly challenge the status quo as well as anticipate its customers’ varying needs with new brands, new guest experiences and new global locations ("US General Error," n.d.). On the other hand, Mission statement of the organization is: â€Å"We support the communities where we work and live†. Marriott International puts its focus on five worldwide: social issues: the environment, poverty alleviation, the wellbeing of children, community workforce development, and global diversity and inclusion ("Marriott Marquis City Center Hotel Doha (Doha, Qatar) - Booked.net," n.d.). The Marriot Hotels has been taking part in some cooperate social responsibilities (CSR).

How Kinect Gave A Competitive Advantage To Microsoft Media Essay

How Kinect Gave A Competitive Advantage To Microsoft Media Essay We choose to analyze Microsoft-Kinect as a topic for our group project because we wanted to analyze that how Kinect gave a competitive advantage to the Microsoft in the gaming industry. Our analysis will focus on the technology Microsoft used in Kinect and the reasons of Kinect becoming the fastest selling tech-gadget, even though it was just launched in November 2010. We will also discuss the strategies Microsoft used while developing and launching the Kinect and the various factors that helped Microsoft to become leader by selling 10 million gadgets in a very short span of time, beating Apples iPad and iPhone previous record. Microsoft Kinect made into the Guinness book of records as the fastest selling electronics device. [1] Introduction: Kinect is a controller free gaming experience for the Xbox 360 video game platform to stir up great hype in the gaming industry since its launch. It has a great impact on the approach to gaming and changed the meaning of game industry and the Entertainment World. Microsoft came with a complete entertainment solution for the whole family with the launch of Kinect. With the selling of 10 million gadgets, Microsofts Kinect became the fastest selling tech gadget. By beating Apples iPad and iPhones previous record it made into the Guinness book of records as the fastest selling gadget and wrote the new chapters in the Microsoft success story. In 2006, when Nintendo introduced a new game console called Nintendo Wii, Nintendo revolutionized the whole game industry, instead of competing with the mainstream players like Sony PlayStation and Xbox 360. Nintendo Wii targeted a broader demographic than its competitors and tried to incorporate both refreshing gaming experience and user friendly in terfaces to target the previously untapped portion of the demographic. Gamers of all ages, including the female players and the elderly are getting into the action of Nintendo Wii. Nintendo started a new chapter in the gaming industry with the launch of its Nintendo Wii MotionPlus. Kinect was Microsofts delayed reaction to the massive success of the Nintendo Wii but the launch of Kinect gave a all new dimension to the gamers about how games are played. Even thought Xbox 360 was leading in the market before Kinect came into the market but Xbox 360 sales become double since Kinect launch. Analysis for Game Industry: Using 5 Forces model of Porter To understand well about the performance of the firms we should first try to analyze the industry and its factors which influence the firms performance. We apply the 5 force approach on the gaming industry. Game industry is a highly dynamic industry. We can see 7 generation of console within 30 years. Technology changes rapidly in the game industry as well as customer requirements expectations are really high in this industry. Hard core gamers love new challenges and improved graphics and games. Product life cycle is very short in the game industry. So companies need to innovative in this industry for a sustainable competitive advantage and invest more in the R D and come up with new products. Threats of New Entrants are very low because this is capital intensive business and brand image is very important in this industry. Bargaining Power of Customers is fairly high.There are lots of substitutes available in the market so customers have high bargaining power. Switching cost from one product to another is also not too much high. Bargaining Power of Suppliers is low. There are only very few big brand players in the gaming consol industry so game providers do not have much choices. If they want to sell their games they have to work with these brands. Threats of Substitute Product is high. There are lot of players in the industry also there is a threat from the movie industry, Sports industry which can be a possible substitution for entertainment. Competitive Rivalry is very high. Big players like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony is already in the market. Every firm tries to differentiate their products and try to come up with something innovative. For a sustainable competitive advantage Microsoft wanted to come up with something which can be sustainable for their leadership position in the gaming industry and they came up with Kinect for Xbox 360. Technology evolution To understand the Kinect development it is important for us to understand the history of Microsoft, its positioning and challenges faced in the gaming industry. Microsoft Corporation is a software company and well known for the Windows operating system. In 2000, by seeing the growth opportunity and lucrativeness of the game industry, Microsoft decided to enter in gaming and entertainment industry. There were mainly 2 reasons for Microsoft to move into gaming industry. First reason as already mentioned above that Microsoft was seeing a rapid growth in the gaming market. Microsoft saw huge opportunities in the game industry and found it a very lucrative market to have a presence there. Second, the game industry has a huge dependence on the Software and high technology. Microsoft as one of the leader in the Software industry thought to leverage this capability to get success in the game industry. Sony and Nintendo were well established players in the gaming industry with well known brands in the game industry. Microsoft launched Xbox in the year 2001, after more than a year Sony lunched its Playstation2. By that time Sony was having a large and loyal customer base and Microsofts Xbox was unable to outperform PlayStation2 of Sony. There were many reasons of underperformance of the Xbox. One of the reasons was Xboxs incompatibility with many of the existing games in the market at that time. Microsoft entered in the game industry first time in 2001, so most of the games available at that time were for either PlayStation or Nintendo. Although, Microsoft launched Xbox with many compatible games developed in-house and by third party developers, it was not an easy task to induce gamers to buy Xbox over the already successful PlayStation2. The other reasons were Microsofts lack of experience in the gaming market and the absence of USB port in Xbox. There was also a late mover disadvantage to the Microsoft. The price of X-Box was higher compared to that of its competitor Sony PS2. Also Microsofts poor marketing strategy added on all these factors. X-Box and PS2 were both considered at the same level but due to an early launch of PS2 it had captured the market share despite X-Box having advantage over the hardware components. In August 2003, Sony was a leader with 54% Market share compared to 27% of Xbox. There were few challenges for Microsoft. Microsoft was a new entrant in the gaming industry and lacked experience of working with retailers and game developers. To boost the sales of Xbox, Microsoft cut its price after the six month of its launch and this step boosted the sales of Xbox. To overcome this problem Microsoft planned to launch its seventh generation console much ahead of all its competitors. In 2005, Microsoft launched the first seventh generation console Xbox 360. Microsoft gathered the inputs and emphasized on design and features of Xbox 360. Microsoft invested in a huge advertising campaign for launch of Xbox 360 and spent over US $ 100 million. Xbox 360 came up with new features: built in windows media centre Wi-Fi enabled, guide button, wireless binding button and Xbox live etc. Microsoft kept the design simple and decided not to manufacture chips in-house. They planned to go for semi-custom chip and hardware and alter them according to their need and mainly focus on the assembling hardware as it will reduce costs and allow them to closely monitor vendor network. Microsoft also decided to go for intellectual property rights, which was one of the most important decisions Microsoft took. They launched new games, which became popular in the market and provided new service enabling users to download and view films