Rational Thought and Technological Advancement Essay Example for Free

Rational Thought and Technological Advancement Essay1The notion of reasonable sentiment is a very strong reason technology has become so influential in the world today. The opening of the mind put to workd all appearances of tone and society. Major ideas blossomed like politics, governing laws, literature, art, history, and newfangled inventions. Scientific intellection was groundbreaking. Ideas of mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and anatomy engrossed the public. The revolution of rational eyeshot dominated society and began a renewing because people began using reason to explain human and natural events, rather than the gods. Many Philosophers with their rational conceit put things in motion for people to set forth to question what influenced their lives in the time of Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Rational thinking gave birth to new inventors to include wizard or Heron of Alexandria. It also do its impact on the way inventions would work passi m history into modern times. Three major contributors to the theory of rational thought were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. With their search for more association came newer teaching for new(prenominal)s, which began a new revolution of education. People were questioning the major factors that ran their lives. The rights people were questioning were their choice of religion, their social standing, and their government and laws. Within these times new governments and laws were formed along with new theories of art and new technological advances. Scientific thinking was groundbreaking among Greek minds. Ideas of mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and anatomy engrossed the public. During times like the industrial revolution technology came into play by means of rational thought. People began to think of ways to better themselves and took on the theory to better their work. People began to question the meanings of life and began using their minds to expand the world. Even today, rational thought is utilize by all of us and continues to influence society.2The creation of rational thought began with the date of Enlightenment. People believed that human reason could be used to combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and to build a better world. Their principal targets werereligion (embodied in France in the Catholic Church) and the domination of society by a hereditary aristocracy. (Brian, Paul) The citizens were open to new ideas and influenced by traders from close to the world. Laws were invented and written d induce to express the will of their society. Although, monarchies still a sober deal ruled during the 1700s, but with less security than in earlier times. The English executed their king in 1642, France executed their king and queen (in 1793 and 1794 respectively) during the French Revolution, and other European monarchies soon fell. Royal inst susceptibility suggested insecurity of the social order over which aristocracies had ruled. (McClur e, Beverly) During the Age of Enlightenment politics and democracy exploded. The French Revolution began collectible to the fact that people were now thinking of themselves and not how they could serve others. The French Revolution, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France that had a lasting impact on French history and more broadly throughout Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed within three years. French society underwent an larger-than-life transformation, as feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from radical left-wing political groups, masses on the streets, and peasants in the countryside. Old ideas closely tradition and hierarchy regarding monarchs, aristocrats, and the Catholic Church were abruptly overthrown by new principles liberty, equality and fraternity. The royal houses across Europe were horrified and led a counter-crusade that by 1814 had restored the old mon archy, but many3major reforms became permanent. So too did antagonisms between the supporters and enemies of the Revolution, who fought it out politically over the next two centuries. People were also thinking of how they could make their individual lives better. New inventions to include the Millennium Clock, the spinning jenny, and steam powered products were recognize during this time. Although steam powered products were not really realized until this time they were invented long before. Hero or Heron of Alexandria was an ancient Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in his native city of Alexandria, Roman Egypt. He is considered the greatest experimenter ofantiquity and his work is representative of the Hellenistic scientific tradition. Hero published a well-recognized description of a steam-powered device called an aeolipile (hence sometimes called a Hero engine). Among his some famous inventions was a wind wheel, constituting the earliest instance of wind harnessi ng on land. He is said to have been a follower of the Atomists. Some of his ideas were derived from the whole caboodle of Ctesibius. Although, much of Heros original written materials and designs have been lost, but some of his works were preserved in Arab manuscripts. The first steam powered invention fully used turned up in the 18th century. Since the beginning of the 18th century, many inventors and designers had been hard at work trying to get steam to function as an industrial power source. Many technical problems stood in the way, but one inventor, James Watts, took the bull by the horns and developed a condenser, a double-acting engine and governor to make the steam engine practical as a new energy source. After the Revolution, Politicians and citizens were able to debate issues and question justice. This form of independent thinking brought great pride and self-confidence to members of4society. On 10 June 1789, Abb Sieys moved that the Third Estate, now meeting as the Com munes proceed with verification of its own powers and invite the other two estates to take part, but not to wait for them. They proceeded to do so two days later, completing the process on 17 June. Then they voted a measure far more radical, declaring themselves the National Assembly, an assembly not of the Estates but of the People. Philosophy and rational thinking continued to grow throughout the world in the next few centuries. Rational thought had become the most dominant ideology in westbound Civilization. Philosophers aimed to examine human happiness, self-control, and equality. Also, thither was a major focus on the study of science. Understanding the world from the human required many philosophers to devote immense research in science. In turn this influenced how the western world reasoned and used rational thought. This allowed for huge successes for further Philosophy, architecture, art, mathematics, anatomy, botany, literature, and creativity. A few Greek philosophers na med Socrates, Plato,and Aristotle were rational thinkers who influenced their worlds. These three contemporary shrewd men influenced Western Civilization and technology with their quest for knowledge and thought, and their writings that atomic number 18 still widely read today Socrates believed that knowledge was the key to good life and that knowledge led to happy citizens with good moral conduct.(Kemerling, Garth) One of the best known sayings of Socrates is I only know that I know nothing. The formal interpretation of this remark is that Socrates wisdom was limited to an awareness of his own ignorance. Socrates believed wrongdoing was a consequence of ignorance and those who did wrong knew5no better. The one thing Socrates systematically claimed to have knowledge of was the art of love, which he connected with the concept of the love of wisdom, i.e., philosophy. He never actually claimed to be wise, only to understand the path a lover of wisdom must take in pursuing it. It i s debatable whether Socrates believed humans (as opposed to gods like Apollo) could actually become wise. On the one hand, he drew a clear line between human ignorance and ideal knowledge on the other, Platos Symposium (Diotimas Speech) and Republic (Allegory of the Cave) describe a method for ascending to wisdom. His beliefs and questions kindle many of his peers so much, that they convicted him of corrupting society and sentenced him to death. Plato was Socrates student and he displays in his works his absorption in the political events and intellectual movements of his time, but the questions he raises are so profound and the strategies he uses for tackling them so richly suggestive and provocative that educated readers of nearly every period have in some way been influenced by him, and in practically every age there have been philosophers who count themselves Platonists in some important respects.