Political and ideological discourse Essay Example for Free

Political and ideological discourse Essay America is founded upon some deeply disturbing prejudices, which are dangerously implanted in our youth at a young age. The impact is a sick culture, capable of terrible acts of impulse that are inspired by fear and contempt. This is at the core of The Crucible. In many ways, The Crucible, which recounts the awful details of the Salem Witch Trials, still resonates today. The term Witch Hunt is often invoked in modern social, political and ideological discourse to characterize any malicious or unfounded crusade against an innocent party or parties. The narrative of the 1954 Arthur Miller play helps to keep fresh the understanding of that which we are capable of at our worst, our most misguided and our most ignorant. In addition, it cautions against the type of repression which marked the Salem society, elucidating that such unnaturally draconian standards will inevitably cause revolt. Perhaps among the most shocking elements of the play is that which is revealed to the play’s reader in the introduction regarding the extraordinary young age of the girls. Acknowledging them as being barely out of their puberty, this introduction helps to pave the way for the cruel behavior perpetrated by such young aggressors, producing a useful discussion on the cultural impact bore upon our young by a culture that behaves with such virulent fanaticism. This also helps us in our consideration of the realities surrounding the witch trials, with Miller’s telling pairing with some historical notes of interest. These do help us to appreciate the danger tread by Americans in this context and in those modern parallels thereto. To this extent, the shocking detail noted in the introduction relates to the fact that in the years after the witch trials, when the state of Massachusetts had come to fully acknowledge and provide reparations for what had occurred, it did so with precious little remorse. Though it provided a small financial sum to the compensation of the Proctors—with John Proctor already deceased by execution—â€Å"perversely, damages were paid not only to the victims but also to such people as William Good, who was his wife’s accuser, and Abigail Hobbs, a ‘confessed witch’ who became a hostile witness. ’† (viii) In addition to this grotesque distortion of a reconciliation, the statement provided by the Governor accompanying this statement of apology would argue nonetheless that the accusers could be forgiven for their atrocities due to the fact that the time and place in question was â€Å"infested with a horrible Witchcraft. † (vii) This would seem a most unyielding apology. These observations lead to a number of questions concerning the play as a whole. Particularly, the fact of this unrepentence causes us to wonder whether Miller’s political enemies recognized the parallels suggested between McCarthyism and the Witch Trials. A second question wonders whether this play might have been made had not the era of McCarthyism begun to impact artists, authors and entertainers, even in spite of the fact that it was based on events more than 200 years passed. A final question as we enter further discussion on this subject questions whether or not—without a loaded intention—Miller’s analogy between the Witch Trials and the anti-communist loyalty trials of the 1950s. The story is presented with some dramatic elements which do not blunt but tend instead to make more relatable the impact of certain characters. The most prominent of distinctions from history is the set of dramatic liberties taken with regard to personal relationships, such as the affair between Proctor and Abigail, which would be a device intended to move forward themes of personal vindictiveness. Additional distinctions are the characterizations which in many contexts, Miller acknowledges, were intended as ‘composite’ sketches of groups of individuals identified by historical record. His characters were fictionalized for the purpose of economy. An additional detail of importance is that many of the character ages were altered in order to create dramatic tensions and possibilities central to the narrative action but distinct from historical accuracy. Ultimately, none of these distinction detract from the imposition of Miller’s message, which is that the danger present in this age would emerge once again in the era of McCarthyism, and perhaps we might argue, again today in the age of terrorism. Namely, we can see that fear of an unseen villain has bred a blind and irrational wave of paranoia and its attendant behaviors, establishing a society deeply vulnerable to exploitation and mob mentality. 2. Ultimately, it is impossible for this reason of mob mentality to place the blame for the horrific series of events upon any one individual. Though some appear as more insidious than others, and where others still will tend to even demonstrate remorse in eventuality, all individuals in the society may be said to play a hand in the disgrace for which Miller’s play accounts. Indeed, as much as the aggressive pursuit shown by some, it would be the spineless docility of others which would allow so many to lose there lives. Indeed, we may be immediately struck by how fast speculation is turned around in the sequence described by Act I. Here, the manipulative young girls escape culpability for deviant behavior by exploiting the primitive instincts of the townsfolk. Miller’s work seems largely fixated upon the easy and willing susceptibility of the Salem townsfolk to such a ploy. The story utilized fast sequence of narrative action in order to demonstrate the stunning quickness with which the Church moves to respond to allegations, eschewing sensible law enforcement or due process to instead begin a series of completely unfounded arrests. Indeed, the arrival of Hale, the specialist on witchcraft, brings with it a gloomy sense of foreboding that seems to target this man with the onus of blame for that which is to occur. With the sentence of death being the outcome to such proceedings as those brought forth, the reader is moved by the remarkably errant posing of Church authority. The courtroom drama which is used in the Third Act of the play is compelling if a little overstated. Here, the genuine hysteria has set in and the outrageous turnabout between first Mary and John toward Abigail and ultimately, Mary and Abigail toward John demonstrates the greatest problem of the play. It is clear that everybody is on trial, which we may denote is likewise how Miller views it. To his perspective, the town is indeed on trial for its behavior. The carnage and extremity of the outcome is perhaps less surprising therefore than something such as the reversal of Hale in the finally act. Initially, the reader views him as a sinister figure but it is clear by this juncture that the forces governing Salem had leapt far beyond his intent or control. The finality of the play here is unforgiving, as the accused are hanged with no redemption. The theme of intolerance as a crime of which the whole town is guilty is presented largely in the descriptions by Miller, who portrayed the Puritans as living in what â€Å"was a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics who, nevertheless, were shipping out products of slowly increasing quantity and value. † (4) Miller would describe them as a people who ‘forbade anything resembling a theater or ‘vain enjoyment. ’ We might therefore argue that the theme of intolerance is best exemplified by the impact which it has on the cruel and hateful children, made so by the puritan society. A contrary indication, given by the kindly Rebecca, notes that â€Å"a child’s spirit is like a child, you can never catch it by running after; you must stand still, and, for love, it will soon itself come back. † (24) Here, we are given an intuition otherwise absent from Salem, and much to the destruction of its people as it drives the neglected children to become ripe with meanness. Indeed, all are guilty, right down to the children who laughed while others died. Works Cited: Miller, A. (1964) The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. Penguin Books.

