Mass Media And Its Impact On Society - 1195 Words

Since the invention of technologies such as the telegraph, radio and eventually television, which enabled communications â€Å"produced at a single source [to be] transmitted to an infinitely large audience† (Fearing, F. 1954), the social impacts of communications via mass media have been a subject of intense research by political and social scientists. This literature review intends to examine the major theories and perspectives on mass media with regard to its impact on society, which existed throughout the 1950’s and 70’s. Special attention will be given to the subjects of human social development, distribution of power, and human knowledge. Human social development has, without doubt, transformed since the introduction of mass media technologies. Before mass transmission capabilities were available, humans were very rarely exposed to anything other than the culture of their immediate surroundings. A widely supported view held, as to how communities learn a culture, is through a process of symbolic interaction (Blumer, H. 1969) where humans learn via the sharing of symbols. Fearing (1954) refers to this process as the sharing of â€Å"daydreams†, which are the literary or dramatic manifestations of a community’s symbols and culture. Every ‘daydream’ contains the symbols of the culture that produced it, whether it be a play or story. By passing on and sharing these ‘daydreams’, a community are able to share in the same culture, as they create familiar frameworks with which toShow MoreRelatedMass Media And Its Impact On Society1719 Words   |  7 PagesIn today’s world societ y believes that mass media plays a key role in shaping and communicating our culture. Mass Media is defined as a technological advancement of communication. People receive information about the world through mass media and it helps shape people’s beliefs, values, perception, and behavior. Mass media is a controversial topic among sociologists, many of them have differentiating opinions of how mass media is influencing people daily lives today. Through this research analysisRead MoreMass Media And Its Impact On Society935 Words   |  4 PagesOption two Mass media has evolved tremendously in the last century and even the last few years it has changed. Each type of mass media however functions differently in society. For example, one mass media platform is newspapers. Newspapers were the first mass news media, beginning in 1692 till 1920. When newspapers first started out, the government controlled the content that newspapers produced. This impacted significantly how this society shaped itself, and also what people thought. That quicklyRead MoreMass Media And Its Impact On Society1306 Words   |  6 Pagesis mass media. Mass media is a means of communication that reach number of people in a short time. Mass media includes television, newspaper, magazine, radio and Internet (Nariman,2011) . It is a large pool of information from where every type of information can be extracted and is widening more and more. Mass media influences the society especially the younger generation and shape their opinions and decisions. The study of th e impacts of mass media requires a great understanding. Mass media haveRead MoreMass Media And Its Impact On Society928 Words   |  4 PagesConclusion Mass media has become easily accessible and has grown bigger than anyone could have imagined 20 years ago, for the invention of the internet, mass media is able to reach a bigger audience at an almost unbelievable rate. Many people depend on mass media as a source of information, taking the information at face value, perpetuating the information they received unto others. Whether the information be about politicians, world affairs, and or the police, we, as society, do believe what weRead MoreMass Media And Its Impact On Society Essay1453 Words   |  6 PagesMass Media Introduction The evolution of mass media has changed remarkably over decades. Media has been a tool utilized to broadcast information and give entertainment to a broad audience for relatively some time. In many ways, the use of television has helped construct the overall understanding of society. What we visualize on television ultimately replicates the â€Å"realities of life†. The messages/images demonstrated on the air depict underlying customs sought out by society that are most reputableRead MoreMass Media And Its Impact On Society Essay1464 Words   |  6 PagesThe modern societies which we presently inhabit are constituted by every day subjects who uphold the deeply imbedded systems of power and complacency through the deeply rooted acceptance of mass media. In the words of Guy Debord, â€Å"The spectacle is not a collection of images; rather, it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images†, where the spectacle is loosely defined as mass media. Debord is saying that mass media is more than just images and ways of communication, it’s howRead MoreThe Impact Of Mass Media On Youth And Society1378 Words   |  6 PagesThe Impact of Mass Media on the Youth and Society Nowadays, the issue of mass media has caused much debate in the modern society, as well as mass media is becoming more important as a component that negatively affects the behavior of young people. There are many other factors, such as micro-environment, economic instability, the decline of moral values affecting children and young people and encourage them to commit unlawful acts. However, unlimited access to the Internet, mobile phone use in theRead MoreThe Impact of Mass Media Advertising on Society Essay examples968 Words   |  4 Pagesas the good life, consumerism is essentially expected. Numerous billboards, posters, flyers and spam mail commercializing products on a daily basis could prove it. Cutting edge technology also allows advertisements be experienced through the use of mass medium and it is nearly impossible to escape the invasion of advertising. Continuous exposure to advertisements has indeed impacted numerous consumers, in which most of them are unaware to the sit uation and companies are taking advantage of this byRead MoreEssay about Impact of Mass Media on Individuals, Society, and Culture1178 Words   |  5 PagesImpact of Mass Media on Individuals, Society, and Culture Mass media, over the years, has had a profound effect on American society, on its culture, and on the individuals exposed to the media. Mass media is a form of socialization, having a long-term effect on each member of American society. While mass media targets the individual in short-term intervals, the overall influence on them has been established as the consumer moves from one impressionable age category to another. The long or short-Read MoreMedia s Influence On Gender Relations And Sexuality1230 Words   |  5 PagesHistorically, media represented gender and sexuality in the way that matched the dominant public view and mirrors the evolution of gender-related biases and stereotypes and views on sexuality. In the course of time, gender relations and sexuality evolved and changed and all these changes found their reflection in mass media (Bonvillain, 1995, 210). Mass media, in their turn, portrayed gender relations and sexuality according to the dominant cultural view on gender relations and sexuality. This is