(Kraut, Richard) He sought knowledge on creating a perfect society. Also, he opene d a school for rational thought called the Academy. In this school, he stressed that knowledge was found through debate and the conflict created from them. There is great debate on how Plato died. There are many theories to include him dying in his sleep and dying at a wedding feast. The last of the three great Greek philosopherswas Aristotle. Aristotle was a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He was a writer of logic, politics, and biology. He summarized most of the previous knowledge of philosophy into his own writings. Aristotle collected constitutions from many Greek states, researched them, and provided ideas for greater political thought. Questions arose from every6debate or conversation and rational thought exploded. Due to the rise of all the questions on life, and possible answers, rational thought surfaced. New centers for education began opening around the world. These centers spread new ideas including writing and rhetoric, mathematics, innovations, art s, technologies, and medicines. Also, there was a major focus on the study of science. Understanding the world from the human required many philosophers to devote immense research in science. In turn this influenced how the western world reasoned and used rational thought. Rational Thinking began to grow. It made people begin to think of things in a whole new light, to include how their lives could be made easier with new inventions. Alexandria was the site of creative inventors and scientific researchers. Citizens there built a huge library called the raise of the Muses. The library grew to include star observatories, lecture halls, and laboratories, and also held over half a million manuscripts. Rational thought allowed scientists and inventors a better understanding of the world around them. Mathematicians like Euclid and Archimedes studied geometry and higher mathematics (Encyclopedia Britannica). Archimedes also invented a screw pump that lifted water from the ground. (Noel, W illiam) Others invented navigational instruments and mapmaking abilities for ships out at sea, built small steam engines, and even washing machines. Geographers tried to map the world, while astronomers questioned life outside the world. Alexandria was, unfortunately, destroyed by the Christians in the fourth century. (Chesser, Preston) conceive what the world would be like if all the knowledge and7research had made it out of Alexandria. The information that did survive the destruction continues to help researchers to this day. Overall, rational thought is something most of us take for granted. It is from the rational thought influence that we are able to think for ourselves and make well thought out decisions. Rational thought gave the individual a new outlook on their daily lives and how they could step away from the old way of living under the heel of the church. It is from the Greek influence that we are able to think for ourselves and make rational decisions. Great minds have helped contribute to this great civilization we live in. The world has forever been changed by the ability to reason and question reality. Without the humble beginnings of rational thought our world may not be as advanced in technology as it is today. The Western world has forever been changed by the ability to reason and question reality. Many future civilizations used the thoughts of famous Greeks and today rational thought is more all-powerful than ever. The most valuable things in the world are just trinkets compared to the value of the mind. From the beginning of the age rational thought our modern civilizations have been based around how to make our lives easier with better decisions. We are accustomed to thinking of rationality as a feature of modern societies. Modernity has been accompanied by an unprecedented increment of science and the breakdown of many taboos. We are able, as our ancestors were not, to question everything, choose our leaders, and8build on reliable know ledge accumulated over the past tense few hundred years. This is why modernity appears to us as a value that must be preserved.ReferencesBrian, Paul 1998, The Enlightment, Washington University http//public.wsu.edu/brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html. McClure, Beverly, The Enlightenment, Age of Reason southwest Tennessee Community College http//www.westga.edu/mmcfar/enlightenment_or_age_of_reas.htm Kemerling, Garth, Socrates (1997) http//www.philosophypages.com/ph/socr.htm. Kraut, Richard, Plato, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (summer 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http//plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2012/entries/plato/. Britannica,Encyclopedia, 2006, The Elements, http//www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194880/Euclid Noel, William, The Archimedes Palimpsest, (2006), http//archimedespalimpsest.org/about/management/ Chesser, Preston The Burning of the Library of Alexandria, (2002), http//ehistory.osu.edu/world/articles/articleview.cfm?aid=9

Meeting of minds Essay Example for Free

Meeting of minds EssayIn what ways does this scene represent 2 characters crossing boundaries and understanding each some other a meeting of minds?The scene automatically has a sense of irony, as both Yolland and Maire both cannot understand a word each other is saying, this means communion was needed to be made in an alternate way, these ways be through the use of identifiable feelings and emotions, as well as paralanguage to paint a picture the feelings and emotions that the character is trying to express.Throughout their conversation, it would seem unlikely to a person who has scarcely picked up the book that Yolland and Maire do not speak the same language, and thus cannot fathom what each other is trying to say. This is due to the similarities of speech between the two of them they always seem to have a vague understanding some what the other person is trying to say. An indication of this is where Maire says, The grass must be wet. My feet argon soaking. straight a fter Yolland points out, The grass must be wet your feet are soaking. It is clear to see the similarities in their speech, although the context is just flipped around, but apart from that it is almost identical.Emphasising this collision, linguistically speaking, is the stage directions, expressing the characters body movement. The way they seem very untried when they realise they are holding hands, then immediately disengage and move apart. Another way that they can be seen as immature is through the canonical communication, such as pointing. Knowing that the other person cannot understand what they are saying might be a factor in the characters lexis, especially regarding Yolland where he says Ive been watching you night and day for the past because if Yolland was to say this to Maire and she understood it, she could take it two very different ways, and decide that in fact Yolland is a hour weird.Without the aid of a similar language the characters find another way to communic ate, which involves Maire saying English words, which she knows, and Yolland encouraging her, Yes-yes? Go on- go on- say anything at all- I love the sound of your speech. This shows although they cannot understand each other Yolland is fixated by Maire, and in that location is this chemistry, a bond between them, which they both know, are there but just cant explain it to each other. The communication between the two of them become so intense that Yolland starts reeling of whole sentences, without realising that Maire does not have a clue what he is on about, she just stares at him unknowingly and wondering.It becomes clear that they need some common ground to try to relate with each other this occurs, when Yolland starts saying Irish place names, Maire reciprocates and this carries on as though they are flirting, which leads them back to the way they were, when they ran together, as once again they were holding hands, at this point they exchange their rude(prenominal) feelings wi thout the satisfaction of being understood, they hold each other and tremble in one anothers arms, the lexis leading up to the kiss is very heated, there is a interchangeable understanding of the word always I believe this to be significant as this is one of the final words before they kiss it just shows the benignity they hold for each other.Unquestionably above everything the connection is a meeting of minds as the only way of really communicating was through paralanguage, and the fact that they are very similar people, with similar thoughts and feelings, about the way they act, the way they speak, and the way they feel for each other. In a way their relationship could be seen as an example to be followed, as if individual Irish and English people can get along and fall in love, whats to say England and Ireland should not at least be able to tolerate each other. Yolland and Maire, by not understanding verbally, will have an extremely deep understanding of each other mind, in tur n this may lead to a significantly compassionate relationship, or just a passing phase, however I believe there is a meeting of minds, and the kiss only emphasises the coming together of these two foreign bodies into one.

