Critically appraises the concept of the public sphere in the context Coursework

Critically appraises the concept of the public sphere in the context of contemporary digital media - Coursework Example The intent also acts as a public sphere where people bring together their opinion. The opinion generated from the public sphere can be channelized to the ruling government to act appropriate in regard to the need of the society. The societies consider the public sphere to be channel that they can use to voice their problems (Hauser 2005). In the modern world and in a more democratic society, public sphere has been of great resource to the ruling government. Ideas and dialogue from their subject are posed in the You Tube and therefore they can easily read them. In most circumstance it is the source of production and circulation of the discussions that are critical to the state. The circulation process doe not only reach the state but the society as a whole (Rutherford 2004). In this respect the voice of the poor is herd and given the equal chances in the development project in the community. Dialogue, act of speeches, debate and discussion can be held together even though people are in different locations. The convergence of the information in one source makes retrieval for the future references in the societies (Goodnight 2007). While the digital society appreciates the modern public sphere in the internet, it has become the major sources of propaganda and rumor mongering. The internet does not include the public opinion in totality. Only the a few people who are accessible to new technology enjoy while the rest does not. The poor’s voices cannot be herd while the rich continue to dominate creating the inequality the major challenge of modern democracy (Habermas 2009). Facts may be posed in the internet whose sources cannot be identified properly. In such cases it becomes arena of rumor and propaganda that cannot be relies upon. This is the major challenge that seems to hinder the well functioning of the public sphere in the modern society. Even though the use of technology is still advancing to mature, most of the

The characters of Maggie and Willie Essay Example for Free

The characters of Maggie and Willie Essay The play Hobsons choice is set in Salford near Manchester in the north of England, in the 1880s. This scene takes place in the boot shop, which Hobson owns, he has four daughters the eldest is Maggie she pretty much runs the shop as Hobson, since his wife died, has turned into an alcoholic. The scene starts with Maggie saying Dinner at half past one girls, Well give him half an hour this looks as if Hobson has gone to the pub but Maggie has told him that lunch is at One but he says its not. So Maggie appeases and says its at half one. From the words Well give him half an hour it seems as if this argument is a regular occurrence. Maggie then proceeds to order Willie, a cobbler at the shop, up from the cellar/workshop this shows that Maggie is the boss which is unusual in the Victorians hierarchy style class structure. Willie would probably think at this point that he has done something wrong as workman where expected to stay in the workshop. The stage directions say that he stops halfway up the stairs meaning Maggie would be looking down on him as if to tell him off. Maggie then gives him another order Come up, and put the trapdoor down this again shows Maggies dominance this would come through on stage. The stage directions then say He (Willie) comes reluctantly Willie would be thinking the worst at the moment the actor would show this with body language and facial expressions. Willie trys to make an excuse to leave were very busy in the cellar Maggie doesnt say anything she just points at the trap, Willie closes it. This shows although not conventional in Victorian society Willie is used to taking orders from a woman. Show me your hands is Maggies next request/order. He makes an excuse, their Dirty, but still complies as if he cant deny Maggies order. Willie is still very nervous Maggie would be able to see this but has yet done nothing to reassure him showing that Maggie enjoys having power over Willie. Maggie then pays him a complement yes there dirty but there clever they can shape leather like no other mans that came into this shop. She asks him where he learnt his trade, here he replies, she refuses his answer saying, Hobsons never taught you to make boots the way you do Willie insists his answer is true. Maggie gives him another compliment youre a natural born genius at making boots but then insults him its a pity youre a natural fool at all else this might be because she finds it hard for herself to compliment someone who she might see as below her. Willie is starting to feel a bit more confident that hes not in trouble but then Maggie asks him when he gonna leave Hobsons? Willie must now think hes got the sack this would show on stage as he stutters out leave Hobsons I I thought I gave satisfaction Maggie doesnt answer his question but throws another question back at him another proof that she enjoys the power balance between her and Willie. Willie says he is not leaving Hobsons until he is rich Maggie again calls him a fool but Willie replies with then Im a loyal fool showing that loyalty is important to Willie.