on Xbox 360. Results for Xbox 360 turned out well and Microsoft became leader in gaming console market. Microsoft sold more than 10.4 million consoles by Dec 2006. Xbox 360 was a hit in Europe US. But still there were some drawbacks with Xbox 360. There was a backward incompatibility issue with Xbox 360 and biggest problem was manufacturing cost for Xbox 360 was still higher than its selling price. But Microsofts long term price strategy was to gain a greater share of the console market which was dominated by Sonys PS2. Microsoft decided to gave benefits to the gamers from drastic price cuts. When Sony and Microsoft were focusing on pursuing faster processing speed and better graphics in their game consoles, in 2006, Nintendo introduced a new game console called Nintendo Wii, which used existing technologies and focused on developing unique user interface. Wii lead to better gaming experience for a wider audience. The industry recognizes that games should not be limited just to the interactions using the game controller. Microsoft wanted a sustainable competitive advantage in the gaming industry. They launched Kinect in November 2010. Kinect is a controller free gaming experience for the Xbox 360 video game platform. It was big success for Microsoft. It wrote the new chapters in the Microsoft success story. It will bring game-changing impact to the Microsoft. Competitive Advantage Three are only 3 major players left in the industry today -Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Microsofts Xbox 360 kick-started the console war of the seventh generation in 2005, a year ahead of Sony and Nintendo. This move gave the first mover advantage to Microsoft. Instead of competing in terms of performance with its competitors, in 2006, Nintendo launched Nintendo Wii which brought the concept of motion-gaming and defined a new set of rules for the industry by keeping its price low. Microsoft brought Kinect in response to Wii and went beyond the motion gaming. It interacts with the game using a camera which tracks the players entire body without holding anything in the hand. In fact, Microsofts made a strategy to charge only $150 to penetrate the market and get the casual market to take notice of this new product. Also they spent almost 500 million USD on the launch of Kinect aiming to reach new audiences, including advertisements on Kelloggs cereal boxes and Pepsi bottles, commercials during shows such as dancing with the Stars and Glee as well as print ads in various magazines such as People and InStyle etc. They also organized a show on November 3 in Times Square, where singer Ne-Yo performed with hundreds of dancers in anticipation of Kinects midnight launch. It is clear that Kinect has defined its targeted niche as the casual gamers. Microsoft made the product highly appealing to new customers, rather than current customers hardcore gamers. In addition to this, Kinect differs to the Move in that it wont be backwards-compatible with current games meaning Kinect will feature new games, for new customers. Kinect compatible games are not designed for the gamers who want to sit on the couch and relaxed while playing. The games and experiences are designed to be as fun to watch as they are to play-the games are designed to get the people off the couch and that is the real controller free gaming experience. Also when one wants to enjoy movies, music, and ESPN on Xbox 360, one can control the entertainment hands free from the comfort of the couch. So Kinect defy the trend that playing video game is the job of couch potatoes. Now people can play the video game with real time experience while doing a lot of physical exercise. Its not going to be easy to compete with Project Natal. The companies are doing a lot of great work with the cameras. But the magic is in the software. Its a combination of partners and our own software, Shane Kim- corporate vice president for strategy and business development at Microsofts game division. [12] The Disruptive Innovation Model According to Joseph Schumpeter, creative destruction is a process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one. In simple words it can be explained as the process of destroying an old well established technology and replacing it with an innovative new technology. Kinect is a controller-free gaming and entertainment experience by  Microsoft  for the  Xbox 360  video game platform. Kinect offers a revolutionary new way to play games. In Kinect, you are the controller of the game. Before Kinect every game console came with a controller which was a barrier that stops people playing games. Microsoft wanted to come up something which can break down this barrier and can appeal to both mainstream and casual gamers. Kinect is one complete package for the whole family. It is a complete and affordable way for everyone to enjoy controller-free fun and entertainment. Even though Kinect response in the market is tremendous but still people using consol games with the controller, but seeing the response of the customers it looks like this innovation will change the meaning of game industry and soon it will replace the controller gaming with controller-free gaming. In future this is a disruptive innovation that will change gaming world. The position of Kinect on Normal Distribution of Adopters The normal distribution curve for adopters (Figure 1) represents the groups of people who adopt the new technology at different times. It comprises of the innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and the laggards. The Microsoft targeted directly the early majority of the market, instead of targeting the innovators and early adopters first and moving ahead. This is because Xbox 360 was already in the market and performing very good in terms of sales as well as quality. Kinect is a complementary product for Xbox 360 and through Kinect, Microsoft targeted to the casual gamers as well as for the hardcore gamers. Launch of Kinect rejuvenates the sales of Xbox 360 as well. Microsoft was doing everything for breaking down barriers and getting to the mass market, where controllers are barriers and awkward for some people to learn to use a controller. There are different segments of customers. There are the fans of Halo, Forza, and other titles that command a premium price. They deliver an amazing, professionally developed, full-blown experience that customers are willing to pay for. There are some customers who want more casual, bite-size experiences. They want a free-to-play model. You need the downloadable episode in Grand Theft Auto to extend the console game experience or a song you can download for Rock Band. You have a lot of different kinds of options. We enable all the business models, Shane Kim- corporate vice president for strategy and business development at Microsofts game division. [12] Figure 1: Normal distribution Curve for Kinect Adopters Moreover the extraordinary features of Kinect such as low price (approximately $150), attractive and slim look of the console and mass marketing support, all positioned Kinect to fit for the early majority section of adopters. Kinect with Xbox 360 provided a whole entertainment solution to the entire family. Microsoft Kinect clearly goes beyond gaming. Xbox Live gave a new meaning to the social networking. Kinect targeted a whole new range of customers. Besides the existing supporters, Microsoft targeted to open a mass market of first-time game players, like women, younger children and teenagers, who were not typically drawn to this form of interactive entertainment. Since Xbox 360, Xbox live all were very much popular already, Microsoft avoided the hurdle of crossing the chasm. S Curve Diffusion Pattern of Kinect Kinect was launched in November 2010 and became the fastest selling electronics device. Although it sold more than 10 million devices by the end of February 2011, still on the S-Curve, Kinect is positioned in the accelerated part of market growth. Market growth of Kinect has not yet reached its diminishing return on sales its limits. Diffusion pattern is with successive groups of consumers adopting the new technology; its market share will eventually reach the saturation level. Kinect A Radical or an Incremental Innovation? Kinect uses an RGB camera (image sensor), a 3-D depth camera (which determines how far away an object is from the camera), and a multi-array microphone. These were already existing technologies. Kinect is an Incremental Innovation rather than Radical Innovation since it is not based on a completely new technology, but an application of previously available technologies. Technology Strategy Do it differently According to Microsoft, Xbox Live and Kinect will be fundamental parts of their identity going forward