Tesco Rapidly Changing Environment Business Essay

Tesco Rapidly Changing Environment crease EssayTodays introduction is a apace changing place. Part of rapidly changing environment that managers face is the internationalization of business. Management is no longer constrained by national borders. In order to function and to survive, organization has to act constantly with the world outside. Developments across a range of factors will w atomic number 18 an impact on your business or industry. Business environment is a decide of political, economic, social and technological (PEST) forces that be largely outside the control and influence of a business and that can potentially have both a positivist and a negative impact on the business. You aim to understand how the external environment affects and influences the organization structure. In this situation for achieving high operation manager need to adapt an organization. In this report TESCOs business environment is describe here. Using SWOT and PESTLE analysis spear TESCO s business system clearly define. entering of TESCOTesco was founded by Sir Jack Cohen in 1924. In 1919 Jack Cohen started to selling groceries in Londons markets. The Tea is the first product in which the brand name of Tesco appe ard in 1920. So the name Tesco comes from the initials of TE Stockwell who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers. The first store of Tesco was opened in 1929 in Burnt oak, Edgware. Today TESCO is whiz of the top three international retailers with 366,000 worldwide staff, more than 2500 stores in twelve countries which gross sales 41.8 billion. The vision and philosophy of TESCO is that every(prenominal)(prenominal) Little Helps is behind everything we do. The Corporate affable Responsibility policy objective is to earn the trust of customers by acting good operate and good relation between customers and suppliers and by building goodwill. They doing this solely for earn customers loyalty and it is core purpose of Tesco.Tesco has four types of s tore formats for instance, Tesco Metro, Tesco Express, Tesco superstore and Tesco Extra (24 hour) all of them provide diametrical shopping experience but same large(p) value. Tesco sells both feed and non-food items. The leading market position improves its brand image and it provides a platform to start private label brands. The items include food, CDs, Books, medicine, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, alcohol, clothes, toys and electrical goods. Tesco has an enkindle brand name. It is related with the good quality, h integrityst goods and services that characterize excellent value. A strong brand name and moreover the attractive customer rescue rates are helps the group to introduce more products under its own labels and allocate it to enter new markets. Tesco.com is one of the leading online grocery shopping services in the world and the fourth biggest online retailer in the UK. Amazon, Dell and Argos are placed in the first three positions. Tesco.com serves more than one millio n unfluctuating customers in the UK including households from both urban and rural nations. The group has developed tesco.com-only store, an online service, for the customer in the UK with limited accessibility to physical stores.Tesco operates three types of operations The First one is UK operations it is categorized by five formats which are different from size, location and products. The largest operation of UK is in new cast. In addition to food, it also operates in the non food fragment items including clothing, electrical goods, home entertainment, stationery, kitchen items and furnitures. The Second operation is outside UK. The other British retailers who tried to expand international business have failed but Tesco has been come through to build an international business. It started this operation in 2004. The Third one is Internet operations. In 1994 Tesco also started to operate internet and it is the first retailer in the world who offered home shopping service since 19 96. It expanded online ranges as books, wine, movies and electrical goods. From the above information it is clear that although the performance of TESCO has been stirred in some areas but it has unflurried value in the market due to reputation and name of TESCO in the market. However TESCO achieved its target in food sector. TESCO ltd has been survived through competition over the brook four years in the market but still it is one of the largest retailer companies in the UK.SWOT ANALYSISSWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stop of planning and helps managers to focus on key issues. SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and Threats are external factors.StrengthsIn global market place TESCO have secured commercial standing because of winning World Retail Awards in Year 2008. This can be used for marketing campaigns to trend advantage towards the demographic base for future growth and sustainability.In an environment where global retail sales are showing decline TESCO Group has promulgated sales gain of 13% for UK markets and 26% growth in international markets.Tesco.com is the worlds biggest online supermarket. Tesco online now operates in over 270 stores around the country, covering 96% of the UK. With over a million households nationwide having used the companys online services, the company has a strong platform to further develop this revenue stream.Profits for Tescos operations in Europe, Asia and Ireland increase by 78% during the last fiscal year. The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value.Since acquiring number one be in 1996, Tesco has developed a successful multi format strategy that has accelerated its advantage. Its UK sales are now 71% larger than Sainsburys.WeaknessesTESCOs position as a price attracter in UK markets can lead to reduced profit margins in order to retain the key price points on must have commercial items.TESCO Finance profit takes were impacted through credit card arrears, bad debt and household insurance claims.One of Tescos weaknesses has been its failure to dominate the city pump marketplace. Although it has some prominent city centre stores, e.g. the Carlisle store in the North of England, it has failed to make them universal.Grocer outlets are not set(p) up to operate as specialist retailers in specific areas of product which can be capitalized on by other smaller bespoke retailers.OpportunitiesStatistics suggest TESCO is the third largest global grocer which indicates a level of buying power to ensure mainstream economies of scale.The acquisition of whoever provides the opportunity to develop the brand through Asia, specifically South Korea and further grow International markets for the group.The development of Tesco set through online and catalogue shopping will grow the use of technology. Providing non food based products with moderate to high margin returns and less focus on sales and margin per foot return to space.TESCO mobile have grown 0.25 million customers in 2008 and moved into profitable status suggesting further growth and development indoors this technological area can be developed.ThreatsFood and non food items raw material cost is rising, will impact profit margins overall.In far eastern hemisphere locations exporting restrictions on some non food product areas will reduce margin rates on products with already low margins.American and UK markets have been affected by economic concerns through the credit crunch. Lower available income will impact and strategic focus may need to change to level priced grassroots products with less focus on higher priced brands suggesting a switch in price architecture.For TESCO, there is a persistent threat of takeover from the market leader Wal-Mart who has both means and motive to pursue such action.PESTL E analysisIn analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might in turn affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organizations supply and demand levels and its costs (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1991 Johnson and Scholes, 1993). Because of ongoing changes that impact the whole organization. PESTLE analysis categorizes environmental influences as political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal forces. The analysis examines the impact of each of these factors (and their interplay with each other) on the business. Using these results take advantage of opportunities and to make contingency plans for threats when preparing Business and Strategic plans.Political FactorsTesco now operates in six countries in Europe in addition to the UK. Tescos performance is highly influenced by the political and legislative conditions of these countries, including the European Union (EU).For avocation legislations, the government encourages retailers to provide a sashay of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs (Balchin, 1994). Also to meet the demand from population categories such as students, working parents and senior citizens. Tesco understands that retailing has a great impact on jobs and people factors, universe an inherently local and labour-intensive sector. Tesco employs large numbers of student, disabled and elderly workers, often paying them lower rates. In an industry with a typically high staff turnover, these workers offer a higher level of loyalty and therefore represent desirable employees. frugal FactorsEconomic factors are of concern to Tesco, because they are likely to influence demand, costs, prices and profits. One of the most influential factors on the economy is high unemployment levels, which decreases the effective demand for umpteen goods, adversely affecting the demand required to produce suc h goods.These economic factors are largely outside the control of the company, but their effects on performance and the marketing mix can be profound. Although international business is still growing and is expected to contribute greater amounts to Tescos profits over the next some