Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Original Myth

The Sun, the Moon, and the Great Spirit Long ago, before there was life, before there was even a planet Earth, there were celestial entities that existed in the universe back when it was a light blue. These spirits appear to humans as large masses in space, such as the other planets and the stars. Since the beginning, there were two powerful apparitions that would become rivals until the end of time, the Sun Spirit and the Moon Spirit. The Sun was favored by the other astral entities to the isolated Moon.Not long after all of the spirits of the universe were created by the Great Spirit, their creator who cannot be seen by any life form, the Sun had become the leader of all other celestial bodies and was placed in the center of the Solar System. This angered the Moon, who despised the Sun. The Moon Spirit challenged the Sun for the position as ruler of the planets. Unfortunately for the Moon, the Sun used his superior strength to outcast the Moon to a lonely location between Venus and Mars. After 4,000 years of peace among the bodies of the Solar System, the Sun was growing old and developed a feeling that something was missing.The Sun Spirit decided that it was time for him to create a new successor since he has aged and become weak over time. The Sun found stray meteors flying across space and summoned all of his remaining power to bring them to him. The aging Sun then smashed the colossal space rocks together to create one large mass. Afterwards, he engulfed the inanimate boulder with his life-giving fire to give it consciousness. â€Å"Who are you? Who am I? † said the curious new planet. â€Å"I am the Sun, your creator and protector.You are my daughter who will one day grow up to take my place as ruler of everything in existence,† said the Sun to his newborn child. â€Å"Well, do I have a name? † the naive child asked. â€Å"I shall name you ‘Earth’,† said the Sun. For many days, the cosmos celebrated the birth of t heir beloved king’s child. Eventually, the news spread so far that it got to the Moon Spirit. The Lunar Spirit then schemed the perfect plan to get revenge on the Sun. The Moon waited until all of the other entities fell asleep to sneak out of his seal. He eventually found the sleeping solar king and his princess.The Moon then kidnapped her and brought her to where the Sun had banished him. Child Earth woke up with a loud scream, constantly calling for her father. To silence her, the Moon engulfed her in such a great amount of water that she would never be able to speak again. When the Sun woke up, he looked around for his daughter; she was nowhere to be found. The King began to panic and told every spirit in the universe to look out for the young princess. Not long after, Venus confronted the Sun and said, â€Å"I know where your daughter is. She has been taken away by the twisted Moon and can no longer speak. This news made the Sun so furious, his fire grew to be so large that it gave off the largest glow anyone had ever seen. The powerful light from the glow began to illuminate all parts of the Solar System including the Moon and Earth. The Sun was now able to see his captive daughter, but had no strength left to pull her back to him. From that day on, all of the celestial entities mourned for the loss of their future queen. To show their consolation for the Sun, they all decided to use their combined power to turn space from a sky blue color to black for the second half of every day.To make matters worse, the Moon confronted the Sun to make a proposition. â€Å"If you stand down from your position as king, I will let you have your daughter. If not, then I will force you to stand down,† explained the Moon. The Sun Spirit refused to give up his position. The Moon then declared war on the Sun, but immediately after doing so, the Great Spirit appeared for the first time since the birth of the universe. The two rivals were struck with awe. The Gr eat Spirit refused to let the universe spiral into chaos because of the Sun and Moon’s conflict.In order to please them both, he gave the Sun his daughter for half of a day, but when the Sun falls asleep, the Moon would take ownership. Whenever her father would leave and the Moon would come, the Earth would try to break free of her liquid entrapment, causing the tides to rise. In addition, the Great Spirit went to the Earth and planted a massive green tree on her that would grow from both the soil from the sun and the water from the moon. This Tree of Life would give birth to all life on Earth that we see today, from insects, to sea creatures, to humans.

Historical Perspective of the Philippine Educational System Essay

Education in the Philippines has undergone several stages of development from the pre-Spanish times to the present. In meeting the needs of the society, education serves as focus of emphases/priorities of the leadership at certain periods/epochs in our national struggle as a race. As early as in pre-Magellanic times, education was informal, unstructured, and devoid of methods. Children were provided more vocational training and less academics (3 Rs) by their parents and in the houses of tribal tutors. The pre-Spanish system of education underwent major changes during the Spanish colonization. The tribal tutors were replaced by the Spanish Missionaries. Education was religion-oriented. It was for the elite, especially in the early years of Spanish colonization. Access to education by the Filipinos was later liberalized through the enactment of the Educational Decree of 1863 which provided for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in each town under the re sponsibility of the municipal government; and the establishment of a normal school for male teachers under the supervision of the Jesuits. Primary instruction was free and the teaching of Spanish was compulsory. Education during that period was inadequate, suppressed, and controlled. The defeat of Spain by American forces paved the way for Aguinaldo’s Republic under a Revolutionary Government. The schools maintained by Spain for more than three centuries were closed for the time being but were reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of Interior. The Burgos Institute in Malolos, the Military Academy of Malolos, and the Literary University of the Philippines were established. A system of free and compulsory elementary education was established by the Malolos Constitution. An adequate secularized and free public school system during the first decade of American rule was established upon the recommendation of the Schurman Commission. Free primary instruction that trained the people for the duties of citizenship and avocation was enforced by the Taft Commission per instructions of President McKinley. Chaplains and non-commissioned officers were assigned to teach using English as the m edium of instruction. A highly centralized public school system was installed in 1901 by the Philippine Commission by virtue of Act No. 74. The implementation of this Act created a heavy shortage of teachers so the  Philippine Commission authorized the Secretary of Public Instruction to bring to the Philippines 600 teachers from the U.S.A. They were the Thomasites. The high school system supported by provincial governments, special educational institutions, school of arts and trades, an agricultural school, and commerce and marine institutes were established in 1902 by the Philippine Commission. In 1908, the Philippine Legislature approved Act No. 1870 which created the University of the Philippines. The Reorganization Act of 1916 provided the Filipinization of all department secretaries except the Secretary of Public Instruction. Japanese educational policies were embodied in Military Order No. 2 in 1942. The Philippine Executive Commission established the Commission of Education, Health and Public Welfare and schools were reopened in June 1942. On October 14, 1943, the Japanese – sponsored Republic created the Ministry of Education. Under the Japanese regime, the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine History, and Character Education was reserved for Filipinos. Love for work and dignity of labor was emphasized. On Fe bruary 27, 1945, the Department of Instruction was made part of the Department of Public Instruction. In 1947, by virtue of Executive Order No. 94, the Department of Instruction was changed to Department of Education. During this period, the regulation and supervision of public and private schools belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private Schools. In 1972, it became the Department of Education and Culture by virtue of Proclamation 1081 and the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1978 y virtue of P.D. No. 1397. Thirteen regional offices were created and major organizational changes were implemented in the educational system. The Education Act of 1982 created the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports which later became the Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 117. The structure of DECS as embodied in EO No. 117 has practically remained unchanged until 1994 when the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and 1995 when the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) were established to supervise tertiary degree programs and non-degree technical-vocational programs, respectively. The Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) report provided the impetus for Congress to pass RA 7722 and RA 7796 in 1994 creating the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), respectively. The trifocal education system refocused  DECS’ mandate to basic education which covers elementary, secondary and nonformal education, including culture and sports. TESDA now administers the post-secondary, middle-level manpower training and development while CHED is responsible for higher education. In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise called the Governance of Basic Education Act, was passed transforming the name of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of Education (DepEd) and redefining the role of field offices (regional offices, division offices, district offices and schools). RA 9155 provides the overall framework for (i) school head empowerment by strengthening their le adership roles and (ii) school-based management within the context of transparency and local accountability. The goal of basic education is to provide the school age population and young adults with skills, knowledge, and values to become caring, self-reliant, productive and patriotic citizens. DepEd Management Structure To carry out its mandates and objectives, the Department is organized into two major structural components. The Central Office maintains the overall administration of basic education at the national level. The Field Offices are responsible for the regional and local coordination and administration of the Department’s mandate. RA 9155 provides that the Department should have no more than four Undersecretaries and four Assistant Secretaries with at least one Undersecretary and one Assistant Secretary who are career service officers chosen among the staff of the Department. (See DepEd Organizational Chart.) At present, the Department operates with four Undersecretaries in the areas of: (1) Programs and Projects; (2) Regional Operations; (3) Finance and Administration; and (4) Legal Affairs; four Assistant Secretaries in the areas of: (1) Programs and Projects; (2) Planning and Development; (3) Budget and Financial Affairs; and (4) Legal Affairs. Backstopping the Office of the Secretary at the Central Office are the different services, bureaus and centers. The five services are the Administrative Service, Financial and Management Service, Human Resource Development Service, Planning Service, and Technical Service. Three staff bureaus provide assistance in formulating policies, standards, and programs related to curriculum and staff development. These are the Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE), Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE), and   Bureau of Nonformal Education (BNFE). By virtue of Executive Order No. 81 series of 1999, the functions of a fourth bureau, the Bureau of Physical Edu cation and School Sports (BPESS), were absorbed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) last August 25, 1999. Six centers or units attached to the Department similarly provide technical and administrative support towards the realization of the Department’s vision. These are the National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC), Health and Nutrition Center (HNC), National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF), National Science Teaching Instrumentation Center (NSTIC), and Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS). There are four special offices under OSEC: the Adopt-a-School Program Secretariat, Center for Students and Co-curricular Affairs, Educational Technology Unit, and the Task Force Engineering Assessment and Monitoring. Other attached and support agencies to the Department are the Teacher Education Council (TEC), Philippine High School for the Arts, Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC), and the Instructional Materials Council (IMC). At the sub-national level, the Field Offices consist of the following: 1. Sixteen (16) Regional Offices, including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM*), each headed by a Regional Director (a Regional Secretary in the case of ARMM); 2. One hundred fifty-seven (157) Provincial and City Schools Divisions, each headed by a Schools Division Superintendent. Assisting the Schools Division Offices are 2,227 School Districts, each headed by a District Supervisor; 3. Under the supervision of the Schools Division Offices are forty-eight thousand, four hundred forty-six (48, 446) schools, broken down as follows: 1. 40,763 elementary schools (36,234 public and 4,529 private) 2. 7,683 secondary schools (4,422 public and 3,261 private) Legend: * ARMM is included in the budget of the Department on the following: Creation of teaching and non-teaching positions; Funding for newly-legislated high schools; Regular School Building ;Certain foreign-assisted and locally-funded programs and projects. Issues and Problems in the Philippine Educational System: A Challenge Towards the Attainment of Quality Education Our country has gone through many changes and development for the past few years. The continuous process made great impacts in the lives of millions of Filipinos. Relatively, the changes have given us advantages not to mention the disadvantages it brought causing downfall to many people. There are numerous questions concerning the issues and problems existing in the Philippine Educational System as to how we can resolve it the best way we could to attain that kind of quality of education we have been searching and longing for. Where do we begin and how do we respond to such? Public schools are the building blocks of our societies. They can be considered our foundational instruments. Although these venues of learning play significant roles, they are unable to provide the best they can, due to their numerous flaws. As I’ve gone through different readings and researches, questions were arising in my mind as to what solutions are applicable in addressing the problems about the quality of education, affordability, budget, mismatch, integration of sex education in the curriculum, R.A. 9710 (Magna Carta for Women) and other concerns which are somehow related to it. I will always stand for what I believe in according to my observations that we have good guidelines and policies on education but what is lacking is the ability to implement such in accordance to the needs of every school, majority of which belong to the public education system. Generally, Philippine Education aims to provide quality and free education both for the elementary and secondary public schools but again this have not been observed and understood well causing it to be a burden most especially to the students and parents. Declining standards in public schools is one of the most controversial education issues today is the c ontinuing decline in student learning†¦

