Distinct Features of Job Production Essay Example for Free

Distinct Features of Job Production Essay Job Shop Production usually refers to manufacturers that produce items that are one of a kind, for example, manufactures of automation systems and tooling. Manufacturers who produce a wide variety of items in very low volumes also fall into the Job shop category. For example, very large mining trucks are produced in volumes typically less than 400 annually. Each truck has thousands of components so you can imagine that there are significant challenges in production scheduling, purchasing and inventory control with this type of manufacturing company as with all Job shops. Job Production Job production involves producing a one-off product for a specific customer. Job production is most often associated with small firms (making railings for a specific house, building/repairing a computer for a specific customer, making flower arrangements for a specific wedding etc. ) but large firms use Job production too. Examples include: Designing and implementing an advertising campaign Auditing the accounts ofa large . Building a new factory Installing machinery in a factory In this system products are made to satisfy a specific order. However that order may be produced- -only once -at irregular time intervals as and when new order arrives -at regular time intervals to satisfy a continuous demand The following are the important Features of Job shop type production system: Machines and methods employed should be general purpose as product changes are quite frequent. Planning and control system should be flexible enough to deal with the frequent changes in product requirements. Man power should be skilled enough to deal with changing work conditions. ? Schedules are actually non existent n this system as no definite data is available on the product. In process inventory will usually be high as accurate plans and schedules do not exist. Product cost is normally high because of high material and labor costs. Grouping of machines is done on functional basis (i. e. as lathe section, milling section etc. ) This system is very flexible as management has to manufacture varying product types. Material handling systems are al so flexible to meet changing product requirements. Key benefits of Job production include: work is generally of a high quality high level of customisation is possible to meet the customers exact requirements significant flexibility is possible, especially when compared to mass production. performing Disadvantages include: higher cost of production requires the use of specialist labour (compare with the repetitive, low-skilled Jobs in mass production. slow compared to other methods of production. Essential features There are a number of features that should be implemented in a Job production environment, they include: Clear definitions of objectives should be set. Clearly outlined decision making process. Batch production is a manufacturing used to produce or process any product in BATCHES, as opposed toa CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION process, or a one-off production. The primary characeristic of batch production is that all components are completed at a workstation before they move to the next one. Batch production is popular in bakeries and in the manufacture of sports shoes, pharmaceutical ingredients, inks, paints and adhesives . Batch Production Batch production is the manufacture of a number of identical articles either to meet a specific order or to meet a continuous demand. Batch can be manufactured either- -only once -or repeatedly at irregular time intervals as and when demand arise -or repeatedly at regular time intervals to satisfy a continuous demand The following are the important Features of batch type production system: As final product is somewhat standard and manufactured in batches, economy of scale can be availed to some extent. Machines are grouped on functional basis similar to the Job shop manufacturing. ? Semi automatic, special purpose automatic machines are generally used to take advantage of the similarity among the products. Labor should be killed enough to work upon different product batches. In process inventory is usually high owing to the type of layout and material handling policies adopted. Semi automatic material handling systems are most appropriate in conjunction with the semi automatic machines. Normally production planning and control is difficult due to the odd size and non repetitive nature of order. There are inefficiencies associated with batch production. The production equipment must be stopped, re- confgured, and its output tested before the next batch can be produced. Time between batches is known as down time. Batch production is useful for a factory that makes seasonal items or products for which it is difficult to FORECAST demand. There are several advantages of batch production; it can reduce initial capital outlay because a single production line can be used to produce several

Dog Training Essay Example for Free

Dog Training Essay Training dogs has become my personal hobby for the past __ years. While I do not gain any financial benefit from this activity, I am able to derive entertainment and satisfaction from it. In fact, it has allowed me to gain additional information about dogs, grow emotionally, and increase my patience, respect, and compassion. First, my exposure to dogs enabled me to learn more about the canine species and their behavior. Dogs have specific characteristics that vary based on their breed. For example, the temper of a Golden Retriever is different from a Lhassa Aphso with the latter being relatively upbeat than the former. Second, I was able to grow emotionally and become more considerate of others. Dogs are one of the most affectionate animals both towards other dogs and human beings. It is the faithful and loyal nature of dogs that I find very moving and exceptional, to a certain extent. As I become immersed with them every day, I am able to enhance my ability of expressing my own feelings and become appreciative of others. Lastly, I became more patient, respectful, and compassionate. Training dogs requires a great deal of patience especially when the dog refuses to cooperate. However, I learned to devise strategies that would increase my patience by infusing respect and compassion in my work. I reminded myself that I have to respect the limitations of others and become more compassionate with individual differences. Indeed, dog training, as a personal hobby, benefited me in more ways than one. It taught me values that are essential for everyday living, such as respect, patience, compassion, emotional growth. To top all of these, I gained valuable information through an entertaining and fulfilling way.

