Purchasing and inventory system Essay

INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Batang Convenience Store is a retail business selling dry goods, LPG’s, soft drinks and food that located in Silang, Cavite. It is founded by Yolanda and Eduardo Atienza who started its first operation on 1999. Since its venture to this kind of business, Batang Convenience Store never used any type of record books or computerized systems. The owner arranges the purchasing of  supplies by evaluating documents like delivery receipts and purchasing orders, which is time-consuming, tiresome, and inconvenient. The owner is not aware if product is no longer available or the item is becoming out of stock. If the owner wants to purchase items from the supplier, it must be done in form of writing. Sometimes the owner encounters loss of data due to carelessness. With the company’s manual means of evaluating the inventory and managing the purchasing operations, inaccurate entries are sometimes made. The Purpose of the Computerized Inventory and Purchasing System is to help a company in managing, monitoring and maintaining their Inventory as well as generating necessary reports and keeping important data safe. The researchers of this study will develop a new purchasing and inventory system for the business using Visual Basic.Net and Microsoft SQL Server software. With this system, the evaluation of inventory and management of purchasing operations will become more organized, and thus easier. In this manner, wrong inputs will be avoided, and the checking and organizing of items will be more accurate. 1.2 Statement of Problem 1.2.1 General Problem Batang Convenience Store encounters problems such as in and out of product from the stock room are not properly monitored by the purchasing clerk.Availability of their products is less supervised by the owner that consumes a lot of time by checking each item manually. Human errors in writing reports, miscount of products and tallying of inventory is time-consuming and tiresome due to the nonexistence of record books or computerized system. Purchasing Reports and Documents are also unavailable, hence purchasing processes takes too long and it may affect the overall productivity of the business. Manual process of evaluating, inventory, and managing the purchasing operations by the owner leads to inaccurate entries of data. The lack of proper record keeping also causes the lost of relevant data. 1.2.2 Specific Problems The proposed system intends to answer these following problems: In and out of product is less supervised, Time-consume and tiresome tallying of inventory records, Purchasing processes takes too long, by manually writing each item, Inaccurate entries of data due to manual process of evaluating, inventory, and managing the purchasing operation and Loss of relevant data due to the nonexistence of record books or computerized system. 1.3 Objectives of the Study 1.3.1 General Objective This study aims to develop a computerized Inventory and Purchasing System for Batang Convenience Store. The system will help the business in producing accurate reports, improve transactions and provide a more convenient process for the owner’s /manager and staff. They can also serve their customer in a fastest way and accurate w/out any problem occurs. 1.3.2 Specific Objectives The following specific objectives must be attained to meet the General objective of the proposed system: To develop a system that will help the purchasing clerk to monitor the products in the stock room, To generate a system that will helpto lessen the burden of the store owner in tallying inventory items, To create a system that can help the owner to have faster way of ordering products, To create a computerized system that will help the owner to create evaluation inventory and manage purchasing operation. To develop a system that will automatically keep all the transaction record by updating and putting security measure such as password and backing up of files. 1.4Significance of the Study The Purchasing and Inventory System is one of the key factors to have a successful and profitable business. If the system is not well organized and stable, the business may not be able to meet the target profit in a given period of time. This study will be beneficial to the following: The company, interviewed by the researchers, will be able to monitor the status of materials needed to be purchase on a given period of time. Data inputs will produce an efficient output to be used as basis for making decisions. The owner can easily generate an automated approval report and can monitor the stock with ease and efficiency. Purchasing Clerk can do the processing of order, preparing the purchase order (PO) and monitoring of order status, the Stockman can do the inventory of items easily, and the  Supplier will have a lesser travel time to get the Purchase Order (PO) from the company. Future Researchers can utilize the results of the study as basis or reference when conducting their own research about Inventory and Purchasing System. 1.5Scope and Limitations The researchers of this study will use Visual Basic.Net together with Microsoft SQL Server to develop the system. The proposed system will have three (3) level accesses, one for the owner, one for the manager, and for the Stockman. The owner/manager will have the access to the following modules: The Purchasing Module: This is where the owner/manager approves the Purchase Order (PO), Purchase Request (PR) and in this module the owner/manager can cancel the transaction processing. The Inventory Module: The owner can view the status and movement of the stocks in this module. The owner can also add, edit or deactivate items using this module. The Reports Module: In this module the manager can see the Purchase Order (PO), Purchase Request (PR) and Inventory Reports. The User Account Module: In this module you can add, edit, search and read data that is recorded The Administrative Module: This is for the user’s account creation and editing. The Supplier Module: This is for owner/manager can view the company’s current suppliers, add and deactivate suppliers and in this module the manager can also edit the details of the supplier. The Purchasing Clerk will have the access on the following modules: Purchasing Module: where the input of ordered items, purchase order, purchases Request is being made. Inventory module: where stocks can be viewed. Report module: in this module the purchasing clerk can see the Purchase Order (PO) Reports, Purchase Request (PR) Report and inventory Reports. The Stockman can only access the following modules: Inventory module: where the stockman can report the new products in the inventory and the status of the stocks. Report Module: In this module the stockman can only see the Inventory reports. There will be three (3) workstations in the proposed system – for the Purchasing Clerk, the Owner and the stock room. The workstations will be networked through UTP cables and a switch. We also added a Network Printer which is connected to the  Manager’s Computer for printing Reports and Documents. Limitation The proposed system will concentrate mainly in solving the problems that the company experiences concerning their Purchasing and Inventory System. Some limitations that the proposed system might encounter are the following: Power interruption due to power failure, Exclusion of auditing and transaction of sales, and The network is not connected to the Internet. Our Proposed System will not run in other Operating system environment besides Windows.HIPO

Is Enough Being Done to Preserve Languages? Essay

Throughout history the world has consisted of many cultures and languages, some of them have been dominant, some of them have been minor. Until the 20th century global and minority languages have continued a peaceful coexistence that has provided cultural diversity for the Earth. In the present this balance has been broken and most of indigenous languages tend to disappear. Although worldwide scientists do not spare efforts to stop this extinction, there is a debate whether it is sufficient to do for saving extinct languages or not. Some experts suggest that some positive trends have emerged in linguistic field which can alleviate the grave situation such as master-apprentices program and large-scale documental projects. However, many scientists assert that the measures are not enough to protect languages from losing, since the rate of this process is extremely high and negative attitudes towards local languages are intensive. Therefore, this essay will contend efforts that have been made to preserve languages are inadequate because of considerable amount of adverse aspects. There are some effective efforts have been made to save languages in the world. One of these efforts is master-apprentices program which has increased the survival of languages. In this program young people learn their own language by older generation who teach them traditional customs and craftsmanship. For example, in California Native Americans are trained basket weaving in their own native tongue, because of this method it is enough about 300 hours to begin to speak fluently (Knight, 2000). Similarly, another successful master-apprentices program has been developed by academic Leanne Hinton of Berkeley and has passed on the knowledge and skills of indigenous Native American languages to the youth. As a result, this incentive can provide to maintenance of 25 aboriginal languages in the US (Wayt-Gibbs, 2002). The next one of efficacious ways to preserve languages is documentation which has supported fieldwork and other activities relevant to recording, documenting and archiving endangered languages. In the recent years several potent foundations have been created in order to invest considerable amount of money for these purposes. According to Wayt-Gibbs(2002), the Volkswagen foundation has helped to establish a multimedia archive in the Netherland and collect data on dozen rare languages. Moreover, owing to the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund, in the UK linguists will probably manage to record and save about 100 minor languages (Wayt Gibbs, 2002). In fact, these immense documentation projections can be more beneficial for science rather than common people, since the preservation does not contribute using minority languages in the real life. To sum up, due to some constructive projects that have raised interest and investment to saving endangered languages, scientists hope to stop language extinction. However, there are an impressive number of pessimistic forecasts to further existence of linguistic variety in our planet. The greatest concern is caused by rate of dying minor languages especially in developed countries. Krauss, a linguistic professor at the University of Alaska, states that about 3 000 languages will have vanished by the end of the century. For example, only two of 20 languages known in Alaska have been learn by children (Wayt-Gibbs, 2002). Moreover, the Navajo tongue is also on the danger list because only elder people speak in this language (Knight, 2000). The similar process has occurred in Australia, where 20 of 70 Aboriginal languages were not spoken by all current generations (Wayt-Gibbs, 2002). Respectively, most scientists are concerned about the alarming situation and its development in the future. Nevertheless, common people, especially native speakers, often have inferior attitude towards their own language. This attitude is another cause of disappearing minor languages. Owing to learning a dominate language and forgetting own language, people hope to improve their standard of living and be equal to their surroundings. This case happened to some dialects in Scottish which have given way to common English language (Wayt-Gibbs, 2002). It is obvious that an individual does not understand why he or she has to save own language when it is not useful for everyday life. Thus, the world has lost its language diversity with the exponential rate, as indigenous communities have rejected using its own language in favor of global languages in order to have better opportunities for themselves and their children. Therefore, although some encouraging perspectives have recently appeared in linguistic fields to prevent minority languages from dying out, the process of language extinction is irreversible. Most of the evidence was presented above particularly from developed countries such as the US and Australia. Nonetheless, developing countries have also lost its indigenous languages. According to Wayt-Gibbs (2002), there are aboriginal languages in Brazil, Ivory Coast, East Timor which it is likely to be extinct in the next 100 years. How it can be seen from the examples, almost in all parts of the world there are disappearing languages and its number increase constantly. As for people who renounce their own languages in favor of a global language, they do it not always willingly, but under pressure of political and economical circumstances. In the past the US government constrained the Navajo to reject from their language (Knight, 2000). Moreover, for business it is not also profitable to contribute language diversity that prevents from economic globalization (Knight, 2000). For these reasons the fate of most local languages are sealed. While some optimists insist that it is possible to save losing languages because of master-apprentices program, Wayt-Gibbs (2002) states that this project is not widespread, mainly in the US. In addition to that, he claims that elder speakers tend to die before they pass on their knowledge to the youth. In regard to positive results of documentation undertaking, creation of language archives has encountered serious complication due to inconsistency of collected data and uncertainty with the period of archive‘s maintenance (Wayt-Gibbs, 2002). Even if to allow that linguists manage to collect and record all endangered languages, humanity would receive only an outline that could not revive real languages (Wayt-Gibbs, 2002). Thus, although attempts to save language variety are weak and separate, the world prefers to use several dominant languages. Perhaps, it is worth reflecting to native speakers which language they will choose in the future and they will not loss probably only their own language, but their own lifestyle and throughway. In conclusion, minor languages disappear extremely quickly throughout the world and most non-global language speakers consider their language as useless. Despite of some earnest attempts to transmit indigenous languages from elder people to new generation and save minor languages by means of its documentation, these projects are not sufficient to surviving these languages as the educational program has not spread widely and documentation has not manage to revitalize languages, only collect and record some of them. As a result, by the end of the century most minority languages will have vanished. Nowadays, the cost which people pay for vague prosperity and social safety seems no high, nevertheless, in the future they may realize that they lost not only their language and their identity. References: Knight, J 2000, ‘Lost for words’, New Scientist, 12 August, viewed 14 November 2007, < http:// www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg16722512.400&print=true >. Wayt-Gibbs, W 2002, ‘Saving Dying Languages’, Scientific American, August, p.p. 78-85.