Nature, the Environment and their Uses in Art

Nature, the Environment and their Uses in Art â€Å"I name that man an artist who creates forms†¦ I call that man a craftsman who reproduces forms.† Malraux is talking about artists and craftsmen, but might as well be talking about artists and designers. The audacity of the lowly â€Å"reproducers† was penalised by the iconoclasts, and perhaps we harbour the same fundamental suspicions about designers, people paid to build and sell us dreams just as frequently as they build and sell us houses. Yet it strikes me that there are two ways of dodging the suspicions of the public- the use of the imagination, and the use of Nature. If the two can be happily married then this superior union ought to germinate a magic all its own. â€Å"Moreover, a taste, not to say a passion, for building must be engrained in the child. Mechanical toys and mechanised entertainment kill his imagination and initiative; the feat of putting building blocks on top of each other hardly taxes the brain of a monkey† So the designer presents himself as a kind of sub-originator, and defers his symbolism to the greater origin. There is an individual and a more cosmic interest at work at the same time. The artist grows like a tree, developing, spreading, the ideas rising from the mysterious soils and falling like leaves. But the broader picture, a fluxing creative rhythm bridged by moments in time, demands a grander theory of unification. Nature is as synonymous with decay as it is with growth. The ephemera of modern life is as temporary, inevitable, immediate, as nature itself. Our cities have become sort of flaking, dying, layered forests, with their own dangers and rhythms of life and death. Everywhere we find reminders of our own impact on our surroundings- it is human nature, we cant help trying to clothe our hairless bodies and modify everything around us to make our lives more comfortable. But for some this seems to be a source of almost biblical guilt, and people go to extraordinary lengths, for their own reasons, to cover their tracks and paint their human presence out of the landscape altogether. Hundertwassers house in Vienna , and his designs for the â€Å"Eye Slit house† spring immediately to mind. Are we guilty enough to try to make our impact completely invisible? There can be no contention over the point that man has a negative impact on his environment and it may be that one solution is hiding mans impact altogether, (to enfold ourselves in natures arms, camouflaging ourselves in Her) while another might be to try to disguise our impact by turning our constructions into impersonations of Her. Is this really any different to the fearful icon building of ancient times, and do the â€Å"uglier†, modernist, construction-stating buildings represent a sort of iconoclasm- a return to buildings being made for human functionality rather than as a fearful acknowledgement of natures power as a constructor? Most of the architectural structures which are intended to resemble nature draw attention to the similarities between buildings and plants. Both are subject to a functional rhythm, both have access points, layers, a projectile dynamic- in other words, a sense of growth and promise. Yet plants are transcient, not concrete: they grow and bloom and fade and die, like people. They nourish and protect and reproduce and crumble away. The contrast with sturdy, permanent building materials used for, say, gothic cathedrals, Romanesque churches, the Eden Project, the Golden Gate Bridge, presents a sense of wonder and beauty in itself. Because plants are not like buildings. Buildings are sturdy and static and monumental. It is a fantastic thing to see a grand self-generating plant-beast made of concrete, it is alien and dreamlike and mesmerising but it is all these things because it is impossible. It enchants us because its beauty comes from a faraway, magical land, not from a world we know ab out but from one we would like to know- one in our dreams. Designs based on nature not only solve our problems, sate our yearnings and answer our questions, they also create new problems, new yearnings, and new questions. 1) Ecology since the 17th Century: historical relationships with Nature In the preface to â€Å"The Origins of form in Art†, Herbert Read references Henri Focillon, who suggested that life itself is a creator of forms, that theres no real distinction between art and life: â€Å"Life is form, and form is the modality of life. The relationships that bind forms together in nature cannot be pure chance, and what we call â€Å"Natural Life† is in effect a relationship between forms, so inexorable that without it this natural life could not exist. So it is with art†¦constitute an order for, and metaphor of, the entire universe.† Nature is uncontrollable and unpredictable- it is an ancient metaphor for uncontrollable intervention and for everything we cant accurately forecast. There is even an ancient Japanese treatise on archery which details the way in which the hardest part of the entire sport is waiting for the natural release of the string- a moment of serenity and detachment; total absence of striving. The flow of inspiration to the artist is analogous to this although it is unclear whether the creators inspiration rises from this or rises like it. Theorists have long been aware of this ambiguity and have thematised it themselves. Michael Fried interprets the woods, rocks and glens in Courbets paintings as faces or symbols or metaphors. Christopher Wood finds terrifying anthropomorphised trees looming over the subjects of Altdorfers exquisite scenes. The point is that those people who look at art, who are also interested in using it as an expression of themselves, consistently seek reflection in the pools provided by nature, natural imagery provides the perfect apparatus, somehow, for the admirer of human creativity to integrate the object into their own field of experience. When Paul Klee wrote that â€Å"The creation of a work of art is compared to the growth of a tree- its roots in the earth, crown in the air.† he is presenting an image of flow, as if an artist stands near the tree to allow the sap to rush in. This flow, though, occurs without conscious effort and the artist, crucially, experiences a transformation. â€Å" The idea that art is not a mirrored reflection of a given reality, but also a transformation of one element (which has its roots underground, in the unconscious) into another (made conscious in time and space). The artist is merely a channel whose function it is to transmit the forces of nature into forms of art.† Vivantes assessment that â€Å"art, far from being non-conscious, is a conquest of consciousness† is revealing, but wisely countered by Read, â€Å"Admittedly, the artists themselves may not always know when they are merely exploiting the unconscious, rather than â€Å"letting loose the riot of tender shoots†Ã¢â‚¬  As nature and art are so closely related, almost counter intuitively, so words and nature and words and art, are sometimes indistinguishable. All are concerned with abstraction, with roots, with origins, â€Å"we establish†¦our sense of reality by creating, for each experience, a clear and appropriate symbol- vocal sounds which were eventually stabilized as words. Every words was once an original work of art.† Whenever anything becomes too prevalent, too integrated into our consumer vocabulary, we scarcely notice it anymore and it loses its impact. In becoming part of our environment, ourselves, the clichà © ceases to become something desirous to us. Designed solutions respond to an expression of specific desire or need, and so become a meta expression of the same need. While design solutions sate specific hungers, art is an expression, and not even necessarily a resolution of, thematic desires. Poetry and the visual arts dance around the clichà © while occasionally retaining originality (Poussins Dance to the Music of Time is a delightfully literal example of this)- art finds a janus-faced simultaneity, a place for both the clichà © of nature and the pure artistic drive of â€Å"artisticness†. Design, however, is trapped in the problem solving one-dimensional rationality of the prevailing zeitgeist. Perhaps nature is a way of side-stepping the clichà ©, but it can also present itself, maddeningly indistinguishably, as the alluring siren. Maybe there is a link between the mechanised production of imagery and forms and the predominance of natural imagery in the products and lifestyles consumed by people nowadays. There could well be a relationship, yet unexplored, between the unnatural production of natural images and the homogeneity of the images themselves. If the origins are authentic and essential then we should expect products to be more persuasive, more reflective of their origins, more transparent. Mechanisation has allowed for imagery to â€Å"ride the zeitgeist† and generate a new kind of language of â€Å"natural† iconography- perhaps where once there was religious iconography. In Poussins Dance to the Music of Time we find Arcadia, the natural utopia, being equated to male/female synthesis, and then, on another level, the gender synthesis standing for a synthesis of heaven and earth in the familiar conceit of rhythm. In Peter Blakes extraordinary work, The Arcadian Cipher pentagram shapes are located everywhere as a kind of unification symbol: Blake is anxious to synthesise traditionally opposing forces, and make sense of illogical harmonies through the imposition (or uncovering, in his terms) of this particular hypograph. His choice of symbol is less important than his- and other academic semiosticians impulse towards holism. I have already suggested that artists are involved in a janus headed effort: always trying to channel pure nature and represent her in a familiar language- to experience and the represent the clichà © at once. Blakes assessment of the Dance describes the duplicity: â€Å"For where the other two pentagrams represent the Jesus figure and Pan, this definitely connects them with a female element. Through it we are able to establish a male/female partnership both in heaven and on Earth and between heaven and Earth, and it is one which symbolises the poles upon which the Earth spins. The painting depicts Hermes playing his lyre – music was his method of communication between two worlds- and a group of earthly figures dancing to his celestial tune. On the left hand side of the work is a column on which is mounted a carving†¦of two heads facing away from each other.† Theory of this sort, while certainly in constant danger of toppling into quasi-science, superbly exemplifies the inextricability of Nature and Geometry. Theories of Arcadia are saturated with geometric semiotics; art writers constantly trace and re-trace paintings, covering them in layers and layers of â€Å"mathematical† justification. Whether any of these theories have any real use or even make any sense outside of their own self-imposed rules is not my point. I am interested in the relationship between the powers of nature and the powers of men, the irresistible urge to explain the mysteries of nature, her circadian rhythms, her life giving and life stealing properties, her silent chthonic swell and the threat and awe experienced by the bewildered humans that observe her. As one of the most evocative and symbolically potent plants on the planet, the cactus has played many roles in South American tradition and folklore. As with any hostile climate, indigenous species that seem to offer solace will inevitably acquire mystical significance as the protection they offer is associated with promise. To the parched population of parched landscapes, cacti are life-giving, life-saving, surprising, mysterious, frightening- divine. Cacti started off on American continents, and are still most associated with these places- but they have experienced a massive geographical distribution over the centuries, and cacti have been able to instigate habitats around the world. One rumour says that Christopher Columbus was the first person to have taken the first cactus to Europe, presenting this peculiar plant to Queen Isabella of Spain, however this is of course apocryphal. During their explorations on the American continents, the Spanish Conquistadors found, among many other things, these strange vision inducing plants that were utilised ceremonially by the natives as a religious sacrament and was revered as virtual gods. The native South American name for their spineless dense-shaped cactus (Lophophora Williamsii) was peyoti. It is a plant native to Mexican and south west US with button like tubercles which may be eaten fresh or dried as a narcotic. Initially, Cacti (peyoti) were employed for healing purposes, for attempting to divine the future and for generating hallucinogenic visions during scared rites. Although these hallucinations often appear to be compared to LSD trips, the peyote â€Å"acid† is 4000 times less potent, only briefly affecting the chemical balance and activity of the brain. The Spanish chronicler, Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, claimed that natives used a certain plant to induce hallucinatory state and estimated that peyote was widely used at least 1890 years before the arrival of Europeans. The earliest European record dates from around 1635 with the first column of Historia de las Indias Occidentales by Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo y Valdes appeared with illustrations of what we would now classify as Cereus and Opuntia. In 1886 that the German pharmacologist, Louis Lewin, published the first systematic study of the cactus, to which his own name was subsequently given- Anhalonium lewinii. The cactus was already well known and loved by primitive religions and the Indians of Mexico and the American Southwest. One of the early Spanish visitors to the New World wrote, they eat a root which they call peyote, and which they venerate as though it were a deity. It became clear why this plant was venerated as a god, when such eminent psychologists as Jaensch, Havelock Ellis and Weir Mitchell began their experiments with mescalin, the active principle of peyote. Mescalin research has continued, and now chemists have not only isolated the alkaloid; they have learned how to synthesize it, so that the supply no longer depends on the sparse and infrequent crop of desert cacti. Neurologists and physiologists have spent years investigating the mechanism of mescalins action upon the central nervous system, and at everyone from philosophers to writers- notably Aldous Huxley- have taken mescalin in the hope that this mystical cactus extract may shed some light on such ancient, unsolved riddles as the place of mind in nature and the relationship between brain and consciousness. It is surely no coincidence that the peyote cactus, so ubiquitous, so loved and feared, is also identified as the solution to ancient problems of human displacement. We identify with the cactus perhaps. It projects intelligently, like an alien from the sand, while we wonder how we are supposed to best relate to our surroundings. When we look at the cactus we see ourselves done better. If anything on the planet holds the key to mans reconciliation with his estranged mother nature, it is surely the cactus. It is too alien to be part of our problem, we reason, so it must be part of the solution. 2) Taoism and Nature â€Å"Humans model themselves on earth, Earth on heaven, Heaven on the Way, And the way on that which is naturally so.† Lao Tse Daodejing (Tao te ching) #251 This simple but sententious dictum was delivered by an Chinese ancient sage, Lao Tse, the founder of Taoism. The saying suggests a means of building a harmonious relationship between beings and nature. Taoist ideas about conservation and ecology, with nature as the inspiration and conclusion to all things, reflect and resemble new philosophies of industrial design, to some extent. Alongside Buddhism and Confucianism, Taoism is one of the three great religions of China. It can be roughly translated into English as â€Å"path†, or â€Å"the way†- that is, the way of correspondence between man and nature, and the way that is a kind of path of nature the course of natural world. The term Tao describes a power that envelops and flows through all things, both living and nonliving. As such, it serves to regulate natural processes and encourage a cosmic balance of all things in the Universe. Tao suggests that the answers to lifes problems can be found through inner meditation and outer observation. Taoist ideas and images may have nurtured or inspired a love of nature in the Chinese, so that they have traditional felt a need to protect it, and have had many ways of cultivating an affinity with it. The Chinese have always seen nature as a companion, a place of security and support to which they could retreat from the cares of the world to rest or heal themselves. Nature, through Tao, is also sincerely life-affirming. Nature can be unfathomably brutal and Tao constantly reminds that the external world is explicitly on-ideal: in fact, according to Tao, the ideal world can only be found through a spiritual path. The only thing that might compromise ones eternal happiness, in Tao as in Buddhism, was a state of mind, an attitude. Both Tao and Nature are associated with a non-materialistic attitude to life, a spiritual approach to living which many perceive as a possible answer to the social issues of today: the problems of sustaining a unified and healthy social order. Taoists believe their religion holds the answers, as it advises its followers to emulate nature, with its simplicity and relaxed, non-intellectual approach to life. Tao seems to suggest that many of the environmental problems of today have arisen from a materialistic human attitude that has overwhelmed mans spiritual relationship with his natural environment. Rather than coexisting with our living space, people have begun challenging it, and it has even become a respectable achievement to be seen to â€Å"conquer† nature. An estimated 42 million acres of tropical rainforest are destroyed annually, an area the size of Washington State. Around 50,000 species of plants and animals are condemned to extinction every year, an average of about 140 species a day. There are more people than ever, and these people routinely pillage resources, destroy or change natural processes arbitrarily and are support the production of thousands of products that lead towards the destructive path of the environment – contradicting the Taoist path. Increasingly materialist in their lifestyles, most people believe that only matter exists, leaving no room for spiritual beliefs. Our quest for pleasure corresponds to a demand placed on the Earth for immediate gain. The visible world takes precedence over any spiritual or psychological activities and ultimately a form of materialism becomes the only truth and belief. Natures force is unknowable in its essence but observable in its manifestations. With the crisis of energy a nd resources, the crisis of ecology and environment, the crisis of belief and mortality we experience force in the form of natures lamenting reactions. We believe in the formless and eternal Tao, and we recognize all personified deities as being mere human constructs. We reject hatred, intolerance, and unnecessary violence, and embrace harmony, love and learning, as we are taught by Nature. We place our trust and our lives in the Tao, which we may live in peace and balance with the Universe, both in this mortal life and beyond. Creed of the Western Reform Taoist Congregation The recent revival of instinctive desires preserve the health of our planets life without compromising human comfort is the task of ecological attitudes in art and design. Those ecological design solutions that take on board Taoist philosophies link nature, culture, and technology to resituate social human requirements in an environment where the balance of nature receives precedence. Artists and designers must of course work within the constraints imposed by their clients, including the practical and material demands made by every stage of production. Classical Taoist philosophy, formulated in part by Laozi (the Old Master, 5th century B.C.), in part by the editor of the Daodejing (Classic of the Way and its Power), and in part by Zhuangzi (3rd century B.C.), represented a reinterpretation and development of an ancient nameless tradition of nature worship and divination. Laozi and Zhuangzi, living at a time of social disorder and great religious skepticism developed the notion of the Dao (Tao way, or path) as the origin of all creation and the force unknowable in its essence but observable in its manifestation that underlies the mechanisms of the natural world. These men saw in Dao, Nature, and in Nature, Dao. In both these Ways lay the secret to harmonious living. According to these early teachers, the order and harmony of nature was a model for human structures, so much more stable and enduring than either the power of the state or the civilized institutions constructed by human learning. The early Taoists taught the art of li ving and surviving by conforming with the natural way of things; they called their approach to action wuwei (wu-wei lit. no-action), action modelled on nature. As one writer explains, â€Å"Their sages were wise, but not in the way the Confucian teacher was wise, learned and a moral paragon. Zhuangzis sages were often artisans, butchers or woodcarvers. The lowly artisans understood the secret of art and the art of living. To be skillful and creative, they had to have inner spiritual concentration and put aside concern with externals, such as monetary rewards, fame, and praise. Art, like life, followed the creative path of nature, not the values of human society.† Chinese history is dense with stories of people who have grown tired of the pretensions and desperation of social activism increasingly aware of the fragility of human achievements, and whose response has been to retire from the world and turn to nature. Such people have traditionally retreated to a countryside or mountain setting to commune with natural beauty, often composing poetry about nature , or painting interpretations of the scenes surrounding them, as they attempted to capture the creative forces at the heart of Natures vitality. Such people might share their excursions with friends or family, drinking a bite of wine, enjoying the autumn leaves or the evening skies. The literature of Chinese utopians often had a Taoist slant: Tao Qians famous Peach Blossom Spring told of a fisherman who happened across an idyllic Chinese community who had fled a war-torn land centuries earlier, and lived in perfect simplicity and harmony ever since, blissfully oblivious to the turmoil of history beyond their idyll. While the inhabitants urged him to stay, the fisherman departed and shared his discovery with a local official. However hard he tried, he never found a path back to the grove. The fisherman never found a route back because he had failed to understand that he had discovered an abstracted, ideal, world – and one which was to be found not via an external path, but a spiritual one. The utopia was a state of mind, a unique attitude. Laozi and Zhuangzi had reinterpreted nature worship and belief in esoteric â€Å"magical† arts as something both more abstract and more tangible, but the ancient methods and beliefs crept back into the tradition as ways of using knowledge of the Dao to enhance and prolong life. Despite its pragmatism, for some Taoism would always go hand in hand with magical belief. Some Taoists poured their energies into a search for isles of the immortals, or for herbs that could unlock the secrets of immortal life. Many Taoists were interested in health and carried out many studies of herbal medicine and pharmacology, in fact entailing significant advancements in these arts. Taoists even worked out the principles of macrobiotic cooking and other supposedly new and healthy diets. Sensitive to natural processes, they recorded gymnastic mechanisms and studied the effects of massage on keeping the body strong and youthful. Taoists were, then, both magicians and of proto-scientists: they represented the sector of Chinese culture that most closely studied and communed with nature. Some Taoists held that nature was filled with spirits however, theosophically, such spirits were simply many manifestations of the one Dao, something impossible to represent as a single image or in one discreet form. â€Å"The Tao of Heaven operates mysteriously and secretly ; it has no fixed shape; it follows no definite rules; it is so great that you can never come to the end of it, it is so deep that you can never fathom it.† The Huai Nau Tzu The central theme of Taoism is a relationship, and as such contradicts the general western attitude to nature. Nature should not be considered as something passive, awaiting mans masterful control, but as an equal or even superior partner be mastered in a relationship. The aim of the Taiost is to rediscover and eventually merge with the ordered origin of the universe and the only way to do so is the Tao – the path shown to us by nature. Early Taoist philosophers set out from their civilised worlds to take expeditions into the natural world, where they hoped to learn from primitive people living in remote mountain villages. Initially they aimed to introduce the benefits of human civilization to the mysteriously rhythmed order of nature. According to the Tao, nature is â€Å"infinitely wise, infinitely complex, and infinitely irrational. One must take a yielding stance and abandon all intellectual preconceptions. The goal is wu wei, doing nothing contrary to nature. Nature does not need to be perfected or improved. It is we who need to change; we need to come into accord.† Contrary to one possible interpretation of Yin/Yang, Taoists rejected all dichotomies, including the fundamental existence/non existence one, since it is their belief that both stem from the same source, â€Å"Athe deep and the profound. Rather, Taoisms goal is to use consciousness of duality and wisdom about it to reach the stage before any dualities existed. There is only one path to this source, then – the observation of nature. As one writer explains, â€Å"The Tao is a divine chaos, not a random accident. It is fertile, undifferentiated, and teeming with unrealized creation. It is the mother of everything in nature; it is a great darkness that operates spontaneously to give birth and life to all things.† 3) Ecological thinking in contemporary art and design Are we really moving towards a common lexicon of human creation and natural creation? Alan Power cites Steiners â€Å"startling prediction†, â€Å" Buildings will begin to speak. They will speak a language of which people have as yet not even an inkling,† Yet I wonder how startling this really is. Buildings are indeed more â€Å"scientific†, more complex with less obvious evidence of human intervention. Many buildings nowadays appear to have been designed and built by aliens, no longer made to be lived in but impenetrable to our rational human minds. Again, they resemble complex organisms in their initially baffling structure, their illogical shapes and apparent preference of shape and form to practicality. But they are still made by humans, albeit humans employing a dozen layers of technology to translate abstract geometry into audaciously confusing formulae. They are still constructed by and for humans to use, and to that extent are utterly comprehensible, at least to the humans that use them. Where there is room for gratuitous aesthetic treatment in a design, designers, consciously or not, grasp the zeitgeist, construct from fashionable and available materials, and exploit their artistic freedom as far as their unconscious n otions of the â€Å"aesthetic† will allow them to. These notions, I am attempting to argue, are controlled by biologically ingrained forms of the organic. It doesnt matter if a building is technically accomplished to exhibit skeletal forms, as with the giant domes of the Eden Complex in Cornwall, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the Mildred Cooper chapel in Arkansas or swollen like the pregnant belly of the Guggenheim, NY . Nature can be found in all design, both rational and irrational, and the more we try to escape it, to avoid mimicking it, the more we are forced to study its base rules, its gravity and its ebb and flow, the tensile strength of its spider-webs, the effects of its uncontrollable eruptions and tidal waves and tornados. Nature is absolutely full of potential metaphors for ways in which we can improve our lives. Today, apple peels are being used by scientists at the University of Clemson as a metaphor for edible packages disolvable pouches like boil in the bags that add protein to a macaroni and cheese dinner, or packages that act as a booster for laundry detergent. Theres certainly a human instinct to perceive products inspired in obvious ways by nature, as being somehow â€Å"good† for us, or â€Å"good† in a moral sense. Of course, human instincts are not to be trusted blindly, and it doesnt follow that because a kind of packaging is inspired by an apple core it is environmentally friendly, inspirational, beautiful, or better for us or the world. But I suppose it has a slightly higher chance of being one or more of these things, our instincts are not too wide of the mark and do control the things we want to buy and sell. A study entitled â€Å"Trees in Small City Business Districts: Comparing Responses of Residents Potential Visitors† begins, â€Å"This study tested whether public response to trees in the downtown business districts of smaller cities is comparable. Research methods included interviews and mail-out surveys. Survey respondents prefer having large trees in retail streetscapes. Trees are also associated with reported increases in patronage behavior (such as travel distance and visit frequency), and willingness to pay more for products. Few differences in response were detected between small city residents and potential visitors who reside in large cities.† What is it about natural organisms that make us want to part with our money? Marketing strategies state such things as fact, using careful example to â€Å"prove† what we â€Å"intuitively† want to believe is true that â€Å"good product and package designers have known for centuries- that the best inspiration for new products comes from nature. The camera mimics the human eye. Helicopters, like hummingbirds, can hover and fly backwards. Velcro brand fasteners were inspired by prickily burrs attached to a Scottish inventors boot.† They get away with this because nature is, and has always been, such an alien force to us humans, as we have seen. Like an alien from another planets, we hope it will be benevolent and, through its own irrepressible character, its mysterious and enviable immortality, hold the secrets to our own improved lifestyles and lifespans. Of course our relationship with nature has changed slightly as we have changed, as a race, but our view of H er remains essentially the same as ever. We still need to imitate and control what we see outside us, in the hope that we can sypher off a little of the magic and mystery for ourselves. In the developed world these harmless, yet irrepressible rhythms are increasingly invisible. It is possible to spend months in a city dwelling, never seeing a dead animal, a nesting bird, a tree in blossom. Nature has become more promising, more mysterious, more magical, and more frightening through its real invisibility, but nature is not wilfully elusive or coy, this is an invisibility we that have imposed. Inevitably, the packages and products that are environmentally superior that are kind to nature also resemble it: they might be inherently efficient, easily recycable, and often they use recycled materials made from renewable resources. One organisation creating such products, back in their 1990s heyday, was â€Å"Zerosm†, and they identified several techniques fo

