Adopting Telemedicine in developing countries Free Essays

ICTs are advancements that have spread broadly and are less expensive for use by the overall population. Despite the fact that data and correspondence advancements could handle a portion of the heath care difficulties that face the cutting edge society, the use of ICTs is looked by various difficulties for social just as authentic changes that are related with other regular rights. The case isn't distinctive in the field of telemedicine. We will compose a custom exposition test on Receiving Telemedicine in creating nations or then again any comparative point just for you Request Now Telemedicine is a case of ICT that has been utilized on the planet for more than forty years. Present day telemedicine applications utilize top notch picture and video notwithstanding sound limits. These advancements go structure brilliant goals despite everything pictures to complex remotely coordinating mechanical assembly. Late advancements in ICT are empowering and they incorporate the utilization of web, remote ICT dissemination, and the trading of clinical data electronically notwithstanding remote conferences. Foundation factures that affect the results of telemedicine include: the national ICT framework notwithstanding the legislatures readiness, approach, just as strategies towards data and correspondence innovation. In fact advanced telemedicine applications are presently utilized over a wide scope of medicinal services settings. This innovation permits clinical faculty to transmit pictures through cell phones and complex remote gadgets (Martã ­nez, Villarroel, Seoane, and Pozo 2005, p. 1). 3.1.2 E-Health Policies Different investors of the telemedicine area have various chances to turn out to be profoundly engaged with the advancement arrangements that influence the business. Investors of this division incorporate merchants of data innovation, makers of clinical gadgets, social insurance experts, leaders and the legislature. E-wellbeing strategies are set so as to improve organize limit, upgrade capacity of rising above geo-political, social, monetary and social snags. Approaches ought to be set so as to permit teleconsultation past national fringes. Patients notwithstanding clinical consideration experts ought to be offered with an opportunity of looking for proof based feeling just as treatment from abroad through teleconsultation (Lee, Mun, Levine and Ro 2000, p. 28). 3.3 Capabilities of wellbeing segment organization The cutting edge human services framework has experienced various changes so as to meet the consistently expanding heath needs of the populace. One of the changes is the usage of media transmission in human services. All alterations in the social insurance segment are done with the patient being the focal point of core interest. Telemedicine and telecommunication are probably the latest media transmission procedures that have been fused in the medicinal services area. At present, advanced pictures of a patient can be sent over a remote gadget to a clinical work force and clinical interviews did over the web (Tanriverdi and Iacon, 1998, p, 40). 3.4 Analysis of Telemedicine contextual investigations in creating nations The development to telemedicine is related with the quest for correspondence arranged answers for make it simple for rustic populaces to get to clinical administrations. Telemedicine is considered as one of the most proper routes through which contemporary clinical administrations can come to the underserved locales (Lee, Mun, Levine, and Ro 2000, p. 16). Reality has be that as it may, changed course. Broad investigations with telemedicine in creating countries have not yet exhibited the capability of telemedicine. There are various elements that should be executed all together that telemedicine benefits in country territories become economical. An exceptionally hearty authoritative procedure should be executed, a radio based framework ought to be raised and assets used appropriately; remote upkeep frameworks ought to be actualized; a high mechanical base ought to be built up; and all data and correspondence ought to be fulfilled through basic and simultaneous frameworks (Kifle, Salmon, Okoli, and Mbarika 2008, p. 5). In spite of the various advantages related with telemedicine, the program has been delayed to come into routine use in both rustic and urban zones. 4. Assessment of the current circumstance of Telemedicine in country and urban zone Telemedicine holds an extraordinary trust in human services and clinical focuses both in rustic regions and urban focuses. Country regions specifically have for since a long time ago been looked by lack of clinical faculty, shortage of methods for transportation notwithstanding different access issues, for example, horrible climate conditions. Telemedicine takes into consideration teleconsultation that use an assortment of innovative headways, for example, voice over web, advanced pictures, computerized video remotely coordinating, notwithstanding other crisis administrations (Martã ­nez, Villarroel, Seoane, and Pozo 2005, p. 70). Be that as it may, there are different issues that influence the usage of telemedicine in rustic zones. These include: poor foundation, restricted transmission capacity accessibility in organize frameworks, and shortage of internet services. Telemedicine isn't just about the arrangement of clinical consideration in the country zones, yet it is extremely useful in connecting rural, urban and downtown clinical offices in a system offering serious clinical consideration administrations (Richard 2001, p. 3). 4.1 Advantages of utilizing Telemedicine advancements An expanded utilization of telemedicine would achieve various advantages running from improved clinical consideration, better use of wellbeing experts, expanded patients consistence, to upgraded conveyance of clinical consideration benefits outside centers and medical clinic setting and in rustic just as the underserved locales. Telemedicine takes into account visit observing of imperative sign data instead of utilizing intermittent visit by doctors. It likewise improves care of the old, genuinely crippled just as the home bound patients, since it lessens emergency clinic visits consequently expanding comfort and consistence for weakened patients. Subsequently it improves general soundness of the network and populace since it decreases presentation to different sicknesses from different patients. It likewise engages patients according to their own wellbeing. It is a wellspring of inventive and imaginative work in the medicinal services framework. It is a critical procedure of handling likely future shortage of clinical personnel.â It cuts down the pace of death, wounds and contaminations because of clinical blunders because of wrong patient data. Nearness of telemedicine programs in provincial zones improves care by lessening transportation costs; sending clinical experts and masters; and through giving clinical consideration conveyance paying little mind to topographical obstructions (Hein 2009, p. 9). 4.2 Challenges of adjusting Telemedicine There are various difficulties to producing reliable proof concerning the impacts of the utilization of telemedicine. Investigation is seldom completed as a principal part of usage, and thus assets are not totally devoted to assessment. In any case, there are times when assets are devoted to investigation after execution, accordingly imminent social event of pattern information is inconceivable. Review social occasion of clinical information is looked by various obstacles as far as suitable source recognizable proof notwithstanding assortment strategies. These issues make troublesome the examination of different intercessions, even as the genuine idea of assessment of telemedicine presents further challenges (Brear 2006, p. 24). Other than assessment, different difficulties that face telemedicine, as showed by Paul, Pearlson and McDaniel (1999, p 281), include: different social, social, financial, specialized and authoritative obstacles that human services frameworks must arrangement with before accomplishing the full advantages of telemedicine. Different variables that wreck the usage of telemedicine in creating nations are: poor media transmission and electric force framework; mastery notwithstanding significant expense of internet providers; absence of government inclusion; challenges in continuing execution of telemedicine; unsatisfactory authoritative techniques; and client discontentâ with low band-width just as deferred reaction. Patients, clinical experts and chiefs need basic information on telemedicine benefits just as their potential for clinical consideration. Absence of appropriate subsidizing is the other test that faces telemedicine. In spite of its proposal by the world wellbeing association telemedicine is yet to be acknowledged as a specialized assistance in numerous national services of wellbeing (Kifle, Salmon, Okoli, and Mbarika n.d, p. 3). 5. Ends It can along these lines be inferred that telemedicine is one of the most critical current clinical procedures that can be utilized in handling the various social insurance challenges that face populaces living in both urban and provincial areas.â Various advantages of telemedicine include: improvement of patient consideration, decrease of patient exchanges to tertiary wellbeing habitats and giving doctors a decent access to tertiary interview. Telemedicine improves the general wellbeing of the network since it diminishes open to different sicknesses from different patients through decrease of emergency clinic visits. There are nonetheless, different difficulties that are related with usage of telemedicine and these include: assessment challenges, poor media transmission, distortion of data, and absence of mindfulness and responsibility by the administration and chiefs. Telemedicine is looked by different issues including data innovation approaches, E-Health strategies, and information security arrangements. Despite the fact that there are various advantages related with telemedicine, the program has been delayed to come into routine practice both in country and urban zones.

Explain how the relationship between the dose of drug given to an Essay

Clarify how the connection between the portion of medication given to an individual and the centralization of medication particles - Essay Example These elements are talked about in more detail underneath, in view of the portrayal of Goodman, et al. (2011, ch. 2). The attributes of the medication particle itself that influence the drug’s fixation at the receptor site incorporate its atomic size, level of ionization, lipid dissolvability, and its fondness for serum and tissue proteins. The plasma layer (of skin or intestinal cells, for instance) is a typical boundary to sedate conveyance; tranquilizes that are not lipid solvent won't have the option to penetrate the film and not arrive at the objective site. A medication of little atomic size will travel more effectively through the layers than a bigger particle, arriving at the objective in higher focuses. Ionized atoms, and those that dilemma to proteins, likewise experience issues in going through the film. On the off chance that the medication tends to ionize at the pH of the intestinal lumen or the blood, the ionized structure will experience issues going through lip id plasma layers. On the off chance that the medication cooperates with transporter proteins on the cell layer, its take-up into the cell might be expanded or diminished, contingent upon the heading in which the transporter moves the medication. For instance, the P-glycoprotein in enterocytes limits the oral retention of some malignancy chemotherapeutic specialists by sending out them once again into the lumen of the GI tract. Thus, it has been discovered that multidrug transporters, for example, P-glycoprotein (PGP) and individuals from the multidrug opposition related protein (MRP) family are over-communicated in narrow endothelial cells in epileptogenic mind tissue, and, by moving enemy of epileptic medications out, these proteins might be liable for the pharmacoresistance of the epileptic cerebrum to hostile to epileptic medications (Lã ¶scher and Potschka, 2002). ... transporters, for example, P-glycoprotein (PGP) and individuals from the multidrug opposition related protein (MRP) family are over-communicated in slender endothelial cells in epileptogenic mind tissue, and, by shipping hostile to epileptic medications out, these proteins might be liable for the pharmacoresistance of the epileptic cerebrum to against epileptic medications (Loscher and Potschka, 2002). On the off chance that a medication is equipped for official to plasma proteins, for example, egg whites, at that point a portion of the medication atoms in the circulation system tough situation to the proteins, while the staying unbound medication particles are accessible to arrive at balance over all layers and arrive at the objective receptor. Subsequently, plasma protein restricting limits the centralization of the medication at its site of activity. At the point when the site of activity of concern is the mind, the capacity of the medication to cross the blood-cerebrum hindrance decides the grouping of managed tranquilize that can arrive at the objective. The more lipophilic the medication in its unbound, non-ionized structure, the more noteworthy will be its capacity to go through the endothelial cells shaping the blood-mind hindrance, and in this manner the higher will be its bioavailability in the cerebrum. How the course of organization influences the division of the medication portion that arrives at the objective is likewise significant. The most widely recognized course of organization is oral, in any case, this course has a few ramifications on bioavailability, and the portion gulped won't altogether arrive at the objective site. Just a small amount of the ingested medicate is assimilated from the digestive tract, contingent upon the components talked about in the past passage. As more ingestion happens in the digestive tract than the stomach, any factor that expands stomach exhausting, (for example, for example, resting on the correct side and leve l of physical movement) builds sedate retention as the