Nurses work with depressed patients almost daily Research Paper

Nurses work with depressed patients almost daily - Research Paper Example Depression has been broadly classified into the following groups; depression with catatonic and melancholic features, psychotic features, atypical depression, bipolar depression, dysthymia, recurrent and single episode and seasonal affective disorder. When patients present to the department and depression is suspected, a differential diagnosis should be made from neurological disorders, other psychiatric disturbances, endocrine pathologies, substance abuse related pathologies and inflammatory and infectious diseases. Depression is a key psychological condition that often accompanies the majority of all illnesses. A study that was carried out by Katon et al., discovered that depression was one of the most prevalent disorders in primary care with a prevalence of approximately 10% (Katon et al., 2010). However, some patients were found to be more susceptible to depression. These include patients suffering from chronic illnesses as they often lack optimism in the improvement of their hea lth. In addition, they also neglect the treatment regimes that have been prescribed for them by the doctors. Due to these factors, depression has been found to have an adverse effect on the current condition of the patient and his or her prognosis. This disease is also widely under diagnosed in patients and it has also been found to be inadequately treated. Precisely, research found that only 50% of patients suffering from depression in primary care are correctly diagnosed (Thoits, 2013). In addition, from these patients only 40% were properly treated and were able to fully recover within a 6 month period. In summation, patients suffering from depression possess a low mood which often leads to negligence and poor adherence to the prescribed treatment regime. Chronic illnesses are often incurable and therapeutic intervention is mainly to alleviate symptoms and improve the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, patients suffering from chronic diseases often possess the misconcep tion that their condition is incurable therefore, they are already approaching death and treatment is not going to largely benefit them or prolong their lifespan. Environmental factors such as family relationships also play a role in the development of depression in primary care patients. New York is one of the most diversely populated cities and has individuals from different parts of the world. It was determined by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that approximately 430Â  000 individuals living in New York suffer from depression (Brown et al., 2013). Similar to the study mentioned above, only 50% of all individuals suffering from depression in New York are correctly diagnosed and three out of five of these individuals are not given the right treatment (Brown et al., 2013). Numerous medical practitioners have recommended that all patients should be screened for depression as this is pertinent illness that has a cure. The New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has discovered that depression in New York has a larger effect on a certain demography. For example, in New York, women were found to have a greater predisposition to depression than men. They were found to be twice as much likely to suffer from the condition. In addition, age was also a determining factor in the rates of depression as the condition was more dominant among the younger population between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. The ratio between

Professional Orientation and Practice Coursework

Professional Orientation and Practice - Coursework Example The bid to privatise the sector was triggered by the 2003 Railway Act, allowing for private management of the services (Cassady, Maillart, Bowden & Smith 1998). The UK railway tracks are public owned and maintained by Network Rail; however, privately owned rail tracks also exist in tourist areas. To help manage the train services, the government appoints train-operating companies (TOCs). TOCs are awarded franchise to offer train commuter services depending on the validity of the license given. This means that a given TOC can only operate within certain time limit as dictated by the licenses awarded. Now, TOC that provide that are licensed to offer these services are many in number (Tobin 2012). Nevertheless, the increasing cost of trail fares has been a major concern within the sector, within many opting to use other alternatives (â€Å"Britain Has Worlds Highest Rail Prices – Survey 1997†). Competition brought about by the many TOCs has brought the need by individual b usinesses involved to put in place measures to ensure stability and profitability. On this matter, many TOCs franchised to offer their services are seeking ways of reducing costs in order to appeal and attract more customers. In order to maintain sustainability, TOCs operating within the United Kingdom believe that the best way is to maintain the existing fleet. Major part of the revenue is used in maintaining the fleets and carrying out inspection of infrastructures like rail tracks. Therefore, much train operating companies hold on to the fact that maintain ace is a priority in the sector. Presently, rail infrastructure has greatly been improved as is evident by the increase in speed train (Tobin 2012). Just as mentioned above, the major challenge lies with the need for each company to come up with measures to improve service delivery. For this reason, each of the companies is in a process of finding the best decisions that would offer competitive edge over the rest (Chaudhuri & S uresh 1995). TOC- London Midland Background London Midland is one of UK’s train operating companies, having an 867.4 kilometers of rail to cover. The main train operations of the company are carried out within the West Coast Mainline. It is also important to note that its franchise expires in June 2017 after it was extended from the initial date of September 2015. According to the information available in the company’s website, London Midlands Express and London Midland City are the main brands that are used in operations. London Midland makes its money from the sales of tickets to passengers. Now, customers are charged ?25 for every 100 miles of travel. According to the plans by the company, 60,000,000 passenger miles should be served per year, something that translates to 600,000 passengers per year. However, achieving this is guaranteed, as many potential customers prefer other means of transport because of uncertain economic times brought about by the recession. Th e company needs to make a decision whether to raise or lower the tickets by ?5. In order to bring the issue into perspective, it would important to note that London Midland company has numerous competitors like Cross Country, Euro star, East Coast, First Hull Trains, and Scot Rail, among others, and must thus make decisions that stand to boost its chances to survive in the market. Lowering the price by ?2

First evidence to show the toplogical change of DNAfrom B-DNA to Z-DNA Essay

First evidence to show the toplogical change of DNAfrom B-DNA to Z-DNA conformation in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's Brain - Essay Example The article claims that, there has been a discovery of altered DNA conformation for individuals suffering from AD (Suran et al 1). It is worthwhile giving credit to the article for clarity of objective. It has been able to differentiate and explain the differences in DNA configuration and conformation for both cases as well as providing evidence for intermediate cases. Additionally, the article was elaborate and illustrative enough whilst sticking to the objectives at the same time. For instance, the article explained the processes, which were used to come up with the evidence of B-DNA to Z-DNA conformation. On the other hand, the article may have failed to answer one important question. Truly, conformation happens but why. It only highlights the cause of disorders as degeneration of genetic material but does not go into elaborate detail on the process of degeneration. It can also be claimed that the article was overwhelmingly technical for persons outside the realms of medicine to understand anything. However, the main objective of the article was delivered in a scientifically acceptable

Analysis of The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood In an Age Essay - 3

Analysis of The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood In an Age of Do-Your-Own-Thing Article - Essay Example Hekker’s suggestion that most mothers choose to work in order to maintain an affluent lifestyle is unfair because working mothers are motivated by economic necessity, and the need for self-fulfilment and self-sufficiency. Most working mothers are motivated by the economic necessity to juggle a job and motherhood. In these days of rising costs and financial stress, a single parent’s income is usually not sufficient to support a family. For a normal middle-class household, the mortgage on a home loan, utility bills, the cost of educating children and meeting medical and other miscellaneous expenses are considerable. The husband’s income is not always able to pay for all these expenditures. The economic situation has changed drastically since 1977 when Hekker wrote her op-ed. It is now no longer realistic for all women to live â€Å"very frugally, on their husbands’ paychecks.† The paycheck of today can support substantially less than what it was able to support a quarter-century ago. It is the necessity to contribute to the family income which compels the large majority of mothers to join the workforce. Most often, the deciding factor in such situations is the mother’s overwhelming concern for the children and her determination to provide them with a higher standard of living. If Hekker’s contention were true, then all working mothers would enjoy an affluent lifestyle. This is obviously not a ground reality. Many women work only to make ends meet in the family. A segment of working women, who are not primarily motivated by economic necessity, choose to work in order to fulfill a need to achieve their potential. These are women of talent, who choose to demonstrate their ability through a career. As artists, writers, scientists and hundreds of other choices, they work to express themselves and to grow to the fullest extent possible. It has to be admitted that the days of gender hierarchy are dead and the feminine ste reotype of a woman as a home-maker is outdated and false. Most women are not content to be â€Å"just someone's wife,† as Hekker says. When gender equality is acknowledged as a fact, the role of housewife and mother may not be sufficient to meet the woman’s need to explore her full potential as a human being. With the higher level of education attained by contemporary women, this search for meaningful employment is increased. These women are in pursuit of self-fulfilment and not an affluent lifestyle. The monetary gain which may accompany their professional accomplishments is only an added benefit but not the goal of their careers. The desire to be self-sufficient is another major motivating factor for working mothers. Many contemporary women, reared on the ideals of gender equality, are nor comfortable in a position of dependence on a man. To these women, a career is an assertion of independence and self-sufficiency. A need for security is also a part of this position .  