surgeon general :: essays research papers

There are many leaders in the United States today. These men and women help to form the nation into what it is today and what it will be in the future. One of these important leaders of the United States is the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General has many responsibilities and priorities that form our nation’s Public Health System. These responsibilities and priorities of the Surgeon General will be explained throughout this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the Reader’s Digest Encyclopedia the Surgeon General is the chief medical officer for the United States Public Health System. This means that since 1871 the Surgeon General has been the nation’s leading spokesman on matters of public health. The first person to hold the position of Surgeon General was Dr. John Woodworth. Dr. Woodworth put together a group of physicians to assist him with health issues. The Congress recognized these men and women as the Commissioned Corps.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the years the position of Surgeon General has changed in many ways. In 1873 the official title of the Surgeon General was changed to Supervising Surgeon General and then back to just Surgeon General in 1902. According to Funk and Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia the Surgeon General was the head of the Public Health System and reported directly to the Secretary of Health. After 1968 the Surgeon General reported to the Assistant Secretary of Health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The current Surgeon General for the United States is Dr. David Satcher. He was born in Anniston, Alabama on March second 1941. Dr. Satcher, his wife Nola, and his four children live in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Satcher received his M.D. and PhD from Case Western Reserve University in 1970. Dr. Satcher is the sixteenth Surgeon General and also the first African American man to hold this position. Fourteen men and two women have held the position since it originated in 1871. Dr. Satcher was sworn in on February thirteenth 1998 and his term will end in February 2002. He also held the position of Secretary of Health from February 1998 to January 2001. He was also the Surgeon General at this time. According to the Official Surgeon General website, Dr. Satcher has many jobs and responsibilities. First off his job is to administer the U.S. Public Health System. This is a group of public health professionals who respond to current and long-term health needs of the Nation. Dr. Satcher also provides leadership and management to the Public Health Service in the field of emergency preparedness and response activities.

