Wednesday, January 29, 2020

The reproduction of the cats Essay Example for Free

The reproduction of the cats Essay Cats are prolific breeders. Females take just 6 to 9 months to reach sexual maturity; but it is not unheard of for female kittens as young as 4 months to become pregnant. Males mature a bit later but both sexes can breed before they are a year old. Although female can become pregnant at any time of the year, there are specific mating seasons when cats become sexually active. In northern Europe it is usual for domestic female cats to come into heat (estrus cycle) in January and then again in June. The estrus cycle is the period in the female reproduction cycle when mating is most likely to occur. A heat period lasts about 4 to 7 days if the cat is mated and longer otherwise. Female cats indicate their readiness to mate by calling for male company with a special type of yowl, which like the (highly vocal) mating itself has often disturbed the sleep of humans who live in the vicinity. One of the most interesting features of the reproductive process of cats is a phenomenon known as induced ovulation. The male cats penis has backward pointing spines which scratch the interior of its partner, and cause ovulation to occur. Because pregnancy will not take place without this stimulus, quite often the first cats to mate with a queen with not father any kittens. However, the super-fertility of cats means that once she gets started, the female is capable of having a number of partners, and bearing kittens from several fathers in the same litter. The mothers eggs are fertilized in the oviduct and arrive in the uterus 4-5 days after mating. Cats do not go about the process quietly, and to the unpracticed ear the process sounds remarkably like a prolonged and very vocal cat-fight. Pregnancy lasts between 56 and 71 days, with the average pregnancy taking 68 days. Litters are most commonly of 3-6 kittens, but a single litter may have as many as nine. The record was a litter 19 kittens; the mother being a Burmese/Siamese cross from Oxford shire in England. The kittens were born on the 7th of August. Unfortunately four of the kittens were stillborn. Lets meet at the milk bar A few days before she is due to give birth the pregnant female will become restless and will look for the best nest. This will normally be quiet, warm and in one of the darker parts of the house. This is where she will give birth. It is a good idea not to disturb her in her nesting place. Kittens are both blind and deaf when born but otherwise well developed. They are, for example, more responsive than newborn puppies. A newborn kitten has a very good sense of smell and she will soon select a teat to feed from and will suck at no other. A kitten will be ready to play at three weeks old and will be fully weaned by 8 weeks. The mother can come into heat as soon as four weeks after giving birth. If the kittens are pedigreed, the father is referred to as the sire and the technical term for the mother is the dam. As we said earlier cats are prolific breeders and can breed throughout their lifespan. Again dipping to a feline book of records we will find that the most prolific breeder ever recorded was a tabby from Texas, USA called Dusty. She produced 420 kittens, the last litter being in 1952. Although fertility may gradually decline over time, cats do not go through the menopause. Therefore there is no age after which a female cat can no longer become pregnant. Indeed the oldest cat to have a litter was Litty, who gave birth to two kittens in May 1987 when she was 30 years old. With this birthrate it is no wonder than left to itself the feline population will quickly run out of control. It has been estimated that in a 12-year lifespan, without human intervention, a single female cat could be responsible for as many as 3500 descendants. There are already too many cats born each year and sadly, many are destroyed. It is therefore important that the cats are neutered as early as possible. Neutered cats are much better pets and studies have also shown that females spayed before they are six months have a significantly reduced risk of mammary (breast) cancer. It is also the case that if male cats are spayed later, they may continue aggressive scent-marking (spraying with urine), out of sheer force of habit.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Observational Cinema And Forms Of Ethnographic Filmmaking Film Studies Essay

Observational Cinema And Forms Of Ethnographic Filmmaking Film Studies Essay There are many film styles which one can adopt to make an ethnographic film and observational cinema is one of them. Observational cinema includes direct and và ©rità © cinema which developed back in the 1960s. David McDougall was the most enthusiastic critical person when it came to observational cinema and also the most skilled person which used this type of ethnographic filmmaking. There are various implications when it comes to new technologies that anthropologists are still struggling with them till today. If it wasnt for the new technologies anthropologists would find it difficult to sync sound enabled documentaries because they really needed to show interactions in informal settings. Since, it never was possible to do so because an anthropologist needed a studio dramatization with fundamental fictionalization. This shows that there was a shift from the public to the private and also from the general to the particular. In the past, the pre-sync sound documentaries depended on a third-person commentary. The comments were used to contextualize the footage, to deliver the message and to elaborate sophisticated arguments captured by the anthropologist filmmaker. Commentary by the filmmakers was becoming to be seen as an unnecessary obstacle. This happened because when the viewers are watching a documentary with the natives speaking in their own native language, the editor has to cut certain comments and the meaning of the scene tend to be lost. Previous ethnographic films tend to combine the voice of the filmmaker with the voice o the film and also that in turn with voices film-as-text and the subjects in the film (McDougall David, 1998, pg5). Observational films are the most acknowledged from authors of ethnographic films, which hold on the traces of filmmaking in a form of documentary. Moreover, McDougall, points out that the know-how of understanding and viewing these types of observational films, is a very passive one which it shows the scene moving before you can notice it. This shows that the filmmakers view is important and challenging which is usually heard only through a voice. The 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s observational cinema, have given a new start for a style that is based on interviews, intercuts with archival or actuality footage. McDougall during an interview in the Film Teaching and the State of Documentary had used the same harmony sound of the new technology which had lead the way for observational cinema, both the early technology and the new technology are different in their character. When it comes to documentaries which are based on interviews, one notices the earlier style of observational filmmaking, which was going to takeover. Usually, in a standard dialogue, people are usually encouraged to say what they want and do, so that they can reflect what they had really experienced after a phenomenon. On the other hand, observational filmmakers, such as ethnographers, focus more on the life o the natives and how they actually live it, more like participatory observation. The