Explain the impact of information technology on the criminal justice Essay

Explain the impact of information technology on the criminal justice system - Essay Example Technical administrative safety /security measures like that security plans, actions, and procedures are the generally practices for the organizational information security procedures. Attentiveness of building actions are concerned by the organizations to a substantially smaller level, on the other hand at the same time these are weighed up as being further efficient organizational actions than technical administrative ones. Information security encompasses organizational features, officially authorized aspects, institutionalization and applications of most excellent practices in addition to security technologies (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). Augmenting power of information technology and computing as well as progresses in data communication and user-friendly GUI (graphical user interface) present criminal justice and law enforcement agency by means of extraordinary capability to get together, inspect, store as well as distribute information and data that is gathered about any case or criminal activity by stakeholders surrounded by as well as outside of administration and criminal justice system (Peterson, 2009). The accomplishment of the information technology for criminal justice system presents enormous benefits like that at the present time we have a technology-driven working atmosphere, rapid and reliable commutation means, fast detection system, these all systems merge to form a very strong criminal justice system. Criminal justice systems have been improved through growing the ability to store as well as process huge amount of data about crimes and associated events. There is enhanced investigative and intelligenc e facility through information technology. They have rapid and on spot right to use to criminal records as well as additional types of appropriate data regarding criminal justice (Peterson, 2009). For criminal justice a policy determined vital to convene the needs of modern and up-to-date shapes of

Hinduism paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hinduism paper - Essay Example (Brodd, 2003) Interestingly, Hinduism differs from the other dominating religions, such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc due to a number of factors. Firstly, unlike abovementioned religions, Hinduism does not offer a uniting belief system, which has often been criticized by scholars of comparative religious studies. However, despite of such lacking, this religion has been able to unite its followers socially, as well as, culturally. (Michaels, 2004) In other words, Hinduism can be deemed as a cultural and regional platform for moral development, rather than a religious notion. One of the most significant factors that unite members of Hindu religion is its region. Unlike other religions where a religious scholar can bring a non-religious person into his religion, only individuals that born in the sub-continent are allowed to be a part of Hinduism, which is one of the most significant factors of uniting members of the Hindu community. Generally, it is a misconception that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion; however, Vedas are the most recognized sacred scriptures of Hinduism that pronounces monotheistic concept of God. In practice, Hindus worship different deities and idols, which are considered as attributes to one God, Brahma, and idolatry is an important practice of Hinduism that has kept its followers united in a cultural manner. (Brodd, 2003) Thirdly, social structure described in sacred scriptures of Hinduism has played a vital and crucial role in maintaining balance in the Hindu society. Although social classes of such system, such as Brahmin, Kshat riya, Vaishya, and Shudra have been used politically as well; however, it has organized the society in an effective manner. Cultural aspect of Hinduism has played a significant role in influencing the social and cultural practices of people living in the sub-continent. Devotional literature and traditions have provided an aesthetic touch to

Research Paper on the BP Gulf Oil Spill Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

On the BP Gulf Oil Spill - Research Paper Example 2.1.4 Financial Implication of the Oil Spill 14 3 Chapter 3 15 3.1 Research Methodology 15 3.1.1 Research Framework 16 3.1.2 Data Collection 16 4 Chapter 4 17 4.1 Discussion and Findings 17 5 Chapter 5 18 5.1 Conclusion 18 5.2 Recommendation 19 5.3 Limitation 19 References 21 Appendices 23 1 Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction An oil spill is the accidental release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the marine areas due to human negligence and is one of the major causes of sea water pollution. Despite the improved technologies to prevent crude oil spills in the marine environment the accidents continue to occur. The recent case of a large oil spill is the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico for which several companies were responsible to varying degrees and BP was the most prominent party to the incident. The worst oil spill U.S. faced before this Gulf Oil Spill was Exxon Valdez in 1989 in Alaska (Ramseur & Ramseur, 2011, p.1). On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig at Deepwater Horizon of BP was near completion when the uncontained release of oil and natural gas caused explosion resulting in the largest oil spill in U.S. waters and killing 11 people and injuring 15. Nearly 200 million gallons of oil was released into the sea over approximately 84 days. However the oil leak was discove red four days after the explosion when BP sent a team of experts to cover the source of leakage. This incident has charged BP with the clean-up costs, economic and natural resources’ damage costs, Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties etc probably leading to approximately $41 billion (Ramseur & Ramseur, 2011, p.1). The initial estimate of the oil spill was 1000 barrels per day which was later revised at up to 60,000 barrels per day (Hiles, 2011, pp.13). By the first week of May BP began the drilling of deep water intercept well half a mile from the leaking oil well. The attempt was to intercept the existing wellbore at around 16000 feet below the sea surface. The process was estimated to take 90 days. The oil slick was discovered to be drifting towards the Florida and Alabama coasts. Not to burn the oil was a decision made between polluted air and endangered sea life. Various measures were taken by the US Government and BP to contain the damage. The case gained worldwide attention and criticism of the policies and measures regarding the prevention of oil spills and protection of marine ecosystem. 1.2 Nature of the Issue The demand for energy has constantly grown leading gigantic efforts and big investments by the energy companies to locate new oil supplies. The Deepwater Horizon was a $365m offshore drilling unit where massive amount of oil was spilled due to two subsequent explosions in the summer of 2010. The incident affected the ecological environment of the Mexican Gulf and has directly harmed the Gulf fishing industry. The demand of the Gulf seafood has probably decreased due to changes in consumers’ perception about the spill (Upton, 2011, p.3). Many of the factors which are believed to have contributed to the BP disaster are technological and regulatory failures. Evidence suggests that the spill was an outcome of lack of proper oversight during the transition of rig oil from exploration to production. In the wake of such disastrous and rare eve nt, federal law-makers have unsuccessfully tried to address the causes and enact policies to guide the economic and environmental recovery of the Gulf region. President Obama issued a moratorium on the planned offshore drilling at the time of the incident. The moratorium banned the deepwater drilling activities in the Gulf region allowing only the existing production to continue. Many have criticized the Federal Government for taking such step without analyzing the exact cause of incident. However this step has served neither to address the principal cause of the accident nor aided in economic rehabilitation of the Gulf economy. It has been estimated that the loss of economic activity in US and Gulf of Mexico region is likely to be total lost output of $2769m and 12046 lost jobs (Appendix 1) (Mason, 2010, p.1). In this paper an in-depth research has been done to find out how the domestic and

Modern and Contemporary Poetry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Modern and Contemporary Poetry - Essay Example The post World War 1 Western society according to Elliot is not an integrated unit of individuals. In fact, it is just â€Å"a heap of broken images† (22), which suggests that the individuals are detached from one another and fail to form a functional society. It is like â€Å"the dead tree† (23) that cannot provide shelter to anyone. It reflects an awry state of society whose foundations have crumbled and its individuals are left alone. This line evokes an innate desire of individuals to break away from the oppressive traditions of society and seek refuge in the mountains, where one can exercise the freedom of self. The effects of the First World War on society and individuals were irreparable and it has been portrayed by the gloomy imagery in this poem. â€Å"Unreal City, / Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,† (60-61) A quite depressing state of society that survives under â€Å"the brown fog† has been portrayed in these lines. It is quite possible that Elliot is metaphorically representing the society as the brown fog, which gives a sense of oppression and stagnation because this blanket of â€Å"brown fog† doesn’t let in light or fresh air. It is suffocating for the individuals to live in such society that doesn’t give them the freedom to grow. In the second poem, â€Å"rats’ alley† (115) could be a reference to modern society that has turned into a narrow place with no light or fresh air. It gives a sense of a place where the characters, values and lives of human beings are decaying. One also gets an impression that the society Elliot is talking about is so cold that it dampens the spirit and will of the individuals to move on in their lives. â€Å"But at my back in a cold blast I hear/ The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear.† (185-186) However, the individuals are still hoping and waiting for a response from the society they are living in

Ken from Whose Life Is It Anyway Persuading the Judge to Let Him Die Essay Example for Free