and will lead them into online and natural user interfaces. Microsoft has a competitive advantage over its competitors in the form of Kinect. Launch of Kinect shows the leadership of the Microsoft in the technology field whether it is software development or the games. Along with good hardware of console which supports high processing power and graphics Microsoft tried entirely new concept in the game industry with the introduction of Kinect. This was about unleashing a new category of controller-free gaming and entertainment. We didnt want to do something that would be derivative of what Nintendo did with the Wii. Thats been a nice innovation for them but this goes much farther. Were talking about full-body recognition. It can tell when someone is standing or sitting down. It can tell when something moves in front of you or behind you, Shane Kim- corporate vice president for strategy and business development at Microsofts game division. [12] Open Innovation Even though Microsoft filed lot of patents for Kinect in order to get more casual players Microsoft director of incubation for Xbox, Alex Kipman announced that Kinect was left open By Design on the November 19 broadcast of National Public Radios Science Daily program. According to him Microsoft will not allow someone to use the algorithms that Xbox uses and to avoid the illegal uses, they put lot of efforts and make sure that this will not happen. But simultaneously Microsoft kept the design flexible so that if anyone want to write an open source driver for PC, which opens the USB connection for Kinect, take the inputs from the sensor. Microsoft wanted to break down the barriers that prevent people from enjoying what Microsoft is offering so that Xbox can attract more casual players. This will help Microsoft to get more participants and will make a bigger install base for Microsoft Xbox 360.[14]. By definition Installed base is a measure of the number of units of a particular type of system actually in use, as opposed to market share, which only reflects sales over a particular period.[15] New Product Development for Kienct: Introduction of product life cycle of Kinect: There are 6 stages in any product life cycle: Product Development, Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Saturation and Decline. Firm spend a lot of money on research and development in the beginning, and if the research is successful, then on advertisement. If the introduction of the product is successful then the product goes to the growth stage of product life cycle. In growth stage, firm try to recover its development cost as much as possible. In maturity stage, other firms will also come in the market and increases the competition. In the declining stage customer may change their need or the product becomes obsolete and people are not interested in firms product anymore. In the case of Kinect it is in the growth stage as Kinect was introduced successfully in the market and became an instant hit. Now, Microsoft has reduced the expenses on advertising of the Kinect as well as Xbox 360. As discussed above, through Kinect Microsoft was targeting to the casual gamers and to bring them in the market Microsoft had to remove the barriers, which were mainly the game controllers. Controllers, whether wired or wireless, are barriers for a lot of people and it is awkward for many people to learn the use of a controller. So Microsoft decided to come up something which gives casual gamers a controller free experience and this need gave birth to the Project Natal. Kinect was first announced on June 1, 2009 under the code name Project Natal, named on the name of Brazilian city Natal. Kinect uses a sensor to track body movement and recognizes face and listen to the voice. It provided a new way to play the video games where gamer uses full body to play the game. It provides gamers to play personalize games in which the players face and voice are recognized by the device. Kinect uses an RGB camera (image sensor), a 3-D depth camera (which determines how far away an object is from the camera), and a multi-array microphone. [2][11] Motion Sensor Voice Recognition Facial Recognition Skeletal Tracking Microsoft Patents for Kinect When a company files for a patent, government gives monopoly and protection for the innovation for a specific period of time. In return the inventor has to disclose the information details of the invention. Microsoft also filed multiple patents in an effort to protect the software and technology behind its motion-sensing gaming system Kinect, from other rivals. It was very important that Microsoft did not want to allow any loopholes that would allow others to copy its technology. Microsoft has filed at least 12 patents to protect the intellectual property of its motion sensor controller technology surrounding Kinect. The company aggressively aims to patent every aspect especially the software that enables a gaming experience that is based on gestures and motion tracking. The patent applications are based on Extending Standard Gestures, Gestures Beyond Skeletal, Gesture Shortcuts, Gesture Tool, Gesture Coach, Avatar Integrated Shared Media Selection, Localized Gesture Aggregation, Sys tems And Methods For Tracking A Model  , Real Time Retargeting of Skeletal Data To Game Avatar  , Systems and Methods For Applying Animations or Motions to a Character  , Avatar Integrated Shared Media Experience  , User Movement Feedback via On-Screen Avatars.[13] We want to ensure that we have great intellectual property protection. You have to have a strong legal approach, and this is not easy stuff. It has to be all buttoned up, legally. We have had a very concerted focus on this , Shane Kim- corporate vice president for strategy and business development at Microsofts game division. [12] Market Strategy for Kinect Game industry is currently expanding but it divided into many segments after Nintendo launched its Wii MotionPlus. Microsoft and Sony were seeing a huge potential and wanted to quickly react.Microsoft saw a huge potential market for casual gamers. Microsoft was able to identify that this newly developed market had massive potential and can worth millions to Microsoft. Microsoft Identified that every game console came with a controller which was a barrier that stops many people from playing games. So, Microsoft decided to come up something which can break down this barrier and can appeal to both mainstream and casual gamers. Microsoft adopted a Market Pull strategy for Kinect by identifying the latent needs of the casual gamers. Microsoft came up with the idea of Kinect, a controller free gaming experience. Microsoft through new Xbox 360 with Kinect took a disruptive approach: focus on fun and expand the market by appealing to non-gamers. Microsoft decided to keep the price low for Ki nect so that they can attract casual gamers as well. They kept Kinect retail price as $149 or if a gamer wants to purchase with Xbox 360, price of the bundle is $299. An analyst indicated that Microsoft losing a big amount for each box. The companys goal is to make a profit on software titles, royalties, and Xbox Live subscriptions. Selling more Xbox 360 consoles attracts more developers interested in developing games compatible to Kinect and Xbox 360, which in turn encourages more demand for consoles and generates licensing revenue for Microsoft. This is called snow-ball effect and Microsoft used it very well. Along with the good design and low price Microsoft heavily spent on the marketing campaign of Kinect. They spent almost 500 Million Dollars on the launch campaign of Kinect. Campaign for Kinect was You Are the Controller. They aimed to reach to new customer and to reach them, they advertized Kinect on Pepsi Bottles and Kelloggs Cereal boxes, commercials during shows such as dancing with the Stars and Glee as well as print ads in various magazines such as People and InStyle. They distributed free Xbox 360 consoles and Kinect to the audience in The Oprah Winfrey Show. Between November 1 and November 28, Burger King gave away a free Kinect bundle every 15 minutes. A major event was organized on November 3 in Times Square, where singer Ne-Yo performed with hundreds of dancers in anticipation of Kinects midnight launch. [9][11] Microsoft strategy worked well for Kinect as well as for the sale of the Xbox 360.The first advantage Microsoft had that they were able to capture a significant portion of the rapidly growing video gaming market from the sale of Kinect. Kinect also made a significant impact on the sale of Xbox 360. This shows a very good example of Network externalities. By definition Network externalities is that the value of a technology product/service to a user increases with the number of other users