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae and Suicide In The Trenches by Siegfried Sassoon Essay

â€Å"Select two of the poems you have studied. Compare and contrast the different attitudes to war expressed by the poets and the techniques used to convey them.† The two poems, which I have chosen, are, â€Å"In Flanders Fields† by John McCrae, and â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches† by Siegfried Sassoon. The poems take opposing views to the war. â€Å"In Flanders Fields† we find McCrae taking a positive, almost religious and very sensitive view about the outcome of war. Whilst in comparison, in â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches†, Sassoon portrays a negative, harsh, cynical and angry view. â€Å"In Flanders Fields† McCrae writes about his views on what happens after dying in war. It is a very personal poem, emphasised by being written using the personal pronouns; â€Å"we and our†, rather than impersonal; â€Å"them and their†. This involves the reader by in a way, including them in the poem. The poem also imparts a strong feeling of patriotism. McCrae uses controlled, everyday language in the poem. The rhyme is steady, and flows smoothly, which draws you into the poem, and that’s what makes me like it. â€Å"Between the crosses, row on row† McCrae uses a lot of repetition. He talks of the crosses on the graves, making sure you realise that there are lots of graves, and how the poppies grow in between. He uses the poppies and the lark as a way of reminding us that we are just like a passing season, born, growing, dying, and then being replaced as nature carries on, even if we don’t! In the first stanza McCrae mainly describes the scene of the poem. In the second stanza, there isn’t enjambement like the first. McCrae uses a caesura in the first line. â€Å"We are the dead.† This forms a definite break. McCrae is making sure that you stop and take in what he is trying to tell you. It is strongly emphasised, abrupt, and it gets to the point. He continues with no complicated words. The language continues to be plain and simple. Again by using â€Å"we† McCrae includes the reader in the feeling of dawn, seeing the sunset glow, a reference to the start and end of the day , a parody of life. McCrae then goes onto writing about how the soldiers loved, and were loved. The keywords in the sentence being â€Å"were†, telling us that they are no more. They can no longer go on loving, or fighting, and are laid to rest in Flanders Fields. In the third and final stanza, McCrae tells us they have â€Å"failing hands†, means that they are losing strength. The soldiers grow weaker and weaker, then when they die they pass on the torch, symbolising responsibility, to the soldiers who are stronger. The torch of unity and hope, like the torch at the Olympic games, it’s symbolic. All the soldiers are being linked together, fighting for something they believe in. McCrae wants new soldiers to carry on fighting for something that they believe in, so that men, who have fought before him, haven’t fought in vain. They need to keep the flame in the torch alive. Then McCrae writes, â€Å"The torch, be yours to hold it high.† Telling us to be proud of the torch, hold it up high, be determined. The torch gives an impression of right, along with pride. Yet he almost invents this with what is almost a threat, contrasting life and death, right and wrong. For example, â€Å"If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep†, I think that McCrae’s attitude towards war is brave. He has hope, and thinks that you should fight for your country as your comrades have done before you. Agree with your country, and keep going till it’s over. It’s a soldier’s duty to die for his country. It should be worthwhile. The poem is patriotic, and has a strong sense of purpose, but it’s sad, and yet dignified. â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches† is a totally different poem. Its verses are simple, they have a strong beat, the lines are rhythmical, and have regular rhyming. The poem was written in 1918, in the First World War, so Sassoon is writing about his experiences. It starts off with the phrase â€Å"simple solider†, using alliteration. The soldier is young, innocent, too young to be fighting, but it seems a pleasant poem. â€Å"Who grinned at life in empty joy, means that the soldier is easily pleased, undemanding, glad with life. When it was dark, and lonesome, the soldier slept through it, happily, he was untroubled, and had nothing to worry about. He got up at the crack of dawn, as the lark does. He was cheerful. This is like a child’s impression of war. That a soldier is brave, and not afraid of anything. The second stanza says that in winter, the trenches are full of rain, snow, and conditions are bad. The young soldier feels cowed and glum, to be â€Å"cowed down†, means subdued. This tells us that he has no spirit left, his spirit has all gone. All the joy in his life has been taken away. â€Å"With crumps and lice† crumps are bursting bombs, warfare, the trenches are lice infested. There is a lack of rum. The soldiers are issued with rum for courage, before they go out and fight, they have some, it’s a way of keeping their spirits up, but there is even a lack of rum too! The poem is getting more and more angry. In the same stanza, Sassoon writes, â€Å"He put a bullet through his brain.† This has a harsh simplicity. We are shocked by what Sassoon is writing. This once so pleasant, and untroubled boy, has now found this so hard, that he has taken his own life. It is very abrupt, and comes out of the blue. â€Å"No one spoke of him again.† All his fellow soldiers are ashamed of what he did to himself. He left them, and didn’t have to courage to go on. It was a shameful, and easy way out. But it was out of shock and horror that he killed himself. I think that also people were ashamed of themselves for not helping him, and that he had to do it as a way out. He felt he had no other option. The third stanza becomes more general. It stops being so personal. We begin to feel what the writer feels, very bitter and angry towards war. All the people at home, were thinking they knew everything about the war, when they didn’t have to go through what the soldiers were going through. They didn’t have any experience of the reality of war. They dress up the war and the truth is hidden. They are â€Å"Smug†, self-satisfied people, who will send other people off to war, but wouldn’t go themselves. â€Å"Kindling eye† is a way of pointing out their excitement, getting a fire going, that they are lit up with enthusiasm for war, which they wont fight. The people are hiding away from what the soldiers have to do. War is hell. War has taken away all the soldier’s youth and laughter goes. There is no laughter in war. The men don’t get to live their youth, and have to fight, and kill. The two poems are therefore totally different, but they have the same structure. The both have three stanzas, and have generally got a steady beat throughout. They have opposite meanings. They both start off pleasant, and â€Å"Flanders Fields† stays that way, it is sad but with a positive outlook on the way. But Sassoon’s â€Å"Suicide in the trenches† changes abruptly and becomes very negative. They both talk about death, but in totally opposite ways, â€Å"In Flanders Fields† says it is worth dying for your country, and what you believe in. But on the other hand, â€Å"Suicide in the Trenches† says it isn’t worth going through the hell of war, and losing your life for nothing. They are both very personal poems, even though Sassoon’s becomes less personal towards the end. Both the poets have lived through war, and both the poems were written in the same year, during WW1. Both the poems have simple, easy to understand, everyday language.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Art History Rembrandt's Lucretia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art History Rembrandt's Lucretia - Essay Example She made the decision only because of unfortunate circumstances, and she would have lived a happy life but for them. Being the young and virtuous wife of Collantinus she was happy till she was raped by Prince Tarquinius after which she condemns herself to death with enormous historical repercussions where the kingdom ceases to exist. Rembrandt has caught Lucretia in her last highly anguished moments of death invading her body. He has used impasto, palette knife and scoring for further affect. The composition is frontal with triangular balance. Art historians agree that an element of privacy is maintained with the averted gaze and the painting bears a further interpretation that she was pulling the bed curtains around her as she was dying. Rembrandt has chosen the most dramatic event with psychological dimensions and the diagonal lines he has used have enhanced the effect. This work shows the victim on the verge of death, almost at her last moments. With the agony of termination, another point that hits hard is the sense of complete isolation. â€Å"Rembrandt’s Lucretias embody not only suffering and injustice, but what it is to experience these things, to be an individual subject – a point reinforced by their utter isolation in a three quarters view from which every extraneous detail is systematically eliminated† Braider (2004, p. 60). The limpness of her body, deathly pallor of her face with the lights going out of her eyes, the total stillness of the form combined with the powerful all-consuming black background, could not have portrayed the story better. Her high-born and decorative clothes, reflecting her status in life, the nobility of expression despite the overwhelming death, grips the viewer. While the browns in the dress almost merge with the background, the gold stands out creating a breathtaking composition. Lucretia is known for artistic continuity, with her hair merging, colours subdued, and the agony writ large on her pale face.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Ann Cvetkovich suggests we can have 'an archive of feelings'. Discuss Essay