Global Climate Change and Climate Protection Free Essays

string(71) " emissions are also produced by forest, agricultural, and other fires\." From September 6 to 10, 1997, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) held a Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Campaign – U.S. workshop in Atlanta, sponsored by the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Global Climate Change and Climate Protection or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. Environmental Protection Agency, The City of Atlanta, The Climate Institute, and The Turner Foundation. ICLEI is the international environmental agency for local governments. It believes from concrete experience that local actions can have a global impact. ICLEI was established in 1990 through a partnership of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), and the Center for Innovative Diplomacy. ICLEI’s World Secretariat is in Toronto. ICLEI also has offices in Freiburg, Tokyo, Harare, Santiago, and Berkeley. ICLEI’s purpose and mission are to: 1) serve as an international clearinghouse on sustainable development and environmental protection policies, programs, and techniques being implemented at the local level by local institutions; 2) initiate joint projects or campaigns among groups of local governments to research and develop new approaches to address pressing environmental and development problems; 3) organize training programs and publish reports and technical manuals on state of the art environmental management practices; and 4) serve as an advocate for local government before national and international governments, agencies, and organizations to increase their understanding and support of local environmental protection and sustainable development activities. By ICLEI’s 10th anniversary in the year 2000, ICLEI aims to establish a global system to achieve, measure, and report on tangible improvements in the global environment through the cumulative local performance improvements of ICLEI’s member municipalities. ICLEI members include more than 265 local governments of all sizes from around the world from 50 countries, all of whom share a common purpose: to take a leadership role in identifying and implementing innovative environmental management practices at the local level. ICLEI’s CCP campaign started in 1990 and consists of about 200 cities from Abu Dhabi to West Hollywood. The cities that sign on to the CCP campaign commit to: 1) estimate their 1990 carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent (CO2e) emissions, 2) develop a CCP plan to reduce their CO2e emissions by 20 percent of their 1990 emissions by the year 2020, 3) demonstrate progress towards reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and 4) update and implement their plan . Others are becoming involved in the CCP campaign. On September 19, 1997, Ted Turner of Turner Communications announced he would contribute $1,000,000,000 to the United Nations to address the issue of global climate change. On October 6, 1997, President Clinton held a White House Summit on Global Warming to help develop U.S. policy for the planning meetings in Bonn on October 20, 1997, and for the International Meeting on Global Climate Change to be held in Kyoto in December, 1997. Climate change is now recognized as a serious global issue by thousands of environmental professionals, atmospheric scientists, government officials, medical doctors, and health and property insurance companies. Climate change is serious because its adverse human health and physical effects, if unabated, will have vast and undesirable social, economic and political impacts. Ross Gelspan, prize-winning author of The Heat Is On: The High Stakes Battle Over Earth’s Threatened Climate (1997. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., New York) was the featured dinner speaker at the CCP workshop. Cause and Effects of Industrialized Climate Change Because of industrialization, the earth’s surface and atmosphere is heating up to our peril as a species. The key issues in global climate change are expanding industrialization which burns carbon fuels in power plants and internal combustion vehicle engines to generate greenhouse gases beyond the capacity of the oceans and the biosphere to absorb the excess gases. These excess gases capture heat from the sun and cause global warming, increase air pollution, induce glacial and iceberg melting, sea level rising, unstable and more extreme and long-lived weather conditions, and shifting, prolonging and intensifying floods, droughts, hurricanes and El Nià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½o episodes. These effects lead to increases in respiratory diseases, habitat alterations, destruction of forests and wetlands, agricultural shifts, coastal erosion and flooding, societal dislocations and unrest, and perhaps, the demise of democracy as governments become more authoritarian to combat the emergencies induced by climate change. What lies ahead if the developed world cannot reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and the developing world seeks to industrialize and increase its greenhouse gas emissions? Greenhouse Gases, Their Properties, Sources and Emission Rates The major greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), halocarbon and related compounds (fluorocarbons CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113; hydrocholorofluorocarbons HCFC-22; hydrofluorocarbons HFCs; perfluorocarbons PFCs; and sulfur hexafluoride SF6), and the criteria pollutants — carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and non-CH4 volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) [U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (EIA). October 1997. Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 1996 DOE/EIADOE/EIA-0573 (96). Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting, Department of Energy, Washington, District of Columbia or http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/frntend.html]. CO2 has a carbon equivalency of 0.273, CH4 has a higher carbon equivalency of 5.73, and N2O has an even higher carbon equivalency of 83.2. This means that CH4 has about 21 times the warming effect of CO2 and N2O has about 305 times the warming effect of CO2. SF6 has a very h igh global warming potential (GWP) of 23,900 times the effects of CO2. The currently estimated 1996 U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions are about 1,753 metric tons of carbon or carbon equivalent, or an increase of 8.3 percent over 1990 (EIA 1997). About 98.5 percent of U.S. human-made or anthropogenic CO2 emissions are caused by the combustion of fossil fuels to provide energy; U.S. anthropogenic CH4 emissions are due primarily to production and transportation of coal, natural gas and oil; anaerobic decomposition of municipal waste in landfills and raising livestock. N2O emissions are primarily from agricultural soils associated with fertilizer use, industrial process emissions, and emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Carbon dioxide. CO2 emissions are by far the largest percentage of greenhouse gas. Caused primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels to provide energy from energy plants and internal combustion engines, anthropogenic CO2 emissions are also produced by forest, agricultural, and other fires. You read "Global Climate Change and Climate Protection" in category "Papers" At 1,496 metric tons of carbon or carbon equivalent, about 85.3 percent of the currently estimated 1996 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are as CO2, based on GWP, or an increase of 8.8 percent over 1990 (EIA 1997). Methane. CH4 emissions are dwarfed by CO2 emissions (a ratio of 1 ton of CH4 for every 175 tons of CO2). Because the heat-trapping capacity of CH4 is about 21 times that of CO2, the overall effect of CH4 on global climate is significant. There is, however, substantial uncertainty in estimates of emissions from most U.S. CH4 sources, ranging from 25 percent to as high as several hundred percent. CH4 emission trends from each source tend to be more reliable than their overall estimated magnitude. At 177 metric tons of carbon or carbon equivalent, about 10.0 percent of the currently estimated 1996 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are as CH4, based on GWP, or a decrease of 2.2 percent over 1990. Nitrous oxide. Compared to CO2 or CH4, N2O is released in small quantities from anthropogenic sources; however, N2O’s 100 – year global warming potential (GWP) of 305 makes it a significant contributor to atmospheric warming. Although there are many known natural and anthropogenic sources, N2O emissions have been difficult to quantify on a global scale because it has been one of the least-studied greenhouse gases. The largest source of anthropogenic N2O emissions is energy use, which includes mobile source combustion from passenger cars, buses, motorcycles, and trucks, and stationary source combustion from residential, industrial, and electric utility energy use. The second-largest source of N2O emissions is agriculture, primarily fertilizer application and a small amount released from the burning of crop residues. However, there is substantial uncertainty and debate regarding the emissions implications of use of N-based fertilizers. Models used for estimation are based on limited sources of experimental data. Another important source of N2O emissions is industrial production of adipic acid and nitric acid. At 38 metric tons of carbon or carbon equivalent, about 2.2 percent of the currently estimated 1996 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are as N2O, based on GWP, or no net change over 1990. Halocarbon and Related Compounds. CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, PFCs and other compounds that act as greenhouse gases are emitted from their use as refrigerants in cooling equipment, as solvents, or as blowing agents, or from fugitive emissions from industrial processes; these halocarbon compounds are being phased out under pollution prevention measures because they damage the stratospheric ozone layer. The best known class of synthetic greenhouse chemicals are the CFCs, particularly CFC-12 (trade name Freon -12). CFCs have many desirable features: they are relatively simple to manufacture, inert, nontoxic, and nonflammable. Because CFCs are chemically stable, they remain in the atmosphere for hundreds or thousands of years. These synthetic molecules absorb reflected infrared radiation at wavelengths that would otherwise be largely unabsorbed, and they are potent greenhouse gases, with a direct radiative forcing effect hundreds or thousands of times greater than that of CO2. Though molecule for molecule, CFCs absorb many hundreds of times more infrared radiation than carbon dioxide, their net warming effect is reduced because of their effect on ozone. Ozone (O3), beneficial in the stratosphere for its ability to absorb harmful ultraviolet radiation, is also a potent greenhouse gas. While the direct effect of CFCs is a warming potential far greater than that of CO2, their indirect effect on ozone reduces their net radiative forcing effects by half. SF6 is used as an insulator for circuit breakers switchgear and other electrical equipment; it also occurs as a fugitive emission from certain semiconductor manufacturing processes. At 42 metric tons of carbon or carbon equivalent, about 2.4 percent of the curr ently estimated 1996 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are as HFCs, PFCs and SF6, based on GWP, or an increase of 68 percent over 1990. Criteria Pollutants. CO, NOx, and NMVOCs are reactive gases, which usually decay quickly in the atmosphere. Most CO emissions result from incomplete oxidation during combustion of fuels used for transportation. NOx emissions are related to air-fuel mixes and combustion temperatures during the burning of fuels evenly split between transportation and stationary sources. NMVOCs are a main component in the chemical and physical atmospheric reactions that form ozone and other photochemical oxidants. About half of the NMVOC emissions come from solvent-related industrial processes and most of the remaining emissions are from combustion of transportation fuels. Climate Protection Strategies The remedial strategies all have unintended consequences. These strategies are 1) greenhouse gas source reduction (Gelspan, 1997; ICLEI, September 1997, web page at http://www.iclei.org); 2) ocean modification to absorb more greenhouse gases (Joos, F., J.L. Sarmiento and U. Siegenthaler. 1991. Estimates of the effect of Southern Ocean iron fertilization on atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nature, Vol. 349, No. 6312, p. 772-774); and 3) forest, wetland, and agricultural practices to sequester more gaseous CO2 (Hodges, Carl N., T. Lewis Thompson, James L. Riley and Edward P. Glenn. November 1993. Reversing the Flow: Water and Nutrients from the Sea to the Land. Ambio, A Journal of the Human Environment, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Vol. 22, No. 7, p. 483-496). The most likely success strategy is greenhouse gas source reduction. Greenhouse gas source reduction activities include: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Replace greenhouse gas generating activities such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas burning power plants with non-CO2 emitting power plants like nuclear, solar, wind, wave, hydraulic, and geothermal. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Reduce the amount of paper and other carbon-rich discards that go to landfills, which generate CH4 by source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting and/or mulching of organic discards. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Control industrial plant greenhouse gas emissions. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Prevent and control forest and agricultural fires that generate CO2. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Replace internal combustion vehicle, tools, and power sources with electrical, compressed natural gas , and hydrogen sources. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Recover greenhouse gases, such as from landfills, for reuse and treatment prior to release to the atmosphere. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Improve the greenhouse gas sequestering mechanisms of the vegetative cover by restoring and enhancing landscape trees, forests, wetlands, gardens, and agricultural practices. Do we have a reason to be optimistic? We have reason to be cautiously optimistic about climate protection. Human history is full of examples where we learned from our mistakes, misfortunes, or undesirable trends. The agricultural revolution of the 18th century, the discovery of bacteria in the 19th, and the invention of vaccines in the 20th are some of the examples of what humanity can achieve when challenged with a seemingly unsolvable problem. True, we must overcome several hurdles, the resistance of political and profit-centered structures which have short-term benefits in an economy based on carbon fuels. But these barriers can be overcome in the 21st century through education and promotion, successful cases, and the inherently superior economics of a sustainable and renewable energy and resource based society. We will need political leadership at all levels to make it happen. How to cite Global Climate Change and Climate Protection, Papers

Food Safety free essay sample

Complete the food safety interactive quiz. Use the information from the interactive quiz to complete the following responses regarding food safety practices. For each of the following food safety practices, share at least 2 statements from the interactive quiz. Be sure to put these statements in your own words and explain why they are helpful in preventing food borne illness. An example would be: When dining from a buffet, make sure hot food is hot and cold food is cold. Food that is 40 – 140 degrees Fahrenheit has already begun to grow bacteria and pathogens. Clean (16 points): 1. Make sure to never use the same cooking utensils for food that is cooked and food that is raw. 2. Wash your hands before and after working with different food such as when you are preparing meat Separate (16 points): 1. Separate meat that is raw and meat that is cooked. 2. Keep meats and vegetables separated. Dont just judge food by how it looks, instead use a thermometer to make sure that the food is cooked completely . We will write a custom essay sample on Food Safety or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Keep food at their required temperature so that it doesn’t grow any harmful bacteria. Chill (16 points): 1. Keep an ice pack next to refrigerated food when you pack lunch. 2. Have the refrigerator at 40? F or below and the Freezer at 0? F In your own kitchen, explain 2 food safety practices you feel your family can improve and 2 food safety practices you feel your family does well. (16 points) In my house we always chill left overs and separate raw food from cooked food. Some of the things we can improve in orther to have healthier and safer cooking practices include washing our hands more frequently and using a food thermometer rather them just using our eyes to inspect how cooked it is. In what ways do your school and community practice or promote food safety to contribute to your personal health? (20 points) My school school offers lunch to those students who want it and they practice food safety by always keeping food chilled and warmed at the temperature required. They also wear gloves and hair nets to keep bacteria from the food that is being served.

Misconceptions Of African American Life Essays -

Misconceptions Of African American Life When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his proper place and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary. This quote, spoken true by a prominent African American scholar of the 20th century, Carson Woodson, is aimed at shedding light on the inherent miseducation of African Americans. His beliefs that controlling ones thinking with such a powerful grasp that allows little or no movement will lead to that individual behaving as he is expected is a very justifiable point. If time and time again, one is told to do certain things or believe certain things as right, then with constant repetition and enforcement, widespread belief and acceptance of this idea or practice will become the norm. A people that is consistently taught or treated a certain way may at some point begin to accept it right. However, in many cases what may be deemed right by some is not necessarily the right thing to do. This theory can not be any more prominent than in the case of African Americans, who have long endured hundreds of years of discriminatory practices based solely upon their race and origins. Dating back to the days of slavery, these are a people that out of prejudice, out of expectations, out of fear, have often come to view the white mans way as the right way either by choice or by having no other choice. In the process, however, their very own culture, beauty, beliefs, traditions, etc., often get trampled upon or even forgotten as they either struggle to keep up or struggle to stay up. More then not, though, this brainwashing of sorts results in a miseducation of the African-American people that often leads to widespread misunderstandings about them. These misunderstandings can then lead to various forms of stereotypes aimed against African-Americans by whites or other non African Americans picked up along the way due to incomplete knowledge about their history which inherently also hurt those making these false assumptions. Times are changing, however, and with these evolutionary years comes a greater sense of struggle to understand. This struggle comes both from within the African -American community to find out more about themselves sans Caucasian undertones, and also from groups such as whites to attempt to designate stereotypes from truths. The vast majority of aids in this process, however, come from African American scholars, writers, poets, film-makers, etc., who have set out to expose the miseducation of the Negro into believing and acting upon forced actions or opinions and to learn the truths behind their actual heritage. Four works that susinctly bring the miseducation about African American history into the spotlight of the national public are Claude McKays The Lynching, Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of A Slavegirl, Gordon Parks Washington D.C. Charwoman, and Spike Lees School Daze. All four works illustrate a common thread of the misconception of African-American life by blacks themselves, as well as Caucasians around them, that has been carried intact through many a generations in the history of the United States. The earliest example that I would like to call attention to is Claude McKays poem entitled The Lynching. In my opinion, this poem addresses the commonly held misconceptions of both blacks and whites against African Americans during the period of slavery in the U.S. In terms of the miseducation of African Americans, the author uses the line of The awful sin remained still unforgiven to insinuate that being born black was considered by him and other African Americans at that time to be a sin or something to be ashamed of. He blames this African American mans death on Fates wild whim and never once blames the racist white males who most likely lynched him for no good reason, nor does he seem to express anger towards them. This poem shows the miseducation of the Negro in that

Great Example of Al Capone Personal Essay

Great Example of Al Capone Personal Essay ly murdered many people; the exact numbers are not known. The most infamous mass killing conducted by Capone was the St. Valentine s Day massacre. On that day, Capones follower Jack Mc Gurn tried to lure George Moran, who was a leader of the rival gang, so that he could kill him. During this ordeal, seven of Morans men got shot at the garage. This massacre brought Capone to the attention of the federal government. On further investigations, they exposed his tax evasion deals and other unlawful activities in Chicago (John, 1971). Al Capones Conviction and Imprisonment. The Bureau of prohibition began a probe on Al Capone and his businesses in Chicago. They initiated the investigations in an attempt to convict him for unlawful activity. A case got filed against Capone being charged with income tax evasion. He attempted to bribe and intimidate potential jurors. This got noticed, and the Jury listening to his case got changed. This followed a long trial on Oct 17th, 1929. The judge sentenced Capone to 11 years of imprisonment. At that time, this was the greatest sentence ever given in the United States for tax evasion. He tried to appeal against the conviction and the punishment against him, but both got denied. In prison, he got isolated and did not contact with other prisoners. This was a preventive measure to ensure that he would not commit any dangerous acts (Diane, 2002). Conclusion From the foregoing, it is manifestly clear that Capone was a long time criminal boss, and he was engaged in many illegal dealings and killings. The Criminal Justice agents should be extra vigilant to deal with organized crime and kill criminal gangs. The life of Al Capone is a mock to the system of law that was used in Chicago during his time. This is because the law hardly punished him or made attempts to keep him on toes. When he got convicted, it was too late. Capone had caused irreparable harm to the society of Chicago and America at large. It is noteworthy that the Investigating agencies and students across the world should analyze the harms caused by a dysfunctional system of law that could not resist the activity of criminal gangs.