of the same or similar product/service. Xbox value increased when Kinect was launched. Marketing efforts of Kinect not only impacted Kinect Sale but it also contributed to Xbox 360 sale. Network externalities comes because of the snowball effect, which means a large installed base of a product attracts producers of complementary products/services and if there is a availability of complementary products/services it attracts users, increasing the installed base. So that means both occurs because of ea ch other. The same thing happens in the case of Xbox 360 and Kinect. Kinect is a complementary good for Xbox 360. Xbox 360 was having a large install base which helped the sales of Kinect but because of the Kinect, Xbox 360 installed base also increased. Microsoft reported that it sold more than 10 million Kinect devices till the end of February 2011. Microsofts core PC software businesses reached on the saturation point and it was looking for some new areas to sustain its success. Microsoft entered in the game industry by launching Xbox but Kinect made Microsoft the leader in the game industry by giving a technological edge over Sony and Nintendo. In past, companys reputation has suffered as a result of the litigation surrounding its Windows monopoly and other antitrust lawsuits. Kinect and Xbox 360 brought back the innovative image of the Microsoft and established the company as a technology leader in the game industry as well and built its brand.[17].The below charts show the Xbox market share before and after the Kinect launch. The following graphs try to show the market share of Xbox 360, Wii and PS3. As we can see Xbox 360 stole the market share of Sony and Nintendo both, but Nintendo sales were more impacted than that of Sony. Value Ecosystem To understand value chain for Microsoft it is important first to understand the value chain for the game industry. Game industry value chain is made up of six parties mainly: Game Publishing: involved in paying for development of new titles and seeking returns through licensing of the titles. Game Developers: includes developers and designers, who may be working under individual contracts or as part of in-house development teams. Console Manufactures: generates game development middleware, customizable game engines, and production management tools. Distributers: involved in marketing catalogs of games for retail and online distribution. Hardware Suppliers: or the providers of the underlying platform, which may be console-based. End-users layer: or the users/players of the games. Marketer: Advertise the games. Figure # -Video Game Software Value Chain The game development value chain explains that first, the game developers create games for the game publishers, who amalgamate games from various developers. The game publishers are like the pools where many game developers pooled their developed games. The game publishers then select the games suitable for the market and send those games to distributers /retailers and finally to customers. The game publishers may also send the games to marketing agencies which may help to advertise the games to the customers. In some cases, game publishers can sell their games to the console maker itself. While selling games to the console makers the digital rights management (DRM) providers provide DR to game developers to protect their copyrights. In case of Microsoft, the DRM provider is the console maker itself, as the DRM is integrated into the hardware of the console. Creating New Value Chains with Kinect Microsofts Shane Kim has put forward a belief that Kinect provided a value addition to Xbox 360. Microsoft believed that the Xbox 360 has an approximate life of 10 years so Xbox 360 has a life cycle through 2015. Microsoft was having a vision that Project Natal will be a great innovation. Kinect will be a big value addition for a person who thinks that controller is a barrier in playing games. Microsoft wanted to come up with complete system which can create a value for whole family to take the leadership position. To come up with a good product companies do integrated business with third parties. Kinect is a combination of partners and Microsofts own software. Kinect is based on software technology developed internally by Rare, a subsidiary of Microsoft Game Studios owned by Microsoft, and on range camera technology by Israeli developer PrimeSense. Microsoft also acquired Big Park to develop its game for Xbox Live. Microsoft consoles can now play music CDs, and DVDs directly and the DRM is proprietary to the individual publishers. Microsoft allowed publishers and game developers to develop games which can be played on Kinect. In addition to games, you can use Kinect to make video phone calls via Xbox Live. [20] Microsoft has also made internet connected game play available with a subscription-based service, Windows Live, its own application service provider. It allows customers to link play across the internet. Microsoft has managed to channel yet another revenue stream via the connectivity value chain. Microsoft is best positioned to exploit the value ecosystem. Microsoft also fully utilizes its other value chains to create network effects to draw the customers. As a gauge for the amount of licensing revenue that a console maker earns, an analysis of one of Microsofts own console games indicates that the game development value chain itself would bring in 11.5% of the sales price of the console game. Price for games for Kinect from Microsoft was $49 each. Microsoft started selling 4-gigabyte Xbox 360 with Kinect and the Kinect Adventures game in a bundle for $299. Microsoft provided Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride, each available for $49.99 in Kinect Adventures. It also prices Dance Central game for Kinect at $49.99. This is a very significant part of Microsoft marketing strategy, since games have been priced at $59.99 since the Xbox 360 and PS3 launched in 2005. Its smarter to price games cheaper. The entire pricing strategy is thus

Essay on Conflict Resolution and Mediation to End School Violence

Use of Conflict Resolution and Mediation to End School Violence       Conflict and differences of opinion exist in every healthy organization. Americans need to try to take control of today's youth and the violence that is and has been developing in this country for many years.   Although violence will never be extinct, there are many different ways to reduce violence.   Each school and student population has different ways of dealing with and helping to curb the need for violence in schools.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most effective and most common method in dealing with violence in schools is conflict resolution.   It has been used in many different states and in several different formats to try to give the students, faculty, and parents an idea to what may help stop or prevent this violence and other problems from happening.   According to the Texas Youth Commission, there are ten main reasons for instituting a school-based conflict resolution/mediation program.   They are as follows: * Conflict is a natural human state that becomes more prevalent during personal growth. * A more effective system is needed to deal with conflict in the school than expulsion or court intervention. * The use of mediation to resolve school-based problems can result in improved communication between and among student, teachers, and parents. * Mediation training assists in preparing students to live in a multicultural world. * Shifting responsibility for solving conflicts from teachers to young adults will free teachers to focus on teaching. * Mediation provides a system of problem solving that is uniquely suited to the personal nature of young people's problems. * Mediation training increases students' interest in con... ...vary by ethnicity, family income, or geographic location" (Factors, 2).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is obvious that the use of conflict resolution and mediation is essential in our school systems.   Not only does it provide a safer way to talk out the problems between students; it also gives us a mean to handle the problem of violence in our schools more safely.    Works Cited Harberg Consulting Group. Conflict Resolution. [Online].  Ã‚   Available: http://www.hcgnet.com/html/conflictresolution.htm (November 20, 1998) Author Unknown. Factors Contributing To School Violence. [Online].Available: http://ericweb.tc.columbia.edu/monographs/uds107/prerentingfactors.html (September 21, 1998) Author Unknown. Ten Reasons for Instituting A School-Based Mediation Program. [Online]. Available: http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/prevention/medprog.html. (November 20, 1998).