Leadership Must Be Empowerment To Empower Its Teams Management Essay

Leadership Must Be Empowerment To Empower Its Teams Management Essay Goleman (1998) argued that during the last decade interpersonal skills have focused on effective leadership. Where the leaders controlled, planned and inspected the organizations operation, in recent more service oriented industries, leaderships responsibilities include motivate employees, promote positive attitudes in workplace, and make a sense of participation among employees (Hogan et al., 1994). Most researchers analyze leadership effectiveness regarding to the result of the leaders performance for employees and companys stakeholders, but the consequence variables of each researchers have been different from the others. The principals of these variables are depend on how immediate they are and whether they have subjective or objective measures. These consequences which are negatively correlated, are very difficult because of the complex trade-offs among them. In order to analyze the effectiveness of leadership many criteria should be taken in to the account to handle these complexities and variation between stakeholders preferences (Yuki, 1998). Researchers have stressed that the relationship between managers and employees has an important role in effective leadership. Qualified relationship and open interaction motivate and empower employees (Boyd and Taylor, 1998; Brower, Schoorman, and Tan, 2000). Drinks (1995) and Nonaka (1988) believed that the type of leaders interaction may lead them to take advantage from their difference and learn from each other. Ensley et al. (2003) argued that conventional view of a single leadership is based on the concept that leadership is a specialized role that cannot be shared with group. This perspective is stood for more hierarchical leadership in which the leaders supervise and control all activities. In the other hand, in shared leadership all members of the team are empowered to share the tasks and responsibilities of leadership. Yuki (1998, p.3) who view leadership as shared process cited that important decisions about what to do and how to do it are made through the use of an interac tive process that involves many different people who influence each other, not by a single person. Managers have different relationships with their employees and as Boyd and Taylor (1998) argued the quality of these relations may have influence on their success. When they improve the quality of their relationship, employees can be more productive on their task and more encouraged to contribute in organizational activities. Argyris and Schon (1978, 1996) have claimed that supportive interaction is the basis of effective leadership. Such interaction can be a strong motivation for organizational learning (Drinks, 1995; Nonakd, 1998). Bandura (1974) emphasized that successful leaders have capacity to motivate, encourage and empower their employees. Empowerment improves employees task innovation and continuation. Empowered employees make more contributions, they accept more difficult situations, and perform more confidently. They make more effort on their given task. According to Hofstede (2001) in organizations, such as any other social units, it may be found some inequality of employees capacities and powers, or unequal distribution of power over the employees. Cotta (1976) believes that power inequality is necessary in organization, and Hofstede (2001) claimed that the distribution of power in most organizations is formed in hierarchies, and the foundation of these hierarchies is the relationship between the managers and employees. Power distance is a measure of the interpersonal power or influence (P.83) between managers and employees. The acceptance and supporting of power distance by social environment is strongly related to the national culture. The culture determines the level of correlation among managers and employees. He expressed that the effect of employees participation on the outcome variables of organizational contribution, job satisfaction and efficacy was altered by particular level of power distance. Employee empowerment or participative decision making is not a simple or new concept of management. More than 50 years of research has approved that employee contribution is a complex management tool, that if apply properly, it can improve the performance, productivity and job satisfaction (Nykodym, Simonetti, Nielsen and Welling, 1994). Cohen, Chang and Ledford (1997) argued that employee must be engaged if they comprehend the necessity of creativity and if they are interested in changing their behaviors in work in improved way. He believes that the most significant concept of organizational effectiveness and positive employee perceptions is the employees involvement. One type of employees involvement in workplace is their participation in decision making (PDM). Nykodym, Simonetti and Welling (1994) have presented four areas for employees participation. The first area is goal setting. Employees can participate in setting up a goal for their task, planning a job and the appropriate time for job execution. In the second area employees can contribute in making choice between alternative series of tasks such as: working hours, placement of supplies or options among alternatives to perform an ordinary task. Next, employees can participate in problems solving that include clarifying the subject and determining the alternative series of activities. Finally, participation may include organizational changes, such as setting company policies that may involve hiring, layoffs, profit sharing or investments. Companies can take part in any or all of these areas in any time. The first three methods of participation can be used for all areas of contribution. Employees can participate individually to make decision and determine their own target, or they may get together with a manager to make decision making team. All employees may take part in decision making group with their coworkers or managers. This participation may be formal as in quality circle or informal as a group of employees declaring their opinions to gain the general agreement. Employees contribution in decision making can be directly or indirectly through a representative elected to express the groups ideas. There are some conditions that influence the success of participative leadership, and if these conditions do not manage properly, the efforts for participative management will fail. One of the most important set of these conditions is include the values, attitudes and expectations of an organizations employees. If employees do not want to take part in decision making, any attempt to force them would fail. For successful participation an organization must have a corporate culture that express the participative leadership. Another condition is the design of current task that must be done. If the workers task depends on each other to be complete, it can encourage the independent individual participation. If employees do not trust their managers, the participation in group decision making of employees and managers may not be successful. The last set of conditions is related to the environment. According to the rapidly changing technology, governmental laws, and strong competition, employ ees participation in decision making cannot be effective unless the members have the essential technical skills. These groups must also be capable to work with each other effectively in order to make a proper decision (Nykodym, Simonetti, Nielsen and Welling, 1994). Yuki (1998) believes that shared leadership is expected to occur self-managed teams, because of the employees are independent in developing group processes. In self-managed teams employees have more authority and responsibility to make decisions which related to their tasks (Katzenbach Smith, 1993; S.G Cohen, 1991). Self-managed teams are able to make decisions, determine goals, assign work, set schedule, and so on (Yuki, 1998). However the necessity of leadership in not questioning as the team is self-managed. Barry (1991) stressed that the role of leadership in self-managed teams is more important than traditional teams. He declared that in addition to needing task-based leadership such as project definition, scheduling, and resource gathering; self-managed teams require leadership around group development processes (developing cohesiveness, establishing effective communication patterns, and so forth) (p.32). Braford (1976) suggested that the teams members with shared leadership a re more satisfied with their teams, and Katzenbach and Smith (1993) claimed that teams involved in shared leadership are more effective and productive in regard to performance. In addition Perry, Pearce and Sims (1999) argued that shared leadership improves the interpretation of teams requirements. Recently many researchers have become interested in the concept of self-managed group (Stewart and Manz,1995; Cohen and Ledford, 1994; Mohrman et al., 1995; Manz, 1986, 1992; Manz and Sims, 1980,1990). According to the idea of socio-technical systems developed by Emery and Trist (1969), during the recent years, the self-managed work groups are used as a form of work system, specifically as pressures of high educated workforce for more responsibility and empowerment through group based shared management are exerted on organizations (Pearce and Manz, 2005). Also, there is another pressure that applied for organization to become more responsive to the recent competitive environment and global economy (Wriston, 1991; Druskat and Wheeler, 2003). Self-managed teams are independent to make important decision that related to their team