Business Development Report Ikea pany †Free Samples

The IKEA pany was started in 1943 and started selling furniture in 1956. By 2007, the pany had already opened up different stores for its products in the various countries. The IKEA pany is based in Netherland and creates products regarding furniture and home appliances to make life at home better. Offering a full range of products with affordable prices and a better life for people is the vision of the pany. This is a pany that earns its money even before they spend it because of the make use of their resources and hence able to make future investments. IKEA offers quality products to people at fair prices, and they believe that, when people grow due to using the pany's products, the pany itself grows too. It has many locations globally that supply the furniture and home appliances to different parts of the world (Drzazga, 2014). The pany has also included the selling of houses and flats so as to reduce prices for the first time buyers. The IKEA products and furniture usually designed in Sweden but mostly manufactured in developed countries so as to cut costs whereby the final assembly is done by the consumers (Edvardsson & Enquist, 2011). Some of the IKEA petitors include; the Babyage that sells innovative products to make babies live richer and parents live easier. SHOP.CA sells online millions of goods across the world which include clothing, electronics, furniture, home appliances, jewelry, toys, video games, musical instruments and many other products. Move Loot is another petitor which is the easiest way to buy and sell online which include pick-up and delivery (Rask, 2014). The IKEA has different management styles which it applies in their operations such as autocracy style, democracy, laisse- fair, and lastly paternalistic management style. The world is changing globally because of the current technology, IKEA pany has been facing different challenges in the busy world because some markets, especially in USA stores, are located mainly in urban areas, and this has made the shopping to be difficult because people have busy schedules and the stores are not within their reach. Electronic shopping is an innovation that the pany is looking forward to developing even though they opted for Facebook and Twitter but it did not work, and hence they saw the opportunity to implement the e- shopping which is a digital marketing  (Drzazga, 2014). Electronic shopping is whereby people can buy and sell goods and services from a seller over the internet. People usually find the product or the service by searching in the website which displays its items online and then orders for delivery. Earlier this year, the IKEA pany was announced to launch an online shop for the customers in the Czech Republic whereby local consumers can be able to order the products online  (Hassan, Sistani, & Raju, 2014) The electronic shopping is important because it allows for peace of mind because there are secure payments that are done online. People can track their order and then select the necessary date for collection of their items. After the online shopping, the shoppers will have access to the online shopping experience. Also, online shopping leads to opening of many stores and outlets and pick up points for the online orders which are made accessible to customers at different destinations. This is a business model innovation that is used to describe the current business or future business model. This model contains questions that act as guidelines for the designing process of the business model  (Massa, 2013). The IKEA business model canvas is made up of harvesters, manufacturing firms, transport firms, delivery panies and the outfitting firms. Their aim is to design modular furniture, manufacture modular furniture, advertise and market and offer after sale services to its customers. They offer affordable and cheap home products to their clients; it's easy to assemble and transport the furniture and their experience to their clients on childcare on site, dining options and also the whole family experience. To their family, IKEA offers exclusive discounts, and for loyalty, the storage is in low costs assembling, and delivery is for free. The customer segments include the cost-conscious consumers, college students, and small businesses. The key resources are infrastructure regarding megastores, actual furniture, trucks, lifting equipment, tools and skilled personnel regarding labor. The channels for transportation are superstores, catalogs, family email subscriptions and IKEA stores website. The cost structure includes the raw material costs, manufacturing costs, advertising costs, labor costs and transportation costs. The revenue streams are the furniture sales, food sales at the restaurant, service fees through delivery and assemble and accessories sale through yarn, tools and towing equipment. The goal of the IKEA business model is to create value within the industry of home furnishing  (Euchner & Ganguly, 2014). In the past decade, people could not afford the best quality furniture because of their budget and the pany saw this need and created a variety of furniture with different sizes, culture and also prices. The pany usually focus on the customer by shortening the distance between the creation of the product and its selling point. And this often lowers the costs of the products. The pany does this by looking at the customers' needs, and this gives the information about the consumer and by doing this, they use this information to design the furniture that the client needs considering the space requirement. Different customers face different challenges regarding i e, and this makes the pany use low prices that the people can afford according to their i es. The pany looks at the tastes and preferences of the consumers so as to design the products that suit those prefer ences.   By doing this, better materials are used and useful techniques used. The model usually believes in the personal touch as pared to the name of the pany which was named after its founder, the village and the farm where he lived. The value of the enterprise is to have the customers assemble their furniture at home. The furniture is packaged in the way that is easier to transport with instructions on how to put them in place. The IKEA model requires time to time updates meaning that the furniture is changed from time to time. It takes the information that they receive from their customers, identifies any need arising and then makes changes to the design where necessary. mon sense and hard work is emphasized in this model and gives people a chance to change a house into a real home. Even though the resources of the people are limited, the IKEA business model continues to pay dividends to the people. The service by the name click and collect, many people have been able to select the items of interest online, pay through the credit cards and then have their orders shipped to their areas. The IKEA customers have demanded to make online buying, and the pany is happy because it has met peoples' desires. Online payments have been made even though in the first week after it was launched, people needed to pick their goods from the stores (Hassan, Sistani, & Raju, 2014). People are now able to get their orders delivered up to their door with an additional cost which depends on the cost of goods to be delivered and the IKEA branch bought from. The e-shopping has helped people to have access to a variety of items as the goods are arranged in such a way that the pany needs to see what people want to buy. The IKEAs catalog is necessary because it shapes consumers' behavior as people use it to see all the products and get any information or ideas from home and hence use it to make online orders (Euchner & Ganguly, 2014). People use the augmented reality application to place their furniture at home, see how it looks and how it fits the space available. In Swedish, IKEA will launch its electronic shopping business in Shanghai and start selling its products online by the end of August. All the furniture, home appliances, and accessories will be sold online except food and green plants. With this new shopping, people will be able to login to the IKEA website and then buy items through the portal, but both the online and offline products will have same prices and categories. By shopping online, the customers will be able to decide whether the goods will be delivered to their door or pick them from the stores. It also enables people to choose from a variety of products that are available  (UDDENFELDT, 2014). The prices of transport and pick up are all the same for the people who order from the shop regardless of the weight of the items. IKEA pany uses the electronic shopping so as to have a unique experience for its customers which is associated with the ability to feel and touch the products. The technological changes have contribute d to the launch of electronic shopping, and it has created a better everyday life for so many people. The aim of the pany is to build on their expansion story and expand their online presence so as to have a good relationship with their customers all over the world with a shopping experience. Due to this launch, IKEA has conducted services allowing for purchases to take place with set delivery dates that fit customers' needs and convenience whereby secure payments are made through the credit cards. The pany has also launched an e merce shopping in Saudi Arabia whereby customers just click purchase items, and they are delivered to their doorsteps. The e merce is currently being practiced in selected areas, but soon it will cover the whole region of Saudi Arabia. A marketing manager of Saudi Arabia says that it has been the fastest growing e merce market in the Middle East and North Africa. By 2018, the pany is planning to launch a modernized full-fledged e merce business because they see the ‘click and collect’ service as being temporary. IKEA has also launched a home delivery and online shopping in Australia where customers will be able to order online and then collect in store or receive a home delivery. For this reason, IKEA should encourage people to buy flat packed furniture online. Online shopping includes many services like picking and delivery and also assembling hence making shopping from home possible and convenient  (Hassan, Sistani, & Raju, 2014). Further, the management of the pany should market the e-shopping innovation at both global and domestic level to gain as many customers as possible. Also, the pany should establish petitive strategies to withstand the petitive pressure posed by petitors in the market; this will help the pany gain a petitive edge against its rivals. Lastly, the human resource management of IKEA should recruit only the qualified personnel who have the right skills of providing excellent online shopping services to the customers. Technology impacts significantly on the success and performance of a firm. Most panies have invested broadly in sophisticated technologies in the provision of services and products. Electronic shopping benefits both the customers and the panies using the technique. Doing electronic shopping is the best with the changing of the technology because it saves time as people just order for items they need and they are brought within their reach with prearranged delivery and assembly services. Therefore, panies should employ the right resources and invest heavily in online shopping for this will help them get petitive and position themselves firmly in the market. Aversa, P., Haefliger, S., Rossi, A., & Baden-Fuller, C. (2015). From business model to business modeling: Modularity and manipulation. In  Business models and modeling  (pp. 151-185).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Baier, D., Rese, A., & Schreiber, S. (2015). Analyzing Online Reviews to Measure Augmented   Ã‚   Reality Acceptance at the Point of Sale: The Case of IKEA. In  Successful Technological    Integration for petitive Advantage in Retail Settings  (pp. 168-189). IGI Global. De Marchi, V., Di Maria, E., & Ponte, S. (2013). The greening of global value chains: Insights from the furniture industry. petition & Change,  17(4), 299-31 Drzazga, M. (2014). New Media in Marketing munication in Multichannel Retailing.  Studia Ekonomiczne, (205), 23-33. Edvardsson, B., & Enquist, B. (2011). The service excellence and innovation model: lessons   from IKEA and other service frontiers.  Total Quality Management & Business   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Excellence,  22(5), 535-551.   Euchner, J., & Ganguly, A. (2014). Business model innovation in practice.  Research Technology Management,  57(6), 33-39. Gassmann, O., Frankenberger, K., & Csik, M. (2014). Revolutionizing the business model. In  Management of the fuzzy front end of innovation  (pp. 89-97). Springer International Publishing. Hassan, S. M., Sistani, A. J., & Raju, R. S. (2014). Top Online Shopping E panies and their Strength and Weakness (SWOT).  Research Journal of Recent Sciences. ISSN,  2277, 2502. Jonsson, A., & Foss, N. J. (2011). International expansion through flexible replication: Learning from the internationalization experience of IKEA.  Journal of International Business Studies,  42(9), 1079-1102. Massa, L., & Tucci, C. L. (2013). Business model innovation.  The Oxford Handbook of Innovation Management, 420-441. Oboyanskiy, A., & Shuvalova, M. (2017). A concept of applications in the electronic merce market.  Journal of Economics and Social Sciences, (9), 8. Rask, M. (2014). Internationalization through business model innovation: In search of relevant design dimensions and elements.  Journal of International Entrepreneurship,  12(2), 146- 161 Rese, A., Schreiber, S., & Baier, D. (2014). Technology acceptance modeling of augmented reality at the point of sale: Can surveys be replaced by an analysis of online   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   reviews?.  Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,  21(5), 869-876. UDDENFELDT, J. (2014). How furniture shopping could change through Omni-channel retailing and the use of technology-based innovations. Urgal, B., Quintà ¡s, M. A., & Arà ©valo-Tomà ©, R. (2013). Knowledge resources and innovation performance: the mediation of innovation capability moderated by management mitment.  Technology Analysis & Strategic Management,  25(5), 543-565.8.