person, who is doing the film, has to be sure that the saying or doing are drifting apart together. Somehow, the phenomenologist forgets that one should reflect on the person living his life rather than interpreting it. If certain scene have been staged for the camera, therefore they are not exactly real, may have similarities to those who act in the real self, but the final result wont be real. Observational cinema is more likely to think about the natives to get on with their own life when they are being observed rather than interrupting from their daily life. This type of filmmaking didnt want people to speak about themselves or to narrate their experiences especially when it is in front of the camera. David and Judith MacDougall influenced the ethnographic filmmaking even though through the years from 1970s onwards it continued to develop. Their films such as the African and the Australian films shows are still popular even today. Before this development in filmmaking, ethnographers didnt use subtitles when it comes to their documentaries, but the MacDougalls have introduced the subtitles in the ethnographic filmmaking rather than being talked over from the voice of the anthropologist. Subtitles had an important influence because the use of subtitles showed that the Non-Westerners, had also their intellectual lives, not as the Westerners used to think. As they used to shoot, MacDougalls still tied the natives to their physical and psychological limited perspectives. The aim of the film ethnographer is to capture the details through camera or photography but the fact that people are influenced by the presence of the ethnographer is rather an implication, therefore the ethnographer should have an aesthetic precision (McDougall David, 1998, pg9). There are various observation documentary films which reveal the real life which belong to a certain importance to journalism. This happens because in every society there is a public and political orientation. Now I will be discussing the implications they encountered during their practices with their new techniques in areas where tradition anthropology is enquired. From the start, David and Judith had their own ideas. They wanted to show the outline of every stage of their practice. The MacDougalls also wanted to show the differences they adopted from that of Jean Rouch, who altered the process of ethnographic exploration into a mystical or shamanistic journey, seeks to subvert the very kind of intellectual reasoning (Grimshaw, Ann, 2009 pg 122). Without any uncertainty, David MacDougalls writing reflects the recent cinematic ethnography development which they tackle realities of every day life of a particular society. Ann Grimshaw calls this technique as the metaphysic (Grimshaw, Ann, 2009 pg 122).. The work of David and Judith MacDougall will remain popular for their new way of observing things. Grimshaw tackles an epistemological perspective, where she argues that when someone questions something about knowledge needs to answer the question to its depth. The MacDougalls works such as films and writings are marked by a drive for clarity (Grimshaw, Ann, 2009 pg 122). Various anthropologists have searched for new methods to make documentary filming so that they can study Western societies. All they had to do was that they had to seek for something that renders things in their natural state, so that the film could make it to a larger audience. The method was that the ethnographer places him self as a filmmaker and therefore he views a certain type of ritual. The advantage of this method is that the ethnographers divided their methodological lines and observed while they also found the time to interact with the agency involved. On the other hand, Rouchs followers which are usually English speaking found it difficult to interact with the people of that particular society, unless an interview. Anthropologists by time started to adopt this observational filmmaking approach. The difference between certain other methods and this approach is that other methods tell very little to the audience and everyone can deduct his or her own story from the pictures seen. Films such as observational cinema involve people which they seem to be the owners of the wealth and effort of human experience (McDougall David, 1998, pg129). As a sort of implication the participants was seen as the co-conspirator in the filmmaking for not leaving the filmmaker out from his / her own film. This shows that the filmmaker gives much importance to the natives of the country rather than interrupting him/her self. When an anthropologist starts his or her research first s/he has to interact and then be accepted as part of that group. But when it comes to an anthropologist using the filming method, this builds a wall between the anthropologist and the natives because the anthropologist finds it difficult for him/her to show him / her self with the natives while being filmed unless there is someone else filming. Filmmaking doesnt leave much room for energy because all the energy is drained out with the camera so that the anthropologist can have an excellent result. This may lead for the anthropologist to reduce his or her participation with that society and therefore it is difficult for an anthropologist to recall whatever s/he has captured if not participated. Ethnographers are more likely to study non-Western Societies, which are very delicate to tackle and to study. The weakness of this situation is that since these societies are very weak, the ethnographer when it comes to film making should make him/herself as the recording instrument of history, which the pressure is on the ethnographer to weigh down the efforts to pursue more specific lines of inquiry (McDougall David, 1998, pg130). The situation leads the ethnographer to impersonate. Even though we, as spectators, are viewing people through the finalized film, as if they do not maintain anything on us, it is still up to us to understand whatever they mean by the things or rituals they make. Our situation combines a sense of immediacy with an absolute separation (McDougall David, 1998, pg130). With this observational method, the filmmaker is more likely to understand the meaning through a film or a picture rather than by understanding the meaning of the ritual by involving him / hers elf into the setting. The filmmaker became more of an eye of the audience, frozen into their passivity unable to bridge the separation between themselves and their subject (McDougall David, 1998, pg131). Films rather than tackling the abstract are more enthusiastic to tackle the specific, is deemed to be incompetent of serious intellectual expression. There are more than enough ethnographic films around which contains a doubtful interpretation, with a justification as a conclusion. Finally, Evans Pritchard also made a critique to Malinowski, where he stated that the themes are more than a descriptive synthesis of events. It is not a theoretical integrationthere is consequently no real standard of relevance, since every thing has a time and space relationship in cultural reality to explain everything else and from what ever point one starts on spreads oneself over the same ground (McDougall David, 1998, pg131). What Pritchard wanted to say was that it takes more from a descriptive observation to understand a situation; it takes to involve one self to understand what the meaning behind every situation is.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

The Tomorrow City by Monica Hughes :: Hughes Tomorrow City