Effect of Dispossession on Aboriginal Spirituality

Effect of Dispossession on Aboriginal Spirituality There remains a continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spirituality in relation to the stolen generations. Aboriginal spirituality is based on the encompassment of the Dreaming, the inextricable link with the land, totems and sacred sites and involves ceremonies, story-telling, kinship roles and responsibilities and a strong sense of cultural identity. The stolen generations involved children being forcibly removed from their families and communities and put into institutionalised missions and camps run by both the state government and the Christian Church. It was the cause of dispossession that involved colonisation, missionisation, segregation, assimilation and self-determination policies which significantly impacted Aboriginal spirituality; past, present and future. These were deliberate, calculated policies of the state and are evident in the first YouTube video, Rabbit Proof Fence Stolen Generations (March 24, 2009), where the white official points to the authorisatio n paper, this is the law, and physically removes the three native Aboriginal girls from their mother showing signs of inhumane brutality. Through these policies, Aboriginal land, spirituality, culture and Dreaming were lost never mention Aboriginality. This, along with the crying scenes in video two, Rabbit Proof Fence Documentary forced removal scene, shows the emotional impact that it had on the actors as well as on all the victims of the Stolen Generation. This video depicts the traumatic psychological effects the stolen generation era had on the actors themselves, who emotionally broke down into tears having to act in these roles. This illustrates how the loss of family and spiritual ties caused such devastation. This disconnection from the families, communities and thus, from the elders resulted in the inability to pass down necessary knowledge to the next generation that is needed to keep Aboriginal spirituality holistic, living and dynamic as there is a strong need for oral teaching and learning. The prohibition of practicing Aboriginal spirituality led to the loss of religious traditions, culture, language, ceremonies and identity, was also evident in video three, History in the making: Pain of Stolen Generation lives on, at the age of three, Helen Moran was given a new identity and a new family. Since these children were physically separated from their elders who held their spiritual knowledge along with being physically separated from the land and their sacred sites, there was a loss of identity, from their Aboriginal gender and kinship roles and responsibilities, totemic connection to sacred sites and the inability to perform ceremonies. Helen Moran states, we lost everybody, we lost each other, we lost our grandparents, we lost our whole family, they changed our names, they changed our whole heritage, our identity. This had a continuing effect on Aboriginal spirituality as it broke up families, communities and led to many social and emotional problems. As a result of the continuing effect of dispossession, Aboriginal spirituality has been destroyed overtime, driving them to negative, on-going, long-term problems such as alcoholism, drug abuse, lack of educational achievement, economic opportunity, lowered living standards,; lowered life expectancy, and higher infant mortality rate. Helen Morans personal experience epitomises her emotional trauma the worst thing for me is the idea that this man (Helen Morans biological father) died with his children hating him and blaming him, you lose your children, you struggle through life, mental illness, addiction and you die a lonely sad death with nobody around you. Helen concluded, I wish I had the chance to learn the truth which exhibits how the loss of truth and Aboriginal spirituality had a continuous, effect as Aboriginal family members, victims of the Stolen Generation, still search for their true cultural identity and heritage in the quest to find their spirituality. In summation, such dispossession, violent and physical removal of native Aboriginal children from their parents demolished Aboriginal spirituality since the Dreaming, kinship roles and responsibilities, cultural identity, heritage, language and traditions were lost with disconnection from their elder generations. This drove modern Aboriginals to overwhelming social and emotional problems. The relationship between Aboriginal spirituality and religious traditions require the process of reconciliation. There is a strong need for reconciliation between Aboriginal spirituality and Christians due to the initial contact between the two; full of racism, classism, oppression, inequality, injustice, hate, fear and division. Aboriginal people initially beared the brunt of violence, where they were forced and threatened violently to forget their aboriginal culture, traditions and language. Instead they forcibly were made to integrate into nominal Christianity attending Church services, Sunday school and singing hymns. Western Christianity had a negative impact where falsehoods and heresies were taught to Aboriginal people, for example, The Hamitic Curse, condemning all dark-skinned humans to eternal inferiority. These falsehoods had such an immense impact that most Aboriginals voluntarily denied their Aboriginal heritage, identity, culture, traditions and language because they we re forced to believe in the falsehoods and were concerned with their personal sins rather than the institutionalised sin conducted against them. The awareness that these negative experiences were immoral was the catalyst for the process of reconciliation. A step towards hope for Aboriginal victims to restore their spirituality can be seen in the source, taken from the Lutheran Church of Australia. Aboriginal artwork in the form of a circle is positioned in the centre of the cross to illustrate the continuous existence of Aboriginal spirituality in the heart of those who converted to Lutheranism. If reconciliation is achieved, the future encompasses more hope for these victims. The source is an expression of Aboriginal theology which is the reconciled relationship between Aboriginal spirituality and modern Christianity. The sun rays in the image symbolises the cross significance and how it permeates throughout Aboriginal spirituality and emphasises the need of reconciliation. The symbol of symmetry epitomises the reconciled coexistence of the two religions and the hope for continuous reconciliation. There are some Aboriginal theologians that are part of the liberal tradition. Rev. Dijimiyini Gordarra and Pastor Cecil Grant from Churches of Christ individually helped reconcile Aboriginal spirituality with the Uniting Church in 1970 by