Ethical Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethical Issue - Essay Example While specialization is increasing in every area, hospitals are shuffling nurses from one unit to another with increased patient loads. Such cost effective measures compromise with the safety and quality and questions are raised on how ethical it is to do so. To make nurse staffing safe and appropriate, it was decided not to use nurse-to-patient ratios as a baseline standard for minimum safe staffing (Gallagher, Kany, Rowell, & Peterson, 1999). Nursing shortage in the United States is largely responsible for shifting nurses from one department to another. It is estimated that by 2010 there will be a shortage of about 800,000 nurses and this shortage already shows dire results (Bodley & Davis, 2003). The shortage is leading to delegation of patient care activities to nurses’ aides and unlicensed assistive personnel. Nurses do not have the managerial support or the control over their environments. Shifting nurses from unit to unit, imposing mandatory overtime, attrition in the p rofession is unlikely to abate. Psychiatric nursing is a specialized area where the availability of appropriate personnel remains a perennial problem. Patients in the mental health department need kindness and compassion during the acute phase of their illness but Nolan and Bourke (2001) point out that they were forced to live in poor social environment while they were being treated for severe mental illness. The nurses lacked the skills in interpersonal relationships. Nurses in the mental health department reported that the type of intervention had changed and there was a decreased emphasis on dynamic therapy (Nolan & Bourke). Treatment is now based on pharmacology and there was an increased use of cognitive therapies. Independent practice opportunities were lost while advanced certification and prescription authority had increased the scope

This assignment invites you to explore some of the theoretical

This invites you to explore some of the theoretical underpinning of SFG, as presented in the literature - Assignment Example 15). Micro issues are grammar and punctuation-related in essay writing. Syntax is the procedural term used to define sentence structure. Bad syntax is brought about by badly ordered sentences with no apparent and concise meanings. Inappropriate use of tenses is another micro issue that can be avoided with the introduction and discussion of other people’s judgment using present tense, and using consistency within the sentences. Prepositions are other grammatical features that are frequently misused (Barton, 1999, p. 41). Describing the position and movement, prepositions the state used in the sentence should always be double-checked because they always seem correctly used, even when they are not. Colons, semi-colons, apostrophes and speech marks are marks that can be evaded to keep of unnecessary grammatical errors (Forster, 1981, p. 27). Issues in essay writing feature grammatical, punctuation and syntax aspects that often require double-checking after writing. Advice, guidance, and interactive sources from the reference list can be used to guide the writer on aspects of the topic of the essay (Forster, Mohan & Hector, 2003, p. 13). Developed as one entity, everything developed within an essay should be authored with originality to avoid plagiarism. Grammatical and syntax issues are a vital part of the essay and should be consistently observed by the writer when proofreading the written work (Barton, 1999, p. 46). The four are phonetics, words, sentences and text (Kinoshita and Lupker, 2003, p. 3). The phonetic is the spoken sense of the language and words are a combination of letters to make a meaning as a group sentences are grouped words that give meaning as a group. The texts are a combination of sentences that make meaning. With language we are able to communicate what is going on in our minds in order to understand ourselves and the other persons better (Kinoshita and

Toray Textiles in to Mansfield Essay Example for Free

Toray Textiles in to Mansfield Essay Case Study of * What is Toray? * Why Mansfield? * How does it benefit local community? * The multiplier effect. * Factors involving the choice of a work site Toray Textiles Key facts : * Established in Japan in 1926. * Owns over 60 branch plants Asia, North America, Europe, making company name recognised worldwide. * Plants include: Italian artificial suede manufacturer, French carbon fibre manufacturer. * Sales offices located in Milan and Frankfurt. Why Britain? * Close link with Marks Spencer provides a good product outlet and can supply new designs at short notice. * Turnover expected to be over 80 million pounds from new plant in Mansfield. * Japan has become too expensive as a manufacturing base for a product so technically unadvanced. * E.C. rules state that, unless 60% of any product is made in E.C. by E.C. registered employees, then the product is subject to import duty in the form of money or commission, or by limiting the amount of the product sold (tariffs/quotas). * Productivity higher than in Japan and U.S.A. * Automation higher than in Japan and U.S.A. * Less training required. * High unemployment rates. * Longer working week. * No minimum wage or legal paid holiday. Why Mansfield? * Mainline inter-city rail link to London and Birmingham making big cities more accessible products can be sent for sale more easily. * Accessible to the M1 and U.K motorway networks access to buyers and channel ports easier imports and exports. * High unemployment not only will vacancies be filled but there is competition workers could accept lower wages. * Nottingham is nearby worldwide reputation for textiles. * High water table in area vast quantities required for bleaching and dyeing. * Unemployed miners well qualified in safety practices an area upon which Toray places great importance. * Potential to set up and expand onto a green field site lower costs. How does it benefit local community? * Low unemployment. * Higher prestige for area more publicity. * Tourism created by publicity brings in money etc. * Helps relieve pressures on council after large numbers of redundancies from the flop in the mining trade. How does it benefit the U.K.? * Net benefit of 50 million pounds to U.K balance of trade. * Has seen a revival in textile manufacturing. * Has prevented the need to import fabric from abroad. Multiplier effect: * New employees have more money to spend, creating work in tertiary employment i.e. services, shops, tourism, banking, housing and education. * If Toray is successful, other companies may be encouraged to locate in the area. Factors involving the choice of a work site: * Accessablity to a good infrastructure. * Opportunity to set up on a greenfield site. less cost and the opportunity to expand. * Level of unemployment competition for vacancies * Prejudices for/against a particular area, for example the North/South divide in certain areas * Tradition of use of technology. * Political situation a particularly shaky situation may cause people to boycott i.e. South Africa in 1970s and 80s

The Critique of Conceiving Logic as a Propadeutic :: Logic Ontology Philosophy Essays

The Critique of Conceiving Logic as a Propadeutic Introduction: Does logic assume an ontology? What is the relationship between logic and ontology? In contemporary philosophy common answers have been ‘No’ to the first and ‘None’ to the second question. This is because the principles of logic, to borrow Kantian terminology, are understood as regulative rather than constitutive of objects. For a principle to be regulative means that it provides us with a methodology that belongs somehow to the nature of our thinking, but not to that of the world, as constitutive principles do.[i] In this way, a regulative conception of logic represents logic as an â€Å"instrument† of reason that takes for granted a formal set of rules, rules which have no bearing on â€Å"reality† and that are â€Å"invented† as tools to guide our thought.[ii] It is no curiosity that as a result most contemporary logic text-books present logic as formal or informal system of rules meant to regulate our thinking. But why s hould we presuppose that logic is a regulative â€Å"instrument† devoid of ontological status? The aim here is to show that this presupposition regarding the nature of logic has very tenuous grounds and that a more plausible conception is a constitutive one, where logic is seen to express the structure of the world as mathematics might. This will be argued first by articulating Kant’s arguments for the separation of logic and ontology based on his criticism of pure reason and logic as providing principles constitutive of objects. Next, a Hegelian criticism of this criticism will be provided, as a defence of pure reason, to present subsequently his conception of reason and logic as the fountain of constitutive principles. This will be attempted by showing (a) Hegel’s conception of logic, (b) of thought, and (c) of objective thought. Finally, this position will be challenged with the charge of psychologism to show that nonetheless an ontological view of logic is more plausible than a regulative one. I. Kant: Finite Experience and The Critique Of Pure Reason 1.1. The Regulative Logical Employment of Reason Kant’s first Critique is an impressive analysis of the theoretical mind, an attempt to discover its nature, capacity for knowledge, and limits.

To What Extent Is the Commercialization of Sport a Positive Trend?