years, the company is still highly dependent on the UK market. Hence, Tesco would be badly affected by any slowdown in the UK food market and are exposed to market concentration risks.Social FactorsCurrent trends indicate that British customers have moved towards one-stop and bulk shopping, which is due to a variety of social changes. Tesco have, therefore, increased the amount of non-food items available for sale.UK retailers are also focusing on added-value products and services. In addition, the focus is now towards the supply chain, the own-label share of the business mix and other running(a) improvements, which can drive costs out of the business. National retailers are increasingly reticent to tak e on new suppliers (Clarke, Bennison and Guy,1994 Datamonitor Report, 2003).The type of goods and services demanded by consumers is a function of their social conditioning. Consumers are becoming more and more aware of health issues, and their attitudes towards food are constantly changing. One example of Tesco adapting its product mix is to accommodate an increased demand for organic products. The company was also the first to allow customers to pay in cheques and cash at the checkout.Technological FactorsTechnology is a major macro-environmental variable which has influenced the development of many of the Tesco products. The new technologies benefit both customers and the company customer satisfaction rises because goods are readily available, services can ferment more personalized and shopping more convenient. Tesco stores utilize the following technologiesWireless devicesIntelligent scaleElectronic shelf labelingSelf check-out machineRadio frequency Identification (RFID).The ad option of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities, with require being communicated almost in real epoch to the supplier (Finch, 2004).Environmental FactorsIn 2003, there has been increased pressure on many companies and managers to acknowledge their righteousness to society, and act in a way which benefits society overall (Lindgreen and Hingley, 2003). The major societal issue threatening food retailers has been environmental issues, a key area for companies to act in a socially responsible way. Hence, by recognizing this trend within the broad ethical stance. Tescos corporate social responsibility is concerned with the ship canal in which an organization exceeds the minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through regulation and corporate governance. (Johnson and Scholes, 2003)Graiser and Scott (2004) state that in 2003 the government has intended to launch a new strategy for sustainable consumption and production to cut waste, reduce consumption of resources and minimize environmental damage. The latest legislation take a crapd a new tax on advertise highly processed and fatty foods. The so-called fat tax directly affected the Tesco product ranges that have subsequently been adapted, affecting relationships with both suppliers and customers.Legal Factors various(a) government policies and legislations have a direct impact on the performance of Tesco. For instance, the Food Retailing Commission (FRC) suggested an enforceable Code of Practice should be set up banning many of the current practices, such as demanding payments from suppliers and changing agreed prices retrospectively or without notice (Mintel Report, 2004). The presence of powerful competitors with established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and strong requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly control s and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector with such controls as license requirements and limits on access to raw materials (Mintel Report, 2004 Myers, 2004). In order to implement politically correct pricing policies, Tesco offers consumers a price reduction on fuel purchases based on the amount spent on groceries at its stores. While prices are lowered on promoted goods, prices elsewhere in the store are raised to compensate.Organizational Business StrategyTo produce great business performance it is necessary to turn strategies and plan into individual actions but it is not easy. Many companies repeatedly fail to genuinely motivate their people to work with enthusiasm, all together towards the corporate aim. Most companies and organizations know their businesses and strategies required for success. However many corporations especially large ones struggle to rede the theory into action plans that will enable the strategy to be successfully implemented and sust ained.Formalization Formalization is the extent to which rules and procedures are followed in an organization. This element varies across organizations. For example in some organization arrival and departure times to and from work are specified. In other organizations employees will spend sufficient time on the job to get the work done. In some organizations many rules are codified in huge manuals but no one pays care to them. In others little is written down but rules are informally understood and followed. The most useful definition of formalization is that it represents the use of rules in an organization. The form to which rules are followed not the degree to which they are codified. In Tesco shift type working system is there. Time punctuation is most important in Tesco. apiece and every staff wears particular uniform.Specialization Work specializations to describe the degree to which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs. The essence of work specia lization is that kind of than an entire job being done by one individual it is broken down into a number of steps with each step being completed by a separate individual. In essence individuals specialize in doing part of an activity rather to the entire activity. In Tesco according to different positions different roles are there like general manager, purchasing manager, technical manager, finance manager, HR manager, customer service assistance etc.HierarchyIn a hierarchic organization employees are ranked at various levels within the organization, each level is one above the other. At each stage in the chain, one person has a number of workers directly under them, within their span of control. The chain of command is a typical pyramid shape. A tall hierarchical organisation has many levels and a flat hierarchical organisation will only have a few. Tesco has a flat hierarchical structure with just six levels between checkout staff and chief executive. Each store manager is respo nsible for their store.External EnvironmentIn retail Tesco is top of supermarket in UK. There are many competitors like Asda, Sainsbury. In current market position Tescos share is more than other retail company. Every year growth of Tesco is increase. In market position Tesco is stable.CultureTesco is now in international market. In Tesco many different culture people are working together not any obligation for culture and peoples value is same. In Tesco clear norms and value are there.ProfessionalismTraining is most important for every company. In some companies training is given by professional way while in small companies training is formal. Tesco gives high professional training.Goals and Strategy fall out management is to determine an organizations goals, strategy and design. Organizations mission is the official goal whereas in organization actually pursues, specific outcomes like resources, overall performance, market, employ development, innovation, productivity are operativ e goals. Strategy means plan for achieving organizational goals in competitive environment. Goals define where the organization wants to go, strategy how it will get there. Tescos main goal is to create value for customer to earn their lifetime loyalty. For achieving this goal Tesco do something new for customer. Tesco will remove plastic and paper bags.SizeSize of company is compulsive by number of stores it has and number of employees it has. It is also determined by revenue of company. It had revenue of 47.3 billion pounds for the year 2008. This made Tesco the fourth largest retailer of the world. Tesco is operating as 2318 stores and more than 326000 employees.Conclusion

Learning Management Systems (LMS) in Universities

Learning Management Systems (LMS) in UniversitiesAbstractLearning Management Systems (LMSs) are the typically adopted technology and they provide a significant jibe in support blended learning in universities. Therefore, these systems are being explored from conglomerate aspects. Educational technologists conclude that every university or even departments within the analogous university differ in its experience in adopting these systems. Department of Industrial Management, University of Kelania is adopting the LMS portal for supporting blended learning. This university administration raises considerable attention in assessing the actual extent of staff and student adoption of the LMS. In this regard this paper presents data collected from the surveyed degree Celsius students at the Department of Industrial Management, university of Kelaniya regarding their LMS adoption.KeywordsIntroductionThe significance to the advancements of web-based technologies is the development of powe rful software systems, kn throw as learning management systems (LMS), have bring into being a widely-used technology and a key instrument in supporting e-learning in higher educational institutions. As LMS offers numerous benefits to individuals and institutions, many universities have deployed almost form of LMS. Students can access endure materials independent of time and location. Significantly, it opens up fresh potentials for initiating academic innovations where students function as dynamic, control their own learning, develop hypercritical thinking and become collaborative participants. In profit, LMS provides an automated mechanism for teachers in the management of online hunt downs, allowing them to create, add, modify, customize, and reuse digital content