Ann Cvetkovich suggests we can have 'an archive of feelings'. Discuss different ways in which media, communications and cultural studies can involve a reading - Essay Example Mass communication is a section specifically conceived and designed to reach a very large audience. Mass media is a channel of mass communication. Communication technology, on the other hand, had an enormous impact on society by changing the distribution of information and assimilation of knowledge. (Hart 2002) Communication is often studied along three major dimensions: content, form, and destination. Communication content includes acts that declare knowledge and experiences, give advice and commands, and ask questions. These acts may take many forms, including gestures (nonverbal communication, sign language and body language), writing, or verbal speaking. The form depends on the symbol systems used. Together, communication content and form make messages that are sent towards a target. The destination can be oneself, another person (in interpersonal communication), or another entity such as a corporation or group. In a so-called risk communication, there is an interactive process of exchange of information and opinion among individuals and groups, and institutions. It involves multiple messages about the nature of risk and other messages (not strictly about risk) that express concerns, opinions, or reactions to risk messages or to legal and institutional arrangements for the management of risk. When we talk about radio, newspaper, television, internet and other channels of mass communication, we are obviously referring to media. The media is all around us. Indeed, it plays a significant role in our society today. From the shows we watch on TV, the music we listen to on the radio, to the books, magazines, and newspapers we read each day. Media facilitates the flow of information which is important for the development of communities. Media workers are in essence interpreters of information. Without the media, people in societies would be secluded, not only from the rest of the world, but from

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Nanotechnology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Nanotechnology - Research Paper Example Nanotechnology has so far been of help and has also found its way into the treatment of infectious diseases. Nanotechnology works by making use of the nano materials that have antimicrobial properties and makes use of encapsulated benzoyl oxide, which improves the activity as well as the tolerability of the anti-acne agent. Acne comes into the picture as being one of the most common dermatological conditions. Nanotech medication that has strong antimicrobial properties to treat an infectious disease can be devised. The drugs will be administered and allowed to diffuse in the target body fluid with some pressure being felt; the upward and downward forces will always be in balance. 6Ï€rÃŽ ·v will be a force acting in resistance to the particle. Here, r represents the radius of the blood vessel; n represents body fluid viscosity, and v represents the velocity that the nanotech drug will be moving along the blood vessels. As it is known, Stokes law is almost a presence in almost all fields, and as such it has its application here too. Chitosan application in nanotech medication is mainly felt as a delivery tool and also due to its inherent antimicrobial property that is very useful in the treatment of

Friday, July 26, 2019

The Railroad Era and Economic Growth Paper Research

The Railroad Era and Economic Growth - Research Paper Example The only means of transport was either by wagons, stagecoaches or by the ocean, this discouraged immigration of children and women (Norris, 2008). Fortunately, in 1862, The Central pacific Railroad emerged from California’s need for a remedy to its transportation crisis as well as socio economic challenges. Construction of the railroad began at Sacramento in 1863 after the congress authorized it the previous year. The businesspersons who combined efforts to finance the project named themselves the ‘octopus’ and the profits from the project rewarded them greatly years later. With the development and opening of the railroad, traveling time from the state to other states and within the cities greatly reduced. From travelling for months and several weeks, the people of California could now use just a week or days to reach their destinations. The Central Pacific Railroad was labelled the safest means of transport, most attractive site for tourists as well as the most direct means for transport for the immigrants across the American continent. Transport of goods and services developed as the machinery, mails, manufactured goods, as well as human resources begun moving to the west. In addition, natural resources, and food rolled eastward hence feeding almost half of the Eastern populace. Along the Central Pacific Railroad as well as its terminals, towns emerged and developed quickly because of the strategic location. Among the towns that developed along the lines of this railroad were North Plate, Lexington, Julesburg, Cheyenne, LA rime, Rock Springs, and Eva nston. People begun purchasing land that the had been given to the railroads as grants and they established settlements in the new town, constructed houses, began business activities as well as ranches and farms (Norris, 2008). The Octopus used agents to market the area

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Third Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Third Journal - Essay Example beginning to end; rather it involves several core procedures that must be monitored and engaged with in order for an effective result to be effected. For instance, we learned that initiation, planning, monitoring and controlling and closing were all core processes that were involved in effective project management. Interestingly, we also learned that effective project management could not defined by the nuts and bolts of leadership or management; instead, the PowerPoint slides revealed the need to step away from the daily grind of ceaseless meeting notes, appointments, and email; as a function of stepping back and seeing the big picture of what is being worked on and how the best result could be achieved. Likewise, a similar learning contributor that took place during this section of the course is with regard to the benefit of learning project management in the hands on application of project management that was presented within the assignment. Ultimately, the students were able to e ffectively engage project management in terms of the way in which workflow should be defined and which tasks should be given priority first. Another essential elements of the understanding that was created was with respect to the fact that not only with the project manager need the input and agreement of stakeholders beneath him/her, he/she would also need the engagement, resources, and understanding of executive above him/her. With this in mind, the project manager is not being in determinant of any project. Instead, he/she is ultimately responsible for reporting the project and gaining further traction on it based upon the input of higher executives. Finally, the information that was presented within this particular unit was contingent upon â€Å"bringing it all together†. Within such an understanding, useful resources with respect to project management were delivered and the student was able to have a broad overview of the way in which different determinants that have been

ECON Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ECON - Essay Example Comparing answers of A and B above, the opportunity costs of additional 20,000 tons of coal at point B is C. greater than the opportunity costs of additional 20,000 tons of coal at point A. This reflects D. the law of increasing opportunity costs. If soil quality is improved, the initial production possibility frontier shift from left to right as shown by the second new production possibility frontier in graph 2 with a red curve. So the new curve representing effects of improvement of soil is the red curve. D. If Jack acquires a new tool to produce twice as many trains per hour as before without affecting his ability to produce drums, the production possibility frontier adjust to the right as shown below. If both two countries, Greece and Denmark produce oil and wine, the opportunity cost of Greece producing a bottle of wine is 3 barrels of oil, while the opportunity cost of Denmark producing a bottle of wine is 8 barrels of oil. C. If Greece and Denmark consider trading wine and oil with each other, Greece can gain from specialization as long as it can receives more than 3 barrels of oil for each bottle of wine it exports to Denmark. C. If Freedonia and Sylvania specializes in production of goods for which each has comparative advantage, together, the two countries can produce C. 12 million pounds of tea and D. 16 million pounds of potatoes. In addition, If the first bill introduced mandates doubling of security to increase probability of catching a terrorist from 10% to 20% without changing position of the blue curve, the opportunity cost of increased security is A. 15 million visitors per year given that initial numbers of visitors were 55 million at a security of 10%. 2.3 The first bill introduced mandates doubling of security to increase probability of catching a terrorist from 10% to 20%, a situation which is not satisfactory to some. In response, one representative introduced a bill to increase security by additional 10% from 20% to