processes (Katzenbach Smith, 1993; S.G. Cohen, 1991; Yuki, 1998). Murry et al. (2002) emphasized that leadership is a key in team process, without leadership team members may not be able to identify with team goals. Self-managed teams as Barry (1991) argued need more leadership than traditional teams in both task-related and team development problems. There are some attributes for self-managed work teams. Under the Wall and Clegg (1986) presentation, self-managed team build of a small group of individuals who are responsible for making the unit of task, executing a variety of works and using various skills that the group possesses. Job feedback is important for work team so the difference from goal achievement can be supervised by group member in specified task area boundary. Several case studies proved the advantages of the implementation of self-managed work teams such as increased employee satisfaction, heightened socialization in the work place, increased autonomy, opportunity to learn new skills, and some other benefits include reduced absenteeism and increased performance and motivation (Cohen and Ledford, 1994; Wall and Clegg, 1986; Pearce and Ravlin, 1987). However some researchers believes that self-managed work teams have some disadvantages in actual work (Versepey, 1990; Mohrman et al., 1995). Some case study in the USA has demonstrated that one of the most important factors in self-managed work teams failure is the reluctance of the manager to transfer the power and control to the team member (Hackman, 1989; Manz and Sims, 1987). So the role of leadership in self-managed work teams is critical. Elloy (n.d.) argued that the leadership in self-managed work team has an important role that has received little attention during past years for they often they supposed that role of external leader is redundant. There are few researches on external leader and its influence on groups operations. The fundamental opinion of self-managed work teams declares that the group members have control over their work environment and responsibility for all their duties in the team. However, research by Manz and Sims (1984, 1986, 1987, and 1990) revealed that leadership exit from traditional form of supervision and control to highly facilitative form of management, less direct but necessary for the productivity and effectiveness of the group. Many authors cited Kanter (1979) as the source of knowledge about the efficacy of employee empowerment. Kanter (1979) believes that shared management and empowered employee can increase the organizational power. The power of the leader in such situation not only reduces but also may enhance especially if the organization performs better. He also mentioned that employees, who are equipped with tools, information, and support, can make better decision. Bowen and Lawler (1995) declared that empowerment lead to more satisfied customers and employees. They also provided additional evidence, considerable research unpracticed such as gain sharing, communication programs, work teams, job enrichment, skill based pay, and so on, has shown the results of these practices are consistence and positive (p.75). Randolph (1995) indicates that employee empowerment can is improved trust in the organization. In such organization employee respond positively and they will set challenging goals which when they achieve those goals they will define the goals at higher level. In the other hand managing participation does not come without potential problems in the case of initiation, structure and management, choice of issue, team work, and evaluation. When organizations begin the participation program, the managements who are at higher level direct employees to contribute in establishing task forces and teams. In addition, managers who are handled to accomplish this activity will be assessed on the success of their teams. Another problem of participation is how the organization declares the program to the employees. Managers sometime present contribution in decision-making as a luxury rather than a result oriented tool. Furthermore, if management explains clearly what they want to obtain from concept of participation, employees can accept it more rapidly. The next problem is concern with employees who are involved in participation practices. If participation depends on volunteers, it is not representative, if it does not; it is compelling (Nykodym, Simone tti, Nielsen and Welling, 1994). Fox (1998) believes the most important problem in empowerment program as that may affect profitability of the organization is managements fear of letting employees make decisions. Even Kanter (1979) who is cited as providing evidence of the effectiveness of empowerment indicates: One might wonder why more organizations do not adopt such empowering strategies. These are standard answers, that giving up control is threatening to people who have fought for every shred of it; that managers fear losing their own place and special privileges in the system, and so on forth. But I would also pot skepticism about employee abilities high on the list. (p.74) In addition, Nykodym et al. (1994) mentioned that some problems in participations are related to the structure and management. An effective empowerment needs an obvious structure. It is essential to establish all basis rules and limitation boundaries from the beginning of the program. In the other word, empowerment program requires an effective leader who can motivate the employee and set constraints. Another problem with structure and management is that managers must engage to arrange activities, support employees and reconsider the consequences. A manager cannot assign the tasks to a team without monitoring them. They must also find and manage the time needed for participation. Middle managers often oppose to employee empowerment as they think that the program will remove their power, which Blanchard and Bowles (1998) called it hazing theory of management. He believes that managers must modify the control over the employees. The reason that initiation programs and hazing are still a part of fraternal companies is that the employees want the chance to act as was acted to them. These changes are performed through training. Managers must understand that they still have a position even the authority being shared with employees. Their new role includes mentoring, coaching, and facilitating. Proper training improves managers skill of coaching and mentoring, because empower employee are often leaded in to self-managing teams need someone to facilitate their discussion until their skills are improved. This facilitating is the role of manager in self-managed team. Many managers need training in order to increase their capacity for facilitating discussions (Fox, 1998 ). Next dilemma that Nykodym, Simonetti, Nielsen and Welling (1994) referred is the issue of choice that is concerned which issue is included in participative decision making. Researchers have demonstrated that employees prefer to take part in problems that are related to their primary job operation, or their quotidian problems. But it is important not to make presumption about what problems are most significant to employees, they should be asked. As the participation has passed its experimental stage, employees may request compensation or recognition for their time and ideas. Employees must feel that they profit from participation in the effectiveness of the company. Bowen and Lawler (1992) note some management objections such as: higher required investment in selection and training, greater labor costs, incompatible service deliveries which are resulted by these changes. Other management objections mentioned by Conger and Kanungo (1988) are empowerment may lead to overconfidence and misjudgment on the followers. Appropriate training may defeat some of these objections, but not all of them. However, Fox (1998) believes that the advantage of employee empowerment exceed the disadvantages. In the other hand, employees are often opposed to empowerment program. Aeppel (1997) argued that one of the objections by Eaton employees is the responsibility of the group for each employee. He believes that when everyone mentoring everyone else it seems that having a hundred bosses. Another employee complaint that declared by Fox (1998), is that they dont want extra task than their ordinary responsibilities. He considers that employee with such objection is not motivated and he/she is not aware of the benefit of his/her task for the organization. Eurotec Company is a subsidiary of the Schott Group which is a large German glass manufacturer. According to the rapid production expansion, the company faced a number of problems, and in order to moderate these issues, the company decided to implement empowerment program. The references revealed the successful use of empowered autonomous work team to remove the problems (Sykes et al., 1997). As argued in the article, the staffs are now motivated to come along with challenges. Employees are trained to increase their technical and communication skills and they feel more involved. In conclusion, although the implementation empowerment is the biggest challenge of any organization in terms of its initiation, structure, and evaluation and so on, it is profitable for team progress, because there are more leaders to mentor teams performance, and employees motivate each other. In such environment employees are more satisfied about their job and as a result the productivity, performance and task innovation will be improved. For achieving these goals, managers have a key role to lead the organizations effectively and motivate employees to participate in decision making.