and learning objects and tracking learner progress. unify learning is specify as a combination (blend) of e-learning and face to face classroom learning environments (Graham,2006 Wu and Hwang, 2010 Murshitha S.M an d Wickramarachchi A.P.R, 2015) Recently, blending learning has been increasing in higher education, as students are involved in collaborative learning and interaction with instructors and classmates (Wu et al., 2010).Almost all universities in Sri Lanka have developed their own LMS portal for the use of their own lecturers and students. The administrators of Sri Lankan universities are keen on assessing the actual status of faculty and students exercise of the LMS as the acquisition or construction of such a system and its yearly cost of operation are significant. Investigating and assessing the usage of LMS within a department and especially between different departments and universities is essential for its continuous use.The objective of this try out is to investigate the status (extent of use) of LMS adoption in blended learning at university direct. This research willing be interested to both researcher and university community, as it will significantly contribute and impro ve the body of friendship in the context of LMS adoption.Literature ReviewAll learning management systems are not the same they can be adopted in different ways. Different prickings such as activeness dents (Lesson, HTML page, Glossary, Assignments, Quiz, Choice, Database, Workshop, Wiki, chew up and Forum etc.), blocks (People, Calendar, Online Users, Latest News, Upcoming Events, Search, etc.) and filters (associated components to the activity tools and the blocks) are integrated in a single system which offers all necessary tools to run and manage an e-learning course. All learning activities and materials in a course are organized and managed by and within the system.Significant dedication in universities using an LMS is how to evaluate the actual extent of LMS usage by the staff and student. plot of land the trends are towards more student centric learning tools, the research done has shown that yet the teaching staff is the key driver of an LMS usage. The need for a ho nest guide of the extent of LMS usage becomes apparent when one considers the complexity of assessing to what extent an LMS is actually used within an university. In this direction, range of aspects of LMS adoption, implementation, support, and usage have been the win of numerous studies (McQuiggan, C. A. 2007).Lane determined that the manner of LMS usage was largely shaped by the nature of the product as introduced to faculty 14. Kincannon earlier studied the answer of faculty to use of a C/LMS and determined that faculty expressed dissatisfaction at the time demands imposed by using it 13. Amrein-Beardsley, et. al 4, Allen and Seamans for the Sloan Consortium 2, the atomic number 31Vista Implementation Enterprise Wide study 25, Harrington 12 and Morgan 19 allattempted to gain insight into C/LMS usage via student or instructor-supplied data, and to assess the level of faculty adoption of C/LMS via the use of surveys, determining that 96% of the largest institutions of higher lear ning were, as of 2006, using C/LMS to support online learning in addition to in-class courses. Vonderwell, et. al 26, Cramer, et. al 9, Mandinach 15, Tobin 23, Shiratuddin 22, and Bork 8 attempted to evolve methods for the opinion of student performance, or propose reasoned suggestions for the improvement of performance, when C/LMS software was involved in the surgical procedure of education. Yet a glaring omission exists in the empirical measurement of the actual extent of usage of C/LMS by faculty derived from the databases supporting a given C/LMS, that is, regularly measuring the extent of faculty usage of the C/LMS as evidenced by the contents of the database supporting it, making it mathematical to detect and respond to trends.The lack of adequate means of assessing C/LMS usage has prompted some researchers to propose the application of data warehousing technology to the problem of providing a base of readily accessible faculty and student C/LMS usage data. Van Dyk and Conr adie 24 proposed such an approach in 2007 in support of action research, defined by ZuberSkerrit as a critical enquiry by academics themselves into their own teaching practice, into problems of student learning and into curriculum problems30. The prototype data warehouse they proposed was intend to be used directly by instructors who were interested in studying the relationship between learning styles as defined and measured using the Felder proponent of learning styles 11and student interaction with the C/LMS, and potentially conducting other similar ad hoc studies. Their prototype data warehouse was formed according to established dimensional techniques andIn order to assess the usage and extent of use of LMS this research adopted Janossys, J (2008) assessment method that make it possible to assess usage between units of a university and between universities, drove the development and proposal outlined in detail in Figure 2.2 , which depicts a deterrent example for the derivatio n of a simple metric expressed as a number from 0 through 13.Figure 2. 2 Janossys LMS Usage Level and Metric Values The brass of this model proceeds from the definition of five overall levels of possible C/LMS use. These five levels span the continuum from no use of the C/LMS by an instructor through a level which exceeds the capabilities of most C/LMS systems using the technology topically available to many institutions (Janossy,J., 2008). The Figure 2.3 provides greater detail concerning the functional usage represent by each metric value, proceeding from the worst value through the highestFigure 2. 3 A Level-Model for Assessing The LMS Usage among Staff and studentsLevel 0 refers to no LMS usage. Thus, the lecturer does not create a course in LMS or does not activate student access to the LMS for the students in the course if a course is automatically created in the LMS.Level 1, refers to the very basic usage of the system only for uploading lesson content by the teaching s taff and downloading lesson content or submitting assignments by the students.Level 2, refers to the usage of communication tool in an LMS. It includes the usage of modules such as email, discussion forum or chat.Level 3, refers to the usage of the testing tool (quizzes, pool or survey). For instance, students can take some quizzes and tests online, with some scores provided immediately possibly with feedback answers for incorrect items and similar.Level 4, is defined with a view to the current technological developments which require to share knowledge and to treat users as co-developers. Currently this was achieved by adding a blog module on the system but in the future there might be other modules to enrich this level of LMS usage.It is interesting to note that one could draw a parallel between the levels of this model and the theories of learning. In fact, the lowest levels of the LMS usage actually correspond to the more teacher centered approach which is typical for a basic le vel of learning and behaviorism. As we go upper in the level spectrum of LMS usage actually we move towards constructivism and social constructivism and end up in Level 4 which promotes building knowledge through sharing experiences and co-developing which on the other hand are some of the main principles of connectivism.Assessment of the LMS adoption in learning process.A total of 100 fountainheadnaires are distributed and all of them are returned and usable. Table 1 summarizes the demographic profile and descriptive statistics of the respondents.ItemFrequencyPercentageGenderMaleFemale38623862Age or Level20-22 (Level 2)23-25 (Level 3)48524852PC ownershipYesNo84168416Laptop ownershipYesNo94069406Often of LMS useRegularJust-to download30703070Table 1 Demographic profile and descriptive statistics of surveyed studentsThis section describes the answer for the research question, thus how is the status of LMS adoption in learning process? In doing so, descriptive profiles for each of th e adoption variables are explored. Table 4.59 exhibits the descriptive profile of the five LMS adoption tools i.e. downloading lesson, chat, discussion forum, e-mail and assessment.Table 4. 59 Descriptive visibility of LMS Adoption ToolsThe conceptualization of students LMS adoption consists of five LMS tools namely, downloading lesson content, chat, discussion forum, e-mail and assessment. However based on the analyzed data only two LMS tools i.e. downloading lesson content and assessment were prominently adopted by students at Department of Industrial Management, University of Kelaniya.Downloading lesson content relates to the manipulation of LMS for downloading notes that are uploaded by their lecturers. In this instance, lecturers impose the students to use this tool by uploading their lesson contents. In fact, findings of this study revealed that students downloading lesson contents was the highest in terms of mean compared to other LMS tools. Since being a student, one is al ways subject to lecturers decision. Hence, by uploading lesson content lecturers maintain or impose students to use this tool and students without any questions must abide and adhere. Moreover, findings from lecturers questionnaire also indicted that all most all lecturers use this tool to upload their lesson content.Chat denotes to the utilization of LMS for the purpose of pedagogical chatting via LMS and students are being monitored by the administrator. Hence, they use this tool only for the above purpose. Findings of this study showed that chat tool put down the lowest mean. There would be two reasons behind this lowest mean. The first reason is, normally students are being more interested and constantly engaged in chatting other than pedagogical one and use chatting tools such as facebook, twitter, skype, whatsup, viber, tango etc. The molybdenum reason is, a very few