Childbirth and Different Bursting Emotions

The miracle of life is the single most experience that every woman will remember in her lifetime. Almost every detail of the whole process can be definitely recalled by the mother, no matter how long it had happened. Every woman may have their own unique story of the parturition in every child she may have. But one thing is for sure, this amazing event is life changing, both an ending and a beginning. It marks the impending end of gestation and the start of a new family structure. The labor process is a time of different bursting emotions. There is the excitement of seeing the baby for the first time; fear of what might occur during the culmination of pregnancy and the unforgettable, excruciating, agonizing pain of contractions. The transition of events is very hard, long and rewarding all at the same time. Giving birth has been divided into three stages. The first stage of dilatation is the beginning of true labor contractions and ending when cervix becomes fully dilated. The progress and length of this stage varies from every woman to another. But definitely, the pain goes incredible as the contractions started coming closer and closer together. The mother may experience feelings of helplessness, restless, irritable, anxious and even out of control as contractions become stronger. The second stage is from descent to the birth of the newborn. This is the bittersweet part from the entire horrible aches that had transpired. This is the long awaited moment when you finally meet the precious one, actually touching his or her tiny hands and giving her warmth with your own bosom. I would like compare this journey into zealously unwrapping a huge special package that no matter how you have known what is inside of the gift; one will still be caught in awe upon laying eyes of the presence. The feeling is better than receiving that first I love you from someone you fell in love with. Lastly, from the time the baby is born until following the delivery of the placenta. There will be a sudden gush of blood. The placenta separates first at edge and delivers with maternal surface evidence. Now, the roller coaster drive of pregnancy ends. Labor normally launch when a fetus is sufficiently mature to cope with extra uterine life, yet not too large to cause mechanical difficulties in delivery. In some instances, labor initiates before the fetus is mature. On the other hand, labor may be delayed until the fetus and the placenta have both passed beyond the optimum point for birth and this is now termed post mature birth. In fact, some women need to be induced with medications to start or hasten labor. If all interventions fail, the mother must deliver her child without expulsion and must immediately need to submit to cesarean section, or surgical removal of a child, instead of having the baby pass through the birth canal. In summary, it can be said that while there is a general expected trend in the way each child birth will go, there is really no predicting the outcome for each individual mom. In fact, the only predictable factor of parturition may be variance. Inevitably, even how thoroughly science can explain the process of pregnancy until the expulsion of the newborn; it always feels surreal and marvelous how a person can bestow another life from her.

Do you belive that Opedius is essays

Do you belive that Opedius is essays Pier Paolo Pasolini created a film based on the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This film is considered one of the finest renderings of a classical Greek subject that the cinema has ever produced. Pasolini has in this film rearranged the flow of events, so that they follow the chronological order. The story starts with the shepherd carrying a child to the desert, while in the original myth from Sophocles the point of departure is different; the messenger come to ask Oedipus for help in saving the dying city. Furthermore Pasolini adds a modern prologue and epilogue, which are brilliantly lyrical and charged with great intensity of personal feeling. Pasolinis Oedipus Rex may be taken to be as much about Pasolini himself as about Sophocles hero. According to Pasolini this film is the most autobiographical of all his creation. One of Pasolinis claims about his film was that the little boy of the prologue is himself, the boys father is his father, and the mother is his own mother. Oedipus is born into circumstances of Pasolinis childhood, with his parents clothes in the film inspired by photographs of Pasolinis parents. Pasolini tried to create his own form of Oedipus; he wanted to avoid any connections that the audience could make with the original story. For this reason the location where the story was filmed was moved from Greece to Morocco. In portraying Oedipus, Pasolini had made some insertions into the story. Somewhere at the beginning of the story line he presents Oedipus at the age of 20 throwing discus at the competition and what was significant about this event was the cheating of Oedipus. This fact might suggest to us that Pasolini didnt think that Oedipus is a completely innocent, but.... Oedipus is allowed to kill in the film by Pasolini, in order to defend his pride, but is the killing the act of the innocent person or does Pasolini ...

Constructivism in Learning and Teaching

Constructivism in Learning and Teaching Constructivism is a system of learning where the students do not just passively absorb information. Educational experts were concerned with what was going on in the mind of the student. There is active participation from the students. They are taught to relate the knowledge they are being given by the teachers and relating it to their experiences in life.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Constructivism in Learning and Teaching specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This approach in education is important as it teaches the students to be critical thinkers. They become active and motivated in the classroom. Students learn to construct their own understanding of the learning material or literature. The students become autonomous and independent thinkers. With this approach in learning the students learn to engage more in problem solving and stop being passive. The skill of problem-solving is important and even assists the st udent in his adult life. It is a skill for life and that is what education should be. The student develops in his mental processes. It is a process of discovery for the student as he experiments with ideas at problem solving and getting solutions for the issues in his environment. The theory of constructivism learning is based on several concepts. Learning for the student will depend on what he or she already knows or has experienced. In the area of literature, students are motivated to relate the story or characters to what they already know or what they have experienced. Secondly, learning should be about the students inventing ideas concerning the learning materials. It may involve students analysing their old ideas in light of the learning materials and changing their old news to conform to what they are learning. When a student encounters information that is contrary to their way of thinking, then he finds himself at a state of disequilibrium. The student therefore has to chang e or alter his way of thinking in order to attain equilibrium. The whole process therefore is about inventing ideas instead of the student just accumulating facts and information. It is therefore a student centred class where the teachers facilitate the process of students hypothesize, predict, pose questions, research and invent (Collins, 2008). Students look at the world under the influence of their experiences and social interactions. Whenever a new experience is encountered the student tends to analyse the old experiences and the new experience. The student therefore tends to really consider prior experiences. If this is the way that people behave, then the educational approach in the classroom should take advantage and use an approach that helps the student enjoy learning.Advertising Looking for article on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The teacher therefore is a facilitator who has to know the inter actions between the students and their external environments. The student is shown which interactions with his environment will provide an opportunity for growth and is actually healthy (Huang, 2002) The teacher in the constructivist classroom has to possess certain qualities. He should be highly flexible and creative as he interacts with the students. The teacher is trained on how different students use their own experiences, prior knowledge and experience to construct meaning. When it comes to literature, there can be no single interpretation of a piece of reading. There are several and different interpretations and all of them may be correct. The teacher’s interpretation is not always the only correct way of perception. At the end of the day, it is a highly democratic environment where the students and teachers are able to interact and participate in the learning process. References Collins, R. (2008). Enhanced Student Learning Through Applied Constructivist Theory. Transf ormative Dialogues: Teaching Learning Journal, 2(2). Web. Huang, H. (2002) Toward constructivism for adult learners in Online learning environments. British Journal of Educational Technology.,33 (1)27-37. Web.

Victorian Social Mores Of The Early Twentieth Century essays

Victorian Social Mores Of The Early Twentieth Century essays Victorian social mores were originally strictly enforced, but as WWI developed, women began to reject the social mores to find work. Victorian social mores were paid less attention to by women in the years of the war, for women were needed to work and manufacture supplies for the war. As social mores were being questioned, women's organizations were making the situation worse for social mores by pushing for prohibition, the right to vote and suffrage. Victorian social mores faced many challenges around the turn of the century but the most prominent obstacles were women. World War I had a large effect on women overcoming Victorian social mores. Canada was unprepared for WWI, as it was expected to be a very short war but ended up being over 4 years long. As a result, Canadians manufacturers and suppliers could not cope with production demands. Manufacturers and producers needed more workers, but many able-bodied Canadian men were off fighting for their country; this is when women stepped in. Women broke through the rules that guided their lives to help out their country when it was in its greatest need. Canada needed workers for manufacturing plants and women were those workers. Many women came together and found work in assembly lines, munitions factories, and the civil service. Approximately 2400 women took an even greater leap of defiance and enlisted as nurses who served in British hospitals and in field hospitals. Many women abandoned the social mores to aid their society. Due to the demand for workers, coupled with the fact that Canada's men were at war, women began entering the workplace and going against social mores more rapidly than ever before. In 1891, women accounted for 14.3 percent of clerical workers in Canada; that figure had increased to 41.8 percent by 1921 and in 1901, one in six Canadian workers was female. Women accounted for 25 percent of all manufacturing and mechanical workers, and mo ...