Button Poetry Fans Are In Luck Audiobooks Are Now Available

Button Poetry Fans Are In Luck Audiobooks Are Now Available Spoken word and slam poetry have become increasingly popular in the last few years. They have captured readers’ attention for their rawness and beauty and for ascribing the dramatization of a play to poetry. When performed by the author, it can feel almost cathartic to those watching: we carry our own feelings into the venue, and they are washed away and replaced by the feelings of those declaiming on stage. Our grief and love and life become suddenly more vivid, more worthy of attention. That’s the beauty of poetry in itself: for a moment we become what we are reading, even if we have never felt those emotions before. And after all, what better way to read poetry than by listening to it? Button Poetry has been a great propeller of slam poetry, especially because it gives voice to many authors of colour and LGBTQA+ authors, which also means that, more and more, poetry encapsulates broader experiences and life stories. On YouTube, you can find several videos of Button Poetry authors live on stage, and those acts have been made available in audio form on Spotify and other audio providers for a while, but now they’re also releasing complete poetry collections as audiobooks read by the author, recorded in a studio. The titles available so far are: Nothing Is Okay by Rachel Wiley From the same author of   Fat Girl Finishing School,  this book speaks of the relationship we build with our own bodies as we grow up, and includes subjects like feminism, queerness, and rape. Wiley is a fat-positive activist, and her live performances are emotional; many of her poems start off as a recollection of all the things fat girls grew up hearing from others, and how much it has shaped the way they see themselves, and their bodies. Its also an unapologetic love letter to all the things we were told not to love about ourselves. Helium by Rudy Francisco This collection of poems is the authors debut, and the main themes are race, class, and gender. Francisco performs many of his poems as if he is about to hit the punchline of a joke, but the subjects he speaks of are only funny because theyre so true. You can find many of his live performances on YouTube. Depression Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benain You probably know Benain through the video of her poem  Explaining My Depression to My Mother. In it, she acts out a deeply troubled conversation, and the poem is a desperate cry from a daughter who struggles so much with understanding the causes of her depression as her mother does. The book explores mental health, family relationships, and love. A Love Song, A Dead Rattle, A Battle Cry by  Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre This book is a compilation of poems, essays, and lyrics, and it touches various themes like justice, love, and personal reflection. Guantes poetry is a spark which leads us to question the way we live as a community, and the daily tasks our society demands of us. You can check his live performances on YouTube as well. The audiobooks are available for purchase on Button Poetrys site, or you can get them via Audible and iTunes. If you’re looking for other poetry audiobooks, here are six more Book Riot has chosen for you. Sign up for Audiobooks to receive the latest from the audiobooks world.

Button Poetry Fans Are In Luck Audiobooks Are Now Available

Button Poetry Fans Are In Luck Audiobooks Are Now Available Spoken word and slam poetry have become increasingly popular in the last few years. They have captured readers’ attention for their rawness and beauty and for ascribing the dramatization of a play to poetry. When performed by the author, it can feel almost cathartic to those watching: we carry our own feelings into the venue, and they are washed away and replaced by the feelings of those declaiming on stage. Our grief and love and life become suddenly more vivid, more worthy of attention. That’s the beauty of poetry in itself: for a moment we become what we are reading, even if we have never felt those emotions before. And after all, what better way to read poetry than by listening to it? Button Poetry has been a great propeller of slam poetry, especially because it gives voice to many authors of colour and LGBTQA+ authors, which also means that, more and more, poetry encapsulates broader experiences and life stories. On YouTube, you can find several videos of Button Poetry authors live on stage, and those acts have been made available in audio form on Spotify and other audio providers for a while, but now they’re also releasing complete poetry collections as audiobooks read by the author, recorded in a studio. The titles available so far are: Nothing Is Okay by Rachel Wiley From the same author of   Fat Girl Finishing School,  this book speaks of the relationship we build with our own bodies as we grow up, and includes subjects like feminism, queerness, and rape. Wiley is a fat-positive activist, and her live performances are emotional; many of her poems start off as a recollection of all the things fat girls grew up hearing from others, and how much it has shaped the way they see themselves, and their bodies. Its also an unapologetic love letter to all the things we were told not to love about ourselves. Helium by Rudy Francisco This collection of poems is the authors debut, and the main themes are race, class, and gender. Francisco performs many of his poems as if he is about to hit the punchline of a joke, but the subjects he speaks of are only funny because theyre so true. You can find many of his live performances on YouTube. Depression Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benain You probably know Benain through the video of her poem  Explaining My Depression to My Mother. In it, she acts out a deeply troubled conversation, and the poem is a desperate cry from a daughter who struggles so much with understanding the causes of her depression as her mother does. The book explores mental health, family relationships, and love. A Love Song, A Dead Rattle, A Battle Cry by  Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre This book is a compilation of poems, essays, and lyrics, and it touches various themes like justice, love, and personal reflection. Guantes poetry is a spark which leads us to question the way we live as a community, and the daily tasks our society demands of us. You can check his live performances on YouTube as well. The audiobooks are available for purchase on Button Poetrys site, or you can get them via Audible and iTunes. If you’re looking for other poetry audiobooks, here are six more Book Riot has chosen for you. Sign up for Audiobooks to receive the latest from the audiobooks world.

Effects of Media on Women and Children - 2408 Words

The Effect of the Media on Women and Girls Mass media creates unrealistic, unhealthy portrayals of female sexuality, sexual health, and shows unnecessary female sexuality and nudity on an immense level. The average woman is misrepresented in the media; this is unhealthy for many women and girls. Studies show viewing sexually objectifying material contributes to eating disorders, low self-esteem, depression and body dissatisfaction. In a 1992 study of female students at Stanford University, 70% of women reported feeling worse about themselves and their bodies after looking at magazines. Lack of identity is a major concern for adolescents and the media is constantly telling them who or what to act and look like. While it is up to an†¦show more content†¦There are countless studies that show viewing sexually objectifying material contributes to body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. â€Å"Girls develop their identities as teenagers and as women, and they learn the socially acceptable ways to engage in intimate relationships by modeling what they see older girls and young women doing† (Bussey Bandora, 1984, 1992) and â€Å"by imitating the ways in which women are represented in the media† (Huston Wright, 1998). There is no question that girls and boys grow up in a society and culture that is saturated with sexual images. Girls are major consumers of the media. The average child or teen watches three hours of television a day, the numbers are higher for Black and Latino youth (APA Task Force Report, 2005). When various media are combined, children view 6 hours and 32 minutes per day of media exposure (APA Task Force Report, 2005). There are psychiatric and developmental effects caused by the sexualization of women and girls. The developmental process is relevant to how girls perceive sexuality and what society deems acceptable. Defined as cognitive development, this affects children’s abil ity to critically process cultural messages. Researchers Borzekowski Robinson (1999) discovered that â€Å"very young children are highly susceptible to marketing, they have difficulty distinguishing betweenShow MoreRelatedMedia and Beauty1592 Words   |  7 Pages The Media and Beauty Beauty is the interpretation of one’s physical body and the portrayal of the one’s own body so called body image exists within the mind. It is unbelievable that media world tries to exploit the body image which can affect an individual psychologically and physically whether it is in a good or bad way. In the article, â€Å"How the Media Keeps Us Hung Up on Body Image† by Shari Graydon, the author claims that women of all ages are suffering and media is the sourceRead MoreSexual Objectification and the Effects on Women Essay1265 Words   |  6 PagesObjectification of Women and the Effect on Women Everywhere you turn, there are magazine covers, movies, reality TV shows that portray woman in a sexual light. When was the last time that we as a society sat down and realized the effect that this is having on young girls, teens and even grown women. The portrayal of women as sexual objects in these and many other types of media have greatly affected the mindset of society. What affects has this had you ask? There are there main effects that we will exploreRead MoreThe Lolita Effect On Children s Health Network1275 Words   |  6 PagesIn Western society, the media hypersexualizes children from birth. However, this hypersexuality is commonly focused on girls aged eight to fifteen (Canadian Women’s Health Network). This leads to self-esteem issues, high teenage pregnancy rates, eating disorders, sex trafficking, suicidal thoughts, and actions, and what is called the â€Å"Lolita effect.† This hypersexuality also leads to violent relational abuse, and in boys, has been shown linked with violence (Keating). These all have devastating consequencesRead MoreHow does advertisement influence peoples behaviour?1319 Words   |  6 Pagesto marketing message, which is presented by an identified sponsor in extinctive media such as the television, newspapers, radio, magazines and Internet. The term may be used to refer to message presentation in the marketplace. The term may also be extended to show a product in a television program or movie, which in order to target audience. This research paper focus on how does advertisement influence children and women on the society? NowadaysRead MoreThe Between Media And Body Image1348 Words   |  6 Pagesconstructed by the society and by the media. But women are affected that kind of construction. Mass media give narrow definition about the standard of beauty. Delis noticed this massage everywhere, especially in the media, â€Å"I am so affected by Glamour magazine and Vogue and all that; I’m looking at all these beautiful women. They’re thin. I want to be just as beautiful. I want to be just as thin. Because that is what guys like† (Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy 12). The media representation of the thin idealRead MoreEssay about Gender Based Stereotype in the Media1723 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction The media plays an extremely important and arguably the most powerful role in shaping the perception individuals and members of the public holds towards themselves and their surroundings. This therefore makes it extremely difficult for one to maintain his/her unique self identity or perception of others without the influence of the media. People will define themselves and others based on the messages insinuated by the media. The problem hence emerges when the media insinuate the wrongRead MoreThe Traditional Roles of Women in the 1970 ´s 1274 Words   |  5 Pagesadverts they reviewed reflected the following stereotypes of women. Women were portrayed as being home-makers, only being dependent on men, sex objects for men and not being able to make important decisions (Wenner and Jackson, 2009). One way adverts have portrayed women is stereotypically, emphasising on the importance of women looking pretty, the traditional roles of being a good housewife and mother. 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As stated in Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children, â€Å"In affluent Western societies, slenderness is generally associated with happiness, success, youthfulness, and social acceptability. Being overweight is linked to laziness, lack of willpower, and being out of control.†(Grogan 325) Despite commonRead MoreNegative Influence of Advertising1524 Words   |  7 Pagesskinny models and pretty women in  promoting their products. There is nothing wrong here at first glance .Since beautiful women are good to stare at. However, if we look more  closely, most models endorsing beauty products are slim, skinny and with  fair-complexion. Most women, therefore, who would see these advertisements, would want  to emulate the thinness and beauty of such models. This fixation with  beauty has a negative effect even in very young girls. A number of women  would feel insecure and