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Career Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Career Plan - Essay Example The quote emphasizes the fact that a proper career plan is needed for any student to achieve success in any field of study. From childhood every individual holds a dream deep down in his heart, to achieve some goal that completes or rather summarizes the meaning of success for him/her. But when faced with the harsh realities of the very real world his dreams are susceptible to change with a view to obtain a better life ,to make the world a better place to live. He/She now nurtures his/her dreams based on practical grounds. His/Her search to achieve and fulfill his wants leads him to take up a career option that will provide him/her with both job satisfaction and a better living . This is a choice that each individual should be allowed to make on his/her own, probably with a bit of useful guidance from parents/teachers as once a choice is made one cannot rethink and change it in most circumstances. A wrong choice might rob one’s life of ‘all the lovely things’ tha t he/she deserved. I made a choice for myself, a choice I still stand by . I chose Mechanical Engineering as my field of study . The obvious question that the read must be being haunted with is a broad ‘Why?’ .Well, as I grew up I felt sincere inclination towards maths and papers relating to natural sciences. There is an urge to discover, an urge to know the intricacies relating to force, power and momentum which makes me want to take up Mechanical Engineering as my field of study. Engines always had a lot of appeal to me . I wanted to know more about the ways they function, their utility which makes life so much easy for all of us in this big world. Over and above all, a need to serve mankind, a need to make life more comfortable, a need to satisfy my hunger for knowing the intricacies of the mechanical world propelled me to take up the challenging career of a Mechanical Engineer . A career as a civil Engineer, however, stands fine for me but as a second choice ofcours e . A Brief on what Mechanical Engineering and Civil Engineering are all about . Mechanical engineering plays a dominant role in enhancing economic vitality, safety and overall quality of life. Mechanical engineers are concerned with the principles of force, energy and motion. They are professionals with expert knowledge of the design and manufacture of mechanical systems, thermal devices and processes. Products and processes developed by mechanical engineers include engines and control systems for automobiles and aircraft, electric power generation plants, lifesaving medical devices and consumer products ranging from air conditioners to personal computers and athletic equipment. They also design the machines that mass-produce these products. Virtually every aspect of life is touched by mechanical engineering. If something moves or uses energy, a mechanical engineer was probably involved in its design or production. Civil engineers design and supervise the construction of roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and water supply and sewage systems. They must consider many factors in the design process, from the construction costs and expected lifetime of a project to government regulations and potential environmental hazards such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Civil engineering, considered one of the oldest engineering disciplines, encompasses many specialties. The major ones are structural, water resources, construction, environmental, transportation, and geotechnical engineering. Many civil engineers hold supervisory or administrative positions, from supervisor of a construction site to city engineer. Others may work in design,

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

World Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World Economy - Essay Example Certain pressures are being exerted on nation- specific factors by this global phenomenon, and left in its trail are transformations in the economy. Any organization that wishes to compete globally and maintain its relevance in the international scene must necessarily be involved in strategic planning. It is also a truism that there has been a rise in the importance of worldwide relations both in quantitative and qualitative terms. These global factors have led to an increase in the flow of information, knowledge, commodities and capital among nations. Liberalisation is another way of defining these shifts in the global economy, many economies of the world today have opened up their economic space rather than being conservative, as was the practice in the pre-globalization years. Governments are reviewing their economic system in line with today's global realities. In a bid to be relevant in today's world, alignments and re-alignments have taken place and continue to take place globally. The evolution of the European Union is one major reference point in this regard. It is important to note that in a capitalist economy, also known as a free-market economy; where the means of production belongs to private individuals or firms; there has been a dramatic change in the mode of operation of these firms. Ordinarily within a domestic economy, organ... Within a domestic economy, the kind of questions business organizations face are usually of the kinds listed below: 1.What products or services does the organization intend to sell 2.Where and how will the organization manufacture these products or services 3. Where and how will the organization sell these products and services 4. Where and how will the organization acquire the resources 5. How does the organization expect to outperform its competitors These fundamental questions have usually helped organizations in the management of a business. The process of answering these questions however becomes more complex when considered in the light of the realities of globalization. Many other factors must of necessity be put into consideration, factors such as varying languages, cultural diversities, differences in economic systems, financial market situations, fluctuations in foreign exchange, legal restrictions, low literacy levels etc. Despite these odds, more and more firms have adopted international management principles to properly position them in the global market place engendered by the ever-increasing trade liberalisation sweeping across the globe. Consequently, businesses are being developed to meet specific needs. Businesses today tend to centralize the authority and responsibility under one key individual thus providing a central point of control for the total flow. Under this arrangement, it is easier to look up to one central point for answers and action. This eliminates buck-passing. Furthermore, organizations today have imbibed personnel development. This is because it helps the personnel involved to gain familiarity of the global market place thereby increasing their opportunity for

Monday, July 22, 2019

The short story Two Kinds Essay Example for Free

The short story Two Kinds Essay Analysis: The short story, Two Kinds,ï ¿ ½ displays the relationship between a Chinese mother and a disobedient Americanized daughter. Jing-mei, a second-generation Chinese daughter, deals with her own internal conflict as well as an external conflict with her mother. The internal effort to find her true self is a lesson Jing-mei will have to discover, as she gets older. Being born of Chinese heritage, Jing-mei struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mothers expectations. She was never sure what she wanted to become. Throughout the story, Amy Tan represents the theme that parents cannot control their children, but can only guide them. Amy Tans Two Kinds first two paragraphs provides information about the mother’s beliefs. There are at least two things: (1) the voice of a narrator who does not quite share her mother’s opinion, and (2) a comic tone. When someone says, â€Å"My mother believed,† there is sure to be some difference between the speaker and the reported belief. The belief is further distanced by the fivefold repetition of â€Å"You could.† The comedy—perhaps better characterized as mild humor—is evident in the naivete or simplicity of ambitions: open a business, work for a company, retire, buy a house, become famous. Many people may feel superior (as the daughter herself does) to this mother, who apparently thinks that in America money and fame and even genius are readily available to all who apply themselves—but many people may also wish that their mother was as enthusiastic. The second paragraph adds a sort of comic topper. After all, when the mother says, in the first paragraph, â€Å"you could be anything you wanted to be in America,† the ambitions that she specifies are not impossible, but when in the second paragraph she says, â€Å"you can be prodigy too,† and â€Å"you can be best anything,† we realize that we are listening to an obsessed parent, a woman ferociously possessive of her daughter. Obsessions, of course, can be the stuff of tragedy—Macbeth, Brutus, and so forth—but obsessions are also the stuff of comedy. The third paragraph, with its references to the terrible losses in China, darkens the tone, but the fourth restores the comedy, with its vision of â€Å"a Chinese Shirley Temple.†Ã‚  The fifth paragraph is perhaps the most obviously funny so far. When Shirley Temple cries, the narrator’s mother says to her daughter: â€Å"You already know how. Don’t need talent for crying!† People—accustomed to thinking that everything in a textbook is deadly serious—easily miss the humor. They will definitely grasp the absurdity of the thought that â€Å"Nairobi† might be one way of pronouncing Helsinki, but they may miss the delightful comedy of Auntie Lindo pretending that Waverly’s abundant chess trophies are a nuisance (â€Å"all day I have no time to do nothing but dust off her winnings†), and even a deaf piano teacher may not strike them as comic. The story is comic (for example, in the mother’s single-mindedness, and in the daughter’s absurd hope that the recital may be going all right, even though she is hitting all the wrong notes) but is also serious (the conflict between the mother and the daughter, the mother’s passionate love, the daughter’s rebelliousness, and the daughter’s later recognition that her mother loved her deeply). It is serious, too, in the way it shows us (especially in the passage about the â€Å"old Chinese silk dresses†) the narrator’s deepening perception of her Chinese heritage. Humor and seriousness can be found in all types of family situations between parents and children.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Television Commercial Semiotics Analysis Media Essay