Chicago Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chicago - Essay Example In comedy, it started the improvational style of amusement, in architecture the prairie design, and a variety of contemporary music like the jazz, soul and romantic blues. The city has a deep rooted liking for the classical songs. The city also has contemporary music best known for its performing music moguls in the world. Apart from music, it hosts dance competitions which attracts performers from other states as a way of promoting its art in the city (Koval 66). Through the immigration of various ethnicities in the city like the Europeans, Asians, Africans among others; the city enjoys a mixture of different traditions from dishes to artistic works. The fine arts sector has been majorly boosted by a number of award winning artists through their paintings. The city has numerous theaters including the renowned Steppenwolf Theater for the performing plays. The city hosts annual theater awards for recognition of the contributors in the fine arts industry (Koval 111). From the historical beginning of the town, there is a strong tie in Christianity especially the Catholics. It was majorly contributed from the immigration of Europeans who later transformed the town in religion and civilization. Chicago has a number of ancient but unique delicacies in the food industry. The Maxwell hotdog is a unique hotdog which was just prepared by mere steaming or boiling with raw onions and mustard, and is still sold in many food joints. In sports, the city has a wide range of games but most notably in baseball and basketball games. The famous Michael Jordon contributed significantly in winning various titles for the Chicago Bulls (Koval 75). Chicago is the third largest state which contributes enormously for the US gross national product. According to business reports, it has been known to have the most balanced economic growth among the other states of America. This is because it has vast incomes from transportation,

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War Research Paper

Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War - Research Paper Example The book has been divided into two parts. In the first part, Akira has included some important documents associated with the Pacific war, whereas, the second part of the book contains different essays written by prominent scholars and political experts. These essays present the perspective of different countries regarding the situation prevailed during that era. The book opens with an introductory essay. In this essay, the author have presented an analytical summary of the events took place before and during the Pacific war and attempted to uncover the leading factors that functioned to wreck the relations between Asian and European countries and ultimately became the base for the attack on Pearl Harbour. The introductory essay explains the convoluted issues behind the incident of Pearl Harbour in international context. The author elucidates the importance of the incident and its impacts upon the world history. He also identify the countries that played major role during that time an d explains that the war engaged US, Europe, Japan and China fighting with each others for many years. The essay provides sufficient information as well as analysis regarding the issue that is well summarized and well presented by Akira in the beginning essay. It become clear that how two different conflicts enduring in Europe and Pacific were merged together and took the shape of a solitary global conflict. The introductory essay is followed by the first major part of the book that contains some relevant and important documents.

Globalization in China as it relates to MacroEconomics Essay

Globalization in China as it relates to MacroEconomics - Essay Example (U.S. Commercial Service) China has been doing an admirable job of attracting foreign direct Investment (FDI), which has made it a powerful force to reckon with in the World Economic scene. In 2004, China kept its place as one of the top two destinations in the world of FDI adding $64 billion. Over $564 billion of FDI has been invested in China since it opened to the world in 1979.Executives overwhelmingly consider China to be the undisputed top FDI destination for the third year in a row in 2004. About 40% of global investors expressed a more positive outlook on China's economy, four times the number of executives who had a dimmer view of China. The path to economic liberalization has been a difficult but fruitful one for China. It has triumphed due to its determination and commitment to open up its markets to foreign investors. A Business Week article in 2001 stated that "after two decades of steady but halting reforms, Beijing is now racing to dismantle the last vestiges of a command economy". Let us trace the FDI history in China. Since late 1978, China has carried out massive economic reforms in an effort to restructure its economy to be more market oriented. FDI was one of the primary goals of its reforms. The government has over the years slowly liberalized the restrictions on FDI to gain technology transfer, modern management skills and foreign exchange. The government's first move to entice FDI was taken in 1979 with the Equity Joint Venture Law. This law allowed the legal entry of FDI and provided a statutory basis for the establishment of joint ventures in China. But Investment was allowed in only designated Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and was encouraged via tax incentives. As investments grew, additional laws were required. In 1983 another law was issued which provided greater details on all joint ventures in FDI. The government also expanded the SEZs in 1984.Then it passed Foreign Exchange Balance Provisions and Encouragement provisions in 1986, which facilitated FDI and allowed firms to solve fore ign exchange problems. (Jun Fu, November 2000). In 1994, China conducted a new round of FDI reforms. It abolished the official exchange rate and adopted a market rate. It also abolished the exchange quota retention system. In 1996, the government adopted IMF article A that removed all restrictions on foreign exchange transactions. All these reforms went a long way to boost investor confidence. In the November 1999 US-China WTO Accession Agreement, China agreed to several ground breaking reforms. (Sandra Berkun, 2001). Some of them were: China will phase in trading rights and distribution services over three years, and open up sectors relating to distribution services such as repair and maintenance, warehousing, trucking and air-courier services (US-China Business Council). China committed to allow FDI in its telecommunications industry. Increased access in banking, insurance and securities will be phased in the next five years resulting in full market access in all activities and regions. China also promised national treatment for foreign banks and minority ownership in domestic security firms and more insurance businesses.(Lardy ,1998) Increased access for professional services including accounting, consulting, engineering, medical and Information Technology. (Lardy,

Absorption Spectroscopy Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Absorption Spectroscopy - Lab Report Example It is valuable since it can accurately determine very tiny analyte concentrations (to the range of up to 10-5). It employs Beer-Lambert’s law to determine concentration. This law relates the thickness of the cuvette used in the analysis with the concentration of the analyte. It can be written as A= ÃŽ µcl, where This experiment involves the analysis of the risk that a consumer gets exposed to when he ingests a dye present in various commercial food items. This will be accomplished by determining the concentration of the dye present in the sample by use of absorption spectroscopy and then comparing it with the measured LD50 of that dye. To find the mass of the food dye present in the sample, the formula mass = number of moles / molar mass. The molar mass of Allura Red is 496.42 g/mol. The number of moles can be found by: moles = mass / molar mass From published literature, the LD50 of Allura Red is between 6-10 g/kg body weight (Vinaya Corporation). The amount of Allura Red that must be ingested to cause a fatality to a person whose weight is 56 kg is given by ((6g x 56 kg)/1kg). This gives a mass of 336 grams of Allura Red. To ingest 336 grams of Allura Red in sparkling fruit water, one would have to ingest 102.893 liters of sparkling fruit water: 20 ml of the fruit water has 0.06531 grams of Allura Red. To get 336 grams the person would have to consume ((20x336)/0.06531)=102.893 liters. The mass of Allura Red found in sparkling fruit water is relatively low. This makes the dye relatively harmless to human beings. The value obtained is relatively low, because of this; it can be said with a relatively high degree of confidence that the experiment was successful. It is possible errors were introduced into the experiment during the handling of the cuvettes. It is possible that the sides of the cuvettes were touched with dirty hands while they were being filled and then being placed onto the spectrometer. This might

Absorption Spectroscopy Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Absorption Spectroscopy - Lab Report Example It is valuable since it can accurately determine very tiny analyte concentrations (to the range of up to 10-5). It employs Beer-Lambert’s law to determine concentration. This law relates the thickness of the cuvette used in the analysis with the concentration of the analyte. It can be written as A= ÃŽ µcl, where This experiment involves the analysis of the risk that a consumer gets exposed to when he ingests a dye present in various commercial food items. This will be accomplished by determining the concentration of the dye present in the sample by use of absorption spectroscopy and then comparing it with the measured LD50 of that dye. To find the mass of the food dye present in the sample, the formula mass = number of moles / molar mass. The molar mass of Allura Red is 496.42 g/mol. The number of moles can be found by: moles = mass / molar mass From published literature, the LD50 of Allura Red is between 6-10 g/kg body weight (Vinaya Corporation). The amount of Allura Red that must be ingested to cause a fatality to a person whose weight is 56 kg is given by ((6g x 56 kg)/1kg). This gives a mass of 336 grams of Allura Red. To ingest 336 grams of Allura Red in sparkling fruit water, one would have to ingest 102.893 liters of sparkling fruit water: 20 ml of the fruit water has 0.06531 grams of Allura Red. To get 336 grams the person would have to consume ((20x336)/0.06531)=102.893 liters. The mass of Allura Red found in sparkling fruit water is relatively low. This makes the dye relatively harmless to human beings. The value obtained is relatively low, because of this; it can be said with a relatively high degree of confidence that the experiment was successful. It is possible errors were introduced into the experiment during the handling of the cuvettes. It is possible that the sides of the cuvettes were touched with dirty hands while they were being filled and then being placed onto the spectrometer. This might

Current strengths and weaknesses of the Microsoft company Assignment

Current strengths and weaknesses of the Microsoft company - Assignment Example Communication and innovation is not prioritized within the organization. Despite the popularity of handheld devices, the demand for computers in the united sates and across the world continues to grow. In this regard, it is realized that the future prospects for the organization are still good. Apple and Linux certainly threaten the large market share presently held by Microsoft. Indeed, the popularity of the products from these manufacturers continues to grow and there is a strong indication that Microsoft cannot continue to hold the 88% market share (Phelps, 38). Fluctuations in the exchange rates across the world greatly affect the demand for the software in certain countries. The fluctuating currencies greatly affect revenues from the organization especially in the international markets. It is presently realized that some hardware manufacturers like Oracle, Sun manufacturers, and IBM have collaborated with new platform technologies thereby greatly reducing the demand for windows (Stross, 45). In the same way, some of the hard ware manufacturers issue software application with their hardware sales. This means that Microsoft’s products do not apply in such

Marketing Analysis on Facebook Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing Analysis on Facebook - Assignment Example While the social networking sites are predominantly driven by individual actions as people are more or less free to use the platforms as they like. However, in some countries, the political environment is closed and the governments do not want people to interact freely on the social networking sites. There are clashes between the ideals of personal freedom and liberty of speech and local political and legal restrictions. China makes an excellent example for this issue, where the government monitors Internet activity of its citizens and also does not hesitate in hacking the social networking accounts or personal search data. While this is an extreme case, the difference in political ideologies across different countries does impact on the profitability and growth of the online organizations, and especially the online social networking organizations like Facebook. In addition, the cyber security laws and cyber privacy laws are different across different countries which make an organiza tion Facebook vulnerable to legal or social problems. While the Facebook model is basically based on the Western concepts of personal freedom and absolute privacy, different regions of the world do not conform to these ideals. As can be seen from the latest statistics, Facebook’s more than half members are now from countries in Asia and Latin America. However, the problems related to legal and political interference are not restricted to the politically closed countries or countries with non-democratically elected governments. There are several instances where European countries like Germany and France have objected to the use of the personal data by Facebook to target advertisements (Simpson, 2012) to the customers as a violation of their countries laws. While competitors like search engines like Google too face similar political legal issues, the concerns are magnified for social networking sites (Harwood, 2009). This is because, the account holders on the social networking sites are not really looking for buying or selling something as their primary objective (which may be the case with a large number of users on search engines), and keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances is all that they desire. The invasion of privacy in the case of social networking sites is more acutely felt than it is on the search Engines, and hence the political and legal ramifications are more intense (Cashmore, 2010). Economic Environment The business models of online organizations, be it the search engines or the social networking sites, differ from the brick and mortar businesses and this implies that the revenues and growth models in the Internet sector too is different (Cashmore, 2010).The social networking models are largely dependent on their large loyal customer bases to attract advertisers. Another way of remaining competitive is to increase the spend of the individual users. However, the increase in sales or revenues is often offset by the large cost inlays that are needed for the massive scale of operations (Keatin, 2012). The costs are associated largely with capacity building and obtaining more applications to attract more spend per user. So, while the social networking model has the potential to scale up quickly and generate large revenues,