Court Issues Analysis

Court Issues Analysis Michelle Capps CJA/394 October 29, 2012 Troy Hokanson Court Issues Analysis Today’s criminal justice system has come a long way from when it first was established, but with no question there is still much work that needs to be done. The juvenile justice system needs to work at making sure that the juveniles get a better and faster justice process. The debate of the juvenile justice system and the effectiveness of it remains a huge controversy in debates. The issue of language interpretation is another of many issues causing a stir in the justice system.With all of the immigrants and people who do not speak English that come through the justice system there needs to proper interpretation so they can have a fair and unbiased trial. This would allow them to understand their charges and what could happen to them during trial. Then there is the issue of victim’s rights and making sure that they are not being left out in the cold and over looked more tha n the offender. All of these issues could be monitored better or ever fix if there is a strong foundation in the management that runs the court system.Communication between all parts of the criminal justice system would catch situations that may arise. Current and Future Trends Facing Courts and Administration There are many issues facing the criminal court system and the administrators today. One problem is the juvenile court system and if it should be done away with. This debate is ongoing, and looks to have no end in sight. Juvenile courts are nothing like the original concept that was formed years ago. Juvenile court was intended to help the young offenders get their lives back on the right track, but today they focus on harsh punishment instead of rehabilitation.The question do juveniles get the due process they are entitled to is a main subject being debated. When juveniles are arrested they do not receive bail, trial by jury, or the right to a speedy trial like an adult. This is where the question comes into play are they being treated fairly? The debate of keeping a juvenile court system running is still being talked about today, and the biggest concern is the cost of running the court system. The cost is extensive and this is the main reason people believe it should be done away with all together.Another problem with the juvenile court system is the use of the waiver, because this is damaging to the integrity of the juvenile court system. The system sacrifices the juveniles that are seen as adults in order to save what are seen as true juveniles. If the line of criminal and juvenile courts were to be abolished then the youth advocates could focus more on ensuring the youth get a better and quicker defense (â€Å"Can We Do Without Juvenile Justice†, Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, number 1, 2000). In the future there must be more focus on having a better juvenile justice system.One factor that could be looked at to improve the juvenile sys tem would be â€Å"blended sentencing†. This would allow judges to impose juvenile and adult sentencing at the same time. This would allow juveniles to see what would happen if they did not follow the rules of their juvenile sentencing, and could deter them from becoming a repeat offender (â€Å"What of the Future? Envisioning an Effective Juvenile Court†, Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, Number 1, 2000). Case overloads are another problem that occurs in the criminal justice system.Public defenders are overloaded with way to many cases and have very little if any resources to turn to that will allow them to provide a good defense for their client. Having to many cases often makes them ask the judge for more time to prepare for their case and this causes the courts to be put on hold. This does not allow an offender to a fair speedy trial and cost the court more money if they keep putting the cases off to a later date. This problem could be eliminated if there was b etter case management in the justice system. Many people believe that the judge holds all the power but this is not true.The prosecutor really holds all the cards, because he decides if a case go to trial not the judge. This is where better management would help out with how cases are handled. With a strong management base then the system would run better because everyone involved in the cases that are seen would know more about what is going on. Communication is the main key to having a strong management base in the system. If the judge, prosecutor, and defense all communicate on the cases then they could move forward faster and have a better outcome. Interpretation Services Among the nation’s most significant trends for the 1990s and the next century are the interrelated ones of immigration and cultural diversity (National Center for State Courts, 2012)†. The estimated number of non-English speaking people in the United States was nearly 32 million in 1990. Diversity makes it difficult for the justice system to ensure the Constitutional Rights of the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U. S. Constitution. Language barriers cause the offender to not know what is happening during their court proceedings.This is the main reason court interpretation is an issue for court management. Court interpretators are not qualified to work in a court room. This can lead to miscarriages of justice and wrongful convictions. In the future to help with this problem management needs to require that any person preforming court interpretation should have the minimum training requirements. A person being bilingual does not qualify a person to work as a court interpretator they must also know the law and how to report word for word of the statements being made.If proper training and management are carried out then this problem could not exist (National Center for State Court, 2012). Victims’ Rights Victims’ rights are an important part of the c riminal justice system. They ensure that the victims of crimes are protected from their offenders, and are allowed to follow their court cases from the beginning till the end. They allow the victim to know when their offender is set out on bail and allowed to make a victims impact statement during the trial process. This will allow the jury to see just how the crime has affected them and their family.In the future of victims; rights could highly depend on marketing more victimization prevention devices. People want to feel protected and devices such as: antitheft devices, alarm systems, license plate recognition, and surveillance cameras could do just that. The technology today makes people feel safer and they will buy devices such as these to protect themselves and their homes (Muraskin, R. &Roberts, A. R. , 2009). In conclusion, trying to solve many problems that are in the criminal justice could lead to a better running system.Making changes to the juvenile system so juveniles ge t a better outcome at their trial could lead to less juvenile crimes. Properly training court interpretors will help non-English people understand their right during their court proceedings and lead to less misinterpretation in court. Ensuring victims; rights are being followed will lead to a better understanding and trust between the community and police. New technologies made can put peace in a victims life that even police officers can’t because they cannot be there every minute of every day but security devices can.Finally, better management in the criminal justice system will lead to an altogether better justice system. This will allow for smaller case loads and less postponed cases on the docket. Communication between all parties involved could lead to fast and better outcomes to many cases, and this will cut on cost and time. Management is the foundation of the justice system and if there is a crack in the foundation of anything in time it will crumble to the ground. R eferences â€Å"Can We Do Without Juvenile Justice? † Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, Number 1 1 (Spring 2000).Muraskin, R. & Roberts, A. R. (2009). Visions for Change: Crime and justice in the Twenty-first Century (5th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall National Center for State Court. (2012). The Increasing Importance of Language Interpretation as a Management Problem in the Courts. www. ncsconline. org/ Publications/Res_ctlnte_ModelGuideChapter1Pub. pdf â€Å"What of the Future? Envisioning an Effective Juvenile Court†. Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, Number1, (Spring 2000).