Ken from Whose Life Is It Anyway Persuading the Judge to Let Him Die Essay In this essay, I will be describing and analysing how Ken, from â€Å"whose life is it anyway†, used persuasive techniques to persuade the judge to let him die. Ken is trying to persuade the judge to let him die, and he persuades him with this quote â€Å"†¦and I find the hospital’s persistent effort to maintain this shadow of life an indignity and its humane. † this quote is clearly showing that he does not want to rely on other people. The word â€Å"maintain† stands for holding something like an object in your household. He does not want the hospital and the doctors to â€Å"maintain† his shadow of life because he thinks that he is â€Å"dead already†. In the quote â€Å"†¦but the dignity starts with their choice. If I chose to live, it would be appalling if society killed me. If I chose to die, its equally appalling if society keeps me alive. † This quote shows that he cares about other people not just himself. The word â€Å"society† is used because it shows that he thinks truly not only about himself. Also there is a word â€Å"choose†, this clearly shows that there is no modal verbs and it is more effective and emotive, as that word, it self, shows that he thought everything though what he actual said. I like the way Ken uses strong words like â€Å"appalling†, by saying this, he is exaggerating and by doing this, he is shocking. Ken doesn’t thing letting someone live although they’re against it is terrible, but the fact that they don’t get the choice. â€Å"The cruelty doesn’t reside on saving someone or allowing them to die. It resides in the fact that the choice is removed from the man concerned† this quote means exactly how ken feels at that moment. The choice is about to be taken from him, and that will make things even harder for him. The word â€Å"cruelty† is a very strong word. Using it, Ken, creates sympathy and it made the whole quote more persuasive and he was saying that people are cruel by taking the choice from him. Also I this quote, he is stating by using words like â€Å"is†, â€Å"fact†, â€Å"it resides†. All of these are modal verbs and show that he knows what he is talking about and is confident with what he thinks and knows. The author chose the techniques for a reason, and the reasons are that the whole fact about persuading the judge needs to be pointed out as it’s the most important bit in the story play, the judge will judge from whether to save the man or let him die as he wanted. It’s a life or death situation. Ken also uses rhetorical questions to make the judge think, â€Å"Is that surprising? † Ken said this on purpose as it is very effective persuasive technique like in the one. Rhetorical questions overall, start arguments and debates in which this story is all about. Overall I think that the judge did the right thing letting ken die. He would be suffering mentally and physically if he didn’t. This story has many different writing techniques and only very few I have analysed in this essay. I think they are very effective upon this story and the story wouldn’t make sense and so much drama if it didn’t.