Absorption Spectroscopy Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Absorption Spectroscopy - Lab Report Example It is valuable since it can accurately determine very tiny analyte concentrations (to the range of up to 10-5). It employs Beer-Lambert’s law to determine concentration. This law relates the thickness of the cuvette used in the analysis with the concentration of the analyte. It can be written as A= ÃŽ µcl, where This experiment involves the analysis of the risk that a consumer gets exposed to when he ingests a dye present in various commercial food items. This will be accomplished by determining the concentration of the dye present in the sample by use of absorption spectroscopy and then comparing it with the measured LD50 of that dye. To find the mass of the food dye present in the sample, the formula mass = number of moles / molar mass. The molar mass of Allura Red is 496.42 g/mol. The number of moles can be found by: moles = mass / molar mass From published literature, the LD50 of Allura Red is between 6-10 g/kg body weight (Vinaya Corporation). The amount of Allura Red that must be ingested to cause a fatality to a person whose weight is 56 kg is given by ((6g x 56 kg)/1kg). This gives a mass of 336 grams of Allura Red. To ingest 336 grams of Allura Red in sparkling fruit water, one would have to ingest 102.893 liters of sparkling fruit water: 20 ml of the fruit water has 0.06531 grams of Allura Red. To get 336 grams the person would have to consume ((20x336)/0.06531)=102.893 liters. The mass of Allura Red found in sparkling fruit water is relatively low. This makes the dye relatively harmless to human beings. The value obtained is relatively low, because of this; it can be said with a relatively high degree of confidence that the experiment was successful. It is possible errors were introduced into the experiment during the handling of the cuvettes. It is possible that the sides of the cuvettes were touched with dirty hands while they were being filled and then being placed onto the spectrometer. This might

Marketing Analysis on Facebook Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Marketing Analysis on Facebook - Assignment Example While the social networking sites are predominantly driven by individual actions as people are more or less free to use the platforms as they like. However, in some countries, the political environment is closed and the governments do not want people to interact freely on the social networking sites. There are clashes between the ideals of personal freedom and liberty of speech and local political and legal restrictions. China makes an excellent example for this issue, where the government monitors Internet activity of its citizens and also does not hesitate in hacking the social networking accounts or personal search data. While this is an extreme case, the difference in political ideologies across different countries does impact on the profitability and growth of the online organizations, and especially the online social networking organizations like Facebook. In addition, the cyber security laws and cyber privacy laws are different across different countries which make an organiza tion Facebook vulnerable to legal or social problems. While the Facebook model is basically based on the Western concepts of personal freedom and absolute privacy, different regions of the world do not conform to these ideals. As can be seen from the latest statistics, Facebook’s more than half members are now from countries in Asia and Latin America. However, the problems related to legal and political interference are not restricted to the politically closed countries or countries with non-democratically elected governments. There are several instances where European countries like Germany and France have objected to the use of the personal data by Facebook to target advertisements (Simpson, 2012) to the customers as a violation of their countries laws. While competitors like search engines like Google too face similar political legal issues, the concerns are magnified for social networking sites (Harwood, 2009). This is because, the account holders on the social networking sites are not really looking for buying or selling something as their primary objective (which may be the case with a large number of users on search engines), and keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances is all that they desire. The invasion of privacy in the case of social networking sites is more acutely felt than it is on the search Engines, and hence the political and legal ramifications are more intense (Cashmore, 2010). Economic Environment The business models of online organizations, be it the search engines or the social networking sites, differ from the brick and mortar businesses and this implies that the revenues and growth models in the Internet sector too is different (Cashmore, 2010).The social networking models are largely dependent on their large loyal customer bases to attract advertisers. Another way of remaining competitive is to increase the spend of the individual users. However, the increase in sales or revenues is often offset by the large cost inlays that are needed for the massive scale of operations (Keatin, 2012). The costs are associated largely with capacity building and obtaining more applications to attract more spend per user. So, while the social networking model has the potential to scale up quickly and generate large revenues,