GDP as a Measure of National Welfare essays

GDP as a Measure of National Welfare essays GDP per capita is often used as an indicator of welfare in an economy. While this approach has advantages, there are also many criticisms on GDP as an indicator of standard of living or welfare. The major advantages to using GDP per capita as an indicator of standard of living are that it is measured frequently, widely and consistently. Another advantage is that it is used in all countries which allow crude comparisons of the standard of living in different countries. The major disadvantage of using GDP as an indicator of standard of living is that it is not, strictly speaking, a measure of standard of living or welfare. GDP is intended to be a measure of particular types of economic activity within a country. For instance, in an extreme example, a country which exported 100 per cent of its production would still have a high GDP, but a very poor standard of living. There are many negative points raised against GDP as a measure of welfare of a country. Firstly, GDP attempts to remove value judgments on spending. All transactions are neutral; neither good nor bad. The costs of a major natural or ecological disaster cause an increase in GDP. So do the costs involved in a car accident or aggravated burglary health bills; cost of replacing property; police work; counseling. Both of these examples are obviously bad for our well-being, but GDP counts the results of them as positives. GDP also counts the shorter life span of products as a positive, since more would be sold. Secondly, many items are left out of the accounting that makes up GDP, mostly because they are hard to put values on. But leaving out domestic work, voluntary work, the underground economy, etc means that they are ignored in much government policy. Resource depletion and environmental damage also do not appear within GDP except with the costs of clean-ups. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest quantitative measure of a nation's total economic activity...

Organizational analysis with reference to Social work

Organizational analysis with reference to Social work Introduction Organizations employ a vast range of social workers. These social workers are engaged in myriads of work within any organization. This work indeed varies from working in a large organization charged with production of goods to organizations that are predominantly engaged in designing and production of services aimed at satisfying communal and even individual needs.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational analysis with reference to Social work specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Human service organizations employ an immense number of social workers. As a way of example, psychiatrists and psychologists entangle some of the social workers who work much more independently that social workers do generally. Given the complexities of social work service within an organization, many theories have been proposed to explain the nature and the relevance of social workers within an organization. Some of such theo ries are feminism and human services, as discussed by Jones and May (1992, p. 56), amongst others. This paper works from a human service organization perspective to compare and contrast feminism and human service theories. Background Following the emergence of the second movement for liberation of women, scholars have challenged many of the traditional understanding of the women’s experiences. This has prompted the emergence of a new scholarship body deploying concepts of feminism. With respect to social work theories, feminism is deployed to refer to â€Å"a mode of analysis involving certain ways of thinking and of acting, which are designed to eliminate the oppression of women in the society to achieve women’s liberation† (Hannan, Carroll Polos 2003, p.310). Feminism theory provides strongly founded grounds for studying the various experiences of women with social human services organizations especially based on the premise that social, economic and politica l structures shape the experiences of women. According to Tong (1989), in social work context, â€Å" feminist thought assumes that women’s interests and perspectives are valid in and of themselves, are not inferiors or secondary to those of men’s, nor should they be defined only in relation to or as a derivation from men’s experiences† (30).Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Indeed, this concern forms the criticisms of traditional psychological, philosophical, and historical scholarship. The absence of such assumptions is the building blocks of the feministic approaches employed in human services organizations. Human services theoretical perspective has at its heart the perception that social work is all about helping people irrespective of the differences either in gender terms or in any other way of classification of organizations’ w orking population. As Reskin and Hartmann (1986) note, human service theory perceives â€Å"social work as being all about social change at an individual as well as at community’s level† (p.102). In this context, human services theory mostly focuses on the resolution of people challenges within an organization amid the complexities that exist within human services organizations. In fact, this theory appreciates this nature of complexities. Thus, it sees the solutions to such complexities as being rested on the platforms of inculcating the spirit of creativity and fostering knowledge development among social workers (Jones May 1992, p.47). Ideally, human services theory seeks to provide responses to various interrogatives such as the relevance of seeking to know why people suffer, people’s responsibilities in resolution of social work problems showing how mechanisms of providing knowledge about human challenges may be availed. Similarities Both human services an d feminism theories are all advanced with the main objective of providing ways of explaining people’s behaviors, the way they view and even think about particular situations within the social work environment. Essentially then, the two perspectives provide the lens through which social workers acquire guidance. From a different dimension, the two theories are similar since their practicability is rested on a variety of quite similar frameworks, which actually influence the two perspectives. An example of these frameworks is ecosystem perspective. According to Hannan, Carroll and Polos, ecosystem perspective â€Å"focuses on the interplay between the person and his or her environment† (2003, p.312).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational analysis with reference to Social work specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Paramount to note is that, whether from a feministic theory perspective or human service s perspective, it is widely agreeable that people within human services organization deserve to understand the functioning of various individuals. However, in an endeavor to understand people better, it is crucial that one understands the environmental context within which the person lives (Jones May 1992, p.52). Mohr (1998) â€Å"argues that â€Å"Individuals exist within families, families exist within communities and neighborhoods, and neighborhoods exist in a political, economic, and cultural environment† (p.355). In both theoretical perspectives, it is arguable that an individual’s environment contributes widely into shaping individual and group beliefs, choices and behaviors. Apparently, social work, as a discipline, pays an immense focus in attempting to understand people’s problems. These problems arguably stem right from the environment in which an individual comes, something that both human services and feminism theories indebt to address. Both theor etical perspectives deploy the concepts of human strengths in their premises. In the words of Berkun, â€Å"strengths perspective is built on the assumption that every individual, family, group and community has strengths. Focusing on these, strengths lead to growth and overcoming difficulties† (1984, p. 22). Directly congruent with this line of thought, both theoretical perspectives perceive clients as being the most plausible determinates of the appropriate helping strategies for employment in the resolution of problems afflicting them. In both theoretical perspectives, working from the contexts of clients are critical endeavors in contributing to coming up with a helping strategy that is both effective and efficient in resolution of challenges at hand. Consideration of cultural perspectives is yet another essential similarity between human services and feminism approaches in addressing issues in human services organizations.