Personal Narrative A Semester Of Learning - 959 Words

A Semester of Learning Since my early high school days, teachers have preached to me on the importance of writing in my future college classes and career. With each year came a further development of my writing and the addition of tools that I could add to my arsenal. I learned when to be creative and when to be strictly fundamental. I learned when to write formally and when to write informally. Year after year, I was taught the different forms of writing such as a research paper, a narrative, and a persuasive essay. Even so, no year has enhanced my writing skills and prepared me for what is to come as much as my seventh period English class my junior year. Through my English Composition 1113, I have improved my understanding of the†¦show more content†¦After proofreading the rough draft of the essay, I found many phrases that seemed out of place or difficult to comprehend. In the rough draft, I wrote, â€Å"Afterwards, the rider needs to secure the bags that are in place t o catch the grass as the rider mows on the back of the mower.† This sentence leads the reader to believe that the rider mows from the back of the mower, but it is actually the bags that are on the back of the mower. In the final copy of this essay, I placed the prepositional phrases in the correct place to ensure that the reader could properly understand what the prepositional phrase was modifying. Another example of poor word choice is where the paper reads, â€Å"To weed eat, goggles and the clothes worn during the mow should be left on the caution should be taken to what you weed eat and where the debris is sent from the weed eater.† In a formal process essay, one cannot use certain pronouns such as you and I, but my paper contained the pronoun â€Å"you† which is an obvious mistake. In order to remain a formal essay, I had to remove the word â€Å"you† from the rough draft. Word choice and placement is extremely vital to an essay because not only can i t change the meaning of a sentence or phrase, but word choice can also change whether the essay is formal or informal. While writing the research paper â€Å"Remember the Name,† I executed every step of theShow MoreRelatedHow Writing Is An Amalgamation Of Different Conventions Stuck Together1578 Words   |  7 Pages These conventions are seen in my writing throughout the semester, however the effectiveness and the proper use of these could be called into question. Two specific examples of my essays, the personal narrative, and the argumentative essay, supporting details and evidence, consistent organization, topic sentences and theses, and the coherence, along with conciseness and clarity, are all major points. 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The Rise Of E Commerce - 2328 Words

Major Assignment Part 2 Micro Economics BACC107 Name: Question No: 1 The rise of e-commerce means that in today’s business environment, traditional businesses are faced with another level of competition that did not exist before the internet became part of our daily lives (Read page 180 of your text). Using the airline industry in Australia, list some of the factors that are driving an increase in competition between firms in this industry? Bearing in mind these factors, what sort of a market structure closely resembles the environment in which the firms in the airline industry in Australia operate in? Explain. Answer: Introduction: Macroeconomics analyses economic issues at the highest levels of aggregation: the economy as†¦show more content†¦Airlines lease or own their own aircraft and to provide these services, you can establish partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit. In general, the airline confirmed by the government aviation agency issued an air operator certificate or license. Airlines from those aircraft carrying mail or cargo, through full-service international airlines operating hundreds of aircraft differ. Airline services can be categorized as intercontinental, intra-continental, national, regional or international, and may be scheduled or charter operations. Affect of airplane industry on economy: Australians are dependent on air services are increasing. Among other things, this is In leisure and tourism (especially outbound) and regional expansion is driving growth Strategic resources and agricultural activities. This can be seen in the overall growth the total number of domestic passengers has grown from 64.8 million to107.5 million in the past 10 years. Another aspect of the impact of the overall demand for aviation services has been developed more global and domestic national enterprise supply chain. As companies become more closely related to suppliers and markets beyond their neighborhood, they rely more and More air-based services, movers and freight. Importantly, every form of air sports - leisure and commercial Interface with Australia s airport infrastructure. The existence and operational efficiency Airport facilities is so important

Juries and their place in society Essay Example For Students

Juries and their place in society Essay The first months of war resounded with the collision of the war plans pored over for decades by the general staffs of Europe. The original German plan for a two-front war, drafted by Helmuth von Moltke the elder, had called for taking the offensive against Russia and standing on the defensive in the rugged Rhineland. The plan showed military prudence and complemented the stabilizing diplomacy of Bismarck. But Alfred, Graf von Schlieffen, presided over the German military in the era of Kaiser Williams Weltpolitik and adopted a more ambitious and risky course. His plan, conceived in 1891 and completed by 1905, envisioned a massive offensive in the west to knock out the compact French forces in six weeks, whereupon the army could shift eastward to confront the plodding Russians. But a quick decision could be achieved in France only by a vast enveloping action. The powerful right wing of the German army must descend from the north and pass through the neutral Low Countries. This would vi rtually ensure British intervention. But Schlieffen expected British aid to be too little and too late. In sum, the Schlieffen Plan represented a pristine militarism: the belief that all factors could be accounted for in advance, that execution could be flawless, that pure force could resolve all political problems including those thrown up by the plan itself. In the event, the Germans realized all of the political costs of the Schlieffen Plan and few of the military benefits.Like the Germans, the French had discarded a more sensible plan in favour of the one implemented. French intelligence had learned of the grand lines of the Schlieffen Plan and its inclusion of reserve troops in the initial assault. General Victor Michel therefore called in 1911 for a blocking action in Belgium in addition to an offensive into Alsace-Lorraine. But this required twice the active troops currently available. France would either have to give up the Belgian screen or the offensive. The new chief of s taff, J.-J.-C. Joffre, refused to believe that Germany would deploy reserve corps in immediate combat and gave up the screen. By October 1914 all the plans had unraveled. After the German defeat in the Battle of the Marne, the Western Front stabilized into an uninterrupted line for 466 miles from Nieuwpoort on the Belgian coast south to Bapaume, then southeast past Soissons, Verdun, Nancy, and so to the Swiss frontier. Both sides dug in, elaborated their trench systems over time, and condemned themselves to four years of hellish stalemate on the Western Front.The situation was little better on the other front. A necessary assumption of the Schlieffen Plan was the inadequacy of the Russian rail network to support a rapid offensive. By 1914, however, railroads through Poland were much improved, and the Russian general staff agreed to take the offensive in case of war to relieve the pressure on France. Similarly, the Germans had asked the Austrian commander, Conrad von Hotzendorf, to attack Russia and ease the threat to Germany. Austria also had a two-front war, however, and an army too small to fight it. Owin g to penury and its nationality problems, the monarchy fielded fewer battalions in 1914 than it had in the war of 1866. As the saying went, Austria was always en retard dune armee, dune annee et dune idee (one army, one year, and one idea behind). Austrias solution was to send one army south against Serbia and one to Galicia against the Russians and to deploy a third as need required. The reserves, a third of Austrias already outnumbered forces, spent the opening battles shuttling back and forth on the rails. Austria failed to penetrate Serbian defenses, while the Germans smashed the Russian attack into East Prussia. In the east, too, stalemate set in.By mid-1915 the Germans had overcome supply problems and were better prepared for trench warfare than the Allies. They also pioneered the concept of defense in depth, making a second trench line the main barrier to assault. Allied generals responded with longer and denser artillery bombardments but thereby relinquished the element of s urprise. Such tactics turned western battlefields into seas of wreckage, with a storm of steel raging above, and condemned hundreds of thousands of men for the sake of a few thousand yards of no-mans-land. Allied attacks in 1915 cost the British more than 300,000 casualties and the French 1,500,000. The only German initiative, the Second Battle of Ypres, introduced poison gas to the Western Front. But no commander could see a means of breaking the deadlock, and all confessed their strategy to be one of attrition.