I feel that commercialisation of sports is bad as it denies the sport players of their privacy. As the players would be constantly under the limelight, details of their lives, both the good and the bad, are released to the public. For example, in the recent Tiger Wood's scandal involving his many mistresses, his private life was broad casted to the public, attracting many criticisms. Therefore, the commercialization of sports is bad as it compromises the personal space of the athletes. Performance may not be the main focus in all sports. Some people may take up a sport just to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Many sports, such as running and swimming can be solitary and non-competitive. It does not matter if one does not perform well in the activity, as long as the individual feels that being engaged in it brings benefit to his/her health. If the commercialization of sports were to cause people to develop a mindset that victory and quality of performance is of utmost importance, unnecessary pressure will be imposed on the sportsman. Their mentality may change, resulting in them thinking that only those who can excel in the sport deserve to take part. This causes those who do sports for health benefits but are not proficient to lose their penchant. Commercialization in this case is disadvantageous as it has the power to distort the mindset of people negatively. The psychological phobia may cause some people to be robbed of their chance to engage in a sport they like. The commercialization of sports has set in motion a shift in paradigm in sports; particularly those which involve teams. Players have become commodities to be traded and sold for extravagant sums of money and even clubs are being sold to the highest bidders. The trouble with this is that while sport used to be about performance excellence and hard work, clubs may now simply obtain success by splurging astronomical amounts of money to buy the best players that money can buy. Players no longer stay loyal to the clubs that trained them and honed their skills but instead seek greener pastures where the pay is higher than the exorbitant amount it already is. The overall result of this is a lack of sense of loyalty and passion and also makes a case for the notion that success can be bought with money. Commercialisation of sports leads to the erosion of it's values. No longer is the focus about doing one's best to win, it is now about wearing the branded goods. The promotion of sports apparel or energy beverages gives the idea that without these goods, one cannot achieve their optimal point in sports. Some of these brands include Nike, Adidas and Gatorade. While they may help the body's posture and movement, it is the person's perseverence that will pull them through. Commercialisation is only another form of distrcation. Hence, commercialisation of sports is bad. Commercialisation of sports is bad. It seems that Sports had lost it true meaning. Sports is no longer a simple physical exercise but involves many other issues. Instead, one's popularity and ability to appeal to the public is more important then one's talent and skills. For example: Anna Kournikova is the biggest tennis start yet she never won a grand slam, she gains a large amount of earnings through sponsorship alone Justin Henin(world no 1) is able to earn in a lifetime. This have shown the disparity between both individuals. Therefore, I conclude that commercialisation of sports have led to people placing more emphasis on looks then talent. Nowadays, if one was to declare themselves a fan of Chelsea football club, the reply you would get would most probably â€Å"Before or After Roman Abramovich? † Chelsea Football Club was bought over by a rich oil merchant in 2003, and this led to an interesting disadvantage of commercialisation in sport. Because of the large amount of capital that is provided to these clubs who are bought over by rich businessmen, they are able to buy their way to success. This effectively destroys sportsmanship in the spirit of competition and causes unfair advantages to smaller teams that do not have that large an amount of capital at their disposal and thus are unable to spend as freely. This is not just limited to football. Sport that are taken over by sponsorship or under ownership will all suffer from this disadvantage. In F1, Ferrari and MacLaren are always the teams that occupy the pole position whereas teams with less renowned cars like Toyota rarely become champions. Hence, commercialization has been proven to disrupt and distort the playing field, providing unfair economical and thus other advantages to certain teams Commercialisation is becoming increasingly prevalent in sport and while this moral issue would generally be perceived as positive with the availability of more money and resources, many believe that the idea of sport as an industry has allowed amateur sport to become overly competitive and the rise of riots due to sports, is a recognizable consequence of this. This change in many ways allowed us to enjoy the level of professional sport we enjoy in Singapore today. However, some believe the trickle down of commercialisation to amateur sports has increased the tendency to provide some type of reward with athletes adopting an attitude of â€Å"winning no matter the cost†. This is now even seen within the Olympics with athletes who live off their sport now competing in an ‘amateur' competition. Children in particular are today are socialised to value winning over playing fair. This affects their moral knowledge and development, ultimately affecting their decision making. Commercialisation of sports is bad as it only advertise certain types of sports as well as its players. This makes people believe that the sport being advertised is more popular than the rest. Furthermore, people's knowledge on the types of sports will be limited. The same applies to the player being internationally well known. The player may not be the best player but due to the vast commercialising of him, it may bring a perception that he is the best player. As a result, people are ignorant about the worthiness of the players and their feelings are being toyed with if it is known that their favourite player is just an average sportsman. Therefore, commercialisation of sports is bad. Commercialisation is bad due to the social impact it resulted. It have been noted that many kids nowadays dream about making money through sports like basketball instead of just playing the game the love. For instance, a magazine named Slam talks about basketball and the players in NBA. It consists of an advertisement which asks â€Å"What Sports Center do you watch†. Then it says, â€Å"Steve Francis watches the 6AM Sports Center. † In my opinion, the advertisement is trying to use Steve Francis' popularity to persuade audiences to watch the Sports Center. This is one example of companies using sports figures to sell their products. In the advertisement, the picture of Steve Francis in his house, shows us what really is important to him — the pool and golf course in his back yard through the window in his bedroom. Hence, it is partly due to commercialisation of sports that many people look up to him in terms of his material possessions and not the way he plays basketball. Positive There will be an increase in higher quality of performance as people strive to do better and win in sports. Funding and business profits from the commercializtion of sports enable sportsmen to improve themselves and thus ring the sport to higher grounds. If a player lacks equipment or proper training grounds like, say a tennis court, funding and money can provide the player with what he requires to improve his skills. Sports has to be commercialized in order to gain these funds, and thus the commercialization of sports is good. Commercialisation plays an important role in the sport existence. It helps to provide the funds and re sources needed for athletes to be able to perform at their fullest potential. Take a Track and Field athlete for example, without a proper pair of spikes the athlete cannot perform his best. Without commericalisation there will not be efficient athletes and without efficient athletes the sport cannot be exist. Thus commericalisation plays an important role in the sports industry to help keep sports alive by providing funds and resources needed. Another benefit for commercialization of sports is that amateur level sports can benefit through commercialization of sport at the professional level. Commercialization has brought greater exposure to sports such as A-League, NRL, Super 14 and these sports at an amateur level benefit directly through commercialization and the exposure brings it to a professional level spor Indeed, sports helps to generate revenue not only for the benefit of creating more capital for sports but also to generate more revenues for different industries. Modern sports links to commerce are highly visible. Stadiums and arenas bear the names of businesses, sponsors' logos are appearing on athletes' clothing and equipment and on the facilities they play in. Media companies pay a huge amount for the rights to broadcast sports events, and advertisers pay to promote products during the screening of sports events. The revenue of a country would increase due to the commercialisation of sports as more international competitions will be held in the country. Advertisements of the tournament or competition would interest more foreigners and bring in greater revenue. This would be beneficial to the country's economy. It was evident for the Beijing Olympics held in 2008 where many people turned up for the major event due to commercialisation; hence, contributing to China's economic growth the facilities built could still be used to train more athletes and sportsmen, hence, allowing them to perform at their full potential to prepare for future competitions. With better competitors, the sports event would be more exciting and entertaining to the viewers and this would generate revenue to the country especially if it is the one hosting the event. This would potentially lead to economic growth. In China, the commercialisation of sports was also a strategy to increase its ‘soft power' which is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes China wants. It has helped China to appear more attractive to other countries and this is the first step for China to build political relations with other countries, making it beneficial for them. Commercialization of sports has resulted in the increase in the number and quality of sports shown on television today. Without commercial sponsorship, people would not be able to follow their favourite sports from their homes as closely as they want. Thus commercialization of sports has benefited society in providing entertainmen Through commercialisation, sports have been able to reach out to large audiences. With the help of the business community, there is funding and also international coverage from the media. If not, international sports events such as the Olympic Games or the Sea Games would not be made possible. It is due to this support, that athletes are able to compete and to strive for the very best in such key international events. Furthermore, sponsorships and partnerships can help sports create opportunities, such as the Olympic Games, to not only survive but thrive in today's much economically and work-driven world. Moreover, commercialisation of sports can give a good exposure of the sport to youths of today's society. The lives of many youths today revolve around technology, leading to a very mundane lifestyle. Thus this exposure may lead to them picking up certain sports, diversifying and making their lifestyle more active instead of just spending hours on end on their computers. Thus, sports should be an important aspect of our lives and the only way to ensure it continues to flourish, especially in today's context, is through commercialisation.

E-Library – Requirements Specification

E-Library – Requirements Specification Author:Jiri Walek Status:Draft Contents 1. Introduction2 1. 1. Overview of the E-Library System2 1. 2. Keywords2 1. 3. Abbreviations and Terms2 2. Administration Requirements3 1. 4. Types of User Accounts and Permissions3 1. 5. Administration Interfaces3 3. User Requirements4 1. 6. Online User Registration4 1. 7. User Login/out4 1. 8. Catalog Search4 1. 9. Catalog Quick Search4 1. 10. Catalog Browsing5 1. 11. Advanced Catalog Browsing5 1. 12. Create Select List5 1. 13. Check Out eBooks6 1. 14. Explicit eBook â€Å"Return†6 ? 1. Introduction This document is an example of a Software Requirements Specification document which can be imported into Polarion, then exported and re-imported in a collaborative process utilizing the Word Round-trip feature. It is intended for demonstration only. The document describes a fictitious online eBook lending library with optional eBook online sales component. The focus is on simplicity rather than depth and completeness, that you may more easily understand the Document features. 1. 1. Overview of the E-Library System This system provides an online portal analogous to a public library where registered patrons can borrow books. The main difference is of course that the books in the library catalog are all in electronic formats which incorporate Digital Rights Management (DRM) enabling the system to â€Å"lend† an allowed number of copies to registered users. In addition, when a book has the proper rights, the E-Library can sell patrons a license for a personal copy of the electronic book which they can retain permanently. 1. 2. Keywords This document contains keywords which correspond to Severity values in the Polarion system when to document is imported for management by Polarion. DOCUMENT KEYWORDPOLARION SEVERITY VALUEMEANING â€Å"MUST_HAVE†must_haveNo release without SHOULD_HAVE†should_haveMay slip to next release if time runs short â€Å"MAY_HAVE†may_haveMay be included in release if dependent things are implemented, otherwise will not be included â€Å"OPTIONAL†optionalMay be included in release if time/resources allow, otherwise will be postponed to another release 1 . 3. Abbreviations and Terms TERMDEFINITION Carti. e. â€Å"shopping cart† – a collection of one or more eBooks that a patron has marked for purchase during the current session CatalogThe database of eBooks available for loan and possibly for sale as well Check OutThe act of â€Å"borrowing† an eBook from the library. Term is not used in reference to the process of paying for a purchased eBook (see Purchase) Check InThe act or â€Å"returning† a previously â€Å"borrowed† (checked out) eBook. DRMDigital Rights Management eBookAn electronic book or other publication lent or sold by the E-Library system ISBNInternational Standard Book Number LCLibrary of Congress Loansee Lend LendThe process of flagging an eBook so the appropriate DRM understands that one of the allowable number of â€Å"copies† has been allocated to a patron for the lending period. PatronA user of the E-Library portal PurchaseThe process by which library patrons purchase a DRM license for a personal copy of an eBook. Also the action of a user navigating into the process for purchasing the eBooks listed in their Cart. StoreAn area of the portal that lists a subset of the library’s eBooks, that being eBooks for which users may purchase a license for a personal copy of the eBook. 2. Administration Requirements This section outlines the main requirements that relate to administration and management of the E-Library system. 1. 4. Types of User Accounts and Permissions The system must provide for the following types of user accounts: ACCOUNT TYPE NAMEPERMISSIONS AdministratorUser can access any component or area of the system including accounts of other users LibrarianUser can access the catalog management features of the system PatronUser can access the general library features, including browsing, searching, check out, check in, reserve, and purchase StudentSame as a Patron, except may not access Purchase features The system must provide user management to manage the user role assignments. Each user can have multiple user roles assigned. It must be possible to 1. 5. Administration Interfaces The system must provide user interfaces for the following roles/functions: †¢System Administration – including database management, server management, backups, etc. User type: Administrator †¢Catalog Management – all non-technical functionality related to managing eBooks in the library catalog. User types: Administrator, Librarian 3. User Requirements This section outlines the main requirements that relate to the end users who borrow and purchase eBooks from the E-Library. . 6. Online User Registration Users must be able to create Patron or Student accounts by registering online. A suitable registration page or pages should be provided. New users must go thru a verification process (TBD) to confirm their email address before their account is activated in the system. 1. 7. User Login/out Once verified, users must be able to log in to the portal. Users must be able to change their password (but not their user name/ID) There must be a way for users to retrieve a lost password Users must be able to log out. There must be a session timeout mechanism that will automatically log the user out after a period of time (period TBD). On logout, the contents of user’s Select List and Cart are cleared. The contents of the Reserved List is preserved. 1. 8. Catalog Search Users must be able to search for eBooks The system should provide interfaces for both â€Å"simple† and â€Å"advanced† searches †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"simple† should be a search on any one of fields Author, Title, or ISBN. †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"advanced† should provide an easy way to construct complex searches on multiple fields with different logic (e. g. AND, OR, NOT) 1. 9. Catalog Quick Search The system should provide several â€Å"quick search† options: †¢Newest eBooks – returns a listing of the 10- 50 (configurable) most recently added eBooks †¢Top 20 Titles – returns a listing of the 20 most frequently borrowed eBooks oThe actual number should be configurable by an administrator oThe UI should provide a pick list of values: 10, 20, 25, 50, 100 †¢Latest Returns – returns a list of 10-50 (configurable) most recently checked-in eBooks oEither explicitly checked in by a patron, or lending period expired freeing the eBook for loan oeBooks listed in this set must not have any reservations†¦ must be available for immediate loan 1. 0. Catalog Browsing Users must be able to browse the eBooks in the catalog Users must be able to select how they want to browse: †¢Browse by Author oMust be able to select an alphabetical subset†¦ e. g. author names beginning with A, or M for example †¢Browse by Title oMust be able to se lect an alphabetical subset†¦ e. g. author names beginning with A, or M for example †¢Browse by genre (e. g. fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, etc. 1. 11. Advanced Catalog Browsing Users should be able to browse by Publisher Users should be able to browse by Book Award Users should be able to browse according to a combination of data, such as by Author + Genre, Title + Year of Publication, Author + Book Award, etc. 1. 12. Create Select List The Select List is similar to a shopping cart except that the checkout processes a loan of the eBooks in the list rather than a purchase. Each user must be able to save a list of eBooks they want to borrow – their â€Å"Select List† †¢The Select List is only for the current session and is cleared when the session terminates †¢Each eBook added to the Select List remains in the list for 20 minutes. During this time, the number of copies available for loan is reduced by 1 and the number available is shown to ot her users. oIf the time expires and the eBook is removed from the Select List, then the number of copies available for loan is increased by 1 and the number available is shown to other users. The number of eBooks user may add to their Select List is limited to the checkout limit defined in the system configuration minus the number of eBooks patron has currently checked out. oIf user currently has the maximum number checked out, then all Add to Select List links should be disabled for that user. †¢If all copies allowable under the eBook’s DRM are currently on loan to other users, then the eBook cannot be added to any user’s Select List (the UI widget is disabled) and the UI must inform the user that no copy is currently available for loan. 1. 13. Check Out eBooks User should be able to navigate to Check Out any time via a readily visible link or button The checkout page must display the eBooks in the user’s Select List The user must be able to remove eBooks from the Select List at this point Via an appropriate UI widget, user should be able to execute check out which processes on all the eBooks left on the Select List. When checkout is complete, user must be presented with a page of the checked out titles, each title having a DOWNLOAD widget. Clicking the widget downloads a copy of the eBook with appropriate DRM applied. Each checked out eBook should remain listed on the user’s Downloads page until the loan period expires. 1. 14. Explicit eBook â€Å"Return† Users must be able to â€Å"return† any eBook on their Downloads page that has not yet been downloaded via an appropriate â€Å"RETURN THIS EBOOK† widget. Executing the return must remove the eBook from the user’s downloads page, decreases the count of eBooks the user currently has checked out (if that value is greater than zero), and increases by 1 the number of copies of the eBook available for loan.