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Arguably, in an attempt to come into an understating of people’s challenges within an organization, it is crucial for social workers, irrespective of the theoretical perspective they subscribe to, to ensure that they are culturally competent. This ideally calls for â€Å"understanding and approval of cultural distinctions, taking into account the beliefs, values, activities, and customs of distinctive population groups within an organisation† (Hannan, Carroll and Polos 2003, p.314). As a way of example, social workers working in the health services sector, whether deploying feminism or human services theoretical perspective or not, have at the back of their minds that the manner in which people discuss issues relating to their bodies impacts the way a person reacts. This acts as a determining factor of whether the person in question accepts or rejects the health services being offered. In this context, both theoretical perspectives recognize the necessity to integrate both acceptable social work principles with cultural principles of clients in an attempt to make social workers’ work yield substantive fruits. Differences Although human services and feminism approaches to social work within an organization have a number of similarities, some differences are also worth noting. While human services theory tends to treat all people working with organizations irrespective of the differences in terms of gender and or sexuality, feminism theory focuses more on women, as opposed to men claiming that women are different in a myriad of ways. Consequently, it sounds substantial to argue that â€Å"Feminist theory examines women in the social world addressing issues of concern to women focusing on these from the perspective, experiences, and viewpoint of women† (Berkun 1984, 20). At the inner core of the feminism theory is holding the position that women have been disadvantaged for a long time especially when perceived as lesser sex. For this p urpose, feminism theory in social work pays incredible time to introspect â€Å"feminist history, geography, literature, science, and develops ideas and approaches that are useful in a wide variety of these disciplines† (Mohr 1998, p.345). Feminism theory, as opposed to human services theory, is essentially a criticism of the convectional social work theories. Placing more emphasis on the women’s need developed an alternative knowledge an endevour to strike a commonplace and position as compared to men. Arguably, the position taken by feminism theorists is indeed a questionable one. For instance, how can focusing more on problems related to women help in promoting equality within human services organizations while negating the concerns of men, either partially or in totality? Apparently, the more the debate uphold the articulation women as essential social group worth of protection against the past historical gender (male) perceiving itself as being more superiors, the more the much forgotten differences tend to resurface. Second wave of women libration concerns are critical elements of feminism theory, as opposed to human services theory, which treats both genders equally in its premises. As argued before, this movement endeavors to provide an amicable understanding of experiences of women within organizations through promotion of new scholarship. Sandell (1993) notes, â€Å"this expanding interest in women has influenced the social work profession, but not to the extent one might expect in a field dominated by women both as professionals and clients† (p.663). In this end, it is evident that feminism as a practice, ideology or an ethical commitment has dominated the concerns of social work more as compared to human services theoretical perspectives. Arguably, this is perhaps because feminism theory, in comparison to human services theory, deploys values that are essentially sympathetic in nature. The end effect is women social workers per ceiving themselves as â€Å"integral to, and synonymous with, their personal and professional identity† (Sandell 1993, p.665). From this perspective, it is crucial to note that feminism theory tends to offer an opportunity for people subscribing to it to deviate from deploying the theory to guide their professional practice and rather focus more on applying their personal beliefs coupled with their own values in practice. Relevance of feminism and human services knowledge to professional social work practice The knowledge of feminism and human services theories and their applicability in human services organization is incredible since they aid immensely in fostering social workers’ professionalism and mastery of their areas of specialization. This knowledge aids them in identification of the eminent points of disagreements between the two theoretical perspectives and hence evaluation of the implication of such difference in the context of the social worker-client relat ionship. Arguably, this may go far in aiding in integration and appreciation of the perspectives one subscribes to with other people’s ways of thinking in an attempt to create a professional body. With regard to Thomson (2000), â€Å"the existence and use of a theory base or body of formal knowledge are strongly associated with the notion of professionalism and occupational credibility that professionalism status can be seen to bestow† (p.57). Therefore, theory is essential since it acts as a mechanism of adding value to status coupled with respect of a given profession that often goes into fostering the practice of a given profession- in this case social work. It is important for a social worker who is working in human service organization to understand these perspectives. The knowledge of human services theory and feminism theory or even any other theory of human services organization may help social workers in many ways. Paramount is that such knowledge is incredibl e in helping a social worker to understand the purpose and tasks of social work or rather the role that social work plays within the society in which he or she lives. The theories, additionally, provide magnificent methodologies that guide a social worker on how to go about with his or her roles as a social worker. Substantive understanding of one’s profession coupled with the procedures of conducting the roles associated with the profession acts as a subtle tool for enhancing an individual’s professionalism success. In the context of social work, this is availed through precise understanding of human services theories. Consequently, by not having this knowledge, it hinders the social worker’s practice in the sense that such a person is largely non-cognizant of the roles akin to his or her profession. Hence, he or she may be incompetent to practice what the profession entails. Conclusion Social workers do differing work within the organizations that employs them . This work is varied and ranges from doing social work in a large organization charged with production of goods to the organization that predominantly design and produce services aimed at satisfying communal, societal, and individual needs. For the social workers to be conversant with their roles and methodologies of executing their tasks, it is significant that they become conversant with theories of social work. Stemming from this argument, the paper has found it plausible to work from a human service organization perspective to compare and contrast feminism perspectives and human service perspective as some of these theories. References Berkun, C 1984, ‘Women and the field experience: Toward a model of nonsexist field-based learning conditions’, Journal of Education for Social Work, vol. 20 no. 3, pp-20-26. Hannan, T, Carroll, G, Polos, L 2003, ‘The organizational niche’, Sociological Theory, vol. 21 no. 4, pp.309–340. Jones, A May, J 1992, Wor king In Human Service Organisation: A Critical Introduction, Longman, Cheshire. Mohr, W 1998, ‘Measuring meaning structures’, Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 2 no. 3, pp. 345–370. Reskin, F Hartmann, H 1986, Women’s work, men’s work: Sex segregation on the job, National Academies Press, Washington, DC. Sandell, K 1993, ‘Different voices: Articulating Feminist Social Work’, Journal of Social Welfare, vol. 3 no. 2, pp.663-669. Thomson, N 2000, Theory and practice in human services, Open University Press, Buckingham, Philadelphia. Tong, R 1989, Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction, Westview Press, Boulder.