Distinction between Realist, Liberal and other Approaches to Peace and Security

Ednah Dow Cheney, Transcendentalist and Social Reformer

Ednah Dow Cheney, Transcendentalist and Social Reformer Known for:  involved in abolition movement, freedman’s education movement, women’s movement, free religion; part of the second generation of Transcendentalists around Boston, she knew many of the well-known figures in those movements Occupation: writer, reformer, organizer, speakerDates:  June 27, 1824 – November 19, 1904Also known as: Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney Ednah Dow Cheney Biography: Ednah Dow Littlehale was born in Boston in 1824. Her father, Sargent Littlehale, a businessman and Universalist, supported his daughter’s education at various girls’ schools. While liberal in politics and religion, Sargent Littlehale found the Unitarian minister Theodore Parker too radical religiously and politically.   Ednah took a job caring for and tutoring her youngest sister, Anna Walter,  and when she died, friends recommended that she consult the Rev. Parker in her grief. She began attending his church.   This brought her into association in the 1840s with many of the Transcendentalists, including Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson and, of course, Theodore Parker and Bronson Alcott. She taught briefly at Alcott’s Temple School. She attended some of Margaret Fuller’s Conversations, meetings that discussed a variety of themes including Emerson’s thought. Through the Conversations, she got to know L ouisa May Alcott. Abby May,  Julia Ward Howe, and Lucy Stone were more  of her friends starting from this period of her life. She later wrote that I always consider that, from the age of twelve, Margaret Fuller and Theodore Parker were my education. Marriage Supporting coeducational training in art, she helped found the Boston School of Design in 1851. She married Seth Wells Cheney in 1853, and the two went to Europe after a tour of New England and the death of Seth Cheney’s mother. Their daughter, Margaret, was born in 1855, shortly after the family returned to the United States, staying in New Hampshire for the summer. By this time, her husband’s health was failing.   Seth Cheney died the next year; Ednah Cheney never remarried, returning to Boston and raising her daughter alone.   Seth Cheneys crayon portrait of Theodore Parker and his wife was given to the Public Library of Boston. Womens Rights She was left with some means, and turned to philanthropy and reform. She helped to establish the New England Hospital for Women and Children, for medical training of women physicians. She also worked with women’s clubs to foster education for women.   She frequently attended woman’s rights conventions,   lobbied for womens rights at the Legislature, and served for a time as vice-president of the New England Womens Suffrage Society. She wrote in her later years that she had believed in the vote for women since she was a school girl. Abolitionist and Freedmans Aid Supporter Cheney’s reform involvements included support for the abolitionist movement.   She knew both Harriet Jacobs, an ex-slave who wrote of her own life and escape from slavery, and Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad conductor. Before and after the end of the Civil War, she became a strong advocate for education for the newly freed slaves, working first through the New England Freedman’s Aid Society, a voluntary association that tried to buy the freedom of slaves and also provide opportunities for education and training. After the Civil War she worked with the federal government’s Freedman’s Bureau. She became secretary of the Teachers’ Commission and visited many of the Freedman’s schools in the South.   In 1866 she published a book, The Handbook of American Citizens, to be used in the schools, which included an overview of American history from the perspective of progressive â€Å"emancipation.† The book also included the text of the US Constitution.   Cheney corresponded frequently with Harriet Jacobs after Jacobs returned to North Carolina in 1867. After 1876, Cheney published Records of the New England Freedman’s Aid Society, 1862-1876, mindful of hi story’s need for such documents. She was invited to lecture on the work with freedmen at the Divinity Chapel in Cambridge.   This created a debate at the school, as there had been no women speakers at that venue before, and she became the first. Free Religious Association Cheney, as part of the second generation of Transcendentalists, was active in the Free Religious Association, founded in 1867, with Ralph Waldo Emerson signing on as the first official member.   The FRA advocated freedom of individual thought in religion, an openness to the findings of science, a faith in the human progress, and a dedication to social reform: bringing the kingdom of God through working for the good of society. Cheney, through the years, was often a key organizer behind the scenes, making FRA meetings happen, and keeping the organization functioning. She also occasionally spoke at FRA meetings. She spoke regularly in liberal churches and in Southern congregations, and perhaps if clergy training had been more open to women when she was younger, she would have gone into the ministry. Beginning in 1878, Cheney was a regular teacher at the summer sessions of the Concord School of Philosophy.   She published essays based on some of the themes first explored there.   She was also the first woman to lecture at Harvard’s School of Divinity, not without controversy. Writer In 1871 Cheney published a juvenile novel, Faithful to the Light, which gained some popularity; it was followed by other novels.   In 1881 she wrote a memoir of her husband. Margaret Swan Cheney, Ednah’s daughter, enrolled at Boston’s Institute of Technology (now MIT), among the first women to enter that school, and her entry is credited with that opening of the school to women. Sadly, some years  thereafter, while still a student, she died of tuberculosis in 1882. Before her death, she published in a scientific journal  a paper describing experiments with nickel, including a method of determining the presence of nickel in ore. Ednah Cheneys 1888/1889 biography of Louisa May Alcott, who had died the previous year as had her father, Bronson Alcott, helped bring to life the early Transcendentalist years for another generation. It was the first biography of Louisa May Alcott, and remains an important source for those studying Alcott’s life. She included many passages from Alcott’s own letters and journals, letting her subject speak in her own words of her life.   Cheney, in writing the book, used a diary of Alcott’s during the time her family participated in the Transcendentalist utopian experiment at Fruitlands; that diary has since been lost. That same year she wrote a pamphlet for the American Woman Suffrage Association, â€Å"Municipal Suffrage for Women,† advocating a strategy of gaining the vote for women on issues close to their lives, including school elections.   She also published Memoir of Margaret Swan Cheney, her daughter.   In 1890, she published Nora’s Return: A Sequel to The Doll’s House, her attempt to deal with the feminist themes Henrik Ibsen’s play, The Doll’s House, opened. A number of articles in the 1880s described Emerson, Parker, Lucretia Mott and Bronson Alcott.   Cheney’s writing was not, in its time or since, considered particularly creative, fitting in more with Victorian sentimentalism, but they do give insight into the memorable people and events through which she moved.   She was much respected by her friends in the free religious and social reform movements with which she associated. Looking Back By the turn of the century, Cheney’s health was not good, and she was much less active. In 1902, she published her own memoirs, Reminiscences of Ednah Dow Cheney (born Littehale), reflecting on her life, rooting it in the 19th century. She died in Boston in November of 1904. The New England Women’s Club held a meeting on February 20, 1905, to remember Ednah Dow Cheney, who had been a member.   The club published the speeches from that meeting. Background, Family: Mother: Ednah Parker DowFather: Sargent Smith Littlehale, a grocerTwo older siblings, several younger; in total, four siblings  died in childhood Education: Private schools Marriage, Children: husband: Seth Wells Cheney (artist;  married 1853; artist; died 1856)one child:Margaret Swan Cheney, born September 8, 1855, died September 22, 1882.eight siblings, two sisters and one brother; at least five died in childhood Note: after further research, I corrected a line that was formerly in this biography that had Ednah Dow Cheney as a tutor to Theodore Parkers daughter.   Parker had no children.   The source I used may have misinterpreted a story from  Reminiscences of Ednah Dow Cheney.

Information System Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information System Outsourcing - Essay Example It is easier so outsource the development of information technology and systems and workers do not require complex infrastructure to begin their work. As the outsourcing market is highly competitive internationally and has a high level of mobility, it poses a certain degree of threat that major operations might be to other countries that are better able to provide a stable supply of skilled workforce. China has replicated the Indian model, is taking a more sustainable approach towards creating a stable flow of skilled workers and seems determined to grab a substantial market share in the outsourcing business. IBM is one successful business that has been able to retain a large pool of highly skilled labor in India. Its labor force has increased substantially from thirty-five thousand employees to well around sixty thousand headcounts. Its success is deeply rooted based on its ability to pay premium wages to its employees based on its international standing and its ability to charge its clients a premium based on its brand image. British Petroleum similarly outsourced its entire information technology system development program without enough geographical diversification and found after a year that none of the information technology firms in India was able to provide any satisfactory program for implementation. In conclusion, it is clear that outsourcing has its benefits for both parties but also adds significantly to the risks. A better strategy for outsourcing is the use of multi-sourcing to avoid risks related to non-performance and delays.

ABB Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ABB Case - Essay Example In the 1990s, ABB was to consolidate its market space by going for major acquisitions. The company's sales that was at about USD 15 billion in 1988 and 1989, went to over USD 30 billion in the mid 1990s. But the acquisitions did not yield the results that were expected by the company and the company went into a spin. By 1997 and later in 1998, there was a steep fall in the sales turnover of the company.The turnover fell to USD 20 billion in 1999 and the company started its divestitures. Though a higher profit was indicated in the years 1999 and 2000, it was primarily out of these divestitures. Now under this background a new strategy was worked out for the company and the strategy has to be viewed under this perception.2. Solid foundation and operating profitability is more critical than the number of businesses the company does. The company moved into a number of new areas of business that were not really contributing to the profitability of the company.2. A corporate culture for ex cellence and perfection in execution has to be stressed by the company. This would help the company capitalize on the man power and on the efficiency of operation of the company.These formed the core of the strategy adopted by the company. The implementation of every one of these issues was brought about in both the structure of the organization and in the spirit of the organization.... 'At home everywhere' was made the slogan of the company. 5. Innovation will be core of the growth in all areas of business. More research establishments were positioned and more patents registered during the next five years. These formed the core of the strategy adopted by the company. The implementation of every one of these issues was brought about in both the structure of the organization and in the spirit of the organization. Question 2 Organization Structure Figure 2: Interlinked business structure The company would essentially work on a business structure that is interlinked and would produce the required result. The organization will have two major product groups; one, the process automation and two, the power systems. And derivatives of these products will also interlink the businesses and strengthen them as well. In either of the cases, this will help in customer sharing as well as in strengthening the technology in addition to cost sharing. 1. This strategy will help in strengthening the basic strategy of concentrating on the core business strengths of the company, namely, the automation and power sector. 2. This will also help in identifying the major revenue sources or customers who would provide better margins to the company's operations. 3. By providing this kind of product organization and support, the customer will get supporting products and services that complement one another. This will increase the overall margins of the company which is also the major thrust for their operation. 4. The company visualizes this to provide an effective cost leadership in the market place. By concentrating on specific product lines, the economies of scale could be leveraged to their advantage. This would help the