lecturers use this chatting tool as evident bylecturers questionnaire and they do not insist or impose the s tudents to use this tool as they insist the students to download the lesson content.Discussion forum, relates to the utilization of LMS for the purpose of discussing on a certain topic with their peers and lecturers to enhance the critical thinking, analytical skills and exchange of their knowledge. Findings of this study showed that the tool of discussion forum also recorded lower mean. There would be two reasons behind this. The first reason is, as the respondents are the internal students, they have enough time for discussing face to face. The second reason is, according to the data derived from lecturers questionnaire only 25% of lectures use this discussion forum. Hence, students also do not give preference to this tool as their lecturers. netmail denotes the adoption of LMS for communication purposes. This is also same as the previous two tools. Thus students use other mail accounts in yahoo, gmail for their e-mailing purpose.Assessment tool relates to the utilization of LMS f or the purpose of assessing students through various sub assessment tools such as quizzes, short answers, multiple choice, essay questions etc. Results revealed second scoring for assessment tool in adopting LMS. This is because students are being imposed by their lecturers to adopt this tool, as they are imposed by lecturers to download lesson contents. Findings from lecturers questionnaire indicted that 80% of lecturers use the assessment tool to assess their students.From the above discussion it is obvious that, subjective norm has a strong predictive power in determining individuals behavior. Thus, subjective norm in the form of lecturers acceptance and use of technology were found to influence students acceptance and use of the same. Thus if lecturers use or adopt LMS, students also believe it as important to them and they also imitate their lecturers and vice versa.Research MethodsThis study is descriptive in nature and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect dat a. The questionnaire was divided into three sections.ReferencesGraham, C.R. (2006) Chapter 1 intermix Learning System Definition,Current Trends, Future Directions in Bonk, C. J. and C.R. Graham(eds.) Handbook of Blended Learning, San Francisco, CA Pfeiffer.McQuiggan, C. A. (2007). The role of faculty development in online teachings potential to question teaching beliefs and assumptions. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 10(3).Lane, L. M. (2007). Course Management Systems and Pedagogy. Retrieved October 10, 2007, fromhttp//lisahistory.net/pages/CMSandPedagogy.htmWu, W. C, Hwang, L. Y.(2010) The Effectiveness of e-Learning forBlended Courses in Colleges International Journal of ElectronicBusiness Management, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp.312-322 (2010)

City of God Analysis

City of God AnalysisThe pictures studied for this essay City of God (2002) and Favela Rising (2006) take on taken favelas from the marginality of Brazilian society and transported them into the soul of the international public. Favelas induct become a cultural icon of Rio de Janeiro, as famous as the postcard images of Copacabana beach and the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado mountain. Since 1992 tourists progress to been able to sign up for favelatour and see first hand the favela of Rocinha via one of the multiple tourism agencies competing for business in what has become one of Rios about prevalent tours. 1City of GodFernando Meirelles film City of God (2002) is based on the Brazilian novel of the same digit by Paulo Lins (1996). City of God (Cidade de Deus) is the name of the favela where Lins grew up, and the novel is based on a true story taken from interviews and research conducted by Lins in the favela over a period of 8 days regarding the state of drug tr afficking and gang warfargon. The film has attracted much critical acclaim due to its confrontation of the issues within the favela as well as the gritty world with which it was shot and unabashed depiction of force out within the favela. The film is narrated by one of two central characters, Rocket, and tells the story of the lives of himself and Lil Ze, children who grew up in the Cidade de Deus in ilk circumstances yet who chose separate pathways in life. In the film the character Rocket symbolises hope, as he dreams of becoming a photographer, and this is used as a vehicle within the film to portray imagery of the favela to both the media in Rio de Janeiro within the story, and to the viewer. Lil Ze is a child with the taste for iniquity that grows up to be the favelas most powerful and notorious drug dealer. The lives of the two atomic number 18 intertwined and ironically Rockets dreams of becoming a photographer are realised through his access to life in the favela and h is depiction of the crimes perpetrated by Lil Ze and his gang.The films opening and closing sequence include a 360 degree rotational shot of Rocket in the centre of a impertinence off between the gangsters and the law, unsure of where to turn. This is symbolic of the story of the film in that his life can take one of either direction. The narrative is then downhearted down into a series of vignettes which tell the story of the favela and the central characters, and ultimately which path Rocket decides to take.I argue that this film was imperative in raise awareness of both the existence of as well as the issues within the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, and was one of the first cultural representations to emerge from Brazil to show the darker case of the city and an alternate reality to what is commonly perceived about Rio, that is postcard images of beaches, sunsets and samba. Via this cultural vehicle I argue that it was possible to begin to conduct businesses in the city such as favela tour and favela party due to interest from foreigners in seeing and experiencing a slice of life in the favelas. Which raises the question Did this film glorify life in the favelas, or did it depict a realistic perspective of reality? How has consciousness raising of the foreign public since affected the inhabitants of these urban spaces and has this effect been verifying or negative?I argue that one of the key strengths of the film is realism. The actors are amateurs recruited from the favelas, and the central character Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) is from the Cidade de Deus favela itself, which lends authenticity and own(prenominal) perspective to the characters. The film was shot interior(a) a real favela rather than a film set, taking the viewer directly into the urban space of favela inhabitants. there are several key themes in the film which I will outline below and which raise points of discussion related to the reality of life for favela inhabitants. on base the theme of choice, the film raises the questions of what options children who grow up in this environment have for survival. One of the most shocking and criticised features of the film is its portrayal of violence executed by young children in the favela. The characters The Runts are a group of children in the favela aged younger than 8 who view crime and becoming part of a drugs wicket the only option for their future. Their youth is emphasised in a scene where they are discussing wanting to take over the most powerful drugs ring in the favela whilst sat in a fenced off cubicle which could be likened to a childrens playpen. This scene culminates in possibly the most memorable and shocking scene in the film, where a child wishing to be initiated into Lil Zes gang is forced to decide between which two children from the Runts he wants to shoot and kill. We are faced with his indecision pair with his detachment from the situation he is placed in. One of the children whose life is bein g decided bursts into tears, and with a close-up shot of his face we are immediately drawn to his organic fear of the situation he is in, as well as his age, which could not be more than 5 years old. The child character who pulls the trigger. Steak and Frites, is later show in the house of the rival gang being questioned as to why he wants to be involved in the gang warfare, and says I smoke, I snort. I have killed and robbed. Im a man. At the termination of the film when the Runts have murdered Ze and are discussing how they will take over his business and become the leadership of the favela, their lack of education is highlighted when one of the group asks for the purposes of creating a hit list of those they intend to murder who here knows how to write? and one of them responds a little. Either these children have had no access to education, or more concerned with their survival in the favela consider schooling to be an unnecessary part of life.An important aspect of the air in which the film is shot, and a characteristic for which the film has received much criticism, is that of detachment. How the viewer feels towards the acts of violence and the characters they are enacted upon is a metaphor for how society in Rio de Janeiro feels towards the favelas- unemotional, detached, separate. That what happens inside the favela is their own business and does not affect those who live outside. The majority of characters in the film are presented in a one dimensional manner and are not depicted scuppering emotion. Thus when they are murdered they become another number of the large headcount in the film. Characters are filmed from a outperform and the lack of facial close-ups imbues the viewer with this sense of emotional detachment. The one exception to this is portrayal of the gangster Benny, Lil Zes best friend, who decides he wants a life outside of crime and the favela. We view him preventing Ze from shooting those who owe him money, his kindness in letti ng people out of debts owed to him, his desire to give Rocket a camera to pursue his dreams, and intimate scenes