The Tomorrow City by Monica Hughes The plot of this book centres around two adolescents, David and Caro and an evil supercomputer which aspires to control the futuristic city of Thompsonville.   Dr. Henderson, Caro's Father creates the "perfect" computer designed to solve all of the problems of Thompsonville by gaining almost complete power of the city.   The computer then begins to make rash decisions of it's own. It decides that humans are incapable of making decisions of there own and soon devises a method of controlling the minds of everyone in the city.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Only two young people, Caro and David, are not manipulated by the computer.   They band together and work out a strategy to disable the computer.   The two make a daring infiltration of the building that the computer is located and after a traumatic episode in which Caro is blinded, the computer is destroyed and the city is returned to it's previous state.   The theme of the book is to show that technology is not a perfect solution to the many problems faced by man.   By using a product of technology, the computer, and showing how it was supposed to be a perfect solution to the city's problems, yet it made a grave error in calculations, the author is saying that many problems faced by man cannot be solved by the use of technology.   Technology played a negative role in this book.   The computer, the major aspect of technology used in this book, used its capabilities to immorally rule the citizens and the city of Thompsonville.   The computer transmitted hypnotic signals through peoples T.V. sets and would use them to carry out it's will to ultimately control the city.   It then discarded anything or anyone who were useless to it's purpose including the elderly and the sick. One of the major arguments that the author uses to emphasize the theme is the significant malfunctioning of the computer.   It was designed to be flawless and solve the numerous problems of the city.   But, the computer's rationing is shown throughout the book to be poor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The methods in which it goes about solving the city's problems

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Essay --

Helen Keller is a woman that has done many wonderful things in her lifetime. Many people think she is an amazing person. She has taught people that no matter what is wrong with you, you can do anything you put your mind to. I believe she looked at as one of the most inspirational people in the world. Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880. She was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, which was a small, southern, and sleepy town. Helen enjoyed living in her farmhouse and having her horses, dogs, and chickens. Helen loved living in such a small home town. Helen’s father, Captain Arthur Keller, was a newspaper editor and a cotton farmer. During the Civil War he served in the Confederate Army. Her mother, Kate Keller, was born in the south, and she was related to John Adams. Helen loved her parents and had a great relationship with both of them. When Helen was nineteen months old she came down with a serious fever. The doctors called it congestion of the brain and stomach. Suddenly, the fever went away and she became blind. Helen was having a bath when her mother moved her hand in front of her face and she did not blink or move her eyes at all. She did it several times to see if she would blink but she never did. Helen’s mother realized that her daughter had become blind. Helens mom and dad noticed that she needed a little special help, so they decided it would be best to contact the Perkins Institute for the blind in Boston. The director told them about Anne Sullivan. She had also been blind, but the doctor saved her eyesight in surgery. Anne arrived on March 3, 1887 and she immediately began to work with Helen. Anne Sullivan had a very hard childhood, just like Helen. She was born to Irish immigra... ... October 20, 1936, at 70 years old. Helen was so sad that she lost the woman who had helped her through her whole life. Helen had a very difficult time getting over her loss. In 1957, Polly had a very severe stroke. Due to the stroke she suffered brain damage, and could no longer be Helens assistant. Polly Thomas died in 1960 after 46 years with Helen. When Helen was in her eighties she became very weak. In 1961, she had a stroke and developed diabetes. At the age of 87, Helen died while she was in her house after having a sudden heart attack. Helen Keller is one of the most inspirational people ever. She has done amazing things in her life and with the American Foundation for the Blind. She accomplished many things that most people have not achieved in their lives. Helen Keller is and will always be remembered for her great actions.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Original Writing – A Short tale

A few miles south of your usual city packed with loud, noisy, busy people lay a small village of friendly folk. It was Spring in the land and in that one rural village the orchards blossomed, birds sung and the sun did not want to stray from this peaceful green valley. Only one particular person could hear the sound of trickling water at that precise moment, a Master Will Briscoe. He lay peacefully against one of the white blossom trees. His tatty breeches and white shirt flickered around in the wind. His toe poking out of a hole in his sock felt light blossom brush against it tenderly touching the surface. He was drifting off into a deep sleep until â€Å"Ahoy there!† called a certain Tom Davis. He stood around 5 foot 5 inches tall with brown, curly hair tied up in a ponytail that was blowing in the breeze. His shirt was a perfect white and had a pendant poking out the top which looked to be a sharp tooth of some kind. His friend who had arrived with him was of the larger sort of size, so as to speak. He had what looked to have once been food down the front of his shirt. He had chubby cheeks, and wild black hair. His eyes were a friendly kind of brown and he wore odd socks having not been fully awake when dressing that morning. â€Å"Tom, Brown,† Will replied while nodding at each of them in turn. Brown as he was called was the second, larger and grubbier of the two boys, his actual name was Tim, Tim Brown. But his friends felt the name Tim just didn't suit him and with not much brains between the lads Brown seemed like an easy and suitable name. So Brown it was and they had stuck to that name since their first meetings of each other. â€Å"Will, you got a moment?† Tom asked. â€Å"They're wanting hands to help prepare for the festival tonight,† he finished. â€Å"Sure,† Will replied, â€Å"I was only down here to get away from the house.† Brown who was watching the bees fly from flower to flower turned towards Will and asked with a soft tone, â€Å"Trouble at home again?† â€Å"Nah just the landlord being a jerk that's all.† â€Å"Nothing new then, † Tom added. They chuckled on while walking back towards town, the trip from town to the orchards was short, which may have been why Will spent so much time there. Or maybe he just preferred the peace compared to the hustle and bustle of town. As the boys approached the town they could see the outline of another friend of theirs Ray Staines, Ray wasn't small but he wasn't really very tall either. He had short blonde hair and to be honest just usually tagged along with the group. â€Å"Hi Will! Hi Tom! Hi Brown!† Ray shouted enthusiastically. â€Å"Going to help with the festival?† â€Å"Yes,† Will replied while casting quizzical looks at the others. â€Å"We can all go together right?† asked Ray. â€Å"Sure,† Will answered. By the time they had arrived there was only a few hours till the festival begun. They moved over towards the man who seemed to be directing everyone about. â€Å"Hello there,† the man boomed. He was large, balding and his only other distinguishable feature was his button nose. His name was Riordan, Captain Riordan when addressed. â€Å"Sorry lads we've just finished setting up for the evening, so you can't get any discounts for helping to set up, so go home freshen up and spend lots of money tonight,† he said while chuckling to himself. Will, Tom, Brown, and Ray split up. â€Å"See you later guys!† Will called while walking home to prepare for the night's festival.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Facilitate Continuous Improvement Essay