The Evaluate Current Strategic Choice And Implications Management Essay

The Evaluate Current Strategic Choice And Implications Management Essay Strategic Management is a term that is not new, first used in the 1970s it was conceived that a team of strategic planners would come up with strategic ideas to sell to decision makers. It is all about identification and guideline used by the managers in order for the company to have a competitive edge over the competition. Joel Ross Michael Kami(Fred 2011, 35) mentioned that; Without Strategy, an organization is like a ship without a rudder, going round in circles. Its like a tramp; it has no place to go. According to Wheelen and Hunger(2006,3) A set of decisions and actions that are used to charter the performance of a corporation can be defined as Strategic management. The process of this would take into account the scanning of external and internal environmental factors, long term and strategic planning for strategy formulation as well as the implementation and evaluation and control process. Wheelen Hunger(2006,3) strongly focused on the analyzing and evaluating of external opportunities and threats compared to the companys strengths and weaknesses. A SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is an ideal tool for strategic managers to plan for both predictable and unfeasible contingencies. In the point of Dess and Miller(1993), the combination of three major interrelated activities; strategic analysis, strategic formulation and strategy implementation can be called strategic management. These activities are a continuous process that helps evaluates and controls the company and the industry it is in, benchmarks the competition and set realistic targets and strategies to meet its existing and potential competition. Lamb(1984) states that strategic management is a continuous process that evaluates and controls the business and industries the company is in; it also assesses the competitors to set goals and strategies then reevaluates them every quarterly or annually to decide on the implementation of the strategy is successful. It then reevaluates the if there is any new factors such as technology, competition, economic market, social, financial and even political environment that can be used to create a new strategy. As a summary, Strategic Management and Planning is the understanding of the process of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation. For company an organization to gain the edge over its competition regardless of size, scale; each organization needs to have a well planned strategic management in order to strive and compete in the market while optimizing its potential for tomorrows trends of today. Background of company The birth of Singapore Airlines was from Malaysian Air Limited where it first started in 1947, because of political reasons, the company was renamed to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines and finally the company split its shares to Malaysian Airlines System and Singapore Airlines in 1972 on which Singapore Airlines is owned by Singapore state owned investment house; Tamasek Holdings Singapore Airlines was forced to focus on the international market that was subjected to intense competition because there was no domestic route available to after the separation. The difficult start of was one of the factors that drove Singapore Airlines driving spirit to compete and dedication to branding. It started the branding strategy by engaging a French haute-couture designer in 1972 to come up with a special version of the Malay Sarong Kebaya for the airline stewardess uniform and adopting a branding Singapore Girls that provide top quality in-flight hospitality. This feature became one of the most recognized signatures for Singapore Airlines. The marketing strategy was accompany by background lobbying effort to talk country in granting access to its airport and dedication to its human resource management by investing 20million on training facilities. This was paid off at 1973 when the airline was ranked third in the Far East Asian region. The company then are force to conduct cost cutting program to struggle with surge of oil price on 1973~1977. Surviving this, in 1977 the airlines joint operation with British Airway to provide Concord jet service between Singapore and London, the service was terminated in 1980. This however was deem a marketing success as Singapore Airline were make famous around the globe with this achievement. At the same period, new Changi Airport was constructed, leading to a higher service standard being provided by Singapore Airline. This has paid off and Singapore Airlines were the top preference in Asia-Pacific Region in 1981. The airline follows a steady internal growth strategy in the 1980s, expanding its size, renewing fleet and adding route. SIA was privatised on 1985, listing on Singapore stock exchange with Temasek Holding owning a 63% initially and gradually reduced to 54% in 2008. During 1990s, the company follows a more aggressive growth pattern, two subsidiaries were form in 1992, Silk Air to close the gap between its route networks and cater to a lower cost market segment, SIA Engineering is form to increase productivity and pursuit better business opportunity. Globalisation in the 1990s have also prompt the airline to expand overseas, invest in other airline company and forming new subsidiary in other country to provide better support on is airlines. The Asia financial crises at the end of 1990s prompt the airline to review its operation cost again, cutting down on not profitable route. [St James Press, 1999]. Against conventional wisdom, the company have utilized its strong financial resources during financial crisis to make capital investment, spending 300million to renovate cabins of its aircraft. This had benefit the airlines as the price level during the crisis is low and the airlines have more bargaining power over its supplier [Scott, 2008]. Till date, Singapore Airlines group of companies provide passenger and cargo air transportation, airport terminal services, aviation engineering services, training of pilots, air charters and tour wholesales and related activities. As of March 2009, the group have 31,834 employee, posted a revenue of SGD 15,996 million. The airlines also operate route on 36 countries with 66 destinations and 726 weekly flights. The performance of Singapore Airlines at the beginning of year 2009 was severely hit by the economic downturn and pre-purchase fuel priced hedge at high level before the financial crisis [SIA annual report 08/09]. Recent health crisis like bird flu, H1N1 had also affected the travel industry which the airline is operating in. Organisational structure SIAs organisation is divided primarily by function and has disadvantages of low responsibility at bottom level staff and compartmentalize on manager. To tackle this, SIA have a flatten organisation chart with few level of hierarchy within the organisation, this allows autonomy and create a more flexible and dynamic business that empower people to make decision and leads to job enrichment. The company also promotes independences and encourage senior staff to train and allow junior staff to made decision. To tackle problem of job compartmentalize, non technical manager are rotated on jobs and allows them to have a broader picture. The management of SIA also stress on importance of maintaining good and healthy work culture inside the organisation. Team works is place on high importance by the company. As the company have established sales office in over 80 countries, it had divided the sales operation by geographical area. To tackle problem on management control, the company had placed the focus point on end results objective allowing site manager to exercise flexibility and made adjustment based on situation. Full authorities had been given to its overseas regional general manager allowing decision to make quickly in respond to local issue and customize business operation to suit local climate [Times 100, undated.]. The company used organic growth strategy and stress on profitability rather than size, this allow slow and steady growth and leader to be groom properly. In general, the organisational structure of SIA is decentralise encourages autonomy allowing quick response to business treat and opportunity which is crucial in the airline industry which are very fast and dynamics. 4.0 Analysis of External Environment 4.1 Political The political environment of Singapore is stable with its dominant political party Peoples Action Party (PAP) controlling the government since the independence. Singapore government has allowed the freedom in corporate governance and has little set restrictions to the industry. Singapore Airlines make 90% of the decision on its own and has only influence the appointment of the director over the company (Sikorski, 1995). Singapore Airlines was allowed to stress on profit in comparison with public or social responsibility and was even backed by the government during its retrenchment practice during the economical crisis. (Sikorski, 1995) With a strong foreign policy that maintains good relationship with 175 countries, Singapore has a particular good relationship with huge economical countries such as France, United Kingdom, and Germany. It also has a mutual free trade agreement between Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, United States of America and recently with China in 2008. With Singapore signing the Gulf Cooperation Council-Singapore Free Trade Agreement in December 2008, it embarks to build strong ties with the middle east countries as well. Singapore is a stable base for the operations for SIA comparing itself to other regions in the Asia Pacific that have seen unrest over the recent years. Terrorism alerts affected some countries in the Asia region with India(2008) and Pakistan(2009) hit with the lost of hundreds of life. The tourism industry for Thailand was affected in 2008 during the protest and heavy floods as well as the Tsunami event that happened in Langkawi, Malaysia as well as Thailand that affected the influx of tourist there. There was also the riots in China and the Korean Missile crisis that effect the Singapore Airlines to re-route its flight to other locations. 4.2 Economic Financial Crisis in 2007 affected many countries over the world that brought recessions to most of the affected countries. This slum lasted through 2008 that made the global financial institutions very cautions on its loans of money and many companies had to underwent a cost cutting measure to stay afloat. The IMF predicted the regeneration of the world wide economy by 2009 and it the up market trend has steadily grown from there. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) also contributed to promote Singapore as a destination for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions). In SGD 90 Million BOOST (Building on Opportunity to Strengthen Tourism) program was launched in February 2009 and was followed up in October with an announcement for a new Tourism Compass 2020 roadmap to grow tourism 2015, with the goal to set Singapore as the leading city for MICE (STB,12 Oct2009). The growth was further spurred by the building of two integrated resort projects, Marina Bay Sand and Resort World at Sentosa. Singapore has also continued to host the Formula One Night Race and with all this factors surely has a positive impact for the travel and tourism sector for the country. 4.3 Social Cultural Singapores population comprises of more then 75% Chinese, followed by Malay and Indian; the main religion of the country is Buddhism, Islam, Christian, Taoism and Hinduism. Having a rich Asian culture in the country, Singapore is one of the most westernized countries within Asia. With the growing China economy and its open door policy; Singapore has landed a great pool of foreign labor arriving from China. This in return has created a cultural conflict among many Singaporeans. With a highly diversified culture with close to 35% of its population is non citizen residing in the country, (25% of is foreigner and 10% are permanent resident); Singapore can be considered as an immigrant country. Although having high non-citizen to citizen ratio, the country never stops to promote foreign talent and believes that if the immigrant policy were to be stopped, Singapore would face a shortage of quality labor. Having a strong Chinese influence over its working culture that has made it a culture of high in power distance with the lower employees accepting the subordinates positions that seldom questions the managements decisions. The working culture also stresses on good team work and maintaining group harmonies. (Warnstam,2007). This has made Singapore to become a very cooperative employee to employer relationship and its labor union is in good terms with companies throughout. 4.4 Technology The growth in the usage if Internet around the globe has prompted the growth of customized web addresses to be used around the world. This has also given the potential for the usage of Chinese characters to form the web address (Choe,Oct 2009). With the emergence of such technological advancement, the electronic devices has also evolved to become more portable with increased performance and now almost every household in Singapore would have a portable laptop, hand phone and digital cameras loaded with personalized music, games , photo and video. The growth of such technology has prompt an expansion of innovation over the past decade. The development of high speed networks and compression has allowed faster transfer of data and transfer rate, resulting in the availability to have high quality real time video conferencing with people around the globe from the office or even without leaving the house. This has made it a very good substitute for companies to use instead of having to send its employees for business travelling. (Yu, 23 Jun 2009). 5.0 Evaluate Current Strategic choice and implications 5.1 Analysis of Current Strategic Position 5.1.1 Financial position Singapore Airlines has maintained its profit over the years, the group has maintained its profit even through the 2008 financial crisis. After the growth in 2009 the group assets are worth SGD 22.04 million and debt of SGD 1.077million with an equity debt ratio of 0.08. With a general reserve of SGD 11.264 million the company is poised to be able to sustain its operations in any case of crisis. (SIA, Annual report 2012) 5.1.2 Product position Carrier RPK (Million) SIA 90,128 Cathay Pacific 90,975 Qantas 99,176 Total of   AAPA member 550,014 Table 1 Comparison of RPK Airlines market size can be measure by Revenue Passenger-Kilometer (RPK). Having based in Asia Pacific region, SIA, Cathay Pacific and Qantas all falls into the same category of medium cost, developed airlines. These airlines have similar offering and price level. It can be seen that SIA, Cathay and Qantas have market share of similar size [AAPA, 2009]. The company is ranked number two in Skytrax Best airline award; the airline is in the top five ranking for 10 out of the 12 award Skytrax have. The airline has the Best 1st Class and best in-flight catering award in 2009. The only part the company dont have a ranking is on the airport lounge service [Skytrax, 2009]. 