contextualising the gospel for Aboriginal people. In 1985, Rev. Arthur Malcolm, the first Aboriginal Anglican Assistant Bishop in Australia was deeply committed to reconciliation and thus, counselled and nurtured Aboriginal people throughout their painful experiences, hopes and visions. The Catholic Church attempted acts of rec onciliation when Pope John Paul II visited Alice Springs in 1986 and stated There is the need for just and proper settlement that lies unachieved in Australia. Aboriginal story-telling theology is another pathway to allow Aboriginal victims to remember their Aboriginal spirituality as well as embrace their Christianity. In this way, Aboriginal people reconcile their heritage with their Christianity as they are taught Biblical scriptures through Dreaming Stories which makes the gospels more meaningful and relevant to the Aboriginal way of life. The reconciliation and unity between Christianity and Aboriginal spirituality can be seen in the source where the cross is made using traditional Aboriginal witchetty grubs. There have been many other movements towards reconciliation. The Uniting Church and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian Congress organised an exchange program called About Face, where 150 non-Indigenous people aged from 18 to 30 lived in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. As a sign of reconciliation, a friendship was built when Aboriginal Pastor Ricky Manton and his wife Kayleen were invited to St. Augustines Anglican Church to perform a service. Leaders from many religious traditions gathered in order to fight against Howard Governments attack on the Wik legislation. Other religious traditions, like Judaism and Islam, have assisted in the reconciliation process. A Jewish couple, Tom and Eva Rona, funded the Rona-Tranby project that recorded oral history with the help of Aboriginal Elder Eliza Kennedy. The Muslim community in Australia is most supportive of Aboriginal reconciliation on spiritual, moral, humanitarian and prudential pragmatic ground  [ 1]  is a claim of Islamic assistance in the process of reconciliation. Many faiths like Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism have also assisted in the process of reconciliation. This is evident in The Week Of Prayer For Reconciliation that began in 1993 where they shared the same goal of reconciliation exhibited through dedication to prayer, thought and reflection on acts of unity. In conclusion, there have been many efforts to encourage the process of reconciliation between Aboriginal spirituality and religious traditions and there needs to be continuous support in this subject. The symmetrical elements in the source, taken from the Lutheran Church of Australia, are powerful examples of how artwork has symbolised the co-existence of both traditions. Steps towards reconciliation in the form of proactive movements also provide hope for the victims who had suffered the horrendous effects of spiritual deprivation. Ecumenical developments and interfaith dialogue are of immense significance in Australia. Ecumenical developments are movements that promote cooperation, discussion and unity between different Christian denominations, focusing on what brings sects together, rather than what pulls them apart. Such movements are important to Australia as different Christian denominations unite to solve Australian youth, spiritual, environmental, social and justice issues, spreading peace and harmony. Interfaith dialogue is the cooperative communication between different religious traditions and their adherents. These promoted understanding, peace and a strong sense of belonging between many religious traditions. Non-denominational approach is a method of ecumenical development where it focuses on ignoring differences between different Christian denominations. Such movements can be of great importance to Australia. For example, the Australian college of Theology (ACT) strengthens Australias education system. ACT began in 1898 when Anglicans within Australia gathered resources to produce tertiary courses and exams at every Anglican college. It was linked to universities across Australia and was credited by the NSW Higher Education Board. It became non-denominational when there was more non-Anglican than Anglican students. It was a strong organisation due to the ecumenical movement which increased its efficiency and offered a common program amongst people. Other examples of a non-denominational approach towards ecumenical developments include youth associations such as Girls Brigade and Young Mens Christian Association. Such organisations builds trust between the different denominations involve d. This trust would result in a community that is based on trust, kindness and friendship, creating a stronger witness to the community. Ecumenical developments, in the form of interdenominational approaches, are increasingly evident and significant in Australian culture. Such approaches are those that are collaborative and the goal is to provide opportunities for negotiation between different Christian denominations. This is important to Australia as it creates a sense of unity, belonging, commonality and acceptance on many levels. It begins when Christians from different denominations interact with each other and, hence, leading to communal discussion. An example of this is the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and Reconciliation. This is conducted with a united goal to reach a state of complete reconciliation, relieving many denominations from tension, violence and unnecessary conflict. Many denominations hope for denominational dialogue to act as a facilitator to develop new relationships by exchanging ministers to perform services. Such exchanges are known as pulpit exchanges. Christmas Bowl Appeal, Force TEN and the House Of Welcome are other instances of ecumenical movements where many denominations unite to build fundraising programs. These assist Australia by providing it with a positive reputation in charitable work, These projects show how the kindness of Australians can make a practical difference in the lives of people very far from our shores  [2]  Some of these projects, like House of Welcome, are vital in Australia as they support refugees that have been newly released in Australia by providing them with accommodation and employment. Through these charitable organisations, different denominations bond together and form strong relationships. Ecumenism is important in Australia at a family level. It promotes family through interchurch marriages. This is seen when both the Catholic and Uniting Church composed an agreement on interchurch marriages as a gift to the church. Ecumenism is also helpful in reducing duplication of material, which in turn increases efficiency. This