with his girlfriend. When Benny is killed by an addict and thus prevented from leaving the favela we are confronted with the only moment of remorse in the film this is the only moment where Ze shows emotion, where the camera shots ambush at the scene of the death, and where the viewer is in a sense instructed to feel grief for his loss. His death is also paramount in depicting the difficulty of stressful to be a good character within or trying to leave the life of the favela.The final key theme of the film I would like to discuss is that of police corruption in Rio, which is clearly depicted in the film as integral to the survival of drug rings and proliferation of access to weapons. At the climax of the film when the two rival druglords Lil Ze and Carrot are captured by police, we witness two important events Carrot is kept in custody by the police who say he will be a present for the media, whereas Ze is let go and through Rockets camera lens we see that police have been providing him with weapons and drugs in return for money.Favela RisingOn August 30th 1993, a group of approximately 30 masked officers from Brazils Policia Militar entered the favela Vigario Geral and victimization machine guns and hand grenades killed 21 residents, including 8 members of an evangelical Christian family inside their home (NYT 1993). Henceforth known as the Vigario Geral Massacre, this was said to be in revenge for the murder of four policemen at the hands of the Comando Vermelho drug faction several days earlier.Day to day life within favelas is a great deal referred to as wartime in a country officially at peace. Residents are accustomed to daily gun battles and being under the control of the armed drug factions.Police corruption is viewed by many as the prime reason this war is able to take place. As depicted in City of God and Favela Rising, and as told by f avela residents under interview, Brazils war machine police provide the weapons to drug factions, and facilitate the trafficking of drugs in and out of the favelas. A 1993 robbery of an armoured van in Sao Paolo perpetrated by members of Comando Vermelho was found to have been possible using metal piercing bullets from automatic weapons legally available only to the Policia Militar. (NYT 1993). The documentary XXXX shows film footage of police transporting weapons into the favela.Violence within a Political DemocracyBrazils legions dictatorship ended in 1985 after 20 years of rule, however under the democracy many Brazilians feel less safe. (Caldeira) Since democratic rule, police violence has reached critical levels and events indicate serious degradation of democracy, with high levels of violent crime, police crimes against citizens, and human rights abuses a regular occurrence. Public space in Rio de Janeiro is often characte onward motiond by assaults of different types, muggi ngs, and general lawlessness, creating a culture of fear and suspicion (Caldeira). Policies attempting to bring violence under control, such as Operao Rio in 1994 where military police were sent into the city on a mass scale, are replacing democratic initiatives at state level with assertion of civil gild in an episodic manner. Public opinion polls found general support for the operation, with a general attitude that suspected criminals should not be repress to the same human rights conventions as normal citizens (Caldeira). Violence against civilians in favelas should also be considered a failure of democracy to protect their rights.Violence towards favela inhabitants can be seen as the result of a mixture of public attitudes towards criminal activity and middle and upper class attitudes towards favela inhabitants coupled with a police system which in effect serves only the elite. Public attitude plays a large role in the politics of policing and providing assistance (or lack the reof) to favelas. Volunteer worker XXXX in the film mickle 174 spoke of the public opinion polls in relation to the police shooting of 8 street children at Candelaria, where people said the shootings were a positive event, and that society needs to be cleaned of this dirt.**QUOTE CALDEIRA HOLSTON P699 CRIMINALISATION OF THE POOR******ALSO ALTERNATIVE JUSTICE IN FAVELAS P713***Development of Brazils Urban SpacesIndustrialisation in Brazil began in the early 20th century and has always had significant links with urbanisation, directly influencing the composition and evolvement of the urban network. The primary urban centres of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo received the largest amounts of investing during the course of Brazils economic development, resulting in mass amounts of migration from rural areas. The National Census in the year 2000 (IGBE) documented 82% of Brazils 174 million residents live in cities. Furthermore, 80% of the total population live in 25% of the municipalities, indicating strong spatial concentration. (Xavier).Despite being one of the more important economic centres of Brazil (together with Sao Paolo constituting 20% of Brazils GDP (Acioly) ) the metropolitan region of Rio De Janeiro is marked by discernible societal and wealth disparities between inhabitants. The needs of low income families unable to afford rent and lifespan in favelas and cheap land on the fringe of the city mean continuous large volumes of transit of inhabitants between the periphery and the centre, where they have access to handicraft and services, creating severe socio-spatial stratification at the metropolitan level. In the 1990s, confronted with increasing social tensions and the recession of the entire country, favelas and low rent land became the focus of violence, with drug trafficking establishing a power parallel to official local controls, to the detriment of municipal regulations and law. The residents associations (AMs) which were very active in the 19 80s fell under continuous intimidation and fear, and were often physically in the centre of shoot-outs between gangs and police.History of Favelas in RioThe Portuguese founded Rio de Janeiro in 1565 and by the end of the 16th century the hilled regions of the city were already considerably populated. Swamplands surrounding the hills were drained and soon also attracted settlers. Until the late 18th century the primary crop of the economy was sugarcane grown on the peripheries of Rio, which greatly influenced the spatial structure of the city. (Xavier). Following the relocation of the Portuguese Royal family to Rio in 1808 and the naming of Rio as the capital of Brazil, the population increased 25%, 50% of whom were slaves. (Xavier). There was a need for construction of housing for the higher income migrants and Portuguese nobility, with houses built closer to the periphery of the city, shaping the beginning of the patterns of requisition in Rio as rich and woeful lived separately and in greatly different standards of housing yet within the same city centre.In 1888 slavery was abolished and freed workers from the coffee plantations migrated in large be to Rio. The word favela originated in the first low income residence to be constructed in the city centre, named Morro da Providncia and later Morro da Favela by residents who were primarily ex soldiers and ex-slaves whom were not capable of integration into the citys economy. (Xavier). Government initiatives to modernise Rio led to large low income residential areas including those on hillsides being demolished, displacing predominantly the citys poor and forcing them further to the peripheries to resettle.By definition a favela is a squatter settlement, usually self-built by its inhabitants illegally on land lacking any infrastructure and without any urban plan for its development. The choke official estimate for the number of favelas in Rio de Janeiro was 605 (PCRJ, IPP) but unofficial estimates read that 100 more have arisen since then. The typical location of favela construction is hillside areas, though in the 21st century they have increasingly been built in swampy land areas such as near the higher income Barra de Tijuca expansion zone. (Xavier 8)Rios first urban plan was developed in the late 1920s, named Plan Agache, following a segregated functionalist principle to organise the city (Xavier). In this plan the southern beachside areas of Ipanema, Leblon and Gavea were speechless for the upper classes, while the working classes were relegated to the suburbs, and the first plans for total eradication of the favelas were made. This was the first official document to describe favelas as a problem which must be eradicated they were viewed as an epidemic which was blighting the most expensive land in Rio. As a result of this first urban plan dividing lower, middle and upper classes into diaphanous sections of the city, the only option left for the poor who did not fit these catego ries was to move into squatter settlements, either on the city outskirts or in dangerous and therefore undesirable locations such as steep hillsides. Alongside the explosive population growth and industrialisation of the following decades, Rios transport and housing systems were unable to cope with the rise in migrants to the city, leading to the increasing spread of favelas into the city centre into environmentally fragile areas such as the hillsides separating the upper class suburbs.Living conditions in Rio display exceptionally poor distribution, demonstrated by the discrepancies in living conditions between the rich and the poor. There is a high level of socio-spatial inequality, with income being concentrated in a miniscule proportion of the population the poorest 50% of Rios population earn only 13% of its income, while 12% of income is earned by the richest 1%. (IPEA).The social inequality prevalent in Rio de Janeiro is not applicable only to the physical make-up of the cit y but in the social configuration. Those located in the periphery in a physical sense are not only spatially remote even when located in the centre of the city populate to a high income suburb, the