Television Commercial Semiotics Analysis Media Essay In 2004, former Playboy centerfold and American reality television character Anna Nicole Smith starred in a 30-second television commercial for Trimspas diet product X-32. The principal had recently lost a significant amount of excess body weight after having appeared throughout an American reality series that seemed to capitalize on the shock value of her metamorphosis from a Playboy centerfold and fashion model to obesity in the years preceding her re-emergence as a sex symbol, presumably as a result of her use of the advertisers diet products. The dominant elements of the advertisement consisted of Smith attired in flamboyant gowns and posed provocatively in various postures and in conjunction with textual images superimposed over the visual images. A seductive female voice also emphasized the words displayed in the text. The textual component of the advertisement consisted of the words sexy, powerful, and attitude in connection with SPA portion of the manufacturers name suggesting a pneumonic connotation. The only other textual component appears in the form of the phrase Be Envied in the last frame of the commercial. A male voice is also heard saying Cutie; wont you come inside? A semiotic analysis of the commercial would focus on the psychological and social relevance of the sexual imagery and the connotations to gender roles, sexual desirability, and also to suggestions of wealth and privilege. More specifically, the advertisement highlights the reliance on gender roles and gender-based expectations in relation to independence and power, social class, and (especially) pop culture-based recognition and the influence of the link between celebrity, notoriety, and positive product association. Key Visual and Textual Elements of the Commercial and their Connotations The primary visual content of the commercial presents Anna Nicole Smith dressed and coiffed in a style that is apparently intended to draw connections (whether conscious or unconscious) to mid-20th century American film icon Marilyn Monroe, to whom Smith already bears a general likeness. From a semiotics perspective, the visual component of the commercial incorporates at least three distinct aspects of social codes (bodily, commodity, and behavioural codes); two aspects of representational or textual codes (genre and mass media codes); as well as both main aspects of interpretive codes (perceptual and ideological codes). More specifically, the commercial emphasises bodily codes (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, 2003, p.266) associated with sexuality, sexual aggressiveness, and sexual availability as Smith engages in exaggerated sexually provocative postures, gestures, and facial expressions. It also relies heavily on commodity codes (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, 2003, p.266) represented by the high-fashion gown worn by Smith and on behavioural codes (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, 2003, p.266) such as the dynamic between photographer and high-fashion model and the focus of attention on her. In that regard, the behavioural code consists of the portrayal of the respective roles of the photographer engaged in capturing images of the model on a set designed to suggest high-fashion and social privilege. To a certain degree, the use of social codes merges with textual codes, illustrating the basis of the traditional argument in favour of a broader interpretation of all semiotic codes as social codes (Hawkes, 1977, p.104). In that respect, the commercial exploits the perspective of both genre (in the apparent connection to Marilyn Monroe) and in its closely related reliance on Smiths notoriety from her (then) recent television series and her high-profile will contest proceedings over the estate of her deceased former husband, oil and business magnate J. Howard Marshall that eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court a decade after his death in 1996 at the age of 90 (Newman, 2007). It was Smiths controversial marriage to Marshall barely a year before his death and the decade-long media coverage of her claim to his entire estate and the probate contest it precipitated that apparently catapulted Smith to infamy more than anything else (Newman, 2007). Although the case was ultimately decid ed against her in 2006, her claim to the fortune likely generated the popular perception that Anna Nicole Smith represented fabulous wealth and privilege. That image, or more precisely, the consumption of that image by the American public as a function of perpetual tabloid coverage, provided the social framework for the connotations intended for exploitation by the advertiser. Finally, with respect to semiotic coding, the commercial images rely on interpretative coding in the form of both perceptual codes and ideological codes. More specifically, the body postures and facial expressions adopted by Smith throughout the commercial trigger hard-wired psychological responses in the areas of sexual signaling and sexual arousal (Gerrig Zimbardo, 2008, p.276). The obvious intent is to establish a deeper association in that regard than merely conscious absorption of the explicit messages in the commercial. Moreover, ideological coding is used to convey one of the most important take-aways intended by the advertiser to appeal to a hegemonic female audience: namely, through the notion that the product is associated with a departure from traditional ideological views and expectations of females as passive and dependent on males, particularly for their sexual identity and power. This use of both perceptual and ideological coding (specifically in relation to human sex uality) is one of the most powerful and common themes in product advertising; it has been since the dawn of the modern advertising age (Kahle Lynn, 2006, p. 27; Ogilvy, 1982, p.26). Thematic Interaction of Commercial Elements to Convey Meaning The commercial includes superimposed text in the form of three words (sexy, powerful, and attitude) in conjunction with the individual letters in the SPA portion of the manufacturers product. While the relevance of the word sexy is literal, the words powerful and attitude both rely heavily on the discursive concepts originally introduced in the context of semiotics by Michel Foucault (Harvey Evans, 2001). According to that analysis, the choice of language in the commercial fits within a discourse, or representational system that is a function on socially relevant codes and an interpretive repertoire of concepts, values, and myths that give them meaning (Harvey Evans, 2001). The notion of power is clearly meant to appeal to women primed to value or strive for the sexual autonomy of a feminist perspective. Likewise, the notion of attitude also represents an expectation or a right to have things as they wish rather than as they may be expected by society. The only other words that are audible besides those spoken by the female narrator who breathlessly repeats sexy, powerful, attitude are delivered by a male voice who says Cutie, wont you come inside? The relevance of that phrase is also a function of Foucaults discourse concept (Harvey Evans, 2001): it is likely meant to suggest a connection to an invitation (such as from a doorman) to enter an exclusive social club or other opportunity that is only an option for beautiful members of the privileged class. Given the other elements of the commercial and their relation to the discourse pertaining to female sexual independence, it may also be meant to suggest a much more sexually explicit concept as well. The last textual image of the commercial consists of the superimposition of the phrase Be Envied in the last frames. No formal analysis is necessary to identify the discourse upon the strategic purpose of that phrase relies. Specifically, envy is a natural human response with direct connections to perceptual codes as well as to commodity codes (Hawkes, 1977, p.107). In that respect, the impulse of envy is closely connected to the related desire to inspire envy in others (Ogilvy, 1982, p. 119) and, like sexuality, it is a very common (if not universal) discursive feature in modern advertising and product marketing (Ogilvy, 1982, p. 120). The contextual relevance of the phrase is simply that users of the Trimspa product will lose weight and become more beautiful, more sexually desirable, more sexually powerful, and more envied by others in society. Conclusion The 2004 Trimspa X-32 commercial features an extremely recognisable American cultural icon believed to embody beauty, sexuality, wealth, and privilege. The fact that she happened to lose a substantial amount of weight (whether or not with the help of cosmetic surgery as had been rumoured) fit perfectly within the scope of the advertisement. The commercial emphasizes a wide range of semiotic social codes, representational or textual codes, and interpretive codes. It exploits a connection to a another former American film icon as well as several different discursive elements in relation to the modern rejection of traditional roles of and social constraints imposed on women in patriarchal societies. Those semiotic elements merge with explicit connotations associated with promises of enviable beauty and sexual desirability as well as with the exploitation of the human failing represented by the natural impulse to envy others and to inspire theirs.