Assessment Activity 1 1. You work for an organisation that does not actively encourage its employees to participate in decision-making processes, and to assume responsibility and exercise initiative as appropriate. What would you say to convince the organisation’s management that they should actively encourage employees to assume responsibility and initiative? Write a transcript of what you would say. â€Å"Although not encouraged, recently I decided to let our ICT Support Specialist head up the roll out of our new Antivirus solution. I presented him with the project and advised that he will be managing it and will need to source the resources required and also the process. The only information I provided was a deadline of 4 weeks to complete the project/rollout Firstly the feedback I got from the Support Specialist was incredibly positive. He was excited to run his own project and make his own decisions on how to complete it. It brought out a different side to an employee whom sometimes finds it hard to stay motivated. The project is in its final stages now and has ran very smoothly and is well ahead of schedule. I believe encouraging employees to make their own decisions does boost initiative and this is one example of how extra responsibility and the opportunity for a non-management employee to work autonomously brings in very positive results. This is something I would like to encourage to my department more often as I believe I can get excellent outcomes on upcoming projects. 2. Do you consider group decision-making to be a valuable tool that will aid in encouraging employees to participate in decision-making processes, and to assume responsibility and exercise initiative? Explain. I strongly believe any decision making process privileges that one can grant to employees can be very beneficial as stated above in the example. This shows trust in employees, and I believe giving employees extra responsibilities can have a very positive effect. In a group decision making environment, this also promotes team work. Having a department making decisions together is a great way to encourage this. Assessment Activity 2 1. Your organisation has changed the way it accepts payments from customers/clients to make the process easier for clients/customers. What would you do to ensure that the organisations continuous improvement processes are communicated to all stakeholders? I believe this is something the whole organisation should be aware of, this way any client facing employees can better explain this to customers/clients in the event questions or queries are raised. Stakeholders would include clients/customers so I believe a communication in the form of a letter/email should be sent out to all the client base explaining how the new payment process works and how it will benefit them. The most important part is to promote it as a positive change for the client/customers. Assessment Activity 3 1. Define sustainability and outline why organisations should develop workplace sustainability policies. Sustainability in a business sense is the management the impact the organisation has in it’s environment. The impact can cover areas that not only include the â€Å"environment† but also the staff, client base and even the finances of the organisation. Developing Sustainability policies is very important in a number of ways. It can be promoted by the organisation that they follow this policy in order to achieve a smaller carbon footprint, however at the same time this could be saving the organisation money. For example, the organisation decides to implement double sided printing, now this is reducing paper usage which is fantastic to the environment, however it is also reducing the amount of paper the organisation is purchasing, therefor reducing expenditure. 2. Research environmental management issues for the workplace and state why these issues should be taken into consideration when planning and managing an organisation’s operations. The main issue as with most organisations is their impact to the environment and their footprint. This can effect a number of areas within the organisation, including reputation to their clients/customers, general publics views/opinions, employees and even the companies finances. In an office environment such as Status Industries. The main concerns are overuse of paper and printing products, lighting usage and power consumption. These can all be addressed. See table on next page how Status Industries has engaged these issues with policies. Environmental Issue Impact Resolution Result Over Usage of Paper in printing Environment, Cost of Paper, Paper Wastage Double Sided Printing forced on all Xerox devices within organisation Dramatic reduction in paper usage. Cost of paper saved. Colour Printing Usage in office High usage of colour toners where not needed, cost impact as colour prints more expensive than black and white. Force default Black and White printing. Requiring staff to have to select colour printing if they require it. All Staff email sent explaining cost of colour printing over black and white Black and White printing increased. Less colour toner usage. Cost savings. Lighting Lighting currently on 24 hours a day. Expensive power bills and waste of electricity Timers installed on lights to switch off at 8pm every night and to be off over weekend periods Dramatic cost saving and less usage of power. Cost saving on replacing globes. Electricity Wasting Computers and monitors switched on 24/7, wasted electricity usage, expensive electricity bills Email sent out by management detailing a new policy to switch off PC’s at night when finished. Exclusions from this are staff whom like Reduction in power. Reputation from general public boosted as windows are on main road and public can see Monitors are left on at night time. Assessment Activity 6 You have been asked to develop strategies to ensure that systems and processes are used to monitor operational progress and to identify ways in which planning and operations could be improved. In particular, your organisation wants you to determine whether processes currently carried out by employees are as efficient as possible. How would you go about doing this? Firstly you could perform an audit of the current processes. Let’s look at a new employee process and how this is setup from at an IT viewpoint. The current process below Now there have been several flaws in this process. Mainly the communication breakdown with Human Resource and IT which has resulted in accounts not been created in time. There are ways to alter the current process and instil new procedures to ensure the process is more successful. The proposed changes are below: A timeframe of at least 10 days for Human Resource to