favelas are in contrast with the formal city. (Xavier). This inequality resonates in the difficult quotidianity of life for favela residents, who constitute 17% of Rios 5.8 million residents consort to the 2000 census (IGBE).SegregationTelles (1995) in his study of the structural sources of socioeconomic segregation in Brazilian metropolitan areas concludes that the extent of urbanisation and predominantly population surface is the key to understanding socioeconomic spatial inequalities in Brazil, and explains the majority of variations in segregation between different metropolitan areas. In dividing up income and race groups in Rio de Janeiro based on data from the 1980 census of Brazil it can be clearly seen that there is the smallest proportion of non-white households in the largest income group, and this percentage grows proportionately as the income levels are lowered. Due to issues of race and class being strongly correlated in Brazil, segregation (found to be largest between Rios lower and middle classes) becomes racialised. Thus racial segregation is partially ascertained by the higher numbers of non-whites in poorer socio-economic groups. However in the specific case of Rio, Telles finds class identities to be stronger than racial identities, and this is explained by Rios picky spatial factors, for example the idiosyncratic mountainous landscape which played a part in the formation of Rios favelas.BibliographyXavier, Helia Nacif Magalhaes, Fernanda (2003) Urban Slums Report The wooing of Rio de Janeiro Understanding Slums Case Studies for the Global Report on Human Settlements UNIPEA/PCRJ/PNUD (2000), Relatrio de Desenvolvimento Urbano A distribuio de renda na cidade do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, RJPrefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro PCRJ, IPP (2000) Anurio Estatstico da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro 1998, Instituto Pereira Passos, Rio de Janeiro, RJWebsite http//www.armazemdedados.rio.rj.gov.brNews ArticlesBrooke, James 21 Shot dead in Rio Slum Policemen are Suspected New York Times Section A p3 Column 1 August 30 1993www.favelatour.com.br

Ethics, Business, and the Human Genome Project :: Genetics DNA Genes Science Essays

Ethics, Business, and the Human Genome ProjectThe Human Genome Project began in 1990, as fond function of a collaborative movement by the scientific community to better understand our own genetic makeup. The U.S Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health mastermind this original 15-year plan, which are parts of the National Human Genome Research Institute. The major goals cited by these institutes is as followsIdentify all the estimated 100,000 genes in the homosexual genome. Map the terce billion chemical bases that make up human DNA. Store this mapped information in databases worldwide. Develop even better tools for sequencing and analysis. Address the many ethical, legal and social issues that come with this project. The debate over the importance of a Human Genome Project can be cleared up by looking at what the human genome actually is, and why knowing its DNA sequence can be beneficial to the scientific and the human community. The human genome is made up o f about trinity billion base pairs, which contain about 100,000 genes. The 100,000 genes in the 46 human chromosomes only account for a small total of the DNA in our genome. nigh 10 percent of our DNA make up these genes in our genome, these genes are what is actually encoded for and used by our body to make vital proteins needed for everyday life. The remaining 90 percent of our three billion base pairs are recurrent sequences between genes that do non encode for any particular product. These perennial sequences account for the reason why 99 percent of any humans DNA is identical to another humans (1). With this knowledge many people believe it is not worth the time or money to sequence the entire human genome when only a small percent is used to encode for proteins. However, by sequencing the intact genome researchers will no longer have to do a needle in the haystack type of search for small genes, like the one put up on chromosome four that is responsible for Huntingtons disease (4). Also, knowing the complete human DNA sequence will allow scientists to determine the role and importance of the repeated DNA, non-protein encoding, sequences in our body.The Human Genome Project has brought to light the importance of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which occur every 100 to 300 bases (1). A single nucleotide wavering in the DNA sequence can have a major impact on how humans react to bacteria, viruses and drug therapy.

Reviving Psychophysical Supervenience Essay -- Argumentative Persuasiv

bring round Psychophysical SupervenienceABSTRACT Many philosophers have lost their enthusiasm for the archetype of supervenience in the doctrine of mind. This is largely due to the fact that, as Jaegwon Kim has shown, familiar versions of supervenience describe relations of mere property covariation without capturing the idea of dependence. Since the dependence of the mental on the physical is a necessary requirement for even the weakest version of physicalism, it would seem that existing forms of supervenience can non make that for which they were designed. My aim is to revive the concept of supervenience. I argue that if we construe supervenience along Davidsonian lines as a relation connecting predicates rather than properties whence it avoids the shortcomings of the more familiar varieties. When it early appeared on the scene in the philosophy of mind, the concept of supervenience was warmly embraced. Supervenience was thought to start the idea of dependence without reduc tion and thus promised to provide a utile framework for discussions of mental causation, phenomenal experience, and, more generally, the relation between the mental and the physical. Since then a great deal has changed. Much careful work has been make to show that philosophical applications of supervenience do not, in fact, achieve what they were thought to. For example, Jaegwon Kim, whose name is most associated with the concept, has shown convincingly that the standard formulations of supervenience in the philosophy of mind (weak, strong, and global) do not capture the idea of psychophysical dependence. (1) Many philosophers believed that supervenience could express a form of physicalism, but since the concept of dependence is a minimal req... ...dson, Thinking Causes, in Mental Causation, ed. pot Heil and Alfred Mele (Oxford, Clarendon Press 1993) p. 13.(4) Donald Davidson, Mental Events, in Davidson, Essays on Actions and Events (Oxford Oxford University Press, 1980) p. 214 (emphasis added).(5) Davidson, Radical meter reading, in Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (Oxford Clarendon Press, 1984) p. 137.(6) Donald Davidson, Mental Events, op. cit., p. 214.(7) For example, see Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson (Stanford Stanford University Press, 1991) pp. 69-70.(8) Davidson, Mental Events, op. cit., p. 214.(9) For example see, Terence Horgan, From Supervenience to Superdupervenience Meeting the Demands of a bodily World, Mind 102 (1993) pp. 554-586 Thomas Grimes, Supervenience, Determination, and Dependency, Philosophical Studies 62 (1991) pp. 81-92. Reviving Psychophysical Supervenience Essay -- Argumentative PersuasivReviving Psychophysical SupervenienceABSTRACT Many philosophers have lost their enthusiasm for the concept of supervenience in the philosophy of mind. This is largely due to the fact that, as Jaegwon Kim has shown, familiar versions of supervenience describe relations of mere property covariation without captu ring the idea of dependence. Since the dependence of the mental on the physical is a necessary requirement for even the weakest version of physicalism, it would seem that existing forms of supervenience cannot achieve that for which they were designed. My aim is to revive the concept of supervenience. I argue that if we construe supervenience along Davidsonian lines as a relation connecting predicates rather than properties then it avoids the shortcomings of the more familiar varieties. When it first appeared on the scene in the philosophy of mind, the concept of supervenience was warmly embraced. Supervenience was thought to capture the idea of dependence without reduction and thus promised to provide a useful framework for discussions of mental causation, phenomenal experience, and, more generally, the relation between the mental and the physical. Since then a great deal has changed. Much careful work has been done to show that philosophical applications of supervenience do not, in fact, achieve what they were thought to. For example, Jaegwon Kim, whose name is closely associated with the concept, has shown convincingly that the standard formulations of supervenience in the philosophy of mind (weak, strong, and global) do not capture the idea of psychophysical dependence. (1) Many philosophers believed that supervenience could express a form of physicalism, but since the concept of dependence is a minimal req... ...dson, Thinking Causes, in Mental Causation, ed. John Heil and Alfred Mele (Oxford, Clarendon Press 1993) p. 13.(4) Donald Davidson, Mental Events, in Davidson, Essays on Actions and Events (Oxford Oxford University Press, 1980) p. 214 (emphasis added).(5) Davidson, Radical Interpretation, in Davidson, Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (Oxford Clarendon Press, 1984) p. 137.(6) Donald Davidson, Mental Events, op. cit., p. 214.(7) For example, see Simon Evnine, Donald Davidson (Stanford Stanford University Press, 1991) pp. 69-70.(8) Davidson , Mental Events, op. cit., p. 214.(9) For example see, Terence Horgan, From Supervenience to Superdupervenience Meeting the Demands of a Material World, Mind 102 (1993) pp. 554-586 Thomas Grimes, Supervenience, Determination, and Dependency, Philosophical Studies 62 (1991) pp. 81-92.