The History Of The Augmented Reality In Education

The History Of The Augmented Reality In Education What is Augmented Reality? Augmented reality is a computer system which has the ability to combine the real world and computer generated data. With this system, virtual objects are blended into real footage in real time. Thus, we can imagine the high potential that this technology might have if applied in the field of education. In augmented reality, the computer works as a mirror. With a camera and a black and white printed marker, we transmit to the computer the angle and coordinates about an object. Thus real elements are mixed with virtual elements in real time, and in the same way as in a mirror, the image appears inverted on the screen, which makes orientation a very complicated task. Virtual models can be animated and multiplied. With this technology we are able to create and combine animated sequences in order to control a virtual object and share the interaction with others. In the field of education, we can use this technology to create interactive 3-D books that respond to changes in the angle of observation. From the beginning, the advertising companies were the first to use this system using interactive web based augmented reality applications. Because of its potential, augmented reality will be widely applied in fields such as architecture, surgery, simulations, geology and ecology among others. How it Works? The basic process of creation in augmented reality is to create virtual models that will be stored in a database. After this, the model will be retrieved from the mentioned database, rendered and registered into the scene. Sometimes, this process implies serious difficulties in many area applications. The virtual content must be stored on the database and also published as printed material, containing an index to our database. This communication to the database increases the complexity of the virtual model as final work. To avoid these difficulties, is necessary to fully encode our virtual content in a bar code, which is not understandable to a human without using a specific augmented reality system. When captured by an AR system, the virtual models are then extracted from the incoming image. Embedding > Acquisition > Extraction > Registration > Rendering The virtual model is created and printed. This printed representation is then acquired by the augmented reality device. After, the virtual models are extracted from the acquired image. Finally, the virtual models are registered onto the scene and after rendered. Besides adding virtual objects into the real world, AR must be able to remove them. Desirable systems would be those that incorporate sound to broaden the augmented experience. These systems should integrate headsets equipped with microphones to capture incoming sound from the environment, thus having the ability to hide real environmental sounds by generating a masking signal. Characteristics of Augmented Reality Haptic Technology The main goal of AR is the interactivity between the user and virtual objects. HT it is the system that allows the user to have tactile experiences within immersive environments. With this system the user interacts with the virtual environment through an augmented system. To bring realism to these interactions, the system must allow the user to feel the touch of surfaces, textures and the weight and size of virtual objects. With haptic devices, mass can be assigned to virtual elements so that the weight and other qualities of the object can be felt in the fingers. This system requires complex computing devices endowed with great power. Furthermore, the system must recognize the three-dimensional location of fiducial points in the real scene. Position-Based Augmented Reality For correct compensation between the virtual and real image, the system must represent both images in the same frame of reference by using sensitive calibration and measurement systems to determine the different coordinate frames in the AR system. This system measures the position and orientation of the camera with respect to the coordinate system of the real world. These two parameters determine the world-to-camera transform, C. We can quantify the parameters of camera-to-image, P, by calibrating the video camera. Finally, the third parameter, O, is computed by measuring the position and orientation of the virtual object in the real world, being rendered and combined with the live video. Computer Vision for Augmented Reality Augmented Reality uses computer vision methods to improve performance. Thus, the system eliminates calibration errors by processing of the live video data. Other systems invert the camera projection to obtain an approximation of the viewer pose. Recently, a mixed method uses the fiducial tracking, which is combined with a magnetic position tracking system that determines the parameters of the cameras in the scene. Currently, the problems of camera calibration are solved by registering the virtual objects over the live video. Animation If we want an AR system to be credible, it must have the ability to animate the virtual elements within the scene. Thus, we can distinguish between objects moving by themselves and those whose movements are produced by the user. These interactions are represented in the object-to-world transform by a multiplication with a translation matrix. Portability Since the user can walk through large spaces, Augmented Reality should pay special attention to the portability of it systems, far from controlled environments, allowing users to walk outdoor with comfort. This is accomplished by making the scene generator, the head-mounted display and the tracking system capable of being autonomous. What are the Differences between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality? While AR enriches the user ´s view of the world by creating interactive virtual objects and introducing them in our real world, VR systems immerse us in a virtual world that completely replaces the real world outside. Natural environments contain important information that can not be simulated by computer. To augment the information from the real world, it is better to integrate the virtual elements within the natural environment, so that the users feels fully immersed. To achieve this goal we need a system that incorporates these elements in the most efficient way. This system will need to continually send stimuli to the user to perceive that sense of immersion. In addition, changes made by the user shall be correctly interpreted by the system, in this way the virtual elements will be incorporated with their changes in the real environment. Any inconsistency between the real an virtual parts will result in a disconnection between virtual elements and their position in the real world. Virtual environments require real-time response to display a high level of realism, which implies the need for high power AR systems to introduce the user in a perfect immersive experience. This system must correctly analyze the user ´s movements to determine how they will affect the scene. Comparison Against Virtual Environments Augmented Reality requires three basic subsystems compared to Virtual Reality: Scene generator: Since the virtual environment completely replaces real world, it will need higher technical requirements than those of Augmented Reality. On the other hand, AR doesn ´t need to realistically reproduce the virtual items to be perceived integrated into the scene. Display device: While VE uses colour systems in all its applications, with AR is sufficient to use monochrome screens, thus consuming fewer resources and energy. Tracking and sensing: In this field, Augmented Reality is more stringent in its requirements that those for virtual environment systems. Mixed Systems: Augmented Simulation AUGSIM is the combination of Augmented Reality and Seamless Simulation. This combination augments the real world with computer entities and actions, thus be used in virtual training and gaming. Thus, through AR we can experience virtual sounds and images in our real world. What graphical systems does Augmented Reality use? The standard HMD provides the user total immersion in the virtual environment. To achieve this isolation, the system must use video cameras to obtain an accurate view of the physical world Some AR researchers work with two types of Head-mounted displays to increase the sense of immersion inside the scene. These two systems are the following. Optical See-Trough HMD In Augmented Reality, Head-Mounted Displays show an improved world in front of the user ´s eyes. These portable computers with an integrated video camera, detect real world situations, allowing the user to perceive the real world together with specific information generated by the computer. OST eliminates the channel that captures images of the real scene. Thus, the merging of virtual and real world is carried out optically in front of the viewer, with a similar system to Head-Up display. Video See-Through Augmented Reality Display This system has the same configuration as the monitor-based display and requires a system to merge the real and virtual video channels into a single image. The video camera provide the user ´s view of the real world. After, graphic images are combined with the video by the scene generator, merging the real world with the virtual objects. Finally, the result is sent to the monitor. This convergence is achieved through a system known as video keying. While the first channel is called the key, the other is the background. The video composition can be done through: Chroma-keying. The background of the images is set to a special colour, which none virtual objects use. After this, the combining set replaces colour areas, inserting the corresponding parts from video of the real world. At last, virtual objects are superimposed over the real world. Depth Information. This method combine the real and virtual images by pixel-by-pixel depth analysis. Advantages and Dissadvantages of Optical and Video Approaches Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. Since both work with video cameras to capture images of the real world, there may be errors of timing during the merging operation. With the optical see-through system, is not possible to compensate for delay errors. These errors must be compensated by correctly timing of the other parts of the system. In both monitor-based and video-see through systems, the video camera is capturing images from real world. Access to these images can be and advantage if the system analyzes the video data. After this, the system will extract tracking information through position sensors on the HMD. Simplicity: In addition to optical blending is cheaper and easier than video blending, it must not deal with video streams where images from the virtual and real world are separated. Both images must be perfectly synchronized to avoid errors of temporal distortion. Resolution: Video blending has a very limited resolution of both real and virtual images. Optical see-through has a higher resolution in its screen, making the viewer ´s image of the real scene not reduced. Safety: While a lack of energy makes the video see-through head-mounted displays stop issuing images, optical see-through continues showing a perfect view of the real world. No eye offset: Video see-through puts the camera view where the user ´s eyes are. Differences between these locations introduces distortions between the virtual and real view. VST can avoid this problem by using mirrors to create another optical paths so that the user has the feeling of getting real image without displacement. Through this system, the cameras can see what the user ´s eyes see without the use of a head-mounted display. Moreover, video blending offers some advantages over optical blending: Flexibility in composition strategies: Video see-through has advantage over optical see-through because it mixes better virtual and real objects, obscuring in a better way both elements in the real scene. VST can also simulate transparencies between these elements on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Wide field-of-view: VST optimally solves the distortion errors caused by optical systems, by using processing techniques that don ´t distort the captured image. Real and virtual view delays can be matched: VST reduces problems caused by mismatches of time between virtual and real images. The view through a head-mounted display, provides an instantaneous view of the real scene, while the view of the virtual objects is displayed with a delay. With VST systems, is possible to delay the real world view to match the virtual image view. Additional registration strategies: Video blending provides additional information through the digitization of real world scene. This system uses additional resources for a better registration of optical approaches. Easier to match the brightness of real and virtual objects: Optical approaches are used in assembly and repair of many systems because of the cost and security they provide. Moreover, these system save time and labour, which represents a great saving by companies. Focus and Contrast In a video-based system, the images from the real and virtual world must be projected at the same distance by the monitor or head-mounted display optics. To overcome the mismatches on the video camera ´s depth-of-field, the graphics must be rendered simulating a limited depth-of-field. Moreover, would be advisable for the video camera had an autofocus lens. To achieve good contrast, the brightness of the real and virtual elements must be correctly matched, because if the real scene is too bright, can wash out the virtual view. On the other hand, if the real environment is too dark the virtual image could wash out the real world scene. What are the Applications of Augmented Reality? Finger Tracking Using this technology, the computer can visually track the user ´s finger, witch functions as a digital pen, a mouse or other devices. Annotation and visualization Augmented reality could be used to annotate objects, public spaces and environments with any kind of information. This information could be public or private. AR is useful to aid visualization tasks. For example, we could be able to look out a window and see how an imaginary new building would change or view of the real world. Augmented Museum In museums, the Head-Mounted Display detects the ID of the picture, generating a description of it. Moreover, the HMD identifies which picture the user is looking at, displaying specific information on the screen. Manufacturing, Maintenance and Repair This system can also be used in assembling and repair of mechanical, electronic and electrical parts. Thus, a user can point at parts of an engine model and the augmented reality system displays the name of the part and shows how to repair it. These instructions help us to understand an equipment, superimposing 3D drawing upon it. AR could be used for assembly, maintenance and repair of equipment in aircrafts, printers, engines and automobiles among others. Future AR systems will include complex animations that will show the mechanic how to repair in the most efficient way. Medical In surgical operations, AR provides an internal view of the patient. This visualization could aid in training for surgery, through ultrasound images, Computed Tomography scans or MRI scans that provide an useful view of the patient in real time. With this system, the information is captured by sensors and displayed on the patient, thus showing exactly where to perform the operation. These virtual drawings show in an easy and graphical way the tasks that need to be done and how to do them efficiently. With ultrasound imaging, for example, the doctor can view a three-dimensional virtual image of the fetus overlaid on the abdomen of the pregnant woman. Moreover, AR could guide doctors to find the site of a tumour during needle biopsies. AR devices can also be used to help in problems related to Parkinson ´s Disease. Future applications of Augmented Reality in the medical field will be craniofacial surgery visualization and guide in reconstructive surgery. Ultrasound-Guided Breast Biopsy In the field of surgery, ultrasound-guided breast biopsy has been used for diagnosis, and to guide for needle localization in lesions prior to biopsy. AR systems helps the doctor in cyst aspiration providing a three-dimensional image to guide the needle to the right place. Entertainment Nowadays, Augmented Reality is used in weather reports by changing computer-generated maps. Thus, the real image is augmented using the technique of chroma-keying. Furthermore, special techniques have been developed to insert advertisements into certain areas of a specific place during the broadcast. We often see 3D advertising in football games promoting products or services. These images are perfectly integrated using reference points in the stadium. Using this system, production costs are reduced by creating virtual sets than can be stored in a database. Military The arms industry has long used displays in cockpits to the pilot in their flight helmet. Through the use of HMDs, the activities of other units participating in the exercise can be seen by the pilot. Augmented reality can be used in aerial reconnaissance by markings in certain geographical areas. These markings add information that will be analyzed by the control command, providing a way to aim the aircraft ´s weapon. Engineering Design Using AR systems, we can display virtual prototypes to our clients, thus the client can walk around the display analyzing its different elements and discussing the necessary changes on it. This allows a real interaction between the designer and client. Robotics Augmented Reality displays can assist the user to guide remote robots. In these systems, the user uses a three-dimensional visualization which augments the information from the real world, providing guidance in geographical spaces. Consumer Applications Augmented Reality can be used in many areas of daily life. There are a wide variety of computer programs that assist the homeowner in remodelling projects to see how the changes will affect the different parts of a house. AR may also benefit the fashion and beauty industry. For example cloth stores could have stored in a database different clothing that we could wear virtually. In beauty shops, we could see how a new hair style would look in us. What Devices are Used in Augmented Reality? Hanheld Devices Augmented Reality complements mobile computing systems for optimal integration of virtual elements within real world. Nowadays wearable AR devices are too expensive, complex, fragile and hard to carry for most people. However AR systems have proven advantages in a wide variety of fields such as engineering design, manufacturing, maintenance and repair, virtual navigation, entertainment, mobile construction and others. The creators of AR systems combined the integration of a small computer with mobile devices so that users could carry them on their backs, while graphical augmentations were shown to them through Head-Mounted Displays. Despite the initial success of this system, its price remains extremely expensive and is very difficult to maintain. Because of this set of problems, developers began to think in the use of lightweight wearable devices equipped with cameras such as PDAs or mobile phones. AR Wearable Computers Mobile Phones Cellular phones are very useful because of their portability, adequate processing power and local network connectivity, but their small display size and low memory make them a very limited device for AR applications. Tablet PCs Although Tablet PCs don ´t have the limitations of mobile phones, are too expensive and extremely heavy for single handed. PDA Is the optimal platform for the Hanheld AR framework. Its interface is very intuitive and its size and weight are optimal. Moreover, its processor and RAM memory are increasingly sophisticated. What are the Major Challenges for Augmented Reality Systems? The biggest problem facing the AR today, is how to combine the virtual elements with the real world in an augmented environment, keeping the user in the illusion that the virtual elements are part of the real world. To get a good combination of these elements, we must beware of the following relationships: Object to world O: Transforms the orientation and position of virtual elements with respect to to coordinate system of the real world. World-to camera C: Defines the position of the video camera that captures the real scene. Camera to image plane P: Creates a 2D image with the information obtained from the 3D scene. This requires that relationships between physical and virtual elements must be optimal. The errors between these relationships, make the user perceive differences in appearance between real world objects and virtual elements, due to synchronization errors. These virtual elements, must interact with the user in the real world as natural as possible. The solution to these problems would be to create a system that would eliminate the differences in perception between the real world and its augmentation. What does Augmented Reality for Education? The use of Augmented Reality in school promotes teamwork and allows viewing of three-dimensional models to students, which facilitates the task of learning through a fun and interactive process. Likewise, this system can be applied to a wide variety of learning areas outside the educational field. Among the reasons that make AR attractive to be applied in educational centers, we find, among others, the interaction between virtual and real environments, the easy manipulation of objects within the virtual environment and the ease of movement from one space to another in real time. Through the use of HMDs, AR promotes team communication, showing the possible gestures and other communication signals from the students of the group. All this information is viewed by students on their screen, which facilitates interpersonal communication. This allows this form of collaboration to be seen more as a face-to-face communication than an isolated communication through displays on the HMD screen. In these collaborative environments, the information taken from the real world is socially shared in the virtual space. The advantage of using AR systems instead of other technologies, is that results highly intuitive for people who have no experience with other computer systems. Thus, even the youngest students can enjoy a fun interactive experience. Fantasy Interfaces Little children often fantasize about being actors in a fairy tale. With AR, we can make this fantasy a reality, by using a book with markers that acts as primary interface. Thus, we can turn the pages, read the text, and we can see also three-dimensional animations that tell us the story better. These 3D models are embedded in the page of the book so the child can see the animations from any point of view, moving it from different angles. These animations can be adapted to any size of book, so that reading becomes a very fun and immersive experience. These systems can be used at any educational level, making the learning process a very engaging task. To apply this system successfully, educators should collaborate with the developers of these applications to find the best way to apply it in school environments. Future directions Future monitoring systems will be more robust, and will incorporate mixed media to remedy the mistakes of registration. These systems will fully reproduce the scenes in real time within the HMD. Moreover, future AR systems will offer users the ability to walk great outdoor spaces. To achieve this, these systems will have to evolve towards better portability. To a greater sense of immersion, these systems should also incorporate 3D sound systems. As for the political and social dimensions, through the gradual introduction of Augmented Reality in the daily tasks of our live, it will be more accepted by people. Gradually, we will see that this system allow the users to make their work easier and faster instead of been seen as a system that replaces human workers. Conclusion Augmented Reality is less technologically-advanced than Virtual Reality Systems, but by contrast, AR is much more commercial. Nowadays, AR can be found in research laboratories and academic centers. The next development of AR will be initially on the aircraft manufacturing. In the other hand, its introduction to the medical field, will take longer than in other areas. AR will probably be used in medical training before than surgery. Another area where AR will develop strongly in the coming years will be in tours through outdoor environments by wearing a Head-mounted display, facilitating the development of advanced navigation systems and visualizations of past and future environments. These systems will make the orientation a much easier task. AR systems will also include 3D maps displaying information about the elements we ´re looking at, and their dimensions, and will show the easiest way to reach that destination. Regarding the application of AR in education, the lesson will be better understood by visualizations of history, geography, anatomy and sciences in general that will make the learning process much more easier. After solving the basic problems of Augmented Reality, advanced virtual elements will be developed that will be perceived as realistic as the real world. To achieve this purpose, the conditions of lighting, texturing, shading and registration will be almost perfect, so we will wear a pair of glasses outdoors that will show us realistic virtual elements with which we will interact normally.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Language Speech Process :: essays research papers