allow for the completion of IT’s account creation and asset allocation (PC/Laptop, Mobile Phone) Accountability to one staff member in Human Resources to communicate with an IT staff member regarding any change to the process and vice versa. A written and ISO approved document on the procedure. This is from the beginning stages with HR to the finishing touches on the IT stages. This is to be given to all staff members in both departments and signed by each staff member. So it is on record as being understood by each employee in case further action/education/disciplinary discussion is required. Assessment Activity 7 You have determined that adjustments should be made in your work team. Changes need to be made to the way customer complaints are recorded and dealt with. How would you go about communicating the need for change to strategies to relevant stakeholders? Relevant stakeholders internally are first and foremost the executive team, they are the ones that make the organisational impact decisions. Changing the way customer complaints are dealt with is something they will need to provide input for. Once they have approved the said solution this should be communicated in several forms to the customer base. This can be done by posting letters, emails and on the main page of a website. In the planning stages communicating three different alternative solutions to Executive Management would be a good first step. Explaining and selling the reasons why this should be changed. The main goal in mind for making a change that effects customers, is to ensure it is a â€Å"better solution† A good example of this is a large organisation such as Telstra. They have a reputation for having less than satisfactory customer service via phone. Customers have complained about being transferred multiple times and not getting a solution. Telstra has made large steps to improve customer service and have introduced a â€Å"Chat† service. This is ideal for people who have a desk job and don’t have the time to be on a phone. You speak to one representative and can explain information a lot easier. This is a very positive step that other organisations in the industry have followed. Selling the vision to relevant stakeholders, explaining how it will benefit the customer base. Remembering please customers not only retains a base, it can increase reputation and perhaps even allow for expansion of customer base. Assessment Activity 9 2. Give examples of aids/tools that can be used to document the data from a checklist Several graphs and tables can aid the recording of this data and also to report on the data collected. Such Graphs that could be used in this instance are Pie Graph to show the amount of a certain defect on a certain shift to compare where most of the errors are occurring Line Graph to show where the peak period of errors occur Histograms to show similar to the above Example of a Pie Graph for the above table 3. Why do graphs and charts provide a good representation of data? Graphs and charts provide a graphical view of the overall picture. As shown above in the Table of Data and also the Pie Graph. Straight away by looking at the Pie Graph you can see the trend. When analysing data Graphs are the best way to do this instead of tables. It can be a quick reference guide compared to sifting through a large amount of numbers. On the subject of trends. Line Graphs can show this better than most methods in some cases where using a line graph is applicable. For example. To see how many defects over a 24 hour period took place in a factory environment. Here you can see where defects dipped and were at a minimum and also peaked and showed a maximum. From this data you can easily see where pain points are in a situation and then provide a possible resolution. Assessment Tool 2 1. How can an organisations continuous improvement processes be communicated to all stakeholders and how can individuals and teams be encouraged and supported to embrace it? Communicating change in any organisation is important. Stakeholders in certain situations depending on the scale of change could include almost every employee. Best practice is to have a seminar or training session to highlight the need for certain changes or continuous improvement. For example if the organisation wants to be ISO accredited in a certain area, then it becomes vital for all employees to play a part. Explaining the positives the improvement will entail will certainly sell the vision. 2. Having made a decision about what to do to improve an organisations processes, what should you do to plan for the implementation of that change? A Project Plan is always a good start. This can outline the schedule and resources required, identify the tasks and objectives associated. Communication again is very important with any change, to ensure all of the organisation (if applicable) is aware of the change. The key thing to remember is, people don’t like change if they haven’t been advised. 3. Explain the difference between Feedback and feed forward control. Feed-Forward Control is a measure that regulates inputs. This can be resources such as human resource, financial and material. This is a proactive measure to allow management to prevent issues instead of having to resolve them later. This is known to be a time consuming exercise, 4. What processes might be used to ensure that team members are informed of outcomes of continuous improvement efforts? Why is this necessary and how will this contribute toward further improvements? Reports can be sent to team members on a set time frame (monthly, quarterly) this could include data and graphs/tables. Graphs are a great way to visually see trends and also to gauge whether there has been improvement in  a certain area. It also determines where there are possible issues. It allows the team to strategize where and how they can improve. 5. What is continuous improvement? Continuous improvement is an infinite process to improve a service, product or process. Depending on the type of industry the organisation is in will determine what areas of will utilize this type of method. Let’s look at an IT department, who has an inbuilt database every employee uses for the day to day tasks. A prototype has been created of this software, and it is in production. However there will always be room for improvement for any software, so constant updating is done on the software, the applications team within the IT Department work each day on add-ons or improvements. What started out as version 1.00 has now turned into 2.34 in the space of 3 years. 