is seen in The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), where the Catholic and Anglicans prepared doctrine works on common beliefs of the faith. In 2001, the Catholic and Protestant churches united in Australia for the National Church Life Survey where 500,000 adherents from 20 different denominations actively participated in. Such union encourages tolerance and reduces aggression and violence. It in the larger scheme of things reduces racial and spiritual discrimination and attack. Australia is a multicultural and multifaith country and, hence, would benefit from embracing unity of different denominations within Christianity. Deeper ecumenical developments are those that embrace differences. With these movements, comes appreciation and recognition of uniqueness in order to enrich the relationship and focus on commonalities, like the common belief in one supreme God. The deepest level of ecumenism involves overcoming differences and primarily aiming for unity between different denominations. These achievements ultimately bring social justice, peace, harmony and understanding in Australia. The common need and view of religion around the world has resulted to an increase in the search for cooperation and unity since 1945 in Australia. Interfaith dialogue is even more important than ecumenism since the people uniting are separated by greater differences. Since WWII, interfaith dialogue has allowed Australia as a whole to change its attitude towards other religious traditions other than Christianity. It has allowed Christianity and its adherents to recognise their faults and mistreatment against other religious traditions errors at best and works of devils at worst. Interfaith dialogue assists in opening interaction between different people and maintains a multicultural Australian society. It also builds harmony in Australian context as it aims to achieve common goals between religious groups. Interfaith dialogue also addresses division, concern and any ongoing religious conflict such as the Cronulla Riots. It supports and embraces differences. Interfaith dialogue depicts the desire of Australias religious traditions to engage with each other and with the world as it is extremely important to do so in the 21st century. There is strong evidence of interfaith dialogue in Australia and this has been depicted in acts of cooperation between religious traditions in Australia. In 2001, Anzac Day, Christian ministers and Buddhist monks both took part in the services at St. Marys Cathedral. This encouraged unity among Australians as they honoured soldiers in the heart of Sydneys CBD. The Victorian Jewish-Christian Dialogue Committee, The Muslim-Christian Council which together prayed for peace in Ambon, Indonesia and the Multifaith Religious Services Centre which ran at the Sydney Olympics are other examples of interfaith dialogue. Leaders of Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and other communities together assisted with the $2 million Grifith University Multi-faith Centre showing how unity expresses great strengths and benefits to the Australian community. It brought peace in Sydney 2001, after the terrorist attack, where Muslim, Hindu, Buddhists and many denominations of Christians united at a multifaith prayer vigil.

Ethics In Computer Science Computer Science Essay

Ethics In Computer Science Computer Science Essay Information technology has revolutionized most aspects of our life. Information has altered significantly areas such as entertainment, commerce, medicine and employment. Information is affecting both positively and negatively our daily lives. Information and communication technology (ICT) has transformed our relationships, family and community lives, careers and education, freedom and democracy. Issues around ethics deal with concepts such as what is good or evil, the issues that are right or wrong and virtue or vices. Ethics or moral philosophy investigates concepts of good and evil behavior. Philosophers group ethical issues in three major areas. Metaethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. Metaethics analyzes the genesis of ethics. It questions where ethical values come from. Normative ethics deals with the tasks that regulate right and wrong conduct. It articulates good behavior and investigates consequences of our conduct towards others. Finally, applied ethics analyses cont roversial issues like animal rights, homosexuality and abortion. Ethics in computer science is in the broadest sense revolves around computing professionals and the decisions they make especially on professional and social front. Computer and information ethics investigates ethical and social effects of ICT. Ethical decisions that one makes revolves around the individuals personal code, code of conduct in the context of a work place and how exposed one is especially on the code of ethics. Computer ethics thus forms a branch of practical philosophy that explains the manner in which professionals in computing need to make decisions concerning their profession and social conduct (ACM Council Par. 5). Ethical issues identification and there definitions, has been for the longest time causing much trouble. There are various problems solving method used in issues related to computer ethics. The most common one follow a procedure, which begins with stating the ethical problems, followed by facts checking, and then a list of options generated by making con siderations concerning important factors that are in one way, or the other connected to the problem. The Association for computing machinery (ACM) and the members of IEEE has recognized the significance of technology in life quality impact worldwide. As an effect, they have taken into consideration to obligate their members and the committee as a whole to practice ethics and professional conducts as stipulated. The ACM code of ethics and professional conduct proposes a set of guidelines as a basis for making ethical decisions. The code serves as a foundation for judging the advantages of formal complains that concern the violation of professional standards of being ethical. ICT Contributes to society and human well-being. Communication not only improves the well-being of the society but human race as a whole. Each person has fundamental human rights protection that needs to consideration. In addition, there should be respect for all the diverse culture that we have. Computing professional should work towards reduction of negative consequences resulting from computing systems. These range from threats to health to negative social issues. During system design or implementation, computing professionals should ensure that their products are socially responsible and meets the required social standards. They should not result to any kind of