Complete Comparison Charts SAT vs ACT

Complete Comparison Charts SAT vs ACT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT and the ACT are both hard pills to swallow, but one might be easier for you than the other. If you're still trying to decide which test to take, these charts will give you direct comparisons between them in terms of format, timing, and content. Then you can figure out which one sounds like the right fit for you! Part 1: Logistics First, the nuts and bolts - how many sections are there, how long does it take, and how many questions are there? Test Format SAT ACT Number of Total Sections 10 4 (5 if you take it with Writing) Types of Sections Critical Reading, Math, and Writing (plus one Experimental Section that doesn't count towards your score) English, Math, Reading, and Science (plus Writing if you take that version) Time per Section Critical Reading - two 25 minute sections, one 20 minute section Math - two 25 minute sections, one 20 minute section Writing - 25 minutes for the essay, one 25 minute section, one 10 minute section Experimental Section - 25 minutes English - 45 minutes Math - 60 minutes Reading - 35 minutes Science - 35 minutes Optional Writing - 40 minute essay Order of Sections Essay, 6 randomly ordered 25 minute sections, two 20 minute sections (Critical Reading and Math), and the 10 minute Writing section English, Math, Reading, Science, optional Writing Total Time 3 hours and 45 minutes 2 hours and 55 minutes without Writing, 3 hours and 35 minutes with Writing SAT Timing Section Time Per Question Critical Reading 54 seconds Math 67 seconds Writing 43 seconds ACT Timing Section Time Per Question English 36 seconds Math 60 seconds Reading 53 seconds Science 53 seconds Part 2: Content Next, we'll look at the meat of the tests - what skills are tested in each section, and what do you have to know? Reading SAT ACT Number of Questions 67 multiple choice 40 multiple choice Format 3 sections, each section has sentence completion questions and passage-based questions; passages may be long, short, or paired 1 section, 4 long passages (one may be a set of paired passages), 10 questions about each passage Subject Matter Passages are in an unpredictable order and may deal with a wide variety of subject matter Passages are always in the same order in terms of subject matter: Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative, Social Science, Humanities, and Natural Science Important Skills Vocabulary knowledge for sentence completion questions, skimming passages, reading comprehension, understanding confusingly worded questions Skimming passages, reading comprehension Math SAT ACT Number of Questions 44 multiple choice, 10 grid-in student response 60 multiple choice Format 3 sections 1 section Subject Matter Pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, data analysis and probability Same topics as the SAT with the addition of trigonometry, matrices, complex numbers, and conic sections (but trigonometry is the only one that comes up really frequently) Important Skills Using formulas correctly (given to you at the beginning of each math section), algebra and geometry Math stamina and speed (60 math questions in one long section!), formula memorization (no formulas are given to you on the ACT), algebra and geometry, trigonometry SAT Writing/ACT English SAT ACT Number of Questions 49 multiple choice 75 multiple choice Format 2 sections, editing individual sentences (not sentences in a passage) as well as some questions based on short passages (Improving Paragraphs questions) 1 section, questions asked alongside 5 long passages Subject Matter Punctuation, number agreement, parallel sentence structure, correct tense, diction and word choice, improving paragraph structure Same as SAT but with more questions on rearranging sentences and paragraphs in passages for the best organization of thoughts Important Skills Grammar knowledge, logical organization of ideas in smaller context Grammar knowledge, logical organization of ideas in smaller and larger context Science SAT ACT Number of Questions No science section!! 40 multiple choice Format N/A 1 section, 7 passages - 3 data representation, 3 research summaries, 1 conflicting viewpoints Subject Matter N/A Biology, Earth science, chemisty, physics, very basic math Important Skills N/A Interpreting and making predictions based on graphs and data trends, comparing scientific opinions, understanding and interpreting the design of experiments Essays SAT ACT Overall Score Impact The essay is mandatory and accounts for a third of your Writing subscore The essay is optional and will not affect your composite score in any way Timing 25 minutes at the beginning of the test 40 minutes at the end of the test Subject Matter Wide range of prompt topics, not directly related to high school experiences All prompts usually boil down to the core question of "What do you think about the way the world is changing?" What's Next? Now the million dollar question - how do you decide whether to take the SAT or the ACT? Read about whether the ACT is easier than the SAT for you. Take an SAT practice test and an ACT practice test to see if you score higher on one test than the other - this is most foolproof way to figure out which test you should take for real. Read this guide for advice on choosing test dates and then take a look at the SAT and ACT dates for the upcoming school year to start planning! Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Innovation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Innovation management - Essay Example Therefore, the following discussion is an analytical approach to denote the various business attributes that ensure that the company ranks as the third most successful company through evaluation of its business strategies and organizational structure to acquire competence, profitability, and clientele value perceptions in the industry. Rationale for the choice of the company Since the early years of the founding, the company has been adapting to the best approaches to ensure the development and strategic production of vehicles that fit different purposes of the consumer rather than the company’s ideology to produce automotive in accordance to its forecasts of the models that will likely sell effectively. The main reasons to choosing Toyota as the best option for the study reflects on accurate execution of strategies to ensure global leadership in production and delivery to the clientele (Rosen, 2007:4). Mainly, perceptions are that the fast company operates a private market se gment on a global platform, and that it is a monopoly, however, the presence of other similar competitors producing cheap priced vehicles for developing economies and the majority middle class of the global society eradicates the notion of monopoly and implements the ideal presence of oligopoly in the market (Azar, Maurer, and Beck, 2010:4). The company establishes long-range plans and strategies and ensures that all the performances in the organization aim at achieving the established framework of executing duties in accordance to the set framework and adapting to the Just-in-time phenomenon, which aims at ascertaining and ensuring continuity in production of at a profitable rate against the competitors (Rafinejad, 2007:125). All departments in the company adapt to performance of duties in accordance to the company’s plans and the idea of motivation serves as intrinsic in stimulating growth as the unified teams engage in positive competence to ensure a continued rate of inno vation and new product development in the company (Hu?Lsmann, and Pfeffermann, 2011:45). Further, Toyota produces almost all-time cheap priced cars but exceeds Ford, which currents survives a $12.5 billion deficit, as GM stocks lag behind at a 10:1 ration in the global stock markets. Other companies like Chrysler, Peugeot, Bavaria Motor Works (BMW) suffer a similar fate of incompetence in execution of their obligations against those of the Toyota Company. Critical analysis Techniques Mainly, Toyota ensures that all the workers understand the importance of undertaking performances that reflect on the company’s long-range objectives and the fact that quality by design and specification is of the essence and poses as a necessity in the multinational corporation. The plans and motivational approaches of the company serve as intrinsic approaches to engaging the personnel into unstoppable performance and worker flexibility. Incorporation of technology serves as the integral in prod uction as the Andon devices regulates and signals employees on faulty production and ensures corrective measures are adapted precisely. The techniques applied in relation to workers to ensure that all jobs are undertaken promptly and in accordance to the specifications, also Toyota regulates approaches to ensure that a

Managing People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Managing People - Essay Example All the activities linked with diversification in the workplace intend to minimize numerous problems related to the performance of different types of roles pertaining to the job. Diversification facilitates effectual flow of communication between the employees in the organizations and helps in building transparency. In addition, it helps in increasing the cohesiveness amid the employees at large (Barack, 2005). On the other hand, equal opportunities relates to non-discrimination in the workplace. It concerns in providing fair and equal opportunities to all the employees related to the job irrespective of various factors like caste, colour, position, religion, gender along with other significant aspects (D'Almeida, 2007). The scope of the project will primarily focus on the importance of diversification as well as equal opportunities in the workplace of the organizations. In addition, few companies practicing diversification in their respective workplace and the benefits that they exp erienced will be highlighted upon. The focus of this discussion will also be laid upon the challenges that could be faced while achieving multiplicity in the workplace. Discussions relating to the Kandola and Fullerton model will be made relating to the concepts of diversification along with equal opportunities. While laying out the importance of diversification, factors concerning the demographics of the workforce will be also be taken into concern (Wylie, 2008). Importance of Diversity The term diversity refers to the process of performing multitasking functions by a company in its respective workplace. However, from an organizational viewpoint, it lays much importance upon its meaning as it concerns the overall performance of the employees of a company. It can be affirmed from a broader outlook that more the variance in the work process, more the diversification is considered. Maintaining diversification and equality in the workplace plays an imperative part as both these aspects trigger growth as well as developmental activities which benefits the whole of the organizations at large. These aspects also eradicate biasness in the workplace which is very much essential for maintaining a healthy work environment. In order to determine the significance of diversity, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that the creation of a diverse workplace is quite indispensable for any business organisation for the purpose of enhancing as well as raising its creativity and overall productivity by a considerable level. It is worth mentioning that maintaining effectual workplace diversity can support an organisation to attain its predetermined business targets through developing the performance of its entire personnel and also by mounting its operational effectiveness at large (D'Almeida, 2007). Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be stated that diversity plays a decisive part in supporting an organisation to fulfil its expected business targets by a certa in degree. However, if a consideration is made about the work demographics of England, it can be studied that the primary importance is given to the older section of the employees rather than the young generation.