Modern Family Essay Example for Free

Modern Family Essay Modern Family is a documentary-style comedy about three branches of the extended Pritchett family: Dad Jay has married a younger woman and is now raising a teenage stepson; his daughter Claire has a husband and three kids of her own; and his gay son Mitchell has just adopted a Vietnamese baby with his partner. Modern Family premiered on ABC in September 2009 as part of the networks new Wednesday comedy lineup, and was immediately met with positive reviews and strong ratings, becoming the breakout show of the night. Modern Family was created and is executive-produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, who worked together as writers and producers on Frasier, and co-created the short-lived sitcom Back to You; Levitan was also the creator of Just Shoot Me. This investigation will highlight the key aspects which has made Modern Family a very likable program over the last few years. the way in how the show appeals to viewers will be discussed as well as the values and attitudes of society are re? ected through the main characters. I Will also indicate some of the controls and constraints that Modern Family has to deal with in order to make their show successful and appropriate. Also featured will be the discussion of some of the obvious stereotypes which the show portrays and the impact of Modern Family on Todays society. But to be able to understand all these aspects, you will need to familiarise yourself with the main characters ? rst. Characters Jay Pritchett: The father of Claire and Mitchell, husband of Gloria, grandfather of Lily, Luke, Alex, and Haley, and the stepfather of Manny. He is the owner of a construction ? rm and is presumably the wealthiest family member. Jay has a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. Like both his son and daughter, Jay is generally more realistic, mild mannered, and sensible than his partner, Gloria, who is unashamed of the fact Jay is many years her senior. A recurring plot involves Jays relationship with his son Mitchell, which became more complicated due to Jays reaction to Mitchells sexual orientation. Gloria Pritchett: Jays wife and Mannys mother. She is from a small village in Columbia. She is a very loving wife and mother despite the age difference between her and her husband. Her voluptuous ? gure and overall beauty is often remarked or noticed by other characters on the show. One of her most distinctive traits is her very thick Colombian accent, which sometimes leads her to mispronounce English words, such as ultimatum as old-tomato and earrings as hair-rings. She often supports Manny when Jay tries to tell him to be less sensitive or hide his cultural background. Manny Delgado: Glorias 14-year-old son from her ? rst marriage. He is very outgoing and not the least bit self-conscious. He is very intelligent, mature and intuitive for his age and is often shown doing adult-like things, such as having conversations with Claire about her marriage and kids, and drinking coffee. He has inherited his mothers passion for life, though Gloria has also said, Manny is passionate, just like his father. This causes Manny to be very romantic. Manny is not afraid to take chances, leading him to ask out older girls, and develop a crush on Haley. Phil Dunphy: Claires husband of 20 years who sees himself as the cool dad. He dotes on his wife Claire and constantly tries to ? nd ways to bond with his three kids. He is seen as very competitive, one example being his nature of always beating his son at basketball. He has a very juvenile attitude, and is referred to by Claire as the kid [shes] married to. He uses a parenting method that he calls peerenting, which is a combination of talking like a peer but acting like a parent. He is a real estate agent who is very con? dent in his work, once saying I could sell a fur coat to an Eskimo. Claire Dunphy: the daughter of Jay, Mitchells older sister, and the helicopter soccer mom of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids. She was once a wild-child who made a lot of mistakes over the years, and she is fearful that her children could make the same mistakes, especially her oldest daughter, Haley. She is often exhausted from stress created by her family but is still a loving mother. When it comes to her kids she has dif? culty controlling Haleys independence and irresponsibility, Alexs manipulative nature, and Lukes lack of common sense. She also gets annoyed with her husband, Phil, constantly. Claire is a very competitive person, much like her husband, and is portrayed with a personality that causes her to freak out easily, and get angry. She is very strict about a clean house. She is seen as an experienced parent by Cameron and Mitchell, so she is called upon for her parenting advice Haley Dunphy: the daughter of Claire and Phil, who is portrayed as the stereotypical teenager who is often embarrassed by the presence of her parents. Haley is 15 at the beginning of the series, and is a freshman in college as of Season 4. Haley is depicted as being a bit of a bimbo, who focuses more on social status than studies. She is a little naive, especially when it comes to arguing with her parents. She is concerned about her popularity at school, as well as her social and sexual life, which contributes to her being embarrassed by her parents. Alex Dunphy: the 15-year-old daughter of Claire and Phil, and also the most erudite and intelligent of the three siblings. She is very bright and cares much more about her studies than friends/social life and boys. As the middle child to a shallow big sister and a goofy younger brother, she enjoys messing with them when they are rude to her, which is fairly often. Often taking advantage of their naivete by fooling them into believing unrealistic things, she at one time convinced Haley and Luke that they could charge electronics by rubbing the battery on their heads (Haley) and putting it in their mouths (Luke). She, as a stereotypical precocious kid, displays a sense of superiority because of her erudition, constantly putting her accomplishments on display and demanding recognition for them. Luke Dunphy: Phil and Claire? s 14-year-old son, who is often doing his own thing. At times, he can be a troublemaker, once shooting his sister with a toy gun and getting into a ? ht with Manny at school. Luke is playful, very innocent and does not always understand the repercussions of his actions, like most children; he once announced at a family gathering that his mom thought her dads new wife was a gold digger, although he misheard it as coal digger. Mitchell Pritchett: Also referred to as Mitch, is Jays son, Claires younger brother, Luke, Alex and Haleys uncle, one of Lilys fathers, and partner of eight years to Cameron. He is a low-key, mild-mannered person. At most times he is the exact opposite of Cameron which usually causes disagreements. Cameron acts as a counterbalance to Mitchells uptight, worrying ways. He usually responds to homophobia (whether real or perceived) by giving speeches. Because of his mild-mannered, uptight nature, he is sometimes embarrassed by Camerons ? amboyance. Cameron Tucker: Also referred to as Cam, is Mitchells partner of eight years, and one of Lilys fathers, who has a very big dramatic personality. His bubbly outgoing personality contrasts to Mitchells uptight manner, which causes them to have opposing character traits. Cameron was born on February 29, 1972 and grew up on a farm in Missouri. Lilly Tucker-Pritchett: the adopted Vietnamese daughter of Cameron and Mitchell. When she was introduced to the family, they accepted her with open arms, although Mitchell originally wanted to wait to tell them about her. She is at times doing activities with both of her fathers but remains with Cam at home while Mitchell works. How Does It Appeal? A key aspect of the show? s appeal is the similarities people ? nd between the extended family and their own family. Some characters from the show are Phil Dunphy, Claire Dunphy, Jay Pritchett, Gloria Pritchett, Mitchell Pritchett, and Cam Tucker. There are many other characters that make up this family, which make for much more diversity. The dynamic between these different immediate families and their values (including traditional, gay, straight, and multicultural) are what gives Modern Family its large demographic. The diversity of the Pritchetts helps reach a large audience. The ? rst part of this family is the Pritchett-Delgado family. This consists of Jay, the family patriarch, Gloria, the younger second wife, and Manny, her son. The fun part in watching this family is the culture clash between Jay and Gloria. Gloria and Manny are Hispanic, while Jay is white. It is interesting as they try to make sure that Manny gets a combination of both cultures in his life. Next in this family is the Dunphy family. This has Claire, Jay? s daughter and mother of three, and Phil, Claire? s fun husband. Their children are also in the show. First is Haley, the epitome of some teenage girls who seem to only care about their social lives as opposed to spending time with their family. Second is Alex, the smart child and Haley? s opposite. Last is Luke, the youngest and most rambunctious of the three. He is very close to Manny. The Dunphy? s are a very traditional family, but has had some of the more memorable moments in the show. Some of them come from Phil, who is known for having a very fun sense of humor. Finally there is the Pritchett-Ticker family. This is made up of Mitchell, Jay? s gay son and Claire? s younger brother, Cam, his partner, and Lily, their adoptive daughter from Vietnam. It is fun to watch their family and see how different they are from the other two parts of the family. It? s also important because it helps to put the similarities into perspective for many viewers, and that is very valuable these days. Stereotypes Stereotypes are an inevitable part of modern culture. They are standardized and simpli? ed views of groups and minorities based on prior assumptions. â€Å"Modern Family† constantly utilises and plays with the notions of Stereotypes. â€Å"Modern Family† attempts to create a new stereotype by conforming and altering old stereotypes. There is Jay, the Grandfather who remarried to a beautiful, busty Colombian woman Gloria and her son, Manny. Jay? s daughter, Claire, married to Phil, who have 3 children, Haley, Alex and Luke. Finally, Jay? s on Mitchell has an adopted Vietnamese daughter with boyfriend Cameron. The entire program works by challenging and changing stereotypes, in particular that of Gay parents, Cam and Mitch. Cameron and Mitchell are, in a way, a stereotypical gay couple. However, the humour and the message is portrayed through their confrontation of that stereotype. In one episode, they are confronted with the notion that one of them in the couple is â€Å"the woman. † This stereotypical view, that society is asking them to conform to, forces not only a humorous situation, but also challenges the characters? Gender and Identity. The show cleverly alters the ideas of stereotypes, and plays to into them, but also puts â€Å"name to a face† as it were. Stereotypes are not necessarily formed solely on against minorities, and this show challenges every one. Each character is a â€Å"stereotype† in their own right – be that â€Å"the dumb socialite,† or â€Å"the only child† or â€Å"the loud Colombian woman†. In season 4 there is an episode titled â€Å"Fulgencio† Which con? rms the perception that Latinos working in America are poor and struggle for money but still work very hard. Gloria? family comes to visit the new born baby in the family and the Columbian family endeavors the entire episode to clearing the house, especially Gloria? s sister. it is a positive representation of Latinos because they want to work even if they are on a holiday. But the beauty and hilarity of Modern Family is that each character confronts each of their stereotypes and we, as an audience, see that there is a lot more than meets the eye. Instead of simply accepting some of these stereotypes, Modern Family challenges some of these and in doing so creates a new opinion on the viewers Controls and Constraints There are many controls and constraints that will affect any media production, and Modern Family is no exception. Time: Time is one of the main factors that affects the production. Each episode is meant to run for approximately 20-23 minutes excluding ad-breaks. This means that the group of people who are putting together an episode, must avoid making a very long plot and address the main issue of the episode almost immediately. Another constraint of the show is its budget. Budget: The budget of any program is an outline of how much that production will cost, or how much the director is willing to spend. In its ? st three seasons. There has been episodes ? lmed in Hawaii, and a ranch. These episodes were have been ? lmed in these locations and not a studio with a backdrop of that location. This would have possibly meant that the budget for those 2 episodes would have been greater than some of their other episodes. It is also rumored that the ABC is planning to ? lm a future episode in Columbia in which the viewers will be introduced to Gloria Pritchett? s family. Taking into account the budget of a normal episode, and adding to that international ? ights for the cast and crew, this could very well be the most expensive episode yet. Rating/Audience: One of the most important controls and constraints which affect a media production, is the audience and their expectations. The producers of the show will give a classi? cation or rating so that viewers have some idea of what to expect. Modern Family has a rating of PG13. A PG-rated motion picture should be investigated by parents before they let their younger children attend. The PG rating indicates, in the view of the Rating Board, that parents may consider some material unsuitable for their children, and parents should make that decision. The more mature themes in some PG-rated motion pictures may call for parental guidance. There may be some profanity and some depictions of violence or brief nudity. However, these elements are not deemed so intense as to require that parents be strongly cautioned beyond the suggestion of parental guidance. There is no drug use content in a PG-rated motion picture. Since people under the age of 13 are still likely to watch the show, The writers of an episode must be very careful about any potential jokes that might affect a child. E. g. Modern Family is not allowed to make a joke about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the tooth fairy not existing because a young person watching the show who believed they existed could end up being very upset. An example of this is from an episode from season 1 when Cameron and Mitchell take their adopted daughter Lilly to go an see Santa Claus at the local mall. The reason all types of ? lm media have these ratings, is to protect the viewer from seeing something they might not want to see. Values and Attitudes Re? ected Through Characters In mainstream media, there seems to be different views on gay marriage, but it seems to be slightly more in favour of accepting the life choices made by these people. In Modern Family, there is a gay couple called Cameron and Mitchell. The way that they positively re? ect the values and attitudes of society is the fact that they are very open about being gay. Another way it is positively re? ected is through the other main characters. They all seem to be very accepting even the Patriarch of the family Jay Pritchett, he accepts his sons choice even though he is uncomfortable with it. In one of the early episodes of season 2, the couple shared a kiss which pleased the audience. Ultimately, then, the show re? ects the experiences and insecurities of its creators and assumed audience, middleclass, middle-aged straight white men. Also in its Pilot episode, Cam and Mitch announce to the family that they have adopted a baby from Vietnam and the whole family (Including Mictchell? s homophobic father Jay) are very accepting of their choice. It reassures them that being tolerant is as good as being inclusive and that heterosexual white families with shrill stay-at-home wives are the norm. Its exploration of the pressures of feminine ideals is considerably less sympathetic meaning that Phil? s wife Claire Dunphy is arguably the least likable character, and story lines have included three women getting their period at the same time and going crazy, and ? ery Latina Gloria needing to be chaperoned because her pregnancy brain makes her too forgetful to function. Modern Family is one of very few to feature main characters who are gay (one of whom is played by a character who is actually gay outside of the production) and people of color, and it shows Cam and Mitch to be caring, capable parents. t challenges some of the values and attitudes which are evident, and the fact that Modern Family presents this unit in such a non-threatening way may be the key to its acceptance. Impact On Society Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Casted as Mitchell Pritchett) said that Modern Family might be doing a lot to change the views on gay marriage. The actor said he has had several people approach him and remark how the show has had an impact their lives and their views. Its impossible to measure how wide the impact is, but the fact that even one person changed their mind says a lot about the depth of the show. Modern Family is hardly the ? rst show to feature gay characters. However, it is one of the ? rst that doesnt really make an issue out of it. In fact, it is easy to forget that Cameron and Mitchell are a gay couple. There are no political statements or agendas. They are just two people living their lives. The fact that it has affected the views of other people indicates that it is a very important show. It takes something special to alter the mindset of an individual. This show ? ts the bill. They keep doing what they do. Modern Family shouldnt try to change the world. However, if they change a few minds while carrying on as normal then there is nothing wrong with that. Modern Family has also made people who watch the show feel better about themselves because viewers now know that there own family isn? t the only family who has troubles. It is happening all around them. This helps us to understand that Modern family is one of the most realistic television sitcoms going around at the moment. Conclusion It is quite evident that Modern family has had an impact on todays society in a positive way along with providing the viewers with plenty of laughs along the way. For people to want watch a program and understand some of the meaning it constructs, then the show must appeal to the viewer in the ? rst place, and Modern Family does this by creating a storyline that most people can generally relate to. Once people become immersed in the show they start to pick up some of the stereotypes that are evident, e. g. Gay couple, loud South Americans etc. Because we relate with the characters, we feel inclined to display the same values and attitudes that the characters do which is respecting people even if they? re gay or of a different nationality. This leads to its impact on society which is without a doubt a positive one. Perhaps Modern Family is changing the views towards gay marriage and it is better that they? re doing it in a way where people can watch a television program that people can enjoy, but also learn from it. It is amazing to consider how successful a TV show can be due to the controls and constraints it faces, and Modern Family perfects it.