Advantages and Disadvantages: Event Driven Process Chain

Advantages and Disadvantages: Event Driven Process Chain The reason to choose UML to create a model among the other choices is its simplicity and ease of use. The structure of the end model obtained using UML is easy to design. The given case on hospital procedures was simple to understand but when comes to addressing the problem with a model, its an entirely different story. This is because the given case consists of four core issues and each issue has to be addressed properly. We identified the actors use cases, functions and their attributes at the first place. The very next step was to interpret the identified elements into graphical units. These are pretty much the steps involved in designing the model using UML. The first constraint to arise was how to handle external actors while using use case diagrams. Next on the priority list was whether to implement the model using swim lanes or normal flow when it came down to activity diagram. With reference to the hospital case, the entity à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½general practitionerà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ which was suppose to be interpreted as function it was rather used as a external actor. Similarly the standard swim lanes which were to be used in accordance with activity diagram protocol were replaced by using the alternate normal flow diagram. The initial work of interpreting the given problem into workable modeling units was carried out. It was followed by dividing the complex issue into small modules so as to achieve better efficiency. The model is highly influenced by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½modular programming approachà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. That approach helped us a lot in understanding the complex issue by dividing it into number of sub-issues and addresses them individually. These collections of smaller solutions ultimately added up to the consolidated solution. Reflection on the modeling process: (EPC) It was an entirely different approach from UML model. As far as we are concern, this model is an enhancement of a basic flow chart. This is because, the shapes, the flow and the structure the model is highly influenced by a flow chart. The model required extensive analysis to segregate the model units from the given case. It takes quite some time to get accustomed to new rules of modeling difficulty arises when we tried to give a base model for the entire case so as to give a skeleton approach. Adding to the complexity, the use of logical connectors and splitters was a tedious job. Modeling the various issues and the core processes posed a variety of problem during the early stages. For example usage of logical splitters and connectors was different from using other branching structures. And also the rules of using units like à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½eventsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½functionsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and the others was to be kept in memory prior to joining them with the other units. The structure of the model was a long one when compared with that of the previous model. Some portions of the problem given had to be modified, which in process gave away parts of the literal components. Adjustments and modifications were carefully tailored so as to meet the conditions and rules of how the model to be made. The work was to pick out units with reference to EPC such as events, functions and organizational units etc. we identified events from all the core issues which were to be followed by functions. In a similar fashion the other model units were sorted out. After that these individual units were integrated as according to the rules of EPC. The areas in which logical connectors were to be used were identified and the connectors were put into their place. This ensures proper structure and flow of process. Reflection on the modeling Language: (UML) This is because; the given case is simple but an elaborate one. Thus, a reader could easily identify the number of entities involved and their roles and still could progress through the entire model which is an elaborate one without losing the track of the process. How and when a reader could get confused with the different models depends on the knowledge of the user, that goes as a different topic altogether. But even an ordinary reader could spot the persons, the different processes and the flow of the model readily and easily. And also the UML diagram itself is quite easy to design which involves few graphical elements. Unlike other modeling languages, UML emphasizes on à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½use casesà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ which are in essence are nothing but notations of the essential activities results and the functions which constitutes to the entire process. It helps the user to easily get used to the protocols of using use cases and implement them. Since the actors and external actors are depicted against the use cases, its easy to connect the performers of the action and their sub sequent results. Complexity of producing a suitable model for business process is reduced to a greater extends. As far as the hospital case is concerned, UML is the most suitable modeling language to aid the user as well as analyst due to the above said reasons. This case produces four core processes starting from admission of patient till the discharge of patient, which involves quite a lot of actors and their functions which in turn produce the given results. One could easily interpret statement into the business model using UML by just using a handful of graphical units without any ambiguities. We say this so because, the four critical issues are addressed with the specific actions being transferred into particular use cases one after the other in a typical UML fashion. Each actor is connected to their actions and the directional connectors indicate the flow of action. For example: A nurse in this hospital performs the following actions like allotting bed, recording the admission time, conducting ward rounds, providing medical care and updating registers. It is evident from the above said reasons that the role of nurse involves quite a few activities and these activities are supposed to be recorded and depicted in business model to ensure complete data base of the events and their functions. Adding to these facts, one needs to know that these actions are not consecutive and happened in a sequence ware the activities performed by other actors coming in between them or preceding them or succeeding them. Only in UML we could connect the specific actions performed by distinct actors without getting entangled in the collection of various other functional units. In a nut shell, a reader could grasp the flow of different actors and their functions at the same time in a single diagram. The only substantial drawback of UML is not able to implement logical flow and branching options i.e. in the given hospital case, there are instances were two parallel events occur where one cannot use UML modeling to depict the parallel events occur For example: A nurse provides medical and general care whereas in parallel another nurse prepares the necessary test forms and forwards them to the physician. Using UML we interpreted this problem statement in the following manner à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½provides medical careà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½prepares test formà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½; a reader could not understand whether these two processes occurred at the same time or at different instances. So these processes were placed one after the other and connected to a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½nurseà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. From the above example we can infer that UML does not aid plotting of parallel events. The key factor missing in UML is a lack of logical decision makers and branching functions example in discharging of patient, there is logical branching condition which needs to be satisfied, the condition is the patient is to be cured of diagnosis or else the entire treatment cycle has to be read. It is not possible in use case diagram as these two unique events need to be addressed as separate use cases rather than branched activities or events. Comparison of Languages: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Logical connections and decisions cannot be performed in UML use case models and it could be done in EPC. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ We have faced little difficulties while addressing parallel processes in use case diagram. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Structure and integration could be expressed more efficiently in EPC rather than UML. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Only in UML we could connect the specific actions performed by distinct actors without getting entangled to other functional units. Advantages of UML: UML is the popular approach of visualizing and documenting the software systems design. UML gives object oriented design concepts and ità ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s independent of specific programming language. UML is a popular and technique for documenting and modelling system. It ensures set of symbols to represent graphically the various components and relationships within the system and UML can be used for business process modelling and requirements modelling, it mainly uses to support object oriented system analysis and to develop the object models. Real time UML, this approach is the application of UML to design the real-time system. It emphasises the system with structural and behavioural language models and those designing modelling include the architectural mechanical and detailed design .Object oriented methodologies have employed in the construction of the real time system. The introduction of IT for hospital case is expected to be a major issue in re-designing the processes. Therefore, some of the functions will be speeded by developing suitable software and hardware artifacts. To do so, the business models should be seamlessly matched to software engineering models. As a standard, UML seems to be currently the best choice for expressing such models Disadvantages of UML: UML has still no structure and specification for modeling user interfaces. From our point view, the main disadvantage of this model is lack of formality. UML is used in a implementation process and we wish to use it for our stage of this process for consistency and to protect the user translating work into a innovative language. The other related reason is simply that if users are familiar with UML it may be worth keeping it, as a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½front endà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to a formal language. Advantages of EPC: One of the main advantages of the EPC is that it is both powerful and easily understandable for end-users. EPCs are often used for capturing and discussing business processes with people who have never been trained in any kind of modelling technique. Although EPCs can be understood even by untrained personnel, the same models can be refined and used for the requirements definition of an information system. This is one of the reasons that both many end-user companies and many software vendors are using EPCs for business process modelling. The existing connections with traditional modelling methods (e.g. data models, such as the entity relationship- model) have been very useful for developing information systems for process-oriented organizations. Therefore many users have asked for a similar kind of connection between EPCs and UML diagrams. Comparison of process: ? UML is richer of concept than ARIS because of the presence of Stereotype, and this enables a higher view of modelling for specific cases. ? ARIS allows personalisation of the model as one concept is represented in many symbols.The software platform also allows integration of business and IS concepts. ? EPC method and UML have different scopes of business modelling. There is a need to use one language in both software and business fields. ? Logical connections and decisions cannot be performed in UML use case models and it could be done in EPC. ? We have faced little difficulties while addressing parallel processes in use case diagram. ? Structure and integration could be expressed more efficiently in EPC rather than UML. ? Only in UML we could connect the specific actions performed by distinct actors without getting entangled to other functional units. Reasons for choosing EPC: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ The EPCs meet the requirements to put forward with respect to the ease of understanding by non-specialist in modelling. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ EPCs can offer a multi-level view of the process, since a function in an EPC could be explained in more detail by means of another EPC. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ EPCs give a consistent, formally supported process oriented language that can ensure simulation of the processes. Comparison between EPC and UML: When comparing the EPC and UML for modelling business processes, there are some aspects from which we can view the correspondences and differences between these two methods. The comparisons can be mainly grouped into three aspects: Context: This aspect covers in which context the EPC or UML are developed and used. Both diagrams can be used for modelling business processes, but both have different contexts under which they are developed. Ambiguity: In modelling business processes, it is possible that the EPC or UML diagrams that are created would be ambiguous. Examples of this are implicit decisions, possibility of having blocking, etc. Therefore it is necessary to take a look at the exactness or ambiguity of the diagrams constructed with EPC or UML Activity Diagram. Notation/Terminology: Both the EPC and UML activity diagrams have similar concepts à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ such as fork/join, branch/merge, atomic/extended activity, etc à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ but they are represented using different notation and terminology. Some notation does not have a counterpart in the other diagram. This indicates the semantic differences between them. Therefore we will compare both notations and terminologies to see the correspondence of symbols of one diagram in another diagram and the differences between them. Context Even though the EPC and UML Diagrams are used or can be used to denote business processes, they were developed in different contexts. This pragmatic difference comes from the different modelling approaches that drive the EPC and UML. There are two approaches to model a system. Process-oriented modelling: In process-oriented modelling, the main focus of modelling a system is the process inside the system. A process consists of sequences of events triggering activities. The events themselves are the results of other functions apart from initial events that trigger the whole process. By introducing logical operators, this event-driven control structure can be expanded to a complex control flow illustrating relevant decisions and potential for concurrency that happen in the process. This process-oriented modelling is the basis for the EPC, which found its way as a standard for modelling business processes of an enterprise. The basic EPC model can be extended by further semantic components to illustrate the elements participating in the process such as information objects and organization units. Object-oriented modelling: In object-oriented modelling, the main focus of modelling a system is the objects inside the system. A system is a bunch of objects that have relationships among them. These objects communicate each other by exchanging messages. An object is a discrete and differentiable entity in a system. Each object has properties and exchanges messages through operations. This object-oriented modelling is the basis for UML, which is mainly used in software development such as enterprise information system. Initially activity diagrams are targeted for modelling the dynamics of internal objectà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s actions. Because of its characteristics similar to flowcharts and its capability to visualize concurrent activities, they can be generalized to model operations, use case scenarios, workflows and business processes. Exactness: The formal description of EPC can be used to analyze the syntactical correctness of an EPC diagram. However in practice there are still some problems regarding the exact meaning of some elements in the EPC. The ambiguities arise from the analysis of how elements in an EPC diagram interact in a flow of process. Those ambiguities are: Conjunction of start events: An ambiguity concerning the modelling of start and end events occur in the EPC. It is obvious that nodes without input edges are the start events and similarly nodes without output edges are the end events. But the interpretation is left to the reader, which combination of start and end events he should see as admissible, that is, as seen in reality. The problem becomes obvious when there exists à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½events from the sideà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ meaning start events in the middle of the process which has been started some time before by the first start events. These usually represent communication with external entity. However this conjunction of start events is not explicitly modelled in EPC. Semantics of logical connectors: There are three logical connectors in EPC, that is, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors. In chapter two we have already discussed how to connect these logical connectors to events and functions in the control flow. We know that because an event cannot be used to make decisions, an event cannot be followed by logical connectors à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Nevertheless there is also an ambiguity in the semantic of logical connectors, especially in the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors. Consider the case in figure 4.1. In the case of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector, the function F1 can only start when both events E1 and E2 occur. That is clear, the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector serves to synchronize by waiting until both events have occurred. In the case of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector, the switching rule of the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½exclusive orà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector says that if either event E1 or event E2 occurs, the following function F1 can start. One question arises, what does the rule mean, when both events occur one after another, for example E1 occurs first then after some time E2 occurs? Can the function then run twice: The first time after the occurrence of the first event, and the second time after the occurrence of the second event? There are several interpretations for what the modeller wants to express, when he uses this connector: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ When both events occur at the same time, they block the following function, or à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Both events cannot occur at the same time, or à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ When the following function starts, then exactly one of both events must have occurred. For the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector, the following rule applies: when at least one of the events occurs, the following function can start; when both events occur at the same time, the function can only start once. A similar question arises for the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector as for the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ one à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ that is, whether the function runs once or twice. Again, there are several interpretations when the events occur one after another, but in the case of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector it is obvious that when both events have occurred the function is not blocked. E1 E2 E1 E2 E1 E2 AND XOR OR F1 F1 F1 Two events arriving at one connector Deadlocks and Loops: For simple EPC graphs it is easy to analyze whether the graphs work or not, but for complex graphs we need a tool to analyze them. It is possible that even when the graph is semantically correct according to the definition of EPC, still an analysis shows there can be deadlocks when executing the process according to the diagram. A deadlock means that in reality when the start events occur à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ thus the process runs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ after some time the process is stuck somewhere in the graph unable to reach the end states. Possible causes of deadlocks are mismatches of logical connectors à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ especially in complex graphs where connectors link to other connectors à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and different interpretation of logical connectors. For an example an à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector can work either in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode or in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode. If an opening à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector works in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode but the closing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector works in à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ mode or the other way around, a deadlock would happen. This can be solved if the closing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½knowsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in advance in which mode the opening à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector works. Another possible problem discovered by graph analysis is looping. A loop may cause a process to run forever. This is usually not intended to occur in business processes. Notation/Terminology Since both EPC and UML Activity Diagram serve to visualize processes and workflows, both diagrams have similar notations for some common terminologies such as activities, branches and merges, forks and joins, etc. as well as some notational differences between them. These notational correspondences and differences will be discussed here and we will use the result of these notational comparisons for the translation from EPC to UML. The notational correspondences and differences of both diagrams can be categorized as follows: Functions and Activity/Action States: Both the functions in the EPC and activity/action states in UML Activity Diagrams are the active elements that represent what a person of an organization unit or an actor in a use case diagram do with respect to the process. Therefore it is clear that functions and activity/action states represent specific business tasks within a company. That means that they share the same role within their respective diagrams. An activity or a function usually takes some extended time to execute. Events: In the EPC an event is a passive element that triggers a function and is a result of another function. The events can also show the change of status of an object over the process chain. There is no correspondence of events in activity diagrams, even though the activity diagrams are based on state diagram, but the states are mostly activity states, while an event is not an activity. Nevertheless if we take a look at the example of EPC some of the events, especially those that are the direct results of a function, are redundant. For example in the figure 4.2 the result of the function à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½capture requirementà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½requirement capturedà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ which means that the resulting event is just to show that when the function finishes control will pass to the event which in turn triggers the next function. However in activity diagram this intermediate result is not explicitly declared. This is because the transition in activity diagrams means that as soon as an activity state finishes it does not have to wait but instead it will trigger the next activity. Control flow and Transitions: Control flow in the EPC corresponds to the transitions in UML Activity Diagram. Control flow is used in a process-oriented approach to show the process chain over time from one event that triggers a business function that in turn results in another event. Activity diagrams are based on state diagrams in which transitions are defined; transitions show the change of states over time. Control flow and transitions are instantaneous; they are assumed not to take so much time. However in the EPC, between two functions