harm to the health and welfare of individuals. Computer professionals should thus make decisions with the public welfare in mind and always disclose factors that might threaten the environment as a whole. They should also prevent harm at all costs. These should include prevention of negative impact, like loss of information, loss or damage of property as well as any undesired environmental. The computing professionals should take caution from taking part in any practice that will cause harm. These harmful practices are like; intentional destruction, file modifications, modification of programs that might lead to serious loss of useful resources thus causing unnecessary expenditure of other resources like time. On the other hand, there are practices that might accidentally lead to harm. In such a condition, the people responsible should undo or mitigate the side effect as much as they can. For the harm prevention, the computing professionals need to minimize malfunctions by following accepted standards for designing sand testing systems. Under the working environment, the professionals should report any danger on the system that might end up resulting to fatal or minor accident. If the organizations superiors do not take any action concerning the matter, it is much significant to blow the whistle for the problem correction. ` Reporting of violations can be much harmful in it self. Before making anyone can report on any matter, all necessary aspects of the matter need assessing thoroughly. The assessment of risks and the responsibility has to be credible. Trustworthiness and Honesty; the essential component of trust is honesty (IEEE Board of Directors, Par. 3). When an organization lacks hon esty, there is no effective functioning. Computing professionals should be honest, as they are not supposed to make any deliberate false or claims that are deceptive concerning system design or system as a whole. Nevertheless, they should provide full disclosure of all limitations and problems facing a particular of pertinent system. It is the responsibility of computer professionals to be honest about their qualifications. They should offer any condition that may lead to conflict of interest. In other terms, the professional have to be honesty and much realistic when stating claims based on the data they do have. Honesty helps them avoid perceived conflicts of interests whenever possible, as well as making them disclosed to those parties affected, they should also reject all forms of bribery. This will help in seeking, accepting and offering criticisms of technical work, making acknowledgements as well as crediting others contributions clearly. Stating correct qualifications will assist in the maintaining technical competence. Being a volunteer member in some of the organizations like ACM and IEEE can also cause more confusion especially if such an individual makes certain statements or acts in a certain way. Such statements or acts can have more weight than necessary. Members of ACM and IEEE therefore should exercise caution. This will ensure that they are not interpretated wrongly. Fair Actions and Decisions, Equity, tolerance, respect among other virtues and other principles that leads to equal justice. These values should govern the computing professionals. Sexual, racial, religion, age discrimination among other distinctions, is an open violation of ACM and IEEE policies. Inequalities among different groups of individuals might be because of misuse of technology and information. In a fair community, all individuals needs to be treated equally because all have equal chances of participating or benefiting from the computer resource usage, regardless of their dividing factors like age or sex. On the other hand, this principle does not approve the use of unauthorized computer resources nor do they allow enough foundation for the violation any other ethical principle of these codes. Property Rights as a Patents Need to be honored. Violation of patents, trade secrets, copyrights as well as agreed terms of license, should be prohibited. Even using the unprotected software is a violation that is against professional behaviors. Software copies should be created if and only if proper authorization procedure had been followed. Respect other persons privacy and confidentiality; communication and computing technology helps during collection and exchange of peoples information on a scale that is unprecedented in the civilization history. As effect, there are high chances that might lead to the violation of individual and groups privacy. The professional has been obligated to maintain privacy and data integrity that describes an individual. This involves taking precautions that ensures that data accuracy as well as its protection from unauthorized access, accidental disclosure to unintended people is minimized. In addition, procedures have to be installed to give room to individuals receive their records and make corrections appropriately. The principle imply that, only part of individuals information be collected in a system. Therefore, the retention and the periods of disposal for the information need to be defined and indicated clearly. Information that belongs to someone should not be used be used for other unstated purposes, without the owners consent. This should apply especially on electronic mail. Monitoring electronic data without permission from the owner of the massage is unacceptable. Information observed during system maintenance should be handled with a lot of confidentiality. If for any reason, the content or nature of that information has to be disclosed, the proper authorities should be provided with such information. The principle of honest is broad. It includes privacy and confidentiality of all information. This applies whenever an individual has made an explicit promise of honoring confidentiality. Finally, computer professionals should understand the needs of users of computer systems. Users should clearly spell out their needs to assist during assessment and when designing the systems. The systems also need validation in order to be sure that they meet the required standards. The needs of current and potential system user whose lives are affected directly must be incorporated when developing the systems. In order for these systems to be validated, they should comply with this requirement. Implementation of policies that protect the personal dignity and privacy of users should be enhanced. Information regarding principles and limitations of computer systems should be availed for users. Courses that enable them to familiarize with consequences and limitations of the systems should be developed. Education is essential in making the users participate and to making them aware of the dangers of the computing systems.