Changing Workplace And Workforce Expectations Business Essay

Changing Workplace And Workforce Expectations Business Essay The key objective of this literature review is to provide a general survey of relevant theories, academic approaches, available studies and analysis on forecasted shifts in science, technology, communications, geopolitics, and economics between today and 2030 and the impact these factors will have on corporate workforce, employment models and the role of a leader in organization and leadership competencies. The horizon line for strategic planning and forecasts in most cases typically ranges from three months to five years. Trying to imagine what the world of business will be like 20 years from now is a challenging and noble goal but a researcher is exposed to several risks. One of them is to be too futuristic and end up with a science fiction which would have a little correspondence to the objective reality. The importance of the literature search is to avoid this trap and ground the dissertation on realistic, reliable and reasonable facts and evidences. It will also support the designing of research methodology and developing relevant questionnaire for conducting interviews with IBM and non IBM top management and executives. The scope of literature research The business is entering a new era in history undergoing serious changes caused by globalization, economic rise of new regions, dramatic shifts in demographics, science, technology, communications and geopolitics. The research community and leading multinational companies have already embarked on a series of forward-looking discussions to consider the macro trends driving business change in the decades to come, and the implications that will result for business and leaders who will drive the future success. The forecasts and researches done in this area cover such topics as: changing world changing workplace and workforce expectations new employment models and employee engagement instruments that would help business navigate in the future potential leadership styles needed in an organization with new and emerging employment relationships roles and accountabilities a leader of the future will have and potential challenges the leader need to be prepared for The Changing World There are many factors in the environment that affect the organizations and the decisions of the leaders of each organization. Huczynski and Buchanan (2007) argue that the world out there influences the world in there (Figure 1). Internal organization structures, processes and behaviors Lead to External environment factor, trends and developments change in Figure 1 The external environment external environment organization link There are different environmental scanning techniques to analyze the changing external environment. To build the vision of the future and understand the big picture of the macro-environmental influences PESTLE analysis concept (Figure 2) will be used. A PESTLE analysis is often used as a generic orientation tool, finding out where an organization or product is in the context of what is happening outside that will at some point affect what is happening inside an organization (CIPD, 2010). Figure 1. PESTLE Analysis Political factors Most of the researchers agree that by 2025 there will be a global multi-polar system with rise of China, India and some others. Power will be more dispersed with the newer players bringing new rules of the game while risks will increase that the traditional Western alliances will weaken (Global Trends 2025: Transformed World, 2008). USA will remain the provider of global security (FreeWorldAcademy, 2005) but will have to share the power with other new players. Researches expect China becomes a democratic country in 2030 and gain more political power. Some experts also expect greater Asian regionalism by 2025, which may lead to establishment of new quasi-blocks: North America, Europe and East Asia and new wave of political and economical competition (Global Trends 2025: Transformed World, 2008). The potential for conflict and instability is expected to increase in Middle East and North Africa. At the same time McKinsey Global Institute predicts the acceleration of Africas growth where government actions will manage to end political conflicts and improve business climate (McKinsey Global Institute, 2010). Its also expected that global negotiations between regional blocks and national governments on major issues for the planet, such as biodiversity, natural resources, energy policy and trade regulation will increase and possible result in establishment of new alliances and communities. Driven by higher world population, competition for natural resources, pollution levels Green will become fundamental geo-political and business imperative for the planet. Economic factors GLOBALISATION By 2030 the world will become flatter with an expanded base of financial power where barriers to the flow of goods, capital or knowledge will be almost removed (A View of the World in 2030, ACCA, 2010) which will more regulation on a global level. Its also expected that the global power will shift to emerging markets. This statement confirms Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that the market value of emerging-market stocks may grow more to $80 trillion in two decades, overtaking developed nations, as China becomes the worlds largest stock market (Bloomberg, 2010). Multiple centers of economic power will be distributed around the globe and organizations/countries will need to be culturally adaptable to compete in global markets Figure 2. demonstrates forecasted transition of GDP by 2030. Figure 2. Transition of GDP 2030 (Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, 2010) The transfer of global wealth and economic power roughly from West to East, is the most discussable topic in most of the reports and forecasts. This shift can be explained by several reasons : increases in oil and commodity prices generated big profits for the Gulf states and Russia lower costs combined with government policies have shifted the focus of manufacturing and some service industries to Asia power will shift to the places with political and economic stability (Global Trends 2025, 2008) The world GNI will also undergo the evolution and regional repartition. As indicated on Figure 3. it is expected to reach 94,290 $Billion in 2030 comparing to 39,305 $Billion in 2004. 2004 2030 World GNI 39,305 94,290 Population 6,480 8,200 World income per capita 6,065 11,500 Figure 3. World GNI 2004 2030 (Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, 2010) This economic trend implies an average growth rate of 3.4% over 26 years. Compared to the population growth rate 1%, it means that the world income per capita will increase by 2.4% per year over the period Asia becomes a strong visible player in the regional GNI repartition (Figure 4). Figure 4. Evolution of the main economic zone in % of the world GNI (Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, 2010) Asias emerging consumers are likely to assume the traditional role of the US and European middle classes as global consumers, and to play a key role in rebalancing the worlds economy. Estimated $4.3 trillion in annual expenditures in 2008 becomes $32 trillion in 2030 and comprise about 43% of worldwide consumption (2030 GDP Forecast, Future growth of Asian Countries, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, 2010) Several researches and reports expect the rising BRIC powers which might collectively generate the original G-7s share of global GDP by 2040-2050 (Global Trends 2025, 2008). Meanwhile other sources suggest that new business opportunities will significantly rise in so-called BIICS-Brazil, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa-shaping up to be business hot spots for many years to come (Working Beyond Borders: Insights from the Global Chief Human Resources Officer Study, IBM, 2010). But the truly new business frontier is named Africa where a group of countries already demonstrated ability to improve macroeconomic conditions, privatised state-owned enterprises, increased openness of trade and lowered corporate taxes, strengthened regulatory and legal systems, provided critical physical and social infrastructure(McKinsey Global Institute, 2010). The rate of return on foreign investment is currently higher than in any other developing region. These factors make this region very attractive for further business development and investments. According to Paul Nunes, Executive Research Fellow at the Accenture Institute for High Performance: Businesses not planning and acting now [to get into Africa] will miss the boat as many did when it came to China. Researchers forecast the standards of living will have risen by 2030. Number of high income people will increase by 8%, number of low income will decrease by 14% but inequalities will remain (Global Trends 2025, 2008). In essence, the economic world will look different than the world today. There will be multiple centers of economic powers, new players will mount the economic and political scene creating new business opportunities, overall, globalized and multi-polar world which will require organizations to re-think their strategies and re-shape their businesses to take full advantage of new opportunities and prosper. Social factors The next 20 years will be characterized by serious and inevitable demographic changes and shifts and their economic, political and social impacts will be enormous. Researchers highlight key demographics marked trends of years to come. World population will increase to 8.2 billion by 2030 with the largest increase projected in Asia and Africa and less than 3% will occur in Europe, USA, Canada, Japan (Global Trends 2025, 2008) Figure.. Population shifts will continue Africa will have the worlds largest working-age population. In 2008 the continent had more than 500 million working-age people and by 2040 its forecasted to exceed 1.1 bln (Figure, 6). Its an open question whether Africa will be able to educate its workforce to make it serious engine for business world. Figure 6. Working-age population 1950-2040 (McKinsey Global Institute, 2010) Longevity will increase significantly almost everywhere and the number of people aged 80 years or over will grow (Figure). Coming decades will be defined by the largest demographic group ever seen. By 2030 at least 3 generations having different mindset, background, expectations and attitudes will meet together in one society and work together for the same employers. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division people will be more individualistic and will forge lifestyles based on their own needs rather than social expectations norm will be to work much of the time from home or in small community hubs to avoid carbon costs and charge of lenghthy commutes more people will work as freelancers and neo-nomads expecting more autonomy and freedom power will shift where there is political and economic stability Technological factors Most of researchers emphasize the role of technology in fostering the innovation and bringing about change. Technology will be all-prevasive and universal serving as a key driver for economic and social shifts. L. Gratton (2011) suggests that technology will influence workforce and workplace in many ways the way people communicate with each other, their expectations and even their views on morality and human nature The internet Cloud will deliver low-cost computing services and enable the shift from working as an isolated individual to working collaboratively in a joined world regardless country and time zone of staying (McKinsey and Company, 2010). People across the world will be able to access enormous information including digitalized knowledge. Increased capacity to combine and connect know-how, share knowledge, information and best practices spending significantly less time to send and receive information will lead to people being more interconnected, united by new communities and networks (IBM, 2010). More than 5 bln people will be connected to mobile services (The Economist, 2011) and overall speed of live will rise. The other change which is expected to influence the workforce is massive crowd of computers replacing people in a number of jobs. Forcing the economic growth and social transformation technology will continue to reshape consumer needs, requirements, access to information, choice and interactivity models and demand companies to tap the power of technology to improve their competitive advantage (McKinsey and Company, 2010). Legislative factors The expected changes to happen in the world will place a pressure on labor regulation to force their activities in accommodating a networked, open and competitive world. The worldwide focus on growth will require companies to fundamentally rethink how they manage human resources and overcome barriers. Based on IBM 2010 Global CHRO Study, emerging ways of attracting talent like outsourcing, crowdsourcing, use of freelancers, bringing back retired workers which will assume ever greater importance and necessity to mange new forms of employments will require governments not only to develop new labor regulations but also modern information security norms and standards. The highest standards of corporate citizenship will be required by talent, by governments, by the media. There may not be world law in the foreseeable future, but the worlds legal systems will be networked. The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), a database of local and national laws for more than 50 participating countries, will grow to include more than 100 counties by 2010. The database will lay the groundwork for a more universal understanding of the diversity of laws between nations and will create new opportunities for peace and international partnership. -Joseph N. Pelton, Toward a Global Rule of Law: A Practical Step Toward World Peace, Nov-Dec 2007, p. 25 Environmental There is a significant pressure to expect by 2030 driven by significant growth in world economy and population and rising aspirations for better standards living. As describe by OECD (Environmental Outlook to 2030, 2008) there are several key environmental challenges the humanity will have to deal with: climate change, biodiversity and renewable natural resources, water, air quality, waste management. To respond to these challenges governments will have to take the responsibility and proactively start developing a serious of actions to protect the environment. Business and consumers will play a key role to help prevent future environment problems. Its obvious that Green will become fundamental geo-political and business imperative for the planet. Changing workplace and workforce expectations Emery and Trist (1965) developed a typology describing four types of environment in which organizations operate and identified the appropriate organizational response. Environmental analysis with PESTLE demonstrates that the organizations 2030 will deal with high dynamism and high complexity pressures from outside. The organizational responses recommended by Emery and Trist (1965) for such environment types are developing fluid organization structures, flexible managers and staff at other levels. Duncan (1979) argues that what really matters is only the management perception. If management does not perceive the environment as turbulent the organizational response will not be as described. Anyway the reality out there has to be observed, studied, analyzed and reacted in an appropriate manner to stay successful (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2007). Being under pressure of future challenges which come from globalization, new era of technologies, social and demographic changes organizations will have to adapt their internal structures, processes, strategies and leader behaviors to enable them to deal effectively with external changes. Many factors that define the workplace 2030 have already become evident alerting the organizations that the time has come to start preparing today for the challenges of tomorrow. PriceWaterHouseCoopers (2010) forecasts three worlds and business models for the future (Figure) This picture of life in tomorrow combines the events and trends which will shape the future and PwC suggests all 3 worlds can co-exist in some form distinct by geographic principle or industry sector. Researchers expect the following key trends to shape the workplace and workforce 2030: Talent will be worldwide. Social networks and future technology will increase the capability for talent to network and for companies to access talent globally and 24/7. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social networking sites will become ordinary recruiting sources. As social recruiting spreads from few trendsetters to all the rest companies worldwide it be essential for both employees and employers to develop new set of skills to be successful in this way (The 2020 workplace, J. Meister, K. Willyerd, 2010). But its also expected the War for Smart Talent (www.globalfuturist.com) to be continued and probably even become sharper. There is a serious mismatch between the types of individuals available for work and specific skills employers are looking for (Manpower Talent Shortage Survey 2009). Experienced candidates who possess the required skills will be heavily demanded by the organizations worldwide. Given the increasing collaboration and growing importance of teamwork companies will consider entire teams hiring as a competitive solution to the business problem (IBM CHRO Study 2010). Skills will be specialized. Cost reductions will be an essential part of business imperatives 2020 2030 leading to the dominance of knowledge -intensive work which will require an increasingly complex set of skills. Less generalist, more in-depth mastery of specialist skills will be required. PwC in the Future of work 2020 (2010) predicts that specialization will be highly prized in each of the 3 worlds (Figure ) and employees will do their best to develop the most sought after professional skills. An increased attention by the companies will be paid to soft skills as well like problem-solving, project management and collaboration (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2010). Source: McKinsey Global Survey results Five forces reshaping the global economy (Based on online survey, in the field in March 2010) Another challenge the companies are expected to face in the future is multigenerational and increasingly diverse workforce. By 2030 3 or even 4 generations will have to collaborate together in one business environment having different mindset, background, expectations and live values. Most of the Baby Boomers cohort representatives who are now holding many CxO positions will have retired, taking with them lots of knowledge, experience and valuable expertise. It will force the companies to elaborate on ways how to retain the knowledge within the organizations developing new employment structures for soon-to-be retiring people (L. Gratton 2011). Or what we call retirement now will no longer have a traditional meaning? In terms of their characteristics, lifestyles, and attitudes, Boomers were the most populous and influential generation of all. They have defined themselves by their careers and many are workaholics. Their work is seen as a form of self-fulfillment, status, and proving th emselves, i.e., job titles matter. They have crowded into cultural careers such as teaching, religion, journalism, marketing, and the arts. Team orientation is valued. They are anticipated to work longer and harder (Eisner, 2005; Koco, 2006). They are very concerned about health and energy, looking for the sources to stay young, strong and active. Generation X will be in their mid-60s by 2030. They grew up in the time of economic uncertainty under the pressure of political and economic instability. Many wage and job opportunities for young workers were limited until the economic boom of mid-1990s. (Eisner, 2005; Lager, 2006). Success has been less certain for this generation. They do not believe in positive future time, energy, and relationships for advancement like the Boomers did. They have an economic and psychological survivor mentality and consider hard work as necessity. They had to compete in a weak global economy. Diversity and thinking globally are core values of Gen Xers ( Cranston, 2008; Francese, 2004; Ritson, 2007). The core driving business force by 2025 2030 will be generation Y aged 35 45. They witnessed the fast technological evolution with the Internet, Google, eBay, cell phones, PDAs, GPS becoming an admirable part of their lives. Integral parts of their lives is globalization, global citizens, working beyond fiscal boundaries (Hawkins, et al., 2010; Cranston, 2008; Eisner, 2005; Dietz, 2003; Gerritsen, 2008). Most of Gen Y has a strong sense of autonomy and independence, quite adaptable and comfortable in different situations. With blogging, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter anyone can become a reporter, producer, or social advisor. Social networking is a key distinction for this generation (Dickey and Sullivan, 2007; Donnelly, 2008). Gen Y demonstrates an entrepreneurial outlook and is more work/life balance oriented and less committed to an employer than previous generations but demonstrates high commitment when dedicated to a capt uring idea. It has been observed the this generations vales life styles, career development and overseas travel and may be the most adaptable yet in terms of technological skills and values intrinsic aspects of work such as mentoring and training in order to remain marketable (Cennamo Gardner, 2008) They expect flexibility in work hours, dress code, relaxed work environment, recognition for smallest effort and constant feedback and value opportunity to downshift to reach a holistic self-understanding and satisfying meaning in life (IBM, 2011). Generation Z also called the connected generation, digital natives, the net generation (Future of work, 2012) is the newest generation and its hard to say now how they will develop as a generational cohort. By 2030 Gen Z will be taking an increasing role in society and business life. But what is known that they will grow up influenced by the factors described above in PESTLE. That is supposed to be a global and diverse generation. The technol ogical progress and next generation of social networking sites makes it possible to build online communities that are more like someones closest group of friends. (Labi, 2008b; Soltan, 2004). PwC research (2011) revealed that Gen Z will be similar to Gen Y in their expectations. But some features will be even more vivid manifested like desire for work/life balance, rapid career progression, less concern about working hours, high interest in new projects and less commitment to one employer. According to D. Tapscott (2008) Net Geners: Want freedom in everything they do Love to customize and personalize their experience Want to find entertainment in their work Are focused on collaboration and relationship building Have a need for speed They will be living in the world where equality and diversity become a societal norm. Finally, theyre going to be smart smarter even than previous generations. Their ability to process massive amounts of information quickly is actually preparing them to perform more mentally demanding jobs. In effect, an entire generation is training itself to handle more complicated tasks (IBM, 2011). Influenced by expected demographical changes described above organizations in Europe, North America, Canada will face the decline of Caucasian workers and increase of non-Caucasian. It is projected to double from 18% to 17% (The 2020 Workplace, J. Meister, K. Willyerd, 2010) While people managers are trained to deal with many forms of diversity, they will have to be prepared to manage workforce with greater diversity in age, gender and ethnicity. Social networks and virtual workspace. The rapid expansion of the digital universe and advancement in communication technologies will lead to the new meaning of being at work and create new ways on how people communicate with each other. Today for a number of jobs it is no longer needed for people to be physically located in the office to successfully perform job responsibilities and by 2030 it is forecasted most of the employers where the business allows will completely relieve their employees from working 9 to 5 office hours (Hewitt Associates, 2008). People will be free to decide where and how to organize their workplace. But Hewitt also emphasize that this capability can bring some employees new level of work/life balance satisfaction and for others its fostering workaholic tendency leading to lousy employees: tired, depressed, mistake prone, resentful, and eventually burned out (C. Salter, Solving the Real Productivity Crisis, Fast Company, January 2004). Virtual coworking will shape the future workplace. Workers from around the globe of different nations, professions, jobs, social status will be united together by many discussion forums, news groups, and virtual communities making many barriers of the past obsolete. Rapidly developing Cloud technology will make services, applications and resources accessible from any device, anywhere, any time, and if charged pay only for what they use during the time they are using it Through unprecedented access to virtual space the world of knowledge will be digitalized and enriched significantly by user-generated content (L.Gratton, 2010). Approximately 500Â  000 new users are creating every day online profiles and maintaining them on a social network (IBM 2011) and researchers forecast this number to grow over the next decades. The future workplace will look like a place where people collaborate extensively, exchange ideas, and share knowledge. The value of an employee will be determined not only by results achieved but also by how much you contribute your expertise and knowledge back to the organization (J. Meister, K. Willyerd, The 2020 workplace, 2010). The expected growth in virtual-based content will impact many organizational parts from changing corporate culture and standards of how people share knowledge and communicate with each other to the ways, policies and norms of how companys management deals with security and privacy of this explosion of the d igital content. The current workforce lifecycle has outlived its meaning. In the organizations of future individual careers are not based on relative or hierarchical moves but rather on reputational progress. Rather, people will choose the pace and direction of this progression according to their reputation and their own personal goals. Alternative careers will enable individuals to work and contribute throughout their entire lives and well beyond the traditional retirement age. In fact, the notions of retirement and retiree will be removed from our vocabulary since careers are based on the choices that each individual makes and not on the concept of seniority C. Benko and A. Molly introduced the concept of corporate lattice. In the new business world with heterogeneity of backgrounds, personal circumstances, expectations and aspirations it recognizes that career and life are no longer separate spheres but are now interdependent. This concept is expected to be a robust response to multiple changes organizations will face allowing to connect both high performance and career-life fit. Figure below describes how lattice thinking differs from ladder thinking. (C. Benko and A. Molly, The corporate lattice, ). The lattice structures an employees career path as multidirectional with opportunity to move across and down and up ensuring engagement of a diverse workforce driven mainly by desire to work for to be working with the best company, on the best projects, for the best clients, and with the best talent and team members. Source: Deloitte Development LLC, The Corporate Lattice (2010). IBM analysts (2010) elaborated and continued this concept by the next level of organizational development which can be expected by 2030 (Figure). Self-directed global-citizens will be managing their careers in a cube without limiting it to the frames of one organization. To succeed in the lattice-based organizations reputation will gain new meaning. This is the sum total of personal brand, expertise, number of successfully completed projects, ratings given by employers, breadth and depth of social networks, etc (J. Meister, K. Willyerd, The 2020 workplace, 2010). Individuals with a poor or low profile or reputation would ultimately diminish their personal brand and consequently have more difficulty securing opportunities and maintaining their labor rate against others. new employment models and employee engagement instruments that would help business navigate in the future Employee engagement is defined differently by different organizations and researchers. Here are just some of them: Corporate Leadership Council define Engagement as The extent to which employees commit to something or someone in their organization, how hard they work and how long they stay as a result of that commitment. The Gallup Organization argues that employee engagement is the involvement with and enthusiasm for work. When Hewitt Associates thinks engagement is the state of emotional and intellectual commitment to an organization or group producing behavior that will help fulfill an organizations promises to customers and improve business results. But all these definitions have a common base which is employee satisfaction with their work and ability and desire to go the extra mile and demonstrate outstanding on the job performance. Many things will be changing around and inside the organizations of the future but for the sake of sustainability employers will have to create a workplace where employees can build a personal and emotional relationship to the employer brand (J. Meister, K. Will yerd, The 2020 workplace, 2010). Basic human nature has not changed Basic human nature has not changed in 1000s of years and will remain in the future (R.J. Vance, SHRM Foundation, 2006): We want to be better: There is a competitive drive to be more competent and more capable We are social people: We are hard-wired to be part of a group We are meaning-seeking people: We want to make a difference Several sociologists who deal with generations and demographics researches suggest future generations particularly generations Y and Z will place greater importance on feedback, collaboration, self-fulfillment, meaningful contributions, skills advancement, respect, mentoring. The future workplace engagement model (J. Meister, K. Willyerd, 2010) covers the key principles that the future workplace must embody. The essential component is values which would be aligned across the generations and strong brand that employees identify with. . Meister, K. Willyerd (2010) argue there are different areas that contribute to the engagement but the model demonstrates the most important once: recruiting, employee connection, learning and leadership. These practice areas would be realized by organizations based on key principles: Collaboration: in the future external collaboration will grow exponentially Authenticity: key component is transparency through social media