there can be some time for the control/token to be kept in an event. Logical connectors: Logical connectors allow the splitting of control flow in the EPC and transitions in activity diagrams. For the splitting regarding to taking a decision between different alternative paths, both diagrams have a similar construct, which is known as branch/merge. The branching and merging of control flows in the EPC is represented using the logical à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector plus the events following it. The same mechanism in activity diagrams is implemented using the decision diamond symbol and transition labels. Both diagrams also support the notation of parallelism known as fork/join. The forking and joining in the EPC is shown using the logical à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector while in activity diagrams it is shown using the synchronization bar. Actually a synchronization bar corresponds to an à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector together with the events before it, because a synchronization bar waits for all transitions to arrive. The main difference between EPC an d activity diagrams in the case of logical connectors is that EPC supports à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½inclusive orà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector while there is no notation in activity diagrams to denote the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector. Organization units and Swim lanes: An organization unit in the EPC is attached to a function its responsibility for the respective business task. In the activity diagrams this is accomplished by arranging the activities that belong to the same department in a company or activities being done by the same actor in a use case into swim lanes. Iteration Activity diagrams support the notation for iteration which is not available in the EPC. The comparisons between EPC and activity diagrams are summarized in the following table: EPC UML Context Process-oriented modelling Object-oriented modelling (business oriented) (IT oriented) Exactness/Ambiguity à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Event from the sideà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, deadlocks, loops, logical connector semantics Notation/Terminology Active Element Function Activity/Action state Passive Element Event Process chain Control flow Transition Logical connectors Branch/Merge à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector Decision diamond Fork/Join à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector Synchronization bar à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Inclusive orà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector Actor Organization unit Swimlane Iteration à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½*à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (multiplicity sign) Summary of comparison between EPC and UML Translation between EPC and UML Diagram In translating from EPC to activity diagram and the other way around, we will use the results from the comparison between EPC and UML Activity Diagram as already discussed before. To translate from an EPC diagram to an activity diagram, the following guidelines can be used. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Determine the organization units involved in the process chain together with the functions that each of the organization is responsible for. Align the Organization units into separate swim lanes in an activity diagram. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Transform each function into activity/action states in the activity diagram and put it in the swim lane of the organization unit being responsible for it. If the function is a complex hierarchical function (which is also called a process), the refined EPC for that specific function can be either drawn as a complex activity state (meaning that inside the activity state we must specify some actions performed in the activity as well as entry and exit actions) or it would be better to draw the function in a separate activity diagram. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Transform the corresponding logical connectors from the EPC into the corresponding elements in the activity diagram. The branches and merges represented by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors are transformed into decision diamonds and the forks and joins represented by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors are transformed into synchronization bars. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Connect the activities and decision diamonds or synchronization bars according to the control flow in the EPC. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Add the start event(s) and end event(s). It is possible to have multiple start events and end events. This can be considered as multiple start events in the EPC or can also be considered as several scenarios in one diagram. However, there are some problems with regard to the translation from an EPC to an activity diagram: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ As can be seen from the comparison, not all logical connectors for splitting and joining the control can be modelled in a straightforward way. The main problem is with the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector; there is no corresponding element in activity diagram to represent this logical connector. One solution is to express this à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connection in terms of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½XORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ANDà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors. To show this, we know from the logic theory that for two variables x and y, the following equation applies: Using this equation we can translate two alternate paths taken based on an opening and a closing à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connectors into the following diagram: OR F1 F2 F1 F2 F1 F2 OR The branch/fork solution for the elementary or-connector However if the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ORà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ connector connects more than two alternative paths the resulting translation in the activity diagram would be very complicated. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ The organizational responsibility for activities is expressed in activity diagrams using swim lanes. However, swim lanes are not sufficient for modelling advanced and precise organizational relationships. These are important for example for the definition of workflows when support through workflow management systems is intended. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Another problem with respect to translation from EPC to activity diagram is related to the loss of important information contained in events and information/resource objects. Some of the events are related to the change of state of an information/resource object. We can show this change of objectà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s state as an object with the object flow in an activity diagram, but if there are many information/resource objects in an EPC, they would make the diagram very hard to read. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ The definition of activity diagrams as state machines is quite problematic for applying activity diagrams according to the UML definition for business process modelling because actually not all business functions can be regarded as internal action states, e.g. interaction with outside business units. A reverse procedure can also be applied to transl

A Kinder Reader Essay -- Essays Papers

A Kinder Reader When one thinks of stories that improve us as human beings, Aesop’s Fables comes to mind, not the dark, dank, heroin‑laced world of Mohsin Hamid’s Moth Smoke. But, reading is like fashion, and one man’s cherished plaid pants are another man’s horror. Not all fiction can directly dole out moral advice, such as Jane Austen’s warnings about the dangers of hasty judgment in Pride and Prejudice, but almost all fiction can proffer tales that at the very least expand our range of vision. Moth Smoke brings us, its intended American audience, into the foreign world of modern day Pakistan. The protagonist, Daru, is recently unemployed, in love with his best friend’s wife and cultivating a small heroin addiction. Hamid puts the readers front and center of this foreign world by making them the judges of Daru. To step out of your surroundings, even if only for 245 pages, changes you, makes you unable to step back into the exact mold of a form er self you left behind. Your borders have shifted, been expanded, even if only by a fraction. Terry Eagleton brings these ideas to light in his book, Literary Theory, when he extrapolates on what it means to become a â€Å"better† person—a transformation in which, liberal humanists would argue, literature plays a part.1 At first glance Moth Smoke appears to be a novel left out of the running for this transformative seal of approval. How can a reader be morally transformed by a story that does not teach one how to â€Å"love thy neighbor† but rather the finer details of how to roll a joint while driving? But, after only a few pages Moth Smoke becomes a crash course in moral complexity, throwing readers head‑first into uncomfortable situations and then forcing them to make a... ...y sympathetic. So the box is wide. The crime is violent and despicable: the needless killing of a boy. So the box is long. And the defense invokes a grand conspiracy, corruption, which is particularly resonant these days. So the box is tall† (38). Professor Superb’s dimensions of the box serve as a tangible example of the judgment the reader must make. In each direction, on every axis of the box is a different, but equally valid, moral decision to be made. Transformative literature such as Moth Smoke forces its readers to expand their empathy in order to make such decisions with clarity and conviction. Notes 1. Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983). 2. All references in the text are to Mohsin Hamid, Moth Smoke (New York: Picador USA, 2000). 3. Eagleton, 210. 4. Eagleton, 208. 5. Eagleton, 208.

Sumthn Called Music :: essays research papers

Punk Music in North America: November 7th From Yesteryear to Here Punk music is a unique form of music which incorporates heavy, raw and distorted guitars; intricate, deep sounding bass lines; high paced, pounding drum beats; and vocals that catapult ideologies of a world run by anarchy. Punk is a form of underground music which appeals to people who are either bored or dissatisfied with the way the world works. In The Merriam Webster Dictionary the definition of the word punk is; a young inexperienced person or a petty hoodlum.1 This is the typical stereotype which is associated with punk. This definition is far too vague and neglects to mention that punk is also a form of music. Punk is a relatively new form of music in the music world that originated out of New York ¹s club scene in the mid sixties. Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg were two members of a band called the Fugs. These two men played a very important role in the foundation of punk music. They often performed in a bar called Dom which could be found in the basement of a night club called The Electric Circus. They tried to get their music played in other clubs but it was usually rejected due to the controversial and offensive subject matter that they used in their music. The Fugs refused to change their style because their originality was really all they had going for them. The band did however manage to influence other bands to go punk.2 More and more bands in New York started to follow this new trend of underground music. The styles of these spawning bands followed the obscene and offensive style of the Fugs. Bands such as Dave Peel and the Lower East Side and Velvet Underground were bands that were greatly inspired by the Fugs. The punk scene also exploded in Detroit. Iggy Pop, former drummer for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, started the band known as the Stooges. The Stooges were a very unusual and outrageous band. Their live performances often left their audiences in awe due to the strangeness of Iggy Pop ¹s actions on stage. He would contort and mutilate his body, and he was the first member of a band to attempt stage diving. The Stooges were the first actual band in North America used to describe punk music.3 The question that surfaced amongst people who were not in the punk scene was,  ³Why?