5.1.3 Marketing capability The initial distribution of SIA is mainly by the travel agents or through internet bookings, SIA has come a long way by providing a ticketless system for its passengers that even allows boarding as well even for connecting flights with its partner airlines (SIA,2009). SIA also engages social networking website in Facebook though quite limited in its presence. This is a drawback with the current trend of younger generation who associates more with social networking sites. Another factor that is a slight disadvantages for Singapore Airlines is that the domain www.sia.com and www.sia.com.sg is not owned by Singapore Airlines, but to counteract this, they company has engaged to actively publish itself as the preferred search referee if anyone searches for SIA online. SIA has also made good placement in the search engine for using the key world Singapore airlines and Air Ticket Singapore which prompts SIA at the top of the search list. 5.1.4 Organizational structure The organization is divided by function and the disadvantages of low responsibility for the employees at the bottom as well as the compartmentalization on the managers. To overcome this, SIA has flat organization chart with few hierarchical levels for its organizations, this enables autonomy and create a more flexible but yet dynamic business that empowers its people to make decisions and lead to better job satisfaction. The promotion of independence and encouraging its senior employees to train and give chances to the junior personnel to make decisions are a key factor for SIA. Non technical management personnel are rotated on jobs and this gives them to have a broader perspective for the job. This is further strengthening by the stress on the importance of having a good and healthy work culture for the company. Great importance is stressed on having good team spirit. To overcome sales operation issue, SIA has focused on end results while giving its site managers to exercise flexibility to make necessary changes based on the situations. The full power is given to its overseas regional general manager to ensure fast response time for local issues and a more localized business operation to site the climate. The company focuses on the growth strategy that focuses more on profitability rather than size, thus allowing slow and steady growth with chances for leaders to be groomed properly. In general, the organisational structure of SIA is decentralise encourages autonomy allowing quick response to business treat and opportunity which is crucial in the airline industry which are very fast and dynamics. 5.1.5 Human Resources SIA has a strong emphasis on human resources. The requirements for entry level to the company is only for diploma holders are accepted, these employee would then go through the recruitment process. After the appointment, these cabin crew is trained for 15 weeks, 2 times longer the industrial standards. The SIA employees have a 6 month probation that needs to be reported continuously by their supervisor with a confirmation rate of 75% while 20% will be on extension. These trainings are changed periodically to adjust to show the customers expectations. While on the job, the employees are also required to engage in various voluntary community services, arts and cultural activities. Refresher courses will be available for employees allowing 3 to 4 days per year, this is a form of motivation for the employees to engage in self learning and the employees will be accountable for their own growth and development. Results from these stringent training has been obvious by producing Stewardess that have high esteem, motivated and capable in handling the customers in the companys best interest (Heracleous and Wirtz. 2009). The focus on talent form within the company, the company focuses on development of the human capita given training spending of SGD100million for its employees. The company also offers scholarship programs for recruiting management trainees from the universities. 5.1.6 Condition of facilities and equipment Having one of the newest fleets in the world, with an average age of 6 years, Singapore Airlines is one of the most updated planes compared to the worldwide average of 15 years (Prystay, 28 Aug 2009). By adopting the newest planes and technology this impacts in the reduction of maintenance and petrol cost. Other than that, SIA also went through an upgrading of its plane cabins to provide customers with the most updated entertainment systems and a better seating arrangement. Training equipment for its pilots is also provided from the SGD 1 million flight simulator that is capable of simulating the high altitude scenario. SIA also updated its training center in 1999 to ensure the recruitment is capable to facilitate a better and efficient training environment. Overall the airlines does have a great training faclilities for its personnel as well as their commitment to bringing top quality service with a strong financial background but because of the financial crisis in 2008 and the lack of demand over supply, SIA is laden with excess aircraft that has not been utilized. 5.1.7 Past objective and strategies SIA corporate level uses a diversified strategy whereby it expands its business to airline catering, airport terminal services as well as into aircraft maintenance. These dual strategy in cost leadership and differentiation enables SIA to have excellent cost efficient service through high business efficiency. SIA has secured its high business competence through the execution of five organizational systems. The first is the structured service development and design that allocates dedicated departments for its enhancement of service and thorough testing to ensure that there will be a quality service that will be able to meet the latest customers expectations. Second is the focus on consumer trends over the years, with a specific department that monitors closely to ensure that innovation is tailor to focus on improving and enabling a cost effective and highly productive service innovation. The focus will also be on the companys weak point, adapting the best practices from other successful developments while reducing the cost and risk involved for the innovation. The third set is the focus on a profit conscious culture, with the education of its personnel on the priority of profit and customer satisfaction. SIA also focuses on a reward based system that gives proper recognition to employees based on their performance to encourage team work and productivity while reducing wastage. The fourth is the goal for the organization to achieve success through the diversification and infrastructure of its subsidiaries. These integration allows the focus and control that will enhance the knowledge while reduction of cost at the same time. The management of its subsidiaries is based on a clear expectation that enables the subsidiaries to be subjected to market discipline. The last focus for the company is the development of its personnel through training and development while encouraging the development of a direct self continuous learning system to boost their self esteem. The overall strategies that SIA has adopted has made the company to have a high competence core with the overall ability to achieve a differential offering through exceptional levels of efficiency (Heracleous et al 2009) 6.0 Strategic Potential Justifications Choices for strategy for SIA should be based on the logical elements for the process and have a central role. The company should focus their choices of strategy through based on the internal and external factors while taking into account its core competency to strive for profitability and service excellence of its personnel. Strategic Choices for Singapore Airlines Business Level Strategy Corporate Level Strategy Direction and Method of Development Strategy for competitive advantage Adhere to government regulation and satisfaction Internal training and development Profit measurable success for strategies Diversification in market Creation of value added services to gain competitive advantage 6.1 Business Level Strategy Price Based Strategy This strategy takes into consideration of the product to price to gain a competitive advantage. There are many low cost airlines company as of this moment that is conducting business in the Asia region. This causes the market to be very competitive and Singapore Airlines is one of such company that faces challenges. Low cost airline companies such as Air Asia is one of the competitors that are focusing on the usage of price based strategy to capture a market share in the current market. Justification: Acceptable and feasible pricing strategy: The focus for the price based strategy is important as the current completion from the low cost airlines also focuses on the same routes of travel while providing a lower air fare. One of such routes traveled is from Singapore to Bangkok, from this example, Air Asia is selling its seats for a round trip for a price of $150 while compared to SIA that cost $500. Because of this the company is losing money as customer trends are now slowly switching over the low cost seats. http://htmlimg1.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/16-b0f782e011.jpg 4.2 Corporate Strategy Direction Policy Matrix Used to measure the health of the industry for the Asian regions and the capabilities of Singapore Airlines. Below is the representation of Singapore Airlines in comparative to Air Asia ad MAS in the Asian Region. http://htmlimg1.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/17-978ec5a00e.jpg Source: Johnson G, Scholes K. 2005. P 320 Justification: Acceptability Feasibility of Directional Policy Matrix From the analysis it can be seen that the market positing of Singapore Airlines is aimed towards the middle business class strength that offers a highly attractive market. The bargaining power, threats for substitute and competitive rivalry is high for the Singapore Airlines. In the event of a cost increase for jet fuel to USD 115/barrel, the supplier has the upper hand the the treat of substitute is potentially high for the market. For this the feasibility and acceptance of a directional policy matrix for Singapore Airlines is High. 6.3 Directional and Method of Development TOWS Matrix Through the analysis of the internal and external environment, the generation of a TOWS based matrix. This will enable Singapore Airlines to focus on the strategic options available to cater for any potential changes or adapt strategies to further strengthen its market share while limiting its weakness. http://htmlimg2.scribdassets.com/4abs74bzsw9yk25/images/18-6f7d0e3282.jpg Suing the strength and opportunity for Singapore Airlines, there is potential for market diversification. To overcome the potential treats, SIA can have a merger or acquisition with certain airline companies. Avoidance of weakness for Singapore Airlines can adopt a cost leadership strategy. The airlines can develop their internal factors to avoid the treats and weaknesses. Justification Diversification: The current airline industry for the Asian region is highly competitive. There are many airline operations in the region and one of such competition comes from the low cost airline Air Asia. Air Asia flies twice daily from Malaysia to Guangzhou. Currently Air Asia has 86 routes that offers no frills service and has garnered wide recognition from the china market comparing to Singapore Airlines which has 88 destinations in 38 countries. Singapore Airlines would need to strengthen and diversify its market by planning out more feasible routes to high business locations and take a competitive advantage though expansion of the Asian market. Merger and Acquisition: Singapore Airlines needs to have a strong understanding on its competition and to avoid the treats they possess. With their strong financial background, the potential for merger and acquisition is a great choice for Singapore Airlines. Currently there are two national carriers that are seeking to limit Singapore Airlines to access their home market thus slowing down the growth for the airline. Because of this Singapore airlines joined the Star Alliance to take advantage of its international strategy. This is also boosted by the investment of SIA groups into China and India to ensure strategic alliances with the local organizations for their cargo divisions, airport services, enginnering and catering. Internal Development During the previous years, Singapore Airlines recorded a low asset turnover ration in comparison with its competitors. Because of this, the weaker asset turnover ratio has a potential to show that the companies ineffectiveness to utilize the assets to generate profit and will eventually lead to the decline in the groups growth. Singapore Airlines can adapt to this by using better use of information technology to enhance its services to the customers and gain back better response and efficiency. Singapore Airlines website is now one of the most advance and user friendly in the industry that offers the customers to check their schedules, buy tickets, check in and manage their accounts as well as even choosing the meal for their flights. Because of this value added service, the company is able to further maintain its market share and slowly cover up the losses by creating a portal for customers and potential clients to interact with Singapore Airlines. The efficient use of IT has proven to significantly reduce the cost and enhance service levels for Singapore Airlines. Conclusion Singapore Airlines is the national carrier for Singapore and is one of the industry leaders in Asia. Currently the operations route carries Singapore Airlines to South East Asia, East Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Australia. The analysis for the external factors indicates that Singapore Airlines does face some barriers due to the international economic and political sector. The prices of oil over the years have been very volatile and would play a major impact on the profitability of the airline industry. Other than that with some ups and downs in the economy and the growth of high speed networks through the usage of information technology has played an impact for the overall performance in the airline industry in general with people become less mobile while still being able to work with their counterparts across the globe. The internal factors with the successful branding of Singapore Airlines is one of the drawing factors that is able to sustain its competitive edge as well as w ith strong management background that ensure a quality of service for its customers gives the company its core competencies. For Singapore Airlines to keep evolving towards the new market trends, the company should take into account the internal and external surroundings.