Transmission of Wireless Message based on Embedded System

Transmission of Wireless Message based on Embedded System Transmission of Wireless Message based on Embedded System with Robotic Arm INTRODUCTION: 2.1) This career episode describes the project Transmission of Wireless Message based on Embedded System with Robotic Arm. I started off this project under the guidance of my assistant professor and with a team of two engineers including myself, during the last three months (October 2012-December 2012) of 7th semester while pursuing Bachelors of Engineering (Electronics and Communication) from Gujarat Technological University, India. The assigned duration for the project was three months and with the help of my professor, we were able to complete each task of the project on time. This project was implemented as a part of my academic curriculum Wireless Communication. For this project, I was working as an Electronic Engineer. BACKGROUND: 2.2) In this universe of learning and understanding all the things that are nearby, is controlled through machines, having the ability to compute. This specialized excellence and integration in various departments can prompt an exceptional alteration in everyones lives particularly interchanges department. Because of different alterations in innovations, numerous frameworks are made with stunning advancements. The most innovative one is the Embedded Systems. Embedded system is the advancement or further improvement of computer science framework. Its application give colossal chances to innovative utilization of PC innovation. Verging on each new framework presented in the business sector is a case of Embedded System. 2.3) The framework which we have created is a utilization of an Embedded System. At first, we began off with the manner of thinking of building up a wireless message roundabout model which could help both establishments and in addition enterprises. A further research into the framework prompted the possibility that equivalent framework can act like a concentrated framework for ambitions, for example, managing, observing plus correspondence keeping aside human intercession. 2.4) Project Objective To describe in few sentences, my projects main deliverable was to send the data from one place to another place through transmitter and receiver using RF technology. The microcontroller works as brain of the unit. Microcontroller controls the functions of the LCD, conveyor belt motors, and vertical/horizontal motor track motor in order to perform desired action/task using robotic arm (mechanical hand). 2.5) My roles and responsibilities included: Selection of electric components Simulation of Motors, LED and LCD using Proteus Programming of ATMEGA16 microcontroller using BASCOM software. Assist in constructing mechanical hand and conveyor belt Schedule weekly meetings to discuss goals and achievements Assist in maintaining documentation. 2.6) Project mechanism PERSONAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITY 2.7) Training We decided to go for training first since it really helped us to move forward without a hurdle in my work. It is required for the beginners to undergo a training session in order to acquire knowledge and develop skills at an industry level. This also helped me to understand the difference of work culture between industry and college level.ÂÂ   In the practice session under the guidance of my professor, initially we discussed the design process of the project and different components to be used on the transmitter and receiver side such as microcontroller, USB to UART convertor, encoder, and sensors. I also learnt the software Proteus and BASCOM for the simulation of motors, LED, LCD and programming the microcontroller. Furthermore, safety training sessions were also given to build mechanical hand and designing circuit in the safest way possible. Before the implementation of any task, we were given proper safety measures. 2.8) Software Before starting the hardware implementation, I decided to learn the software Proteus. Proteus is an open source software used for simulation of electric circuit and has the ability co- simulate and interact with software running in the microcontroller. I learnt this software by referring tutorial videos and simulating sample electric circuits. In this project, I used Proteus for the simulation of motors, UART, LED and LCD. Furthermore, I also used the software named BASCOM. BASCOM AVR is an intense and simple to-use compiler for the AVR arrangement of smaller scale controllers created by Atmel. It took me hardly any time to master this software since it was very easy. The system accompanies an extremely easy to use interface and an arrangement of straightforward summons, and gives more adaptability than different projects in this classification. Anyone with some fundamental learning of C or C++ can compose a fruitful system utilizing BASCOM, as the majority of its capacities and its announcement structure is like those in C. 2.9) Hardware implementation After training, I started my research to select the most appropriate components for hardware implementation refereeing and comparing datasheets of each component. Keeping in mind the guidelines of designing a circuit, on the transmitter side included computer, usb to serial converter, microcontroller, encoder and transmitting module. Whereas on the receiver side, I used receiving module, microcontroller, LCD display, IR and metal sensors. For the conveyor belt, we used two DC motors to pass an object on the belt. In this project, we also introduced a robotic arm (mechanical hand) as an application which can reduce the human efforts and controlling can be done effectively. There were some difficulties which we faced while constructing the mechanical hand i.e. we built the arm using two DC motors but while using it, we realized that it delivers low torque. Therefore, we discussed this issue with our professor and we came up the solution to build the arm using a combination of BO and DC motor. We designed this mechanical hand at very low cost which is very efficient and can be used in many production industries for packaging or assembling goods which mitigates physical labor, consumes less time and reduces risks as well.ÂÂ   The mechanical hand in this project was used to pick an object from the conveyor belt and put it to a required place as per the application. ÂÂ   Conveyor BeltRobotic Arm ÂÂ   Transmitter SectionReceiver Section 2.10) Pseudo flow of the system: Input is provided via Computer which is converted in to serial using UART. The serial data is sent to the microcontroller which is then encoded using encoder and transmitted via RF through transmitting antenna. Receiving module receives the message and passes it to the microcontroller. Microcontroller starts processing the program implemented on it. This leads the motor drive to provide high signal current to the motors which drives the conveyor belt and mechanical hand motors. If there is a metal/object detected on the receiver side of the conveyer belt using metal/IR sensor. The conveyor belt stops and the robotic arm performs its action depending upon the programming implemented on the microcontroller i.e. picks up the object and puts it at a required place as per the coding implemented in the ATMEGA16 microcontroller. SUMMARY: 2.11) This project was to give the ways for providing bigger effective mechanical hand for industrial applications. The achievement of this hand is to demonstrate that reliable grasping can be achieved with inexpensive mechanism and IR sensors. This hand can grasp variety of objects with different surface properties and sizes, having no need to rebuild a surface description of the object. Overall, the journey of the project was very productive, learnt new skills and enhanced acquired skills. We submitted our project with final documentation and a presentation with the prototype to our head of department and tutor. Although we faced many difficulties during this project but we never gave up. The toughest part was to build the mechanical hand and time constraint but working with a team made this project successful.