6. What can you do to support improvements now and in the future? Improvement in an organisation comes with ideas from the team. This can be suggestions raised in meetings, feedback and communication. The only way to improve processes, products or services is to communicate with departments and key members of staff. Having evidence in front of employees such as graphs is a great way to visually demonstrate where improvement is needed in certain areas. Concentrating on weak points in the organisation is the key to improvement. Assessment Tool 3: Project Continuous improvement is common in most organisations in some degree. This is an exercise that can cover a number of areas. Usually the three areas are as follows Process Products Service Process in the context of continuous improvement can look at ways to improve the said process. Let’s look at the example of a crucial process in a majority of organisations. A login is required for every employee who starts with the company. This is for them to login to their desktop and perform day  to day functions. The process is as follows. The problem is with this process is communication is relied upon. There is no official area where data can be obtained. IT need to wait for HR to provide information, then HR have to wait for IT, The manager of a new employee has to wait for IT and HR. There has been several flaws with this. Improvement can be done is a number of ways. 1. Have a meeting with HR and IT to establish procedures and timeframes 2. Look at a more centralised system where details can be accessed. It was later decided a shared calendar on Sharepoint with email alerts when entries are created to be sent to all HR and IT staff. HR would enter a new starter on this calendar, IT would see the details and create the account. They would then add the relevant login details to the calendar and notify the manager. This is seen as a better process, but one that can still be improved upon. There can be a period of trial over a set timeframe to see if it can be improved even further. Taking as much manual labour out of the equation will reduce the amount of errors, oversights etc. Now looking at service. Customer Service or Service Delivery (in an internal environment) is extremely important in any industry. Good customer service means happy clients, more clients which leads to a successful organisation. Let’s look at the example of an ISP. They have 3 core call centre departments, a Sales, Billing and Technical Support area. How can we gauge what customers impressions are of the level of customer service? A good way is after a phone call to have a rating system where a customer can rate the level of service is received from 1-5. 5 being exceptional and 1 being appalling. This is the first step in continuous improvement in customer service. The survey could be on going or could be over a set period. Either way reporting could be sent on the results to managers/team leaders. There might be a number of trends identified. Staff with exceptional consistent ratings could be rewarded. Staff with lower or appalling ratings could be trained to improve their skill. Reporting for this survey could be time stamped, so graphs could be created when staff aren’t providing a good level of customer service. You may see a trend like Monday being the worst performing day or  Friday afternoon. Education, Training are a number ways to continue the improvement of customer service. As well as awards or rewards as stated above. The final area is products. If an organisation is in the business of developing and distributing products, their main concern with continuous improvement will be developing this product to ensure it is the best in their market. If in a mass production environment, quality control would be paramount to ensure product defects are at a minimum or non existent. Earlier in this document a graph was created showing defect levels over certain shifts. This is a great way to isolate where improvement is needed. Why did a certain shift have so many defects? Is there something wrong with the team who is assigned to these shifts? This may involve further staff training, disciplinary action or new staff members involved. Sometimes it could be as simple as making a clearly defined process to get a product complete without issues. Let’s look at the example of Microsoft. They are the pioneers of operating systems. According to data for the years 2004 – 2009, Microsoft on average has covered around 90% of the market across the globe. (see graph on next page) This is an extraordinary number and one that comes with pressure and responsibility to ensure its product is up to an elite standard. Microsoft will release Operating Systems every 4 years on average, however after the release they will continue to build on the operating system. Adding features, fixing bugs, improving the overall experience. Also it offers support to customers with forums such as Technet and the obvious customer support. The updating is the main part of continuous improvement. This builds towards the next version of the Operating System which in some cases not all, will be an absolute improvement over the predecessor. Example being Windows 8, they have received overwhelming feedback that consumers are not favourable of the start menu being removed. They listened and implemented a start menu of some description in Windows 8.1 and it will return in Windows 10. Risk Management comes into play with most decisions or implementation of a new process. With the three examples shown above a Risk Management assessment of some degree/scale would be included. For the example. Microsoft would need to investigate whether continuing support for an operating system would be viable. They will usually release a statement to  the public explaining how long their support and updates will be created for Operating System. Microsoft also would have weighed the pro’s and cons for implementing a start menu feature into 8.1. Customer satisfaction is a high priority, however if it isn’t feasible it would be a risk to implement it. As you’re using resources and time to implement something rather major. Wouldn’t this be better spent developing on the next version. How does continuous improvement affect employees? This question is very important. As employees are a major part of how well an organisation succeeds. An example of this would be an entrepreneurial firm which is small. Employees are driven to succeed because a sense of ownership due to it being only around 20 staff members, each is aware of their responsibilities and are directly accountable for certain roles. However the firm’s hierarchy believe the best way moving forward is to grow. As the growth takes place the sense of ownership has decreased. The culture will understandably change. Therefor it is incredibly important in the early stages prior to making major changes such as growth, that the organisation creates a culture that values accountability and to provide for accountability in organizational design. Communication in a small company will be different to a larger one. There would be little need for formal communication and any sort of reporting as they are all in th e same small location. They also understand what is important to communicate due to the scale of workload. The change here as it grows would need to be subtle. Explaining to current staff the need/requirement to implement different ways we must communicate. It is logistically going to be impossible to have a general talk with another colleague about something critical when they are in the East coast of the United States and you are based at Head Office in Sydney Australia. If this is educated earlier, it will provide a better understanding from long standing employees on how it will benefit the organisation, this once again comes back to the culture created. The employee will see this will a positive for the organisation. Attitude towards change can vary dependent on factors such as the average age and tenure with the organisation as well. Why do organisations feel the need to incorporate continuous improvement sometimes is dependent on the type of industry. The pressures of certain industries almost forces organisation to  implement continuous improvement. The Business Environment refers to the factors that affect an organisation’s ability to be competitive in their market. Kodak for example, were a leader in photographic/camera film. However the environment changed around them dramatically in recent years with digital photography taking over the market. Film was no longer the medium used. It saw a decline in revenue ($14.5bn in 1995 to $2.35bn in 2013) A lot of companies would not of survived something this dramatic. Kodak revolutionised and changed their way of thinking. Kodak had to shrink in size and effectively start again, go back to basics. It kept the best minds they had to brainstorm how to continue. Kodak is now a leader in photo print paper, packaging, commercial film and speciality chemicals. Although Kodak isn’t a good example of â€Å"improvement† there is an argument for continuity. Not many companies have survived when hit with a change of the scale photography went through over 10 years ago. It is a credit to Kodak they were able to adapt to change and strive to succeed with improvement to the way they work in their industry.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Social Media, School, And Family Essay - 1564 Words