Impact Of New Media On Internal Communications Media Essay

Impact Of New Media On Internal Communications Media Essay Cornelissen (2008) defines internal communications as communication with employees internally within the organization (pg195) He also went further to state that the emergence of new inventions in technologies like internet blogs and emails has evolved into messages not just been restricted to the confine of the office, but have faded the boundaries between internal and external communications. This translates to the fact that employees can now distribute information about an organization or even a co-employee electronically to outside stakeholders and they can share their views and publish their grievances as well as organise and demand action from the organization. With access to email, blogs and social networking sites for sharing corporate information, many employees become corporate communications professionals themselves. Before the advent of World Wide Web, media communication as means of mass communication was to a large extent one-sided. Newspapers were written by a few people and read by thousands; television programmes (including news and documentaries) were made by a few people and watched by thousands; books were typically written by one person and read by thousands. Internal communications was no different. Employee newsletters were typically developed by a handful of employees and disseminated to the entire workforce. The advent of Web 2.0, which brought with it a clutch of new technologies such as social networking websites, blogs, etc., changed this nature of few-to-many communication. These new technologies allowed everyone to participate in the discussion. Suddenly, communication was not communication at all; it became discussion i.e from one way to two way method of communication. This is a fundamental shift in perspective. In the workplace, the roles and explicit power of the players however have not changed. The employers are still the employers with the power to hire and fire employees; the employees are still employees who are bound by their employment contracts to their employers and are most times to be seen and not heard. Hence it is interesting to examine if there has been a change in the nature of internal communication within the workplace as a result of the advent of the new media. This paper attempts to examine the ways in which each new major technology has changed the nature of internal communications, and concludes with a view towards the future. 2.0 New Media inside the Workplace Holtz (2006) points out that any technology that becomes a commonly used tool on the Internet will find its ways onto Intranets. There is always a lag between the widespread adoptions of the new technology and the adoption of the technology by corporations. Holtz is also of the opinion that this is because business leaders tend to dismiss new technologies with contempt, viewing them as nothing more than diversions for youngsters and computer nerds. (pg22). These business leaders will eventually see a different side to this as the roles between the old and new media is obviously changing, or should I say have changed? Companies used to rely on the intranet and emails to communicate with their employees, so also face to face, but with the emergence and infiltration of new media into peoples lives, communication has taken a totally different form, and it is bound to improve in years to come. According to Henneman 2010, Gartner Inc, a research and advisory firm have predicted that social networking will replace email as the primary form of communication for 20% of business users by 2014. 2.1 Instant Messaging A prime example of this is the use of instant messaging. Initially no corporate use of instant messaging was found to be acceptable. However, as the technology began to be used more and more widely, it began to be adopted by corporations. Today instant messaging is used by a large number of companies to provide customer support, and to facilitate internal communications. Within the corporate network, especially within large corporations, instant messaging represents a non-intrusive method by which two employees can communicate. If two employees speak over the phone, the conversation may not be private because it is conducted in an office cubicle where conversations are easily overhead. Instant messaging on the other hand allows two employees to communicate without making any noise whatsoever, and therefore the conversation can remain private. Instant messaging also allows these two employees to communicate without moving from their cubicle. Isaacs et al (2002) find that social use of instant messaging (IM) has a rather different nature compared to the use of instant messaging in the workplace. They find that whilst social use of IM is short, quick and the users multitask when chatting using IM. Media switching is also very common. However, the use of IM in the workplace is slightly longer, and therefore comparable to other impromptu conversations such as face to face conversations, phone calls, etc. Media switching was also not common. Two main styles of use could be identified, namely working together and coordinating. Working together involved the use of IM For a number of collaborative activities, such as multipurpose discussions. The conversations are rather intense, with threading of the messages. Pairs of employees who work together tend to use IM more frequently, and for working together. The use of IM for coordinating on the other hand is often with the objective of scheduling interactions in other mediums. The conversations here are slow paced, with fewer and longer turns and little threading and multitasking. Cameron and Webster (2004) find that the success of the use of IM depends on whether a critical mass of users has been established. They also find that employees use IM as a replacement for other communication media and also as an additional method for reaching others. Both Cameron and Webster (ibid) and Herbsleb et al (2002) find that IM is used in internal communication where informal communication generally takes place. 2.2 Social Networking Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Skeels and Grudin (2009) report that the use of social networks websites are increasing in the workplace. They opine that the nature of use of social media in the workplace, the impact of this use on productivity, and the nature of any evolution in enterprise-friendly use are all open questions. Their study finds that the use of social networks often creates tensions which span social groups and the organisations firewall, That is to say, the impact of the use of social networking websites can have an influence not only on the internal communications but also on the image and business of the organisation externally. Furthermore, they find that the use of social networking websites have only weak ties to productivity. 