Strategic Human Resources Management Practices In Business

Strategic Human Resources Management Practices In Business Strategic human resource management is to ensure that human resource management is fully integrated into strategic planning that human resource policies cohere both across hierarchies and that HRM policies are accepted and used by line managers as a part of their every day work Integrating human resource management strategies and systems to achieve the overall mission, strategies, and success of the firm while meeting the needs of employees and other stakeholders. Source: Herman Schwind, Hari Das and Terry Wagar, Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach. Strategic HRM has four meanings: The use of planning. A coherent approach to the design and management of personnel systems based on an employment policy and manpower strategy and often underpinned by a philosophy. Matching HRM activities and policies to some explicit business strategy. Seeing the people of the organization as a strategic resource for the achievement of competitive advantage. HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING: According to Terry L. Leap and Michael D.crino Human resource planning is a process of determining and assuming that organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at the proper times, performing jobs which meet the needs of enterprise and which provide satisfaction for the individual involved. Overall we can say HRP is a process of anticipating and making provision for the flow of people into, within, and out of an organization. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING: Strategic HR planning is an important component of strategic HR management. It links HR management directly to the strategic plan of your organization. Based on the strategic plan, an organization can develop a strategic HR plan that will allow making HR management decisions now to support the future direction of the organization. A comprehensive HR Strategy will also support other specific strategic objectives undertaken by the marketing, financial, operational and technology departments. An HR strategy planning provides overall direction for the way in which HR activities will be developed and managed to gain competitive advantage in an organizational performance. The HR planning enables the organization to implement policies that enhance the skills and competencies of the people Strategic human resource planning consists of a number of objectives, but all the objectives must be closely aligned to overall business goals in order to be effective. Even a large human resources department is not a revenue-generating section of the organization. Therefore, human resources executives must demonstrate the employers return on investment through strategic activities. Strategic activities are forward-thinking processes that support business growth through recognition of the value of human capital . Strategic HR Planning Today In these times of great economic changes, the importance of human resource planning is more apparent than ever. A short-sighted lay-off, intended to temporarily reduce overhead, can result in much heavier long-term costs. Organizations have to spend more money and time for recruiting training new employees if they couldnt retain the old experience, skilled employees in right time. In the recent scenario of globalization and faster communication, a smart human resources plan encourages the organization to keep a longer view of things and retain talent so that, once this economic upheaval has calmed down, itll have a committed team intact. The overall purpose of strategic HR planning is to: Ensure adequate human resources to meet the strategic goals and operational plans of your organization the right people with the right skills at the right time Keep up with social, economic, legislative and technological trends that impact on human resources in your area and in the sector Remain flexible so that your organization can manage change if the future is different than anticipated STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS: The strategic HR planning process has the following steps, Mission , Vision Value Strategic Analysis Strategic Formulation Strategic Implementation Strategic Evaluation Assessment A. Mission, Vision Value Mission The basic purpose of the organization as well as its scope of operations. Strategic Vision A statement about where the company is going and what it can become in the future; clarifies the long-term direction of the company and its strategic intent. Core Values The strong and enduring beliefs and principles that the company uses as a foundation for its decisions. B. Strategic Analysis It deals with scanning Internal and external environment as well as competencies (i.e. knowledge, skills abilities) of the organization and forecasting human resource demand accordingly. The following will define these terms broadly. External environments The major external forces influencing the organization as follows , Economic factors: general and regional conditions Competitive trends: new processes, services, and innovations Technological changes: robotics and office automation Political and legislative issues: laws and administrative rulings Social concerns: child care and educational priorities Demographic trends: age, composition, and literacy Internal environment The Internal environment consists of the followings, Core Competencies : Integral knowledge, competitive advantages through people Organisational culture: The culture and quality of work life in an organization. The human capital architecture of the firm: core knowledge workers, traditional job-based employees, contract based employees, partners etc. Human Resource Forecasting This is a critical element of planning especially in strategic human resource planning which deal with mostly long term HR strategy of the organization. We can say this can be of as following, Demand for Human capital Demand forecasting of employees has both qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitatively we can use management forecasting or Delphi techniques where as quantitative we can use trend analysis to study the demand. Supply of Human Capital Forecasting the Supply of human capital can be done through obtaining the Staffing Charts which shows graphical representations of all organizational jobs, along with the numbers of employees currently occupying those jobs and future employment requirements, with the information from the personnel files of employees and their replacement succession planning details and their individual development plans. Gap Analysis This is a tool that helps an organization to compare its actual performance with its potential performance. I strategic human resource planning it means the study of the gasp between the demand and supply of competencies of human capital with reference to the business objectives and strategies. This can be of Performance Gap Analysis ,Training Development Gap Analysis ,Skills Gap Analysis Or Competence Gap Analysis. C. Strategic Formulation In this stage HR professionals need to develop a logical practical course of action to use the strengths of the organization to capitalize on opportunities, counteract threats, and remove internal weaknesses. These action plans has to be formulated in all levels of a business organization i.e. corporate strategy, business strategy and functional strategy. Corporate strategies deal with the policies and procedures involved in mergers or acquisition, business alliances, joint venture or any future intent for growth and diversification. Business level strategy deals with value creation for the organization as well as keeping an eye on low cost productivity and overall efficiency to make it competitive and profitable. Functional strategy plays a vital role. The HR professional has to align the business objectives and the HR initiatives, policies and practices both internally and externally. Some of the examples are Training Development Strategy, recruitment strategy, IR strategies, Retention strategy etc. D. Strategic Implementation This stage is the time to take actions on all the strategies and plans made. First , we have to balance the demand and supply of human capital by forecasting business activities or trends and also by maintaining a record of all the applicants of past, present and future. Secondly, as per above plan out the attrition /retention strategies, downsizing or lay off techniques have to be made. Then need to work on the training development of employees with other reward, incentive or welfare practices. E. Strategic Evaluation Assessment Now we need to assess the HR function, the work force with comparing the organizations processes and practices with those of other companies. Here the HR professional has to take the help of few metrics or mapping or scorecard techniques for the evaluation. In addition, the HR strategy can add value is by ensuring that, in all its other plans, the organization takes account of and plans for changes in the wider environment, which are likely to have a major impact on the organization HR PROFESSIONALS AND THE MODERN BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS In the modern context, Strategic human resource planning is a planning about the nature of the present future work demand labor supply for both short term long term that serves to achieve the strategy objective of the firm. The role of human resource management is changing is changing very fast, to help companies achieve their goals. HRM has gone through many phases from hiring firing to relationship building, from there to legislation role, now its role is shifting from protector screener to strategic partner as a change agent. Today, to create value and deliver better results, HR professionals have begin not by focusing on the work activities or work of HR but by defining the deliverables of that work. So as the planning is not to set goals but also to make sure to achieve them. According to Richard Chang, author of The Passion Plan at Work, HRM focuses mainly on HR Research and Information Systems, Union/Labor Relations, Employee Assistance, and Employee Compensation/Benefits where as Human Resource Development, according to Chang, includes Career Development (helping individuals align their career planning), Organizational Development (helping groups initiate and manage change), and Training and Development (designing / developing, and delivering training to ensure people are equipped to do their jobs). But SHRP as a part of SHRM involves both area and creates an overlap between them in todays HR functions. Mostly all of the HR leaders and professionals in large international organizations are participating in SHRP by giving strong contribution in decision making and strategic teams. But in small and medium size companies there is a lack of contribution of HR professionals due to their non-involvement in organizational or functional strategic planning and the stereotypical negative views of HR functions. Most of the Top management teams till now consider HR functions as a compliance function or more of a consultative service and HR professionals are involve d in implementing a strategy only after the strategy is decided. To gain its position in the strategic decision team, HR have to Know and understand the business strategies, processes its objectives Understand how the various organizational components interact and the process of business and what the long-term implications of HR decisions are. The impact of HR decisions must be thoroughly researched and analyzed before changes are implemented. Understand the five major non-HR components of any business: finance, marketing, sales, operations and accounting. Align HR strategy to organizations Mission Statement and objectives. Strategies can range from functional strategy and capability strategy to results strategy. HR professional face lot difficulties while applying the SHRP in reality. As various functional stages they face different challenges. So they have to overcome them as follows , Selection Staffing: If HR knows in the firsthand the clear direction and requirement of the company, it will easy to place right people at right place in right time which will save both time and money of the organization. But in many organizations only few leaders have that access. The HR officers are not aware of this. So to cope of with the pace of today globalization and expansion of business all level of professionals has to be well versed with these requirements. Training Development: Training and development are most important in view of the strategic growth process of a company. So the knowledge , skill and competence of employees has to be accessed strictly by HR professionals without any interference of the higher authority or being biased by any sort of favoritism. In reality this is not 100% successful yet because of lack of HR interest and also lack of tools to evaluate these. If HR people can be equipped with all the new tools techniques to perform these tasks they would be able to speak instantly to any issues, and possibly provide input that could help a company achieve its goals faster. Organizational Development Change Management: In long term strategy always change has a critical role in different processes of the workplace. Each department is known to these changes of their related departments. if these will be timely intimated to the HR departments , they will be able to take care of the organizational development issues with unique solution and make sure of t he positive impact of the change on overall process. this is only possible when there will be proper chart or data available with proper maintenance for which HR department has to take necessary required steps. CONCLUSION The ultimate goal of strategic planning is the identification of opportunities along with some risks by aligning objectives and activities of an organization with proper allocation of available resource to produce the desired profit for it. In these processes HR has should play an important role at every step for successful achievement of the various strategies plantings process which will also increase the value of HR professionals and HR functions globally. So we can conclude on that HR is not only for employee welfare or personnel management or any compliance issues but also deserve a strong position in t he strategy making process with the top management. If organizations take HR professionals and their suggestion during strategy planning process , it will gain more than as expected by adopting a suitable SHRP to the organizations strategies and goals. Especially , at this stage of rapid globalization where demand of specific skilled persons in and from different locations aremore required to help the organizations to gain a huge amount of profit in less time and optimum utilization of resources, SHRP and the participation of HR managers to create strategies along with the top management is most necessary step to do for further progress in business.