Assuming we are planning to open a netball shop in Cardiff Essay

Assuming we are planning to open a netball shop in Cardiff - Essay Example dge of the staff about sports and their equipments will not only promote confidence for the business but will also provide an excellent customer service atmosphere and distinct advantage over competition who are merely reselling popular sports equipment brands. Cardiff Netball shop will be opened in Capitol, a shopping mall located at Cardiff downtown on the Queen Street. Queen Street is an ideal location to sell sport equipment and apparel business because a lot of people frequent the downtown to do their shopping. The traffic of the shoppers and the popularity of the place to shop for equipment and apparel make the Capitol an ideal location for the business. It is expected that the business will yield a healthy rate of return given the marketing strategy that will used. It is expected that in the first year of operation, Cardiff Netball Shop will have an after tax net profit of  £65,033, in the second year  £106,210 and 106,275 in the third year respectively. Cardiff Netball Shop will be retailing the most dependable athletic brands such as Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Mzuno, Wilson, Worth etch. The business however will differentiate itself from the competition by having staffs who are very knowledgeable of the products because they are sport enthusiasts themselves. Thus, customers will not only be assisted in terms of size, fit, style and design but also can be given what specific gear, equipment or apparell do they need according to their level fitness and discipline. Cardiff community will be the market of Cardiff Netball shop. Cardiff boast itself as a fit and health conscious community making it an ideal market for the business. Sports and athletic is robust in the area especially with the presence of Cardiff University where athletes and enthusiasts abound who have significant disposable income to spend on sports gear and apparel. Cardiff Netball has one direct competitor in the Cardiff community which is DW sport reselling popular athletic brands.

Intelligence Community Organization Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intelligence Community Organization - Coursework Example errorism Prevention Act of 2004 that lead in the creation of the office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) influencing in the birth of the current structure of the Intelligence. The U.S. Intelligence Community consists of 17 agencies that encompass the Intelligence Community itself. The paper describes the structure of the U.S. Intelligence Community and further illustrates whether its meeting its primary purpose. The structure of the U.S Intelligence Community consists of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) at the top, headed by the director of national intelligence (DNI); who is the principal intelligence adviser to the president. In addition, he guides other senior personnel such as the National Security Council (NSC), the Homeland Security Council (HSC) as well as leading the other 16 agencies that includes Intelligence Community (IC). According to Aldrich & Rawnsley(2013), the main agenda of the IC involves directing and coordinating the National foreign intelligence activities of the U.S. government. The principal deputy director is the second in command after the DNI then followed by four deputy directors that are responsible for the leadership in their specialized areas: office of the Deputy Director for Policy, Plans and Representatives, Office of the Deputy Director for Collection, Deputy Director for Analysis and Deputy Director for Future Capabilities (Freedman, 2014). The ODNI serves as the central Intelligence Community but all the other bodies are interconnected with the ODNI and with each other at different levels. Logan (2010) illustrates that each agency has been entitled to work independently at its own capacities and focus on area of duty but together as a unit to protect the national security. Other agencies include the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); it is an independent agency known as the America’s spy Agency, involved in collection, analyzes and disseminates intelligences about foreign nations. The Federal