USA Today: Innovation and Evolution in a Troubled Industry

1) What Opportunities in the marketing environment did Gannett seize in launching USA Today? How did the company learn about and respond to the opportunities? Answer these same questions for USATODAY. COM On its debut in 1982, USA Today was reckoned as America’s first National general-interest daily newspaper. Being the global information juggernaut that he is, Gannett managed to identify a gap in the market that he identified as an opportunity for the leading to-be newspaper of the united States. The opportunity was the void gap in the market. Attention to the business traveler was the least attended to which gave Gannett the opportunity to target such a sector and be the leading supplier of such traveler needs in terms of information. The launch of USA Today was based on two perspectives; the increasingly short attention span as well as the continuous hunger for more information. With both perspectives in mind, the paper was positioned to be a source of information that delivered â€Å"more news in less time†. In response to their customer needs, and the opportunistic gap in the market, USA Today was designed to be a unique paper with easy access to articles and concern for their time-pressed readers through the introduction of columns and snippets that presented the most salient topics of the story. In addition to their colorful contemporary look, USA Today’s ability to be dependably consistent added great value to the paper that lead to a stuttering over-a-million circulation in just seven months. In an era when most of the major media outlets were suffering from a decline in readership, USA Today enjoyed continuous growth. To offset the rising distributional and promotional costs, USA today ventured in introducing spin offs to increase demand of the print sector. USA. com was one of Gannett’s spin-offs of responding to the information market in relativity to the greater global market. When everyone considered the Internet boom to be the start of an end to the newspaper industry, Gannett managed to transform that threat into an opportunity. Due to an increase in the newsprint cost, associated with a decrease in the readership rates, USA online was a way to increase readership by offering more ways of satisfying the reader base and ensuring that the mission of USA Today was to be maintained. It capitalized and tried to keep pace with communication and technological breakthroughs to maintain its element of dependable consistency. In response to their commitment of â€Å"getting news and information into the hands of consumers faster than ever before†, USA. om endorsed blogs and podcasts to keep customers engaged as well as introducing I-phone, Blackberry and Kindle applications to keep up with the emerging trend of portable technology. 2) How has a continuous strategy of marketing innovation proved successful for USA today and USA. COM? Do you believe that USA today is well-positioned for the future? Explain Since USA Today’s launch, it has ensured the continuous consistency and dependability of the nature o f the material, as well as a commitment to continuous innovation. Ever since its start, USA today has been engaged in continuous improvement and betterment in what they offer to their readers. One of their main focus in their cycle of innovation was keeping the customer engaged in the reading process as well as listening and hearing for their demands. Regarding product innovation, they managed to keep the paper exciting and indulging to the reader in many different ways. For starters, their major innovative design was reducing the size of the paper from 54 to 50 inches, which made the paper more satisfying in terms of size and mobility of use. There was also a shift in the quality of news from a soft-focused newspaper to a more serious hard-focused newspaper. This was a very important move to the paper as it ensured readers of the quality of news they’re reading and also responded to the critiques of reporters calling USA Today â€Å"Mc Paper† which could have negatively affected the readership rates for the way readers could have perceived themselves as targets of â€Å"junk food journalism†. Further methods of keeping readers attached to the paper included the introduction of the two hotlines that erved to the queries of readers. Regarding their promotional efforts, after ensuring the success of USA today on a State scale, they aimed at increasing the awareness scope of USA today not only on a National level, but on an international level as well. They introduced the Buscapade to increase awareness in other states, while the Jetcapade was introduced to increase awareness internationally. Both approac hes were the start of profitability for USA today, where readership rates increased as well as awareness on both a national and international level. One of their most successful promotional efforts was blue chip circulation, which not only reaped profits from hotels, airlines and restaurants, but ensured exposure to a greater part of the target market and a raise in the level of awareness. Another move was advertising at the front page. Since its start, USA Today was based on untraditional aspects. Although criticized by many, it nonetheless appealed to its target market that continued to grow. Advertising on the fist page, although sacredly non-valued, and could have imposed a threat on the paper; sabotaging its image of credibility and consistency. Yet again, it acted as a leverage that further increased the profits of the paper Distribution was also one of the factors that would make or break the paper’s mission of delivering timely news. One competitive advantage the paper had over competitors was its ability to offer more up-to-date news three to four hours before competitors. That was because they permitted later deadlines which was further implemented when production became totally digital which gave writers and publishers greater flexibility and later deadlines, and at the other hand readers enjoyed earlier delivery times. In a market with threatening competitors such as The New York Times and wall street journal, USA Today was bound to failure if it weren’t for its innovative excellence in its product and promotion along with its dedication to keep engaging the customers in the paper experience by trying to cater for as many needs as possible, and competing with an edge that sets it apart from its competitors. One of USA Today’s product innovations later on became not an just another additional co-asset, but a leading internet-based companion to the USA Today print version. A threat can only be transformed into an opportunity among a number of competitors when one takes a lead regarding how to deal with such threat. Once you get a lead start, you’re in better opportunistic shape than the competitors. As much as the internet boom imposed a threat at the paper industry, co-opting with the decline in sales and advertising revenue, USA Today used the threat and transformed it into an opportunity by introducing usatoday. com, which was an online version of the print, designed in the same colorful, appealing manner. It yet had to maintain the same mission and vision of the print version in terms of the quality of material and framework, and respond in the same dedication to customer interests and further engagement. Although different from the original print version, usatoday. com ensured its existence and profoundness in the new market through continuous updates and innovative ways to stimulate readership and cut distribution expenses. It employed blogs and podcasts to ensure the relevancy of news to readers, as well as categorizing and aggregating news on the Internet. It also allowed advertisers to expand their online space by using â€Å"PointRoll† which acted as a leverage that helped advertisers direct consumers to merchants. To further cater for the readers needs, usatoday. com capitalized on the emerging trend of portable technology by launching applications that serve I Phone, Blackberry and kindle users. They also catered for social media tools fanatics which as indicated by internal sources were drivers for page view increases such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. To further nourish the reader’s needs, they made room from readers to search for their unique interests and further bond with similar individuals. For example, they introduced â€Å"network journalism† which was a tool that allowed readers to comment and make recommendations. The previous example shows the necessity for an entity to continuously satisfy its customers and think of more innovative ways to help users develop attachment and brand loyalty. USA Today, being the entity that it is, is apparently well positioned for the current period. Ever since its debut, it has managed to maintain a proper and sturdy positioning among its competitors, with its competitive innovation and continuous responses to the evolving market. But at such point, when Internet has taken over the greater part of our lives, one has to ponder over the validity of the current positioning of USA Today. If it maintains the way its positioned for another five to ten years, it will be bound to close down for the trend is going further towards a digitally internet based era, where there will be no room for the traditional print version to compete. Its positioning should gradually and not instantly completely shift to an internet focus. The reason it should be done gradually is due to the fact that there still is a great part of readership that prefers the print. Instantly shifting to the internet would result in losing a great part of customers which USA Today wouldn’t want. The shift should be gradual to allow customers to accept the shift and not look for another product for if customers perceive that USA Today is lacking their interest, it would be crucial for its popularity and acceptance. ) What are the SWOT implications for USA Today as it looks toward the future? What strengths and opportunities can USA Today leverage as it looks for competitive advantage in the distribution of news and information? Strenghts: * America’s first National general interest daily newspaper. This will be an important factor that USA today should leverage and take advantage of the fact of its established name in the field, giving it more perceived establishment and stability rather than its competitors. Part of the Global information Juggernaut Gannett Co, which autonomously gives it more credibility and