Which factors shaped and influenced Al-Jazeera Arabic and the Daily Dissertation

Which factors shaped and influenced Al-Jazeera Arabic and the Daily Mail Newspaper coverage of the Iraq war Shock and Awe 2003 Campaign - Dissertation Example The present study looks for investigating into the dynamics that paved the way towards influencing Al-Jazeera Television Network and Daily Mail newspaper for continuously observing the shock and awe strategy while making coverage of the events during the Gulf War of 2003. The media is aptly criticized for aggravating the situation before and during the course of war by creating unnecessary thrill and excitement just to capture the already shocked world by telecasting and printing sizzling news in such a manner that seldom come under the definition of responsible and professional journalism. Consequently, the media came under cloud for deviating from the established norms, values, customs and traditions that had been an essential part of its professional ethics for the last several decades. Somehow, the other school of thought declares shock and awe policy as a sign of benevolence on the part of media for saving the world from the possibility of war in the Gulf region. Thus, media rai sed strong voice against the war in order to prevent its obnoxious entry in the cultured and civilized world of 21st century. There is no suspicion in the very fact that the US invasion on Iraq served as an astounding event of the modern era, which startled the entire world at large by capturing even the remotest regions of the globe in its fold, the journalists belonging to every country reached in the war zone in order to make unprecedented coverage to the chronicle of events leading towards the horrors of war. Though an overwhelming majority of news channels pretended neutrality, few papers appeared to be supporting one side out of sheer prejudice they maintained for their nation and community. It was particularly the case with the famous Qatar based Arabic Al-Jazeera Television network and the UK based Daily Mail Newspaper, as both of them observed the shock and awe policy regarding the conflict between the forces of the USA and Iraq during the former’s war preparations a gainst the latter in the wake of 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, New York. It was the era when the entire globe appeared to be undergoing the extreme state of polarization, and conflict between the civilizations appeared inevitable. The then US president George Bush had already declared the terrorists’ attacks on WTC as the beginning of the so called holy crusade to be launched against the Muslims, who had deliberately targeted the Christian territory. It is therefore, he entered into conversation with the western and Christian powers within a week from the destruction of World Trade Center, in which he reiterated his ambitions to launch crusade in order to fight against terrorism everywhere in the world. Such kind of emotions was not confined to George Bush only; rather, he transferred and projected the same extremist sentiments to the political and press allies all over the globe. The same feelings were patronized by the press in their campaign was actuall y the strife to nullify the shock and awe propaganda of each other both sides had launched before the US attack on Iraq. The main objective behind both these media forums was just to suppress and condemn the atrocities of the two for protecting the masses from the horrible affects of war. Shock and awe trembles the nerves of the rival forces and masses, and defeat them psychologically even before the beginning of the war. The US media had already launched campaign against the war provided the world had witnessed the sorry state of her forces in Afghanistan. Somehow, few channels aimed to create unabated harassment against the so called terrorist designs articulated by Saddam Hussein in such a way that the American subjects looked for the destruction of Saddam network for their own safety and protection. The Bush administration added fuel to fire by narrating false tales about the presence of still unexplored chemical

Critically discuss the developments in banking regulation that have Essay

Critically discuss the developments in banking regulation that have been, and continue to be, put in place as a result of the ec - Essay Example A wide spread unemployment, inflation, poverty, layoffs, financial stress were the words normally echoed on all types of media during the entire period beginning from 2007 to the end of 2009. In the same period, the rates of foreclosure were inversely attached to the housing price inflation (Taylor, 2009). Many investment banks were struggling to survive, mergers, bankruptcies, acquisitions and nationalization became common (The WTO Doha Round and Regionalism, 2009). Many causes contributed towards the development of the financial crisis. Sub-prime loans, low interest rates, financial innovations, a lack of proper supervisory and regulatory measures from the side of regulatory and supervisory authorities, and the total collapse of integrity of credit rating agencies added fuel to the fire of the global financial crisis. Additionally, many authors believe that Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was ill-equipped and confused over some of its basic definitions towards the risk manag ement, and as a result, this also contributed its share in the global financial crisis. Soon after its impacts, the world financial and political leaders gathered to discuss and devise corrective actions in response to the financial situations. In EU, at micro and macro levels, different regulatory and supervisory sound regulations were recommended; European Systemic Risk Council (ESRC) was recommended to play it’s for the risk management. At the same time, European System Financial Supervision (ESFS) was devised to monitor the financial affairs at the micro level, while in the United States of America, Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), strong regulatory and supervisory measures for financial firms and financial markets were proposed. As the financial crisis has affected the global economy, undoubtedly, it requires the international financial institutions to coordinate their efforts, ensure transparency. And, the international regulatory convergence has become nece ssary to avoid such financial crisis in future. In the subsequent parts of this paper, causes of financial crisis, different interpretations over the issues are discussed after the section critically highlighting causes. Subsequent to that, in U.S. and the EU, the corrective measures are explained followed by some recommendations and proposals are provided. Then, international context and effectives of these banking regulatory measures are mentioned. Causes of the global financial crisis Many causes contributed towards the financial crisis. First, sub-prime loans and the real estate bubble were among the main causes (Lannuzzi & Berardi, 2010). Udell (2009) explains that the sub-prime loans were easily available to the ordinary Americans before the financial crisis emerged. This type of loan was given to those individuals and institutions that did not have positive credit worthiness. They were those whose loan applications were declined by many credit lending financial institutions. Furthermore, many under-developed states were transferring their savings into American banks and other financial institutions ((Shomali & Giblin, 2010). In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a considerable amount of savings were attracted by many American banks and other financial institutions. Since many of these countries were enjoying economic growth