Antonio Macéo :: Antonio Maceo Biography Bio

Antonio Macà ©o: The Bronze Titan The people of Cuba had many great heroes during the Cuban War of Independence. One of these heroes, Antonio Macà ©o, contributed strength and bravery as well as leadership and patriotism. Born June 14, 1845, Antonio de la Caridad Macà ©o y Grajales was raised by his French father and Dominican mother in Santiago, Cuba. His family migrated to Cuba from Venezuela, approximately twenty years before he was born. As a young boy, he was under the influence of his godfather, an educated attorney and active participant of the Masonic lodges, or the fomenters of dissent as they were known by the government. Although he lacked the conventional education attained by many other Cuban heroes, he attempted to educate himself under the guiding influence of his godfather. The Macà ©o family itself lived quite well in a house in town, as well as, the farmland they acquired. Throughout his adolescent years, Macà ©o worked as a product distributor for one of the family farms. Having to travel great distances, he learned to navigate the surrounding terrain which proved to be a great advantage in his later years as a freedom fighter. Outside of his tasks as a product distributor, Macà ©o roamed the fields with his adolescent companions, avoiding inane conversation to cover a slight stutter in speech. Growing up into a proper and upstanding man, he married his neighborhood sweetheart, Maria Cabrales. They had two children, both of whom died at an early age. Shortly after his marriage, Antonio Macà ©o joined the liberation army. He fought with his father and brothers in the Ten Years' War (1868-1878). His effective leadership enabled him to rise in command to the position of second leader. The army, however, endured several changes which would cause its eventual disintegration of power. Many members of this army felt they could accomplish more without the leader, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes. In 1878, at the end of the Ten Years' War, Antonio Macà ©o refused to cease the war with Spain due to the existence of slavery and the imperial power's continued subordination of the people of Cuba. He left for New York later that year only to return in 1895 for the War of Independence.

Essay on Social Order in The Tempest -- Tempest essays

The Social Order in The Tempest  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Shakespeare's time, the social order was as powerful and rigid as law. Shakespeare provides an example of this social structure in his play, The Tempest. In the course of his play, the reader sees superior men dominating lesser beings on the basis of race, financial status, and gender. Not all upper class are completely corrupt, however. We see a semi-virtuous hero in the character of Prospero. Prospero has every reason to feel superior and exercise his social power, yet he doesn't always treat others disrespectfully. Although he does have some sense of charity, Prospero is still a good example of the social condition of the time.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One way in which The Tempest reflects Shakespeare's society is through the relationship between characters, especially between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban is the former king of the island, and Prospero and his daughter Miranda teach him how to be "civilized." Immediately thereafter, Prospero and Miranda enslave Caliban and he is forced to be their servant. Caliban explains "Thou strok'st me and make much of me... ...otte Porter and Helen A. Clarke (eds.) Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 1903. Knight, G. Wilson. "Shakespearian Superman" The Tempest D.J. Palmer (ed.) Macmillan & Co. 1968 Murray, J. Middleton. "Shakespeare's Dream" The Tempest D.J. Palmer (ed.) Macmillan & Co. 1968 Palmer, D.J. Shakespeare's Later Comedies: An Anthology of Modern Criticism. Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1971. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. 1611. Ed. Stephen Orgel. New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Tillyard, E.M. "The Tragic Pattern" The Tempest D.J. Palmer (ed.) Macmillan & Co. 1968

Psychological factors of tennis :: essays research papers

TASK ONE PART A FEEDBACK AND MOTIVATION OFFERED TO THE PLAYERS BY THE COACH TO IMPROVE SKILLS, COURT PLAY AND MENTAL ATTITUDE Stuartholme A Grade Tennis Team Dennis Sheard, (the coach of the A team) was mainly focusing this particular training session on footwork and communication as he felt that the team lacked both these factors during their previous Saturday match. The following are a few quotes from Dennis &#61623; "Awesome footwork Alex, could you feel the difference between that ball and the last?" Dennis indicates when the players use the correct technique and then compares it to a previous shot where they do not. This is enabling them to get used to using internal feedback independently and how they should be executing the shot. &#61623; "Correct technique, but you didn’t squeeze the grip again. The raquet shouldn’t wobble as you hit it." Dennis recognises the problem, explains it and then evaluates it for the player, making it clear what they did wrong and how they can improve it. &#61623; "If you’re partner gets a hard ball to reach I want to be able to hear you encouraging her to get it to it, I want to hear lots of "Go, go go’s!!"" Dennis stresses the importance of communication and encouragement in doubles. This communication increases motivation and a goal to reach for the players. &#61623; "I don’t want to see any slumped shoulders or negative expressions when you miss a ball, that’s the time you need to be even more confident and focused on getting the next point." Dennis reminds the girls constantly on staying positive and not losing their patience during their games as this can make them become over or under aroused. Psychological Stuartholme D6 Tennis Team The D6 coach Kate, was fairly quiet during their coaching session and when she did offer advice she would sometimes put it with a shot that didn’t necessarily match the comment, confusing the girls. This is a lower ranked team and the girls are still at quite a cognitive stage of developing their tennis skills, this means it is vital that they receive a lot of feedback and encouragement to persist with the sport. By not offering this Kate may be hindering their development. She did however put forward the following points to the girls. &#61623; "Good shot" &#61623; "Move your feet" &#61623; "Keep your eye on the ball" &#61623; "Swing slower" Although Kate is offering advice to her players in order for them to improve their skills she needs to be more specific so they can understand their mistakes and correct them.

To What Extent Does Cultural Background Influence Ones Perception of Human Beauty

To what extent does cultural background influence ones perception of human beauty? â€Å"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. † This famous quote simply expresses the universal concept of beauty has no intrinsic or definite meaning. From this, one can derive that beauty can be nothing more than the subjective perception of human individuals-it is all based on ones predilection and proclivity. However, it is not just to say that anything can be considered as beautiful, thus contradiction does not exist in perceptions of beauty. As one can see, there are certain guidelines to beauty. Whether it is the inner or outer beauty of a human being, the concept of beauty that society imposes is all shaped from general consensus. Then perhaps â€Å"Beauty is not one’s own, but a reflection of one’s culture†. Even though nothing can be defined as absolute beauty, due to the limitation ones cultural backgrounds created from the subjective nature of perception, Human beings in the end will still unite their perception of beauty to a universal degree of understanding. The rift in the perception of physical beauty between cultures can be placed on two ends of a spectrum. In both Western and Eastern Culture’s ideology of beauty, having a slender body is crucial to be considered as an attractive woman. However, as we shift our view to the third world countries in Africa, this measure takes a drastic turn and becomes weak and meaningless. In those countries where poverty and diseases are the plays a key role, plumpness-being the sign of health, wealth and fertility is the ideal beauty of a woman. Moreover, a culture’s own tradition of beauty cannot be overlooked. Padaung women of the Kayan people wear a special ornament called neck rings around the neck of an individual to create a visual appearance of a stretched long neck. This tradition of elongating necks to achieve beauty is probably not accepted by others. Furthermore, the influential power of media cultural also alters ones perception. The concept of beauty in men displayed by the Japanese pop idols with distinctly feminine features is also one of the rare occurrences in perception. Despite the range of different perception of beauty presented in varies cultural, they are all collided to establish one fact-that is to be accepted but the general consensus within their culture. However, speaking of acceptance, all the rift between culture’s perception of physical beauty are stirred together to create the universal acceptance of the inner beauty of mind and heart. â€Å"Beauty is only skin deep. †The acceptance of inner beauty goes beyond the subjective norms of beauty that varies between the different cultures one is exposed to. Gibran had concluded that â€Å"beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart†. When it comes to these values of love, compassion and moral code, humans’ emotion, conscience and perception are unified to form a common knowledge. As described in Plato's Philebus, the measure of beauty was structured and related to intelligence. One understands what is to be considered as a lovable person not only by their outward appearance but by tying the strings of the inner quality that one possess as well. With this commonality, the barrier of subjective beauty is broken down. As one gives and receives love on a daily basis, following the universal idea of moral code and intelligence, their perception is broaden to a degree of understanding that the â€Å"Miss Universe† Pageant† can be hosted based on this commonality beyond cultural differences. Therefore, one can say that the universal acceptance and emotion unifies the human belief of a beautiful person. Although the universal concept of beauty has no definite meaning and can alters from one perceiver to another. It can also be viewed that â€Å"human beauty is a reflection cultural perception and ideas of aesthetics and indigenous to that area†, but one cannot deny that the there are certain values built upon a common understanding. With this common understanding, the rift of perception between different cultures becomes narrower thus in the end, allowing ones perception of true beauty to be united to a universal degree of understanding.

Capitalism and leisure

Capitalism depends on a continuous sense of dissatisfaction to exist.   The temporary relief experienced by dissatisfied workers engaging in leisure activities such as shopping is not caused by the acquisition of an object, but rather is produced through the action of conspicuous consumption of those objects.   In other words, the relief is felt during the pursuit of certain objects and the exchange of money for goods, but diminishes almost immediately once the desired object is obtained. IPods and MySpace are recent examples that seem to bear this out.   The acquisition of an IPod necessitates the pursuit of music and the desire to perpetually obtain more music, while MySpace consumes massive amounts of free time and functions by the constant acquisition of â€Å"friends†.   They cannot create satisfaction in their original state; they only create satisfaction through the promise of acquiring infinitely more. Leisure activities such as attending the movies, on the other hand, produce temporary satisfaction through the conspicuous consumption of personal time and diminishes shortly after the movie ends.   Marx and Singer are correct in their assertion that life in the modern era is essentially dissatisfying: the capitalist economy could not exist without a pervasive and perpetual sense of dissatisfaction. However, the assumption that workers who are not alienated from their labor are generally more satisfied seems to discount other concomitant factors, such as the spirituality and close personal and family relationships that both capitalism and communism discount as irrelevant or unnecessary to life in the modern era.   Both can be considered leisure activities, and both have been reported to produce levels of satisfaction among those who participate in these types of activities.

An Analysis of Brokeback Mountain Essay

Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain is a tragic story of forbidden love. It chronicles the romance between Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, two cowboys who fall head over heels for each other in the spring of 1963. Their relationship endures for twenty years, never fully resolved, never fully let go of, and always surrounded by fear, confusion, and above all, by love. Brokeback Mountain depicted a story that was both accurate in its portrayal of queerness in the setting of its story, and in making it relatable to queerness and homosexuality today. Later, when turned into a movie, it broke even more barriers, and furthered its social effects on Hollywood and Society. Brokeback Mountain accurately describes the attitudes of society towards homosexuals in the 1960’s, specifically of those that live where the story took place. In the 1960’s, police raids of gay bars were routine, and extremely violent. The stigma associated with even the idea of being homosexual was crippling. It was considered a disease, and looked down upon severely. But finally, the gay rights movement was gaining its footing. During this time, influenced by the model of a militant black civil rights movement, the â€Å"homophile movement,† as the participants dubbed it, became more visible. Activists, such as Franklin Kameny and Barbara Gittings, picketed government agencies in Washington to protest discriminatory employment policies. But the south, the setting of Brokeback Mountain, was very different. Although these were great steps towards equality, many states in the south and west were very far behind. The treatments of gays shown in the story were painfully accurate. At one point, when Ennis and Jack reunite after four years, they fear what would happen if they got caught. Ennis tells Jack the story from his childhood, saying: â€Å"There was these two old guys ranched together down home, Earl and Rich- Dad would pass a remark when he seen them. They was a joke even though they was pretty tough old birds. I was what, nine years old and they found Earl dead in a irrigation ditch. They’d took a tire iron to him, spurred him up, drug him around by his dick until it pulled off, just bloody pulp. What the tire iron done looked like pieces a burned tomatoes all over him, nose tore down from skiddin on gravel.† (29) Incidents like this were not uncommon in the 60’s, and as horrifying as it seemed to read this passage in the book, what made it worse was the Proulx was in no way exaggerating, but rather relaying the harsh truth of the events that would occur during this time. Brokeback Mountain is still relatable to by many people, especially by those that can identify with the characters in the story. Wyoming, the state where Ennis and Jack met, is in an area of the United States that is still not completely supportive of the gay rights movement. In an article published in The New York Times in 2005, after the release of the film based on Brokeback Mountain, many people who identified as homosexual came forward to speak about their experiences. They grimly spoke about the intolerance they still face, and Derrick Glover, a 33 year old gay rancher said, â€Å"Where I live, you can’t really go out and be yourself. You couldn’t go out together, two guys, as a couple and ever be accepted. It wasn’t accepted in the past, it’s still not, and I don’t think it ever will be.† Glover came from a family of ranchers, and his family had herded the lands around their home for generations. He grew up â€Å"herding, branding, culling and haying, horses hobbled on picket lines and calves pulled forcibly from their mother’s bodies during spring calving,† and every summer he would set out with his brother in a panel truck carrying their two quarter horses, to compete in calf and steer roping competitions. His tale sounds just like that of Jack and Ennis, growing up and knowing nothing but being a cowboy, but just like Jack and Ennis, he would never have been accepted for who he was. Because of this, he was leaving his home and moving to an area with more people and more tolerance. This situation, oddly reminiscent of Stephen in â€Å"The Well of Loneliness,† is something that occurs shockingly often. At one point in the story, Ennis declares, â€Å"I ain’t queer,† despite the fact that he had sex with Jack. He refused to acknowledge that he could possibly be a homosexual, and that somehow, maybe, he could be falling for another man. Ennis is more masculine of the two, and in declaring his homosexuality, even to himself, he would be losing an aspect of his masculinity. Ben Clark, another man who spoke of being growing up on a ranch and being gay, said of it, â€Å"†But I had no idea what to do about it, ever. I was raised in a ranching, rodeo world – wrangling, packing horses, riding bucking stock, working in hunting camps – but always with the sense that I had to conceal who I was because cowboys could never be gay.† Cowboys have always been seen as men who are rough and wild, who face nature with stern faces and no fear, men whose masculinity was literally one of the main essences of their being, and this stereotypically cowboy image is w hat hinders the acceptance of so many homosexual men in the west. Of this image, Mr. Clark said, â€Å"†I could not accept being gay because of the stereotypes that were drilled into me†¦Gay men are emotionally weak. They are not real men. They are like women.† This sentiment, unfortunately, is echoed throughout much of the United States, and the rest of the world as well. By showing that these macho, strong, ranch hands and cowboys could be gay, Brokeback Mountain rejected the normative ideas of what is considered â€Å"queer† and â€Å"gay.† It showcased two homosexual men as regular men, and didn’t attempt to fit them into the stereotypical, effeminate image of gay men. Homosexual men used to be seen as perverts, men who just wanted to have sex with other men, but Brokeback Mountain destroys that idea. It shows queerness and homosexuality as what it truly is- love. It showcases the intense affection one person can have for another, regardless of their gender. In 2005, Brokeback Mountain was turned into a movie, and was met with great approval. Starring Jake Gyllenhall and Heath Ledger, the movie went on to receive many awards, including three Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Score as well as four Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Song, and Best Screenplay and four BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Jake Gyllenhaal). The film also received four Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble, more than any other movie released in 2005. It was a hit. More than that though, it reached thousands more people than it did as a book. What was once just a short story by a Pulitzer Prize winning author was now a major motion picture being shown all over the United States. It opened up people’s eyes, it started discussions, and it helped break down barriers in the normative stereotypes of what gay men were. Instead of just imagined characters, Jack and Ennis now had faces put to them, and these faces were well known actors. Leonard Maltin, a film critic and historian, said that Brokeback Mountain was â€Å"†¦ in some uncharted waters, because it shows what it’s like for two men to feel that kind of longing and passion for each other, and people aren’t used to that†¦No one movie is going to turn things around, b ut they can be building blocks. That could be this movie’s legacy.† The movie helped in attempting to erase Hollywood’s homosexual stereotypes, and to raise consciousness of gay rights. Gay rights groups immediately embraced the movie after it came out. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) established online resource guides for the movie. The guides had links to both articles and support groups for cowboys and ranchers who identified as homosexual, and who often felt confused and alone in the struggle with their sexual orientation. The Human Rights Campaign also joined in, issuing â€Å"Oscar Party Kits,† with posters of Brokeback Mountain, and cards that read â€Å"Talk about It† to encourage the discussion of gay rights. Brokeback Mountain put a new spin on cowboy stories. It showed the life of two queer cowboys, who could never fully give in to their love. It created a story that could have been plucked straight out of Wyoming in the 1960’s, through its accuracy and effectiveness. It was raw and real, and it was unapologetically showed the struggles faced by homosexual cowboys and ranchers, both in the 1960’s, and even today. The movie of the same name attempted to break down barriers in Hollywood, and it spread the story of Jack and Ennis even further, opening more people’s eyes to the reality of queer relationships, and how they don’t always fit into certain molds. Brokeback Mountain is a classic piece of queer literature, one that will continue to be both authentic and relatable for years to come.