Ho families are changing :: essays research papers

How Families Are Changing†¦ For the Better The present structure of the average family in America is changing, mainly due to the growing number of mothers who now work outside the home. The current mark of dual-earner families stands at 64 percent, making it a solid majority today. This alteration of the â€Å"traditional† structure of the family is a catalyst for other changes that may soon occur. One of the changes that recently have been evident is the increased participation of men in the family’s raising of children. Of course, this is almost essential considering nearly two-thirds of all women now work out-side the home. Among other changes, women’s new economic gains have made marriages increasingly egalitarian. This leads both spouses to have more flexibility in choosing careers and balancing family life. Children today are increasingly being taught new values about the roles of men and women. Day care is becoming increasingly prevalent and is becoming somewhat of an extended family. Also, institutions outside the family such as the workplace and schools are creating the biggest stresses for parents. The biggest reason for all the changes at home are that women demand them, and their new economic resources carry a lot of weight in the decision. This has also led for the young men of today to increasingly accept this new domestic structure. Often, they choose wives which seem as their equals, as opposed to someone who â€Å"does not bring home the bacon.† Though, men today often feel threatened because they no longer solely own the breadwinner role. This leads to increased stress for men, who not only want to remain breadwinners, but also want to increase the time spent with their children. Yet, today’s families have come to face some big stresses dealing with institutions that have not advanced as far. Workplaces often do not offer flexible schedules to employees, while schools are still structured as if mothers still solely remained at home. Work schedules also provide a very difficult time schedule that often conflicts with domestic responsibilities. This has lead to inflexible schedules being on of the top sources of stress for parents.

Review of “the Propaganda of the Saints in the Middle Ages.”