2.3 Blogging and Micro-blogging Ehrlich and Shami (2010) examine the use of micro-blogging in the workplace and find that confidentiality issues separate micro-blogging inside the workplace and outside the workplace. Micro-blogging was however relatively widely used, for the following main purposes: Conversation and help from colleagues internal micro-blogging allowed the employees to have conversations with their colleagues in an environment that was perceived to be familial. As the discussions were kept within the corporate boundaries, they believed that constructive criticism could be voiced, and to seek for help. The sense of belonging to the organisation also gave some employees an obligation to help others and actively search for colleagues who needed help. Real time information sharing and awareness One of the main benefits of internal micro-blogging was that it allowed employees to gain information in real time. It allowed for the free sharing of information as well as ideas. Reputation management The authors of posts in the micro-blogging also attempted to use this activity as a method of reputation management. They published information that was of use to a wide variety of people not only with the desire to help their audience but also with a desire to enhance their reputation as having access to the latest information. Feeling connected micro-blogging helped create a sense of interconnectedness and familiarity, especially amongst mobile workers. This was partly because micro-blogging did not focus solely on work-related topics but also included personal topics. 2.4 Wikis Hilska (n.d.) examines the effects of the implementation of a wiki-based intranet. He finds that wikis have multifarious uses in such a work environment such as writing the minutes of meetings, publication of news and announcements, task management, project management, documentation, for use as home pages for individuals, departments and work groups, etc. Wikis therefore can be said to be used for both internal communication as well as collaborative work. He also finds that there is a lot to be gained from the use of wikis, such as enabling people to participate in internal communication, participate in collaborative projects, share information, seek for information from colleagues, and manage work. Wikis also facilitate easy authorship by all the employees in an organisation. The main disadvantage of using wikis that was identified is that it was difficult to find relevant and up to date information. 3.0 Discussion Fidler (1997) points out that the rise of the new media is but one wave of change amongst many others that have occurred in the past. He points to the changes in communication that can be traced back from the time of recorded history, such as the invention of the telegram message, the invention of the telephone, the printing press, etc. In all of these changes that have been introduced into communication, it can be said that the principle of survival and delayed adoption has held true. The different forms of media, as well as media enterprises will adapt and evolve in response to the changing environment, otherwise they will become extinct. The forms of communication will evolve, such that the older forms of communication will no longer be used. The telegram for example, became quite irrelevant when telephones were invented and widely adopted. As VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology matures and becomes more usable, the migration of users to the Internet may well render the telephone obsolete. The Apple iPhone for example facilitates videoconferencing between users directly using the Internet. This technology is therefore already sufficiently mature and established. What remains is for the adoption of the technology and crossnetwork adoption of common protocols. The main question that arises from the discussion above is, as the nature of communication has changed from a few-to-many style of communication to a discussion in which a large segment of the traditional audience participate in the communication, how has the nature of communication in the workplace changed? Lengel and Daft (1989) make the important point that the selection of medium of communication has an impact on the meaning of the message. This collaborates with other findings discussed above that IM is generally preferred for informal communication. Holtz (2006) also explains that the employee is not just an employee 24/7; he is also a customer, shareholder, etc. Hence internal corporate communication cannot always be distinguished from external corporate communication. Indeed the use of the new media for whistleblowing and activism is very high (Walter, 2009). The author agrees with van Dijk (2006, pg. 240) who states that new media has the effect of organising the entities engaged in the communication or discussion. As the media facilitates both public and private discussions, the choice of medium of communication reflects the desire of the initiator of the communication to have the contents of the conversation be public, or kept private. Furthermore, new media always provides an electronic record of the communication. This facilitates the verification of the message and authorship of the message. This helps to provide structure to the collection of individuals who collectively use the media. Within corporate environments, it can be seen that organisations that have a relatively flat structure generally employ new media to a greater extent than those that have a rigid and bureaucratic structure. The flat structure allows for open communication, and the consequent formation of societal structures with the use of new media. It encourages pa rticipation and interaction by opening a door of opportunity for employees to speak their minds. Rooksby et al (2009) provide an excellent overview of the use of new media in the workplace. They explain that internally new media technologies are often used to locate the person who would know the answer to a question, rather than to find the answer to the question itself. One of the reasons for this could be that as the economy becomes more and more knowledge based, the answers that are sought could be implicit knowledge and not codified. This use of new media for expertise finding represents an opportunity for the people in the organisations to share their expertise. This in turn facilitates organisational learning, knowing and judging peoples competencies, the creation of ad hoc teams to solve time-critical problems, and generally developing social capital. They further explain that information itself is not a scare resource any longer, but time and attention are. Social networking technologies help people deal with information overload by finding the right person, source of help. These technologies help people become connected, and to share and consume information. This in turn leads them to form social connections, satisfying the human