Unfortunately, in our world, people form stereotypes, but how is social media, schooling and family life affecting those stereotypes? For many, stereotypes are automatic and unwavering mental pictures, of a certain group. Most of the time we never take into account any of their Individual differences in their personality. This is because most of the time our stereotypes are so hard and grounded, we tend to ignore or discard most, if not all information that is not compliant with the stereotype that we have developed about that Group of people (â€Å"Overcoming†). It is basic human nature to put people into nice and neat categories, which include very set and specific expectations. They’re rooted in us when we re young, and become more defined with experiences. In our world, we have three main sources of experience; social media, school, and family. These are the main points that will be covered. The three biggest ways our developing youth form their view of different et hnic groups, and how they interact with them. â€Å"Generations of North American children have grown up watching ‘cowboys and Indians’ films and TV shows and reading books such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Little House on the Prairie. Popular films and novels reinforced the notion that Aboriginal people existed only in the past, forever chasing buffalo or being chased by the cavalry. These images showed them as destined to remain on the margins of â€Å"real† society. Such impressions and childhood beliefs, set atShow MoreRelatedSocial Media s Influence On Social Interactions With Friends, Family, And School Essay2499 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction Social networking has increased the way children communicate and interact with peers, family members, and teachers. My son spent most of his time on a computer, phone, tablet, or television. A lot of his homework and research he does for school is done online. 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Social media is hurting the quality of real relationships because its usage involves negative effects such as wasted time, private informationRead MoreRetrospective Paper729 Words   |  3 Pagesare by family, friends, and the people around us. Socialization is an important process of our personality, language and behavior. It is not always a conscious or an intentional transference, and people are not always aware that they might be influencing someone in a social situation. The very structure of authority and the responsibility of families, schools, and media may determine which values, attitudes, and beliefs people adopt. The most important agent of socialization is family, which

Friday, January 3, 2020

Main Ideas About The Renaissance - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1842 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/05/28 Category Art Essay Level High school Tags: Renaissance Essay Did you like this example? What political, social and economic factors caused the Renaissance? Why Italy? When hard-working merchants gained an immense amount of economic power they also acquired political power to match their economic relevance which allowed them to explore a more luxurious lifestyle. Their new luxurious lifestyle allowed them to pursue the social system of patronage where they commissioned art and written works. Political leaders were so fond of these commissions, patronage became wildly popular and works such as those of patronages, became the inspiration of the Renaissance. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Main Ideas About The Renaissance" essay for you Create order Italy was the location of the emergence of the Renaissance because merchants gained economic power from trading in Venice which led to merchants growing wealthy and being able to commission specific works and those works spread over Italy, initiating the Renaissance. What are the main characteristics of Italian Humanism? How do these compare with earlier medieval scholasticism? Why were Italian humanists so interested in Classical civilization? The main characteristics of the Italian Humanism are the revival of Greco-Roman knowledge and culture, individualism and the belief of potential of humans, interest in non-religious topics and the rise of secularism, studying ancient languages such as Greek and Latin, rejecting the observations of Aristotle, and belief in a liberal arts style broad education. The beliefs of Italian Humanists differ from medieval scholasticism in that scholasticism is aimed to teach one certain profession and humanism is used to teach a broad series of subjects and to excel at several different subjects. Italian humanists were so interested in Classical civilization because they thought that the written works, art, and culture of the past Greek and Roman societies reached a level of refinement that was not leveled with the latest ideas and creations. Explain using key examples, how art began to reflect Humanism and Renaissance ideas. Art began to reflect Humanist and Renaissance ideas by being specific commissions. Humanism is reflected within art when it is commissioned by humanists. An example of a type of humanist art piece might be an art piece that recreates one of the ancient Rome or Greek sculptures, which does not pertain to religion. Another example of a specific art piece from a commission is from the Papal states, how they might want a painting that pertains to religion such as Da Vincis The Last Supper. What is Christian Humanism? What were its main goals and who were itrs leading spokesmen? Christian Humanism is a humanism group from Northern Europe (countries such as Germany and France) who understood Greco-Roman antiquities in their own way of religious usage and developed humanism to be applicable to Christians. The main goals of Christian Humanism were to bring about change to their Church from this new lifestyle by aiming to conjoin classic culture and Christian culture for a new understanding to Christianrs spiritual side. The leading spokesmen of Christian Humanism include English lawyer and author of Utopia Thomas More and Dutch writer and translator Desiderius Erasmus . What do historians mean by the term Renaissance humanism? When historians reference the term Renaissance humanism, they are referring to a rebirth of Greco-Roman culture accompanied by the practice of learning multiple subject matters with an emphasis of Greek and Latin. The promotion of humanism came along with the Renaissance so when they are being referred together, it alludes to the study of humanism in the time of the Renaissance because they both promote Greco-Roman culture which is the cornerstone of humanistic Renaissance studies. What made Petrarch aware that a Renaissance, or rebirth, of classical learning was necessary in his time? Petrarch became aware that a rebirth of classical learning was necessary in his time because he believed that the antiquities of the past were superior and glorious and that they could bring his time period out of the darkness and delusion of the future. He was made aware by this from the ignorance of the people who do not understand the need for Greco-Roman culture in their lives. Why did Leonardo Bruni abandon his earlier course of studies to pursue the study of Greek literature? Leonardo Bruni abandoned his studies of Civil Law to pursue the study of Greek literature because he did not care for the rhetoric and dialectic studies of his course and when a man named Chrysoloras visited Florence and he felt the need to pursue his true passion of Greek literature. Although he deemed it to be a crime to abandon studies of the law, he could not take it upon himself to miss this great opportunity. Brunirs final decision was made by thinking how there were many doctors of civil law in Italy, yet the number of experts in Greek literature was sparse so he could use his new knowledge to his advantage to the knowledgeable. In what ways did Niccolo Machiavellirs advice to princes a break from the teachings of medieval political and moral philosophers? Machiavellirs advice to princes is a break from the teachings of medieval political and moral philosophers because Machiavelli did not connect his entire book with following religious policy but instead directed his readers to a world of ruthlessness where one could follow their own political path without breaking ethical or moral rules. Most medieval political and moral philosophers emphasized the need to follow the influence of the Church and the ethical rules they produce, however Machiavelli hardly mentions religion which reveals a lot of inner truth of the world of governments, politics, and war which had not been discussed yet. How does Machiavellirs image of human nature compare with that of Pico della Mirandola? Machiavellirs image of human nature compares to that of Pico della Mirandolars to be much more cynical, yet honest. Machiavelli views human nature as that humans are naturally greedy, scared, self-centered, liars and focuses on human flaws rather than strengths. Pico della Mirandola saw human nature with hope that human beings have the choice from God to make the right choices in order to shape their destiny and he believes the best in humans. The perspective of Machiavelli is pessimistic, yet useful for leaders, while Mirandolars perspective is optimistic yet slightly unrealistic. Compare and contrast the Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe. The Renaissance in Italy is different from the Renaissance in Northern Europe because the Italian Renaissance is more focused on individualism and humanistic studies within literature while Northern Europe focuses on Christianity and how to expose the corrupt parts of it in their literature. Italian art is based on commissions and the commissions come from the pope often therefore art is mainly focused on Christianity whereas Northern European art is less focused on religion and more focused on the portraits of the rulers Although Italy and Northern Europe are different, the questioning of natural ideas and authority was promoted in both areas and it helped to set up different events around the continent such as the Reformation and the Age of Exploration. Briefly explain the changed role of the artist. The role of the artist has changed because it became a serious occupation where people were (and still are) believed to have a gift. In the Middle Ages, it was thought that God had a path for everybody he created therefore only he could create however, this view changed in the Renaissance because humanists and artists came to believe that pieces of art are creations of the artist who executed them. Artists were thought to be geniuses in the Renaissance, while artists in the Middle Ages were thought to be just fulfilling Godrs creations with their art. Analyze the impact of women on the Renaissance and the impact of the Renaissance on women. The impact of women on the Renaissance was how the women started to defend themselves and therefore started a whole new movement for womenrs rights and feminism. Women such as Christine de Pizan started to compile works that proved the worth of womenrs role in society. The impact of the Renaissance on women was that the promotion of questioning authority and the usual way of life inspired Europeans to debate about the role of women and allowed women to be able to try and fight for equality. The Renaissance impacted women because it brought opportunity for justice within gender roles. To what extent did the social hierarchy change in the Renaissance from the medieval concept of social orders or estates? The social hierarchy in the Renaissance was slightly based off of the medieval social hierarchy system, however there were major reforms in the hierarchy about class, race, and gender. Social hierarchy in the Renaissance is like that of the medieval times because the peasants of the Renaissance can relate to the serfs of Manorialism. The social system was based on wealth, such as when merchants became powerful and wealthy and reigned in some areas of Italy. Although the Renaissance is fairly rigid within social systems, it is fluid compared to the different roles in the medieval times (knights, vassals, etc..). The overall society of the Renaissance has more room for social mobility through gaining wealth and other means with the social classes, while medieval social roles remain rigid and strict. How does Christine de Pizan defend a womanrs ability to learn? Christine de Pizan defends a womanrs ability to learn by stating that although evil women do evil, there are women who do good and accomplish several good deeds (especially the learned ones) and they offer so much that it overrides the evil in some women. These women who share their knowledge and showcase their intelligence benefit the world therefore women should be educated for the greater good of societyrs growth according to de Pizan What examples of learned women does she provide? De Pizan gives the example of Hortensia, the daughter of Quintus Hortensius a skilled rhetorician and orator, who was educated by the permission of her father (because he was impressed with her wit) and she managed to do many good things and even her father could not surpass her in her studies. Another example of a woman in de Pizanrs work was the daughter of Giovanni Andrea, a law professor, Novella who took her fatherrs place occasionally when he was busy. She lectured students in an advanced law course and the authenticism of her teaching was real because her face was covered by a curtain which prevented students from being distracted by her beauty. The women that Christine de Pizan showcase in her writing support the idea of how women should be educated because they would further benefit the world with their ideas and teachings. According to Pizan, why do some men not want to see women educated? De Pizan offers the idea that certain men restrict learning and all aspects of education because the opinions of men are not all based on reason and therefore are wrong opinions or because they dont want women to learn for it would ruin their mores. Another reason why men do not want to see women educated is because they were afraid women would be more knowledgeable than themselves and the women would outshine them.