The implications of the notion of the Big Society

The implications of the notion of the Big Society The Big Society was officially launched by the Prime Minister David Cameron in July 2010 (see NCVO, 2010). However, this was not the first we had heard of the Big Society. The notion was first discussed within the Conservative Party from mid 2009 (see Conservative Party, 2010), with the terminology associated with the Big Society coming to the fore in the weeks and months before, during and after the 2010 General Election campaign. At the core of David Camerons vision for revitalising both the UK and the Conservative party is what he describes as the Big Society. The concept calls for a restructuring of the relationship between state and society, with a substantial movement of power and responsibility from the former to the latter (Pattie Johnston, 2010, p2). Some view the Big Society as a positive move with the potential to transform society and address many of its problems through community led action. Others are more sceptical and resistant, viewing the Big Society as an ideologically driven move towards a do-it-yourself society, leading to further social polarisation and disadvantage. This paper will briefly explore the theoretical and political background to the Big Society before moving on to look at the potential implications and the role of Sheffield City Council in supporting the delivery of this agenda in three key areas. What is the Big Society? Put simply, the Big Society is a Government agenda that seeks to shift power from politicians to people (NCVO, 2010, p2). It represents an approach that seeks to give increased power to people to solve problems closer to where they live (Cabinet Office, 2010). Three interlinked agendas and questions are seen as key to building an understanding of the notion of the Big Society (see GOYH, 2010). Firstly, the idea of social action is seen as an important building block of the Big Society. Examples of this include supporting volunteerism and philanthropy, in an attempt to answer the question what can we do for others?. Secondly, public service reform is seen as an important element in moving towards a Big Society. This is not only about reducing red tape and bureaucracy, but importantly about increasing transparency and accountability across public services. Key to this is identifying what the state can do, and coming to some level of consensus about what role the state can and should play in key areas of public life. Finally, community empowerment and creating communities in charge of their own direction is seen as a key part of the Big Society. This will help individuals work together to identify what we can do for ourselves as a result of c ollective endeavour and action. The Big Society moves from a default position of central design and governmental provision to citizen-driven partnership across all sectors (Cabinet Office, 2010). In order to achieve this, Government envisage an approach built around a broad ecosystem made up of three levels (see figure 1), where no one player dominates another (Cabinet Office, 2010). In addition, figure 2 shows the three priorities which Government feel need to be focussed on in order to build the Big Society ecosystem and reconfigure how policy is developed and delivered (Cabinet Office, 2010). Figure 1 Figure 2 1Neighbourhood groups comprise a broad range from those with an explicit social or activism mission to those focused on local participation, engagement and community building whether informally through sports and interests or more informally in conjunction with local anchor institutions (Source: Cabinet Office, 2010) Before going on to look at the implications of the notion of the Big Society in Sheffield it seems relevant to briefly pause and examine the theoretical and political background to the notion of the Big Society. The Big Society and public policy Although closely associated with the Conservative Party, the General Election campaign of 2010, and more recently a number of policy areas developed by the Coalition Government, the Big Society idea is far from new. In some ways, the idea is as old as democracy itself. From ancient Athens on, a recurrent normative image has been that of the engaged citizen playing an active part in his or her community (Pattie Johnston, 2010, p4). Each new British government since the late 1970s has put its own spin on this idea (as evidenced in Sheffield First Partnership, 2010). David Camerons support for this idea follows this general trend, however it is a view that has not always sat comfortably with the Conservative Party. It is important to acknowledge that in rejection of Margaret Thatchers 1987 declaration that there was no such thing as society, David Cameron used his first speech as Conservative Party leader (in December 2005) to announce his belief that there is such a thing as society, its just not the same as the state (Pattie and Johnston, 2010, p5). Historically within Conservative thought the idea of the Big Society can be traced back to Edmund Burkes championing of the little platoons. These are the intermediate organisations families, communities and so on between the individual and the state. For Burke, these little platoons were a bulwark against two sources of tyranny: on the one hand, the overweening power of the state and on the other the uncontrolled demands of the mob (Pattie and Johnston, 2010, p5). Although initially the Big Society can be viewed as the opposite to Labour statism it contains distinct echoes of New Labours agenda. New Labour had intended, for instance, greater involvement of citizens and voluntary groups in decision-making and provision of services. But intentions were sidetracked somewhat by external events and by internal disputes within the Labour government (Pattie and Johnston, 2010, p5). Outside of political debate the idea of the Big Society draws on a number of social and political trends. It taps into a growing anti-politics mood among the public (Pattie and Johnston, 2010, p5) and ideas surrounding politics for an anti-political age as highlighted in the work of Mulgan (1994), Stoker (2006) and Hay (2007) (cited in Pattie and Johnston, 2010, p5). Finally, it seems worthwhile to highlight the strong links between thinking on the Big Society and the concept of social capital. Putman argued that communities rich in social capital were more efficient, happier, better-run, safer, healthier just downright nicer places to live in than communities in which social capital was lacking (Putman, 2000 cited in Pattie and Johnston, 2010, p6). Many of the positive elements of social capital are the very things that a Big Society seeks to create and sustain. The current context for the Big Society As the Conservative Liberal Democrat Coalition Government took shape in May 2010 the Big Society notion once again came to the fore. The Coalition Agreement (see HM Government, 2010) specifically makes reference to the Big Society as part of a wider focus on social action. Significantly, the Big Society was the first major policy announcement of the new Coalition Government. The Government sees the Big Society as being developed within the three-fold wider national context of; a lack of trust in politics, longstanding social problems and unprecedented challenges to public finances (see Cabinet Office, 2010). The aim is to build a society with much higher levels of personal, professional, civic and corporate responsibility; a society where the leading force for progress is social responsibility, not state control (Conservative Party, 2010, p1). What does this mean for Sheffield City Council? As set out earlier in this paper, the key principles and context for the Big Society are relatively easy to engage with and think about at a general level. The difficult questions arise when thinking about its implementation. What is clear though is that in the context of increased localism, the role of the local authority will be fundamental to its success, and to turning the Big Society rhetoric and vision in to reality (Office for Public Management, 2010, p1). The following sections build on the analysis already carried out and go on to set out the potential implications of the Big Society for Sheffield City Council in the following three main areas of; laying the foundations for the Big Society, the potential implications for the Council itself, and finally the implications for the relationship between the Council and the Voluntary, Community and Faith (VCF) Sector. Laying the foundations for the Big Society Whatever ones political persuasion, its possible to envisage how the Big Society agenda, with its emphasis on more involvement of local communities in social outcomes, could support the creation of positive change (Office for Public Management, 2010, p2). In many cases the Big Society is already happening in Sheffield. Sheffield can lay claim to innovation and best practice over a number of years in public sector reform, community empowerment (e.g. through the use of a Community Assemblies to set local priorities and allocate funding) and in its relationship with the VCF Sector. When setting the context for how the Big Society may impact on a city as large and complex as Sheffield it is important not to lose sight of what is already happening at an organisational, community and individual level. The analysis in previous sections has gone some way to setting out the varied political roots and philosophical ancestry of the Big Society notion. However, in its current form it is closely linked to the policies and ambitions of the Coalition Government. In addition, Big Society initiatives coincide with a period of austerity in public spending. Any changes in services and service delivery will inevitably be linked to cuts in much of the media and in the eyes of the public (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p3). These are both important points, as if the perception of local politicians and the wider general public is that the Big Society is driven by a particular political party or philosophical viewpoint this could present a barrier to the universal acceptance of any initiatives or legitimate outcomes that result from Big Society action. Within the local political context of Sheffield this is a particularly important point. The Council is currently in no overall control, with a Liberal Democrat Leader. In addition, many of the national issues around government policy and funding are played out in the City and receive increased media attention due to Sheffields connections with the Deputy Prime Minister. With this in mind it is important for any approach to the Big Society in Sheffield to be genuinely built from the needs of the community whether directly (e.g. through social action) or indirectly (e.g. from information collected by service delivery organisations) in order for it to be aligned to the needs and aspirations of the local community and to avoid it becoming overly politicised. For the Big Society to work, all local authority staff and stakeholders need to understand the Big Society. Local authorities will need to ensure that they effectively communicate a locally specific Big Society vision to their own staff, members and stakeholders to motivate people to work towards a common goal (Office for Public Management, 2010, p3). Implications of the Big Society for Sheffield City Council A number of factors are currently impacting on the role, nature and size of local authorities such as Sheffield. This presents a number of challenges and opportunities as the implications of the Big Society are thought through at an organisational and political level. It is clear from the limited information from central Government surrounding the Big Society that local government will be central to creating and engaging with the Big Society ecosystem, it will also have a clear role to play in delivering a number of the priorities of the Big Society. However, it is important to acknowledge that local government is part of the state (Tizard, 2010) and therefore it will be subject to continuing reform whilst also trying to engage the local community in debate about what any reforms should look like. The Big Society represents a different relationship between citizen and the state. In some ways the Big Society can replace the state but in other ways it merely represents a nudge towards a greater emphasis on the citizen, community and third sector (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p3). In many instances (and in some service areas more than others) this will require a change in mind-set, with a move from a corporate to mutual philosophy, a redefinition of the role of elected members and democracy, and in some instances giving up power and demonstrating listening (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p3). This creates a number of challenges for local Elected Members and from a theoretical perspective raises a number of interesting questions around the ideas of representative and participatory democracy (see Pearce, 2010). This in itself is not a new concept or dilemma for Elected Members. However, the Big Society agenda potentially adds a further level of complexity to this dynamic. National Government has already announced a number of Big Society policies which set the context nationally. These include, the Big Society Bank, a national Big Society day, the Localism Bill, and a new right for public sector workers to form employee-owned co-operatives and bid to take over the services they deliver. Local Elected Members and local authority managers will be called on to deliver a number of policy goals and expectations encouraged by central Government. A key role for Sheffield City Council will be in transforming government action from top-down micromanagement and one-size-fits-all solutions to a flexible approach defined by transparency, payment by results, and support for social enterprise and cooperatives (Tizard, 2010). One concern is that through devolving power down to the local level different outcomes in different localities will lead to rising inequalities not only geographically, but amongst different sectors of society. With this difference, it must be ensured that there is a consistency of opportunity (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p4). Key to ensuring that everyone benefits from the Big Society is focused activity to identify how to support complex communities or those with low social capital. Citizens with less time, resources, or quieter voices such as children and the vulnerable are in a worse position to take advantage of the new opportunities provided by these changes (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p5). With this in mind a key role for local authorities is managing any risks that may arise from new forms of provision. One view of the role of a Local Authority in the Big Society is not for control, but for quality control protecting core and essential services; protecting values and principles (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p4). Within the wider context of the Big Society a key role for Sheffield City Council as an organisation will be to create the conditions that safeguard the wellbeing of all citizens and communities, providing protection for the most vulnerable. This is already a key role for local authorities but it may become increasingly important in offsetting any disadvantage or unintentional outcomes of the Big Society. Implications of the Big Society for Sheffield City Councils relationship with the VCF Sector Within Sheffield a large amount of successful activity is already led or supported by the VCF Sector. In some instances this is wholly independent of the local authority and delivers vital services to the citizens of Sheffield. However, a substantial amount of VCF Sector activity in the City is publically funded. Over the coming years this will need to change as the pressure on public funding intensifies. There is a challenge for the VCF sector to change their funding base from grants from the public sector to a greater use of social enterprise, cooperative and mutuals. In addition, Philanthropy and increased charitable giving are regarded as key parts of the Big Society, yet it is unclear how they are to be increased and better directed (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p4). The Big Society idea sets out a larger role for social enterprises, charities and voluntary organisations in the provision of services, it also plans for a substantial transfer of control to ordinary citizens, coming together to provide for their own communities (Pattie Johnston, 2010, p2). This sets an interesting context for the relationship between Sheffield City Council and the wider VCF Sector, with local authorities having to consider how best to align their activity to and support the work of community groups, both current and emerging (Office for Public Management, 2010, p2). The relationship with the VCF Sector is integral to all three of the agendas and questions of the Big Society set out earlier in this paper. The VCF Sector is one of the key ways in which Sheffield City Council can allow local people to participate more effectively in the governance, design and delivery of services in their communities (helping to identify what the state can and should do). Through supporting community empowerment and drawing together social action the VCF Sector has a valuable contribution to make in focussing activity and providing a framework which helps individual citizens and communities identify what they can do for themselves and what they can do for others. Within local authority areas such as Sheffield the VCF Sector will need to adapt and change to the increasing responsibility placed on it by Big Society. It is widely acknowledged that there will be a need for new initiatives to emerge, but also a need to recognise the valuable resources and good practice that is already in place. Chanan and Miller (2010, p2) argue that most of the Big Society policy does not rest on the idea of communities taking over mainstream public services, although this is a view that has been caricatured by the media. It is acknowledged that few communities would want to take over statutory public services, and where they did there are no guarantees that existing problems would not exist. In many instances, where community groups want to or are able to effectively run specialist non-statutory elements of public services they are able to do so through social enterprises or by bidding for such work through established processes. Chanan and Miller (2010) go on the state that where services are statutory it is right that a certain level of accountability, standards and bureaucracy are attached to them. They do however set out an important role for the VCF Sector in complementing and co-producing public services. The underlying principle is not the state offloading public services but the state and people working together to ensure maximum value either from a public service or from a voluntary service initiated by a community group. It is this that will make public services more efficient and economical and communities more capable (Chanan and Miller, 2010, p3). However, Tizzard (2010) and NCVO (2010) have an alternative view and believe the very essence of the Big Society will lead to more social enterprise, third and community sector public service delivery. So, at one end of the potential continuum of involvement of the VCF Sector in the Big Society is the taking over of or co-production of public services. Although this may seem unlikely in the short term it is a possibility that needs to be considered and will increasingly be part of political debate. Developing ways to open up debate on this issue in Sheffield is clearly a responsibility of the democratically accountable local authority. However, at the other end of this continuum is developing an approach and local mindset where people have the power and confidence to take action where they feel it is necessary. This could be through volunteering to support local projects, causes or initiatives (existing or new), or maybe through schemes to recruit community organisers. Some infrastructure for this to take place already exists within Sheffield, but it is not consistent across all geographical areas and does not necessarily appeal to all social groups. Furthermore, it is not clear how much capacity and willingness there is for people to engage in this type of activity beyond the small army of people who are already involved (see Pattie Johnson 2010). It is acknowledged that Increased volunteering will need a framework and incentives to widen recruitment and increase the volunteer base. It should be recognised that volunteers are not a stable workforce and cannot replace aspects of the public sector like-for-like (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p4). Within Sheffield the VCF Sector needs to be supported in building their response to Big Society and building capacity to deliver the Big Society agenda is essential. A number of commentators set out the important role that Local Authorities can play in helping to ensure that the VCF Sector have the relevant skills and capacity to deliver the Big Society and in helping to build consortia that can deliver local priorities. Outside of funding, providing assets and working with partners to set up volunteer schemes, the Office for Public Management (2010) set out a number of ways in which local authorities may support the VCF Sector in working towards the Big Society. Examples include initiating and incubating new ideas, providing support and advice, sharing knowledge in order to support community initiatives, and helping to remove some of the barriers that the VCF Sector may experience when trying to do things differently. In addition, the Office for Public Management (2010) also set out the important role for local authorities in managing risk and reducing inequalities (both points discussed earlier in this paper). Above all, there needs to be an acknowledgement that the approach and involvement of the VCF Sector in the Big Society will look different in different places. These differences will be due to the different choices and decisions made by people in these localities, different levels of service need and service provision and the ethos of any new schemes that are introduced (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p2). This difference can be viewed as positive as it has the potential to deliver increased levels of competition and choice where appropriate, allowing local services to reach and support local people more effectively. However, an important point to consider is what happens in those communities and neighbourhoods where there is little or no VCF infrastructure or where people are not willing or able to engage in the Big Society. If this is just small pockets then the hope is that the enthusiasm and energy from neighbouring areas will drive activity. However, where lack of engagement is widespread and shows little evidence of developing organically what resources and mandate will local authorities have to intervene? Will it be politically and morally acceptable to allow nothing to happen in some areas, whilst others thrive in the Big Society? This is also an important consideration given that in some areas it may take longer to build the Big Society than in others. With this in mind, there is clearly a role for the local authority to work with the VCF Sector to ensure that such potentially negative aspects of the Big Society are reduced and to unite people from all sectors and parts of the community to ensure that everyone benefits. Conclusion There is still much confusion surrounding the notion of the Big Society, which remains a potentially complex and controversial area of emerging public policy. Many commentators, politicians and academics have concluded that the Big Society can be what you want it to be and that success depends on applying the principles and ideas most appropriately and effectively at a local level. This paper has only focussed on three elements which are of direct relevance to Sheffield City Council as it starts to develop its thinking around the Big Society. However, many of the issues raised will be relevant to other areas. Much is already happening which could be defined as the Big Society. The question is not if this activity and commitment will continue (as I am sure it will), but if the terminology of the Big Society will still be with us in 12 months only time will tell. The opportunity of the Big Society is surely around harnessing the new and alternative sources of ideas, energy, capacity and challenge which the current focus on the Big Society brings. Importantly, this needs to work with existing capacity, resources, enthusiasm and political will to deliver on shared outcomes that impact positively on individuals and communities. For the reasons discussed earlier in this paper some degree of oversight over Big Society initiatives is essential. The public sector, the state, and the VCF sector have important roles to play here (Sheffield First Partnership, 2010, p4). In addition, there needs to be an acknowledgment that certain approaches (e.g. volunteering, social action) will be better suited to delivering certain types of Big Society activity. However, there is still a need for the development of long term strategic approaches and the maintenance of statutory services. The Young Foundation (2010, p20) set out a useful distinction between services that can be tailored or devolved to communities, with service standards shaped or set locally and services that require central planning, delivery and oversight, with service standards set by the local authority. Where this line falls will vary locally and will be dependent on a range of factors such as need, community capacity and political will, however this is a useful way of framing the wider Big Society debate. Within the current climate of public sector cuts and reforms it is important to understand that creating a smaller state wont necessarily (or automatically) lead to a Big Society. In some areas there will be a role to play around directing resources, leadership, nurturing, support, encouragement and enabling. In the majority of cases an organisation such as a local authority has the governance and democratic accountability to carry out this role, and importantly ensure fairness and equality. However, for the Big Society to work the overall approach needs to remain fluid, dynamic and responsive. It is only through adopting such an approach that the needs and aspirations of individuals and communities can be best met. This in itself may be a challenge for large organisations such as local authorities, but it is arguably one that they need to rise to in order to make the most of the Big Society opportunities.