It is amazing to look back at our history to see how mankind has developed and evolved. One of the remarkable moments in history was the cognitive achievement known as language. This ability to communicate with others would open the door to human expression and comprehension. Language is a topic that encompasses all of the cognitive processes. Although languages do share an important blueprint feature, the most fundamental design feature of language is productivity. Without language mankind as we know it would not exist. Because we have the power of language we are able to communicate with one another to develop and create. But what is even more amazing about language is its versatility to act as a form of communication we would otherwise be without. The ability to communicate is vital to all forms of species, be it humans or animals, some are able to better communicate then others. But no species has been able to surpass the accuracy and flexibility that distinguishes human communi cation, an ability due in great part to our ability to use language. All languages began as some form of speech, but slowly progressed into a written system as well. Language is defined as a set of symbols and rules for the combination of these symbols that allow for communication and comprehension among individuals. Language is unique in that everything that we refer to is symbolized in a word. But clearly language doesn’t simply consist of all the words we know put into one big group. For every word we use there is a rule that governs how it can be combined with another word. These rules, or grammar, are usually used to describe the arrangement of words in sentences, but it is actually a more specific term referring to the rules for combining any unit of language, word, sentence, or sound. But, language is much more then a group of sounds or markings on paper. The sounds and symbols that others make mean something. This part of language is called semanticity, which means that the symbols of language refer to important parts of our world. One big debate that has been fueled for years is whether or not animals (non-human species) are able to communicate. The answer, yes animals (non-human species) can communicate, but yet another question arises, can we consider this form of communication to be language? The answer is surprising; some species (i.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Global Warming Is Eroding Glacial Ice :: Analysis, Andrew C. Revkin

People are responsible for higher carbon dioxide atmosphere emissions, while the Earth is now into the Little Ice Age, or just behind it. These factors together cause many years discussions of the main sources of climate changes and the temperature increasing as a result of human been or natural changes and its consequences; even if its lead to the global warming, or to the Earth’s cooling. In their articles, â€Å"Global Warming Is Eroding Glacial Ice† by Andrew C. Revkin and â€Å"Global Warming Is Not a Threat to Polar Ice† by Philip Stott, both authors discuss these two theories (Revkin 340; Stott 344). Revkin is right that global warming is taking place. Significant increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is due to human activities combined with natural factors such as volcanic emissions and solar radiation – all together they lead to climate changes and temperatures rising. At the same time, other factors such as deforestation contribute to envi ronmental changes for some glaciers not less than air pollution. However, during global warming not all regions of the planet are affected in the same way, local warming and cooling are both possible during these changes. First, during the last few decades the Earth is experiencing greater rate of rising temperatures due to greenhouse gases that are being produced by human activities rather than because of environmental reasons, such as solar or volcanic activities. In 2006 the President of the National Academy of Sciences stated: â€Å"There is no doubt that the Earth is warming,† also he added that people are at least partly responsible for these changes in addition to regular factors (Cicerone, par.4). Natural factors have produced climate fluctuations on Earth for several million years. People have effected an atmosphere of the Earth just for nearly one hundred years, since Industrial Revolution has begun (Revkin 340). Of course, it is unfair to say that global warming is caused entirely by humans. For example, people can not have an impact on the position of Earth in relation to the sun, or on the galactic density, or such nature events as air emissions of volcanic gases. As a result of th ese environmental factors, Earth usually had higher rates of temperature fluctuations during the previous million years than it has in later centuries. On the other hand, people are responsible for the highest concentration of greenhouse gases during the last 650,000 years in the atmosphere due to industrial manufacturing, driven by the increase in consumer consumption (Lindsey, par.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Employs Typical Features of the Gothic Trad

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Employs Typical Features of the Gothic Tradition One of the most important aspects of any Gothic novel is setting. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is an innovative and disturbing work that weaves a tale of passion, misery, dread, and remorse. Some would argue that Frankenstein is a classic Gothic novel. By a classically Gothic novel it is meant that the story employs a traditionally scary theme. This could include such things as dark and dreary castles set in isolated surroundings replete with dungeons. Supernatural beings such as ghosts and living dead may be included in the twisted, thrilling, unveiling tale. The novel does contain many Gothic characteristics in a sense that it does explore the uses of dark dreary basements, where the monstrous creature is made. Frankenstein is not set in a dull and dreary basement but you could say that where Frankenstein worked on his creation to be a gloomy dreary room. There is a struggle between good and evil throughout the story, an example of this is seen in Victor Frank enstein and his monster. We also get a lot of suspense around the person who is next to be murdered or die. An example of this is before Elizabeth dies when Victor Frankenstein is anticipating his own death. The Author of Frankenstein the novel Mary Shelly had a very unfortunate childhood. Death reeked all around her throughout her life. Her mother died giving birth to Mary and ever since Mary had blamed herself for the death of her mother and this is one of the many factors of her life that can be related to the novel disturbing story line. Her sister and her son William perished before her in along line of illness and disease. Chapter five starts with p... ...entence also hints at what is to happen to Elizabeth as later on in the novel she is killed by the monster on there wedding night and in the sentence Mary Shelly has used the alliteration of "folds of the funnel" to emphasise the element of horror. Such descriptive words as shroud, grave-worms and corpse all create a sense of reality. They are harsh and produce internal horror. In all I think that Frankenstein can be classed as classically gothic novel. It contains continuous references to typically gothic features. Such scenes as the creation of the creature and the frequently occurring deaths all help to analyse the novel. The novel contains internal and external horror that is cleverly used to make the novel more exciting and satisfying. Works Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Bedford Press, 1992.

International and Comparative Human Resource Management Essay

Globalization of business activities has over the recent past happened at rising rates. With the rapid growth of technology, coupled with constant innovations, several corporate organizations have targeted to operate in global scale. With the advent of multinational corporations, the landscape of human resource has undergone a lot of transformations that have given it a new definition. It is important to note that the definition of human resource management has not remained the same given the international dimension added to it (Edwards & Rees 2006; Brewster & Harris 1999). The degree to which a corporation or company can be considered to be multinational is normally determined by looking at and assessing human resource management policies it has put into place and implementation of the same; these policies are considered alongside other facets of organizational structures and functions. In ethnocentric corporations, human resource policies are formulated at the head quarters, home countries, and then supplied worldwide to other subsidiary corporations. It has been argued that this is not an appropriate strategic policy formulation for a multinational corporate organization with international human resources (Briscoe & Schuler 2004). International human Resource Management is concerned more with global management of human capital of a given multinational corporation. The main aim of IHRM is to empower a multinational corporation to achieve success in its global operations; this means the corporation being competitive world all over, being efficient in its international operations, adapting to the global business environment and adapting to the same within the shortest time possible, being locally responsible (in every geographical region of its operations) and being able to transmit learning to all its globally dispersed subsidiaries. The main themes of this paper are about institutional factors that can potentially Influence IHRM practices and policies in developing countries. It also examines the implications of International Human Resource Manager. There are many actors that really influence the process of International Human Resource Management. However, for the purposes of this paper, the main focus will be on three institutional factors. Institutional factors that can Influence IHRM practices and policies in developing countries Institutional strategies and policies Different multinational corporations have different human resource management approaches. Several studies have found out that there is substantial national variance in terms of human resource management (Cooke 2002). This has mostly been witnessed where the parent country’s strategies seem to dominate how a multinational corporation manages its human capital. This is referred to as ethnocentric or forward diffusion strategies (Keeley 2001). This ethnocentric approach has been a big hindrance to the diffusion of parent practices into other subsidiaries. More research studies that have been done have also drawn focus to the influence which the parent country has on how strategic decisions regarding human resource management is done by a company in the host country. Most developing countries pursue different trade policies and strategies; they are these strategies and policies that inform how the multinational corporations operate and interact with other corporations from other developing and developed nations as explained by Kidd et al (2001, pp. 154-163). The fact is that these developing nations have different cultures from the host nations. Due to these differences, it has become an uphill task to transfer human resources management strategies amongst the developing nations. Moreover, different nations come up with changing legislations regarding labor management. These legislations are on policies that may concern minimum wages payable to an employee, the number of expatriates allowed in a foreign owned corporation and also the work status of such expatriates. Developing economies have different economic systems governed by different economic policies and strategies (World Book Encyclopedia 1994). Some economies are centralized while others are liberalized. In the centralized economies, it becomes a bit more difficult for foreign-owned corporations to get foreign expatriates and according to Dutkiewicz and Espino (1997, p. 22), a corporation may be forced to hire purely locally; the issue here is that centralized economies are under direct governments’ control. With respect to this, different governments come up with certain restriction or legislations that may be different from the home country of a parent corporation. Different countries also have varied legislations regarding human capital and multinational corporations are expected to comply with the legislations of the host countries. One area in which legislations differ is in terms of income. Income taxes may vary and have different ranges. This is always likely to have negative impact on the attitude of employees who are transported or exported to countries where income taxes are high. Besides, due to currency fluctuation in the global financial market, managing the salaries for the expatriates becomes a big challenge to International Human Resource Management process. Political factors Politics is one of the major factors that directly impact on IHRM. The political activities in the developing economies have significant influences in the IHRM. Elaboration of this point is evidenced by the fact that different developing nations have varied political environments. The political environments of developing nations are more dynamic in comparison to the political environment of Western developed and other developed nations. Due to this, International Human Resource Management process faces more challenges in the developing economies than developed countries. The causes of these challenges emanate from the fact that the political landscape is characterized by varied opinions by different rival politicians giving promises to the people during electioneering periods; this has made the political environment of the nations to be unstable and hence unpredictable in terms of efficient and effective IHRM policies implementation (Sparrow 2009). Political factors are intertwined with economic factors; this is in the sense politics determines economic activities in the countries. The role of politics in this sense is strong in the developing countries where poverty indices are still low. Political instability and or elements of social conflicts may scare away foreign direct investments; and most importantly, foreign workers may fear working in such economies. The effect of this scenario is ineffective transfer of human capital to certain regions. However, political stability and relative peace in these economies are likely to benefit multinational corporations as far as IHRM is concerned (Sparrow 2009). Within the political environment, there are several pressure groups and institutions that represent different interests of particular individuals. Labour unions are some of the mostly prominent pressure groups shaping the political landscapes. The availability and the latent influence exacted by the labour unions are some of the dominant factors considered when multinational corporations are deciding on countries to expand their operations to. The multinational corporations consider critically the potential cost and other limiting factors associated with the influence of labour unions. The structures of labour unions, their priorities and legislations and practices vary greatly amongst the developing nations. Some of the unions are organized based on the basis of shared industries while others are organized according to occupation of the members. There are nations where labor unions play a major role in labor relations and, low, are allowed to have representations in the boards of multinational corporations. Otherwise, there are also developing nations where independent labour unions are suppressed. Moreover, in some countries labour unions are only mainly concerned with safeguarding personal interests of workers; such interests are commensurate wages and better working conditions. In other nations, labour unions are actively involved in political process and activism. The presence of labour unions may be both beneficial and disadvantageous to multinational corporations. However, it is the prerogative of individual Multinational Corporation to decide whether it is to venture and carry out its expanded operations in a country of choice. However, it is important to mention that there are varied implications of the dynamic labor unions to the International Human Resource Management, especially in developing nations where labour unions are fully involved in mainstream politics and activism. These unions are not just a collection of workers, but also of individuals with political motivation. The consequence of this is that political issues may get into the core business of a multinational corporation thereby jeopardizing its business objectives. Therefore, International Human Resource Managers have to deal with more diversified labour issues than the national human resource managers. Organizational culture Organizational culture is one of the institutional factors that affect the IHRM. An organization’s culture is a popular concept in the theory of organizational management. It is used to refer to the underlying fundamental assumptions, shared norms and values that determines and informs the behavior of individuals attached to the organization; it serves as a behavioral control and provides a framework within which employees are to carry out organizational duties. Research has shown that there is evidence of potential ability of organizational culture in informing the values of the employees (Perkins 2000). Nonetheless, further studies have shown that an organizational culture may instill values and norms that are not consistent with those of national culture to its employees. Consequently, the both national and organizational cultures are likely to conflict at international level. Focusing on organizational culture, it is crucial to note that when a corporation goes multinational, it is likely to face challenges in situations it establishes subsidiaries in countries where its culture is potentially in conflict with the national culture of the host country. It therefore implies that an internationalizing corporation requires carrying out of thorough audit of the new regions of operations and reforming its organizational culture to conform to the national culture of the host state. This may include changing its human resource policies and harmonizing them with those of the host state (Perkins 2000). Every organization has its own culture, which it uses to remain distinct within the global sphere (Joynt & Warner 1996). However, this may not stand due to varied national cultural practices of different nations. As has been discussed earlier, the organization will be forced to adapt to cultural practices of the host countries; this may mean employees working in each subsidiary have differing norms and values. This situation is extensively discussed and explained by Heath (2005, p. 233). The organizations may find it appropriate to adapt to the cultures in the host countries. The implication of this is that the organization is most likely to lose its organizational cultural identity; but still the organization has to operate as a unit on the world business platform. Taking for instance, operating in a purely Muslim country will need restructuring how human capital is managed in the organization. The relationship between men and women in Muslim countries are not as liberal as other non-Muslim nations. Therefore, the organization is faced with lots of cultural dilemmas in terms of IHRM. Joint ventures and acquisitions are some of the ways through which multinational corporations expand their operations. Given the varied organizational cultures of the developing countries, integrating human capital to work as a unit is likely to be faced with some challenges on the basis of cultural conflict. This situation may be more evident where two multinational corporations come together just to form a joint venture. However, the organizational culture of the acquiring corporation may dominate the whole negotiation. But it is also important to note that, with this respect, organizational culture may not be a problem where a multinational corporation expands its operations to regions where its culture is identical or closely related to the host’s national culture and organization (Perkins 2000). Due to different and varied national and organizational cultures, a multinational corporation may consider localizing recruitment of its human capital. The advantage of this is that there is no need to grapple with cultural issues since human resources are tapped locally; the employees are already familiar with their own national culture and are able to form a uniform organizational culture (this is where the organization has decided it will allow its organizational culture to vary regionally or geographically). This is exemplified where multinational corporations expand within the developing Muslim states. Adoption of new technology and effecting new changes form an important part of an organizational culture. Employees and other stakeholders have different opinions regarding new changes; due to this, it is important that they are well prepared for such changes. Otherwise, any form of change may not get their support, especially when change involves the corporate organization going global with its business operations. An organization may be forced to ensure that its potential expatriates are well informed on the imminent changes and how they are likely to be affected.