makes more room for excellence in the future as opposed to single-unit paper with no backing up from stronger, further well established players in the media marketplace. * Buscapade/Jetscapade lead to the overseas success of the paper and lead to an increase in demand, which lead to a start of profitability. * It gives room for later deadlines, which gives it a competitive advantage over its competitors in terms of the quality of news and how fast it reaches readers. This could be leveraged in the future as a reminder of how dedicated USA Today was and has been to its readers, implying its consistency and how its different from its competitors. * USA Today has already leveraged the internet boom into its benefit by introducing one-to-many spin offs, one of which I believe will take over USA Today operations in ten years time; usatoday. com. Excellence is derived from experience, and since usatoday. com has been thriving among a list of other sites is an indicator of how efficient the site is and how with the right innovative combination could dominate the market. Being the first to realize the business traveler gap in the market, it would be very hard for new entrants to enter and try to steal a part of USA Today’s market pie. * Continuous growth is also a great indicator of the paper for ever since its start, its audience has been constantly growing to topple over WSJ and NYT. Thus when USA Today looks at the future, it will have more reason to attract customers than its competitors. Weaknesses: * It took USA Today no less than five years to start entering into the profitability stage, which further reduced its ability to generate enough cash flow for future investments. The re cession, although affected everyone, caused a slump in tourism which affected the business traveler market, causing a decrease in flights, which automatically lead to a decrease in demand by airlines, hotels and restaurants. * Its reputation as a â€Å"Mc Junk† paper during its start could have unanimously affected the papers reputation and determined not only how readers perceive the quality of articles, but who reads it as well. * At one point in the cycle, WSJ reclaimed its position as number one paper, circulation wise. Opportunities: The Internet boom is considered to be double barreled. It will either make or break usatoday. So far, USA Today managed to straddle it by introducing usatoday. com along with its multiple applications and reader-friendly engagement processes. The internet is the most vital opportunity for is USA Today doesn’t manage it properly, with the right innovation and research, competitors will gain more market share, and readers will prefer the more up to date way of getting info. * Technological advancements will make room for greater breakthroughs and eaves room for innovation and further updating products. * The technological and portable technology trend should be taken as an advantage, in integrating USA Today in the lives of readers. * Social network sites being one of the drivers for page view increases should be properly utilized to maintain page views and further increase traffic on the site. * The ability to use recycled fiber will improve the environmental background of the company as well as decrease the cost of newsprint, making production more efficient. Threats: * ) Based on USA Today’s experiences with the print and online news, evaluate the long term potential of printed news and the newspaper publishing industry. Do you believe printed newspapers will continue to survive despite digital competition? So far, USA Today has managed to maintain and keep up with the technological trends that have been leading the market place for years now. As for the industry itself, it has already been threatened excessively by the internet boom showing declines in sales, readership and advertising revenue. And that’s just for now. Who knows how technologically driven customers will be five or ten years from now? Prints might compose part of the market share which has been undoubtedly decreasing over the past couple of years, for the mere fact that elderly, more traditionally oriented readers would not make the switch. That is not to imply that elders are the only readers of prints, but the ones that are unlikely to make the switch. People in their mid thirties and forties will be able to make the change gradually, more smoother than sixty and seventy year olds. The only way to maintain its survival despite digital competition is to cater for the needs of the emerging youth. The only way to ensure existence is by guaranteeing that they can target the youth for without them, USA Today loses hope of ever having the slightest of a susceptible target market. As for the prospects of the industry, it seems as if there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Internet has now taken over our lives in so many different ways; being a viable source that ensures acquiring information in much faster and more efficient way. The whole idea is how to craft an imposing threat into an opportunity. Usatoday. om was an example, but with the rate of change, and how the trend is diffusing more towards a digitally based environment, prospects for USA Today from the print perspective has no hope. The youth, being a massive factor in how products are produced and marketed, is a reason why prospects for the print industry seem unlikely. Being Internet focused as t hey are, they will remain to evolve and with their evolvement comes the evolvement of their wants and needs which will be technologically based. Hence, ten years from now, its seem less probable that the grown up youth will demand anything less that whats technologically available at the time.

Edgar Allen Poe “The Tell Tale Heart” and ” Cask of Amontillado” Comparison

Edgar Allen Poe: The Tell – Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† Edgar Allen Poe’s â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† deals with a man’s mental deterioration and decent into madness. The story focuses on the narrator and his obsessions. The story is told from the first person point of view. So the reader knows what the narrator thinks and sees. The narrator reveals his insanity through his obsessions. The narrator’s obsessions include obsessions with the old man’s eye, beating heart and the narrator’s own sanity. The story is about the narrator who for eight consecutive nights goes to the bedroom of an old man. He stands at the door and watches the man sleep with a single ray of light pointing to the old man’s pale blue film covered evil eye. On the eighth night the man hears something in his room and sits up on his bed with his evil eye open and racing heartbeat consumes the narrator and he races to the bed and suffocates the old man. After the murder the narrator dismembers the body and buries the old man in the floorboards. The murder of the old man illustrates the extent to which the narrator separates the old man’s identity from his physical eye. The narrator sees the eye as completely separate from the man, and as a result, he is capable of murdering him while maintaining that he loves him. As the story progresses, the narrator expresses that he is not mad but he is really trying to convince himself he is not insane. For instance, the narrator, at one point simply says, â€Å"If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. † The narrator also has an unusual obsession with the old man’s eye. The idea of the â€Å"evil eye† carries on throughout the story, until finally the narrator snaps, and does something about it. The narrator had no real motive for killing the old man. He even states this at the beginning saying, â€Å"Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! † It’s almost as if the narrator, as he is retelling the story, attempts to make up a motive for the murder. The narrator’s paranoia and guilt make it inevitable that he will give himself away. The police arrive on the scene to give him the opportunity to betray himself. The more the narrator proclaims his own cool manner, the more he cannot escape the beating of his own heart, which he mistakes for the beating of the old man’s heart. As he confesses to the crime in the final sentence, he addresses the policemen as â€Å"villains,† indicating his inability to distinguish between their real identity and his own villainy and mental deterioration. In the short story â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado,† the story is told from the first person and features revenge by means of murder. Montresor claims that Fortunato has insulted him a thousand times. Montresor uses â€Å" Thousand injuries† and â€Å"insult† to make himself judge, jury and executioner like in the story â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† when he uses the old man’s vulture like evil eye as excuse to murder the old man, which makes him an unreliable narrator. The name Fortunato that means â€Å"fortunate one†is a use of irony in the story because Fortunato is by the end of the story unfortunate. Montresor chooses to murder Fortunato during a carnival where Fortunato is dressed as a jester I think says something about Fortunato’s character. It may suggest that Fortunato is a jokester that Montresor took far too serious to want to murder him. There are also elements of foreshadowing taking place. For example, Montresor leading Fortunato down to the depths of the catacombs is like leading him down to hell and death to come. Also when Fortunato says, â€Å"I shall not die of a cough† and Montresor says â€Å"true† foreshadows Fortunato’s death not by cough but by suffocation and dehydration. Fortunato’s conversation with Montresor about Free Masons foreshadows his demise. Fortunato challenges Montresor’s claim that he is a free mason is the last insult thrown at Montresor. Montresor shows him a trowel, which means he is a stonemason in the literal sense. To go though these great lengths to kill someone because of insults shows Montresor’s diabolical insane nature. Fortunato is like the old man where they are innocent of any major wrongdoing, unable to defend themselves, entombed in the home, and murdered by an insane man. Works Cited Poe, Edgar Allen. â€Å" The Cask of Amontillado. † Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing. 7th ed. Kirszner & Mandell. Boston, MA Wadsworth Cage Learning, 2007. 331 – 336 Print. _. â€Å" The Tell Tale Heart. † Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing. 7th ed. Kirszner & Mandell. Boston, MA Wadsworth Cage Learning, 2007. 677 – 680 Print.