The â€Å"Propoganda of Saints in the Middle Ages† article, written by Esther Cohen, goes over many of the methods the Catholic Church employed to gain power over the people in Europe. Cohen goes through the middle ages by describing how the Catholic Church was spreading its faith; mainly through the use of propaganda. An Age of Faith took place between the fall of the Roman Empire and the discovery of America. Cohen describes how the in the early years of the church, martyred Christians rapidly assumed a high position in the churches hierarchy of faith. These saints where given to have special powers and gradually became central to the Catholic Church; as opposed to God. Cohen describes a clear attempt from the Church to portray a consistent propaganda campaign aimed at raising the level of sainthood in the public eye. This was not difficult to do as the church had three things with it that gave it absolute power. First thing the church had, was that its message it brought with it that could not be questioned in any way. The information they brought with them could not be voluntarily accepted or rejected, and the church had an obligation to spread that message. Secondly, the churches message was absolute and its authority was unquestionable. The church had no competition in that there was no one who could match the propaganda they brought. Lastly, the church had a centrally organized, universal message, which meant that it could be easily tailored for the masses. Pilgrimages became common; this cemented the church even further as they build grand churches filled with â€Å"holy relics† of the saints. These relics were given to have special powers when yielded by the saints of the church. Many of the pilgrims believed this message and probably never questioned it. Many of them were filled with awe when they saw the grand magnificence of the church and the stained glass windows within them (peasants would never see such sights if it hadn’t been for the church). The fact is that all of the church’s teachings came from a central point, making the message more or less universal and uniform. The central church was able to put together its message, and then pass it along to other churches that administered it to the masses. The message was hammered in generation to generation. The Catholic Church was a big influence in the lives of people in Europe. This essay by Cohen illustrates just how big an influence it actually was. From the very beginning, it brought a centralized message which was labelled indisputable. The reason it was followed was that since no one could actually challenge their message; they destroyed everything in their way to ensure it. Cohen really describes the transgression well as he describes it progress thru the ages and develop into what amounts to an international conglomerate. They opened up many different franchises, preaching the same message. Of course the message had its deviations; much of the church’s beliefs stemmed from the local saints. As saints were given more and more power; this was another good way of getting the locals to support their cause. It is remarkable at the amount of effective propaganda that came from the church in the earlier period of history; as there is not too much in the way of intelligent, centralized, effective messages before that time period. The church truly did stand the test of time even until today. It has and had tremendous effects over people’s lives as they try to come to terms with the world around them. The reason it’s so important is that even though Gods message has always been around over time, no one was more able to use it to their advantage other than the Catholic Church. The message became centralized and faith was transferred from God to local Saints, which also took away from any truth that the church might have brought with it. Their reason for doing it may be obvious, in that they ended up controlling massive amounts of territory and even holding sway over Kings and Nobles; the ultimate aphrodisiac happens to be power. The church had no boundaries so it could cross vast amounts of areas relatively untouched. Cohen s article really is a shocking look at some of the practises of the Clergy creating magnificent churches and housing â€Å"Holy Relics† in them to prove their point. This is the precursor to what we knew as propaganda as it seems the Catholic Church must have had people working for them who knew how to get the masses attention. Their organization stood the test of time; and possibly did everything they possibly could to maintain it. Towards the end of the Church’s iron grip over Europe, the organization was so engrained in the people’s hearts and minds that it, even hundreds of years later, still holds tremendous sway over what kinds of decisions people make in their lives. Even if there are not as many people who follow the Catholic Church as much as they would have done in the past, the Pope is regarded as an important symbol for peace the world over (even though the words peaceful and the Roman Catholic Church can hardly be used in the same sentence). It appears that the Church values its image very highly, and tend to move with the times according to the general feeling what it would consider its subjects. In the past, the church would not hesitate to use force to establish themselves in a certain area; but in this politically charged world, they have given themselves more of a cleaner image by not physically attacking their opposition. It is shocking to read about how they Church went as far as to make fake relics filled with tears, etc. Going to the lengths they went to, it is clear how they could have held so much power. The Catholic Church was known to be ruthless in their all encompassing network. They went to great lengths to preserve this power. This is evident from the very beginning of the church as its entire history is drenched with warfare and power grabbing. One of the tools church had at its disposal was the power of knowledge, which it did its best to hoard. Knowledge is power, and keeping the masses ignorant helped it keep its power structure. The Catholic Church confiscated or destroyed everything that it considered against the church. This led to many works that may have criticised the power structure labelled as heresy; resulting in the torture and death of the writer or anyone associated with it. The article delves into some important details about the manipulation of materials to grab people’s attention. The strategies and tactics the church used were remarkable in that they built magnificent cathedrals just so they could bring in pilgrims to show them holy relics, which they were told had special powers. Having the knowledge and expertise to build such churches at such a time shows a very large concerted effort to push an agenda forward. The Catholic Church has truly stood the test of time in many ways; they were able to successfully push their message across and labelled it undisputable, at the same time making an effort to expand and keep the people eating from their hands. Even today, there are very few in politics who would dare cross the line to admonish the church, as it would mean suicide in the world of politicians. They would rather have the church as an ally, which does tend to give them a better image in the public’s view. In the past and even now, top elected officials have to appear to be faithful, or otherwise the mentality of the voting public would hardly chose them. In â€Å"Critical Theory and TechnoCulture: Habermas and Baudrillard,† Karl Marx’s theories are reviewed by two big contributors to communication theory: Jurgen Habermas and Jean Baudrillard. Mark Poster writes about how these two theorist dove into the areas where Marx was ambiguous and tried to explain the situation in more detail. Although they weren’t completely successful in their quest to explain the behaviour of mankind, Habermas and Baudrillard did make a big leap forward in their respective contributions. One of the problems with Karl Marx’s theories is that he tends to overlook or downplay the parts that are uncertain. Habermas and Baudrillard talked about how Marx failed to acknowledge basic communication theory, and the fact that he ignored technology as one of the biggest drivers of human civilization. Marx’s only aim seemed to be was the wage labourer to free himself from the greedy capitalist. Mark Poster attempts to ask about the theories of Karl Marx is that: did Marx give enough reasoning behind the relationships between technology and culture, labour and symbolism in work, and whether he really understood human consciousness? His argument is that Marx’s vision was too easy, and that he did not pay attention anything that was too complicated to explain or did not fit as part of his predictions. Poster understands that Marx knew his history, and was very knowledgeable about his topics, but there were still gaps in his writings that needed further explanation: The critique of political economy explores every turn of the capitalist structure; the critique of cultural politics is general, vague, and undeveloped. †[1] Poster explains that when Marx was doing his analysis, he did not theorize enough about the nature of social communication and how technology becomes signified objects. Technology is peculiar as it seems to have a two pronged approach; one where it levels the playing field for general society, or one where it extends the gap between the haves and have not’s. Language is termed as one of the central tools of social interaction and that needed more explanation before the theory could be complete. Without this missing piece, Marx was way off in his predictions of what would happen to capitalism and the role of workers. The spread of bureaucracy also solidified the way language was used. Technology and the change it brought also included change in language structure. The essay goes on to explain the extensions that Jurgen Habermas and Jean Baudrillard make to the critical theory. One of Habermas’s arguments is that Marx was unable to distinguish between emancipation and science. Habermas came from a school of thought which was worried about the fact that the scientific movement became the reason for domination, instead of it being used as a tool for freedom. He believes that Marx had left out the communication and language aspect of individuals which is a major part of our behaviour. For Habermas, speech has an important aspect as it can be used to distort the truth and can be a means of domination. His argument is that any time a speech situation fails; it can be down to the class struggle which Marx talked about. Of course, in practise, it is very difficult to find an ideal speech situation; making it difficult to analyse the truth. Jean Baudrillard criticizes Marxism’s analysis Marx analysis of the mode of production as the driving force of society. Commodities become social signifiers rather than something useful. One of the problems Baudrillard sees with Marxist ideology is that he ignores culture. The problem with Marx is that he never saw the symbolic nature of products and production. Baudrillard maintains that products become symbols whether by intention or not. The word â€Å"hyper-reality† is used to describe the fact that products began to contain their own reality; that is, nothing becomes more than ownership of the product itself. There is much missing from Baudrillards theories. He fails to describe what he meant by the â€Å"code,† which is how he described the relationship between consumers and consumed. At some points, he failed to realize the real positive potential that the media brought with it. But what Baudrillard brought to critical theory was remarkable. The insights provided by him went beyond convention to explain these theories in more detail. Mark Posters article brings a lot of interesting points about the missing pieces in Marx’s theories. There were many missing pieces of Marx and some of them are pointed out from the writings of Baudrillard and Habermas. One feels that Marx did leave out many details of his work, because people do not necessarily think about working for the state in the way it was described. Marx did not realize the importance of technology and its place in society. But in his world, there would not be much room available for research and development. When we put technology as a big part of human evolution, good things happen as the quality of life has improved. The idea behind everyone in society being equal sounds nice; but in practise, is rarely possible. The elements of language and technology where important to the framework of human interaction, this is one of the reasons why Marx’s predictions didn’t go to plan. He did not envision the fact that politicians would use bureaucracy to further establish their control over society. This use of language was not present in earlier periods, which may be why it may have been overlooked. New technology also changed the way language was used to further complicate the communication process. Technology also brought with it further divisions between those who have it and those who don’t. New products or technology has a materialistic nature to it that is still unexplained with the critical theory of Marx. One of the reasons Marx may have failed to have predicted violent revolt from the masses is that they do not want violent rebellion. Marx failed to foresee the fact that people would try to work together by creating unions and similar institutions to protect themselves from undue distress from their work. Marx was half right in that the powerful capitalists at the time were exploiting their workers for mostly the owner’s benefit. The other half that Marx did not envision was that most people would not choose violence; given the circumstances force became the last possible option. Technology also helped the regular working class to live comfortably by at home. Habermas picks up where Marx left in the explanation of critical theory. There were many missing pieces that Marx did not talk about; some of these were about technology and communication theories. Technology changes over time and can be very beneficial to us; failing to see its advantages and disadvantages is ignoring a big aspect of human behaviour and actions. As technology improves, our lives improve as well and modes of production change as well. Of course the other aspect of technology is that it can be used to dominate. Marx should have explored this topic further and he would have understood the consequences better. Ignoring these ideas shows that Marx probably had his own agenda in place as he wrote his theories. He may have deliberately left these things out in his argument to make it seem simpler than it first appeared. Maybe if he mentioned technology, it would have opened up a new world to mention and explain. The same can be said when it came to the communication aspect of Marx. Habermas also mentions how class struggle is bourne out of a failure in communication. This statement has a lot of fact because it is ultimately the class we identify with as the class we understand. The aspirations and lives of those who are poor are different than those of the middle class or ultra-rich, and those 3 groups barely understand one another. But these divisions will always exist – there will always be people who are well off and those who are not, even in a ideal communist society. Mark Poster also writes about how Habermas tries to fill in the gaps of communication theories left unexplained by Marx. Would the masses really want a violent revolution? People do not have a thirst for warfare; it is usually forced upon them by their leaders. Having endless war to bring about easier lives does not seem too economical; so they would prefer resistance by nonviolent means as it is understood that they are the drivers of the system. Without their input, machinery could not move, so the â€Å"greedy capitalist† was somewhat marginalized by labour unions and laws. Marx failed to see this, even though the powder keg was definitely in place. Habermas’s theories about the ideal speech situations are interesting. There would be very few times indeed that it would be true. It seems possibly one of the societies that come to mind that bear a place for the ideal speech would be the oral Greek tradition. A man who knows how to use speech could possibly get away with murder if he knows how to sway the audience. Again, the ideal speech situation might not garner good things; it may present powerful people with bad intentions using it to dominate their society. Baudrillards arguments about Marx have also have also showed gaps about critical theory. He feels that it can be dangerous for a society to be solely reliant on commodities for the states benefit. Every society has some sort of culture that it brings. Marx, in Baudrillards view, ignores culture as one of the major driving forces of society. Culture is ultimately what decides the direction society takes and the ideas it chooses to adopt. An idea from one culture might not be acceptable in other cultures, so it becomes difficult to transmit ideas across nations. Marx does not mention these facts and pretty much ignores them. It is difficult to understand how Marx, who was well aware of history and its nuances, could ignore such an important factor. Baudrillards analysis of products is an interesting one. It is remarkable that he could see that commodities become status symbols. This is exactly what happens to products; they become more for show than for the function they are supposed to carry. This is evident is the advertising that is presented in the mass media. These status symbols can become part of who we are as people, and this has always been the case throughout history; whether it is gold and other precious metals and stones in the past, or Bentlys and Valentino suits today. These things cannot change under any kind of rule, so ignoring these facts means ignoring our general makeup. In missing this analysis, Marx ignores the true nature of products and production; to keep the masses quite and consumed. One of the pieces missing from Baudrillard is the proper explanation of what he meant by his â€Å"code. The reader gets a sense of what he meant by reading and analysing his work, but a good definition would go a long way in explaining just what he was talking about here. It is unclear whether he is talking about the materialistic nature of things or the guidelines by which they are advertised. It is remarkable that Baudrillard understood these facts; he would have witnessed firsthand, the world of advertising taking its current form. This new form stopped advertising things with simple functional messages, and started advertising them with relation to fantasies that play against our minds to capture our attention. Early psychologists understood this and used their knowledge to help advertisers come up with these new messages. Mark Poster tries to explain the missing parts of Marx critical theory. The missing gaps were quite gapping and Jean Baudrillard and Jurgen Habermas exposed many of them. The essay delves into these gaps and tries to explain the missing pieces, as told by well known communication theorists. It seems that Marx, rather than a genuine interest in the freedom for man, has an agenda behind his writings. There as so many important gaps that he just completely ignored, so this scenario seems likely to be true. Technology and culture are important to us, without them, we can become aimless and self destructive. Poster brought it together very well by indicating that there are many parts still to be explored, indicating the work on the complete analysis for critical theory is still incomplete. Bibliography Cohen, Esther. â€Å"The Propaganda of the Saints in the Middle Ages. † Journal of Communication, 1981. Poster, Mark. â€Å"Critical Theory and TechnoCulture: Habermas and Baudrillard. † In The Second Media Age. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992. ———————– [1] Poster, Mark â€Å"Critical Theory and Technoculture† pg. 97