need to connect to people in their vicinity. Rooksby et al (2009) state that social capital is difficult to quantify; it is also difficult to identify its exact influence on the productivity of an organisation. However, the formation of social relationships that is facilitated by the social networking technologies helps to build trust, reciprocity, and understanding between the workers in an organisation. This is clearly very important for the success of the organisation. Cornelissen (2008, pg. 194) explains that organisations require employees to cooperate in order to achieve the companys goals. Todays organisations are often large corporations with a large number of employees. These employees are frequently required to perform highly specialised tasks, resulting in efficiency payoffs. These tasks however need to be coordinated, such that together they create value for the organisation. The organisation has to balance its own needs as well as the needs of its employees in order to ensure that they remain motivated and happy. Internal communication therefore serves a number of purposes, such as to fulfil the needs of the employees. Raeth et al (2010) narrate that the cycle of adoption of new media can be described as having three distinct phases, namely the idea phase, the project phase and the use and impact phase. The idea phase is when the idea for the development and deployment of new technology is put forward inside the organisation. This idea phase moves forward when there is support from management, proper justification for the project, funding, etc. When development is initiated, then the adoption of the new technology is said to move to the project phase. Here the actual system is developed and deployed. When it is adopted by the rank and file employees, then the adoption is considered to have moved to the use and impact phase. In this phase, the new systems are used, and the benefits are facilitated by training, communication and advocation. There is also analysis as to whether the systems are successful in achieving the desired goals. Rooksby et al (2009) also highlight that one of the major problems associated with the use of social media is time wasting. The time spent by employees in social networking websites is not always productive, and this could lead to significant wasted time. Furthermore, there are also concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of information that is published on new media technologies, such as blogs and social networking websites. In workplace uses, there is a similar concern about the maintenance of confidentiality of information. Cornelissen (2008, pg. 194) explains that new media technologies have served to blur the boundaries between internal and external communications. This means that the communications that would otherwise have remained within the organisation are sometimes disseminated outside the organisation. 4.0 Conclusion The author contends that new media has indeed changed society, and consequently the nature of internal communications, as described by Popp (2009). As the world has become more and more globalised, this is reflected in the changes in society where people have friends and family all over the world. New media facilitates interaction between these people in far flung geographical areas. Herman and McChesney (2001) rightly state that communication is becoming more important in todays globalised economy. Society is also changing, as it is becoming more open, democratic and activist in nature. New media has certainly been a facilitating factor to this change, but it is important to note that society itself could be said to have been ready for change. Without this, new media alone would not have been able to effect any change. The author opines that in line with these changes in the wider society, a similar change in internal communications (in the delayed adoption fashion) is also already occurring. New organisations tend to have a flat structure, which is more democratic. The use of social media for internal communications allows for the effective communication of employees in far flung geographical locations. A prime example of this is the organisation which supports one of the most well known open source databases in the world, MySQL. The employees in this organisat ion are scattered all over the world, and have to rely on new media for communication. The rise of democracy can be thought to coincide with the rise in organisations with a flat structure. For these reasons, it can be said that the changes inside the workplace mirror the changes in wider society to a large extent, with a delay. The new media does indeed bring a number of benefits to the corporate entity, just as they do to the wider society, such as creating relationships, enabling collaboration and communication, etc. Klopper (2010) also states that internal communications tools create the opportunity for employees to not only ask questions but to answer them, increasing their visibility as an influencer in their niches. He refers to a study done by IBM which looked at over 5000 posts by their employees who use an internal IBM micro-blog called blue twit which though similar to twitter but can only be used internally, it was revealed that employees benefitted as they saw their interaction on bluetwit as family conversation because users could constructively criticise company products. As a result, people were able to use this tool to engage in a two way communication. Hence in conclusion, it has been noted that the new media of the past is the old media of today. Change is inevitable, and it has been seen that internal communications within the workplace often tends to be a reflection of the general nature of communications in the wider society, and has helped companies recognise the fact that they need to keep changing in order to meet up or surpass their competitors and in so doing not lose manpower and company reputation due to absence of employee engagement. Hayes (2010) notes that some organizations probably fail to recognise the need for change until they have little choice but to react to an unforeseen situation. Naslund (2010) believes that social media and communities are as distinctive as the businesses in which they exist.. Undoubtedly building internal communities and introducing social media initiatives can be an effective method in building the brand, exchange opinions, discuss freely and encourage employee engagement and interaction, it is also a new and refined method of identifying with the lively society that have been created within the company, so also an influential means of re-instating the facts that employees make up the framework of the company.

James Langston Hughes :: Poet Poetry

Langston Hughes One of the most promising of the young Negro poets said to me once, â€Å"I want to be a poet—not a Negro poet,† meaning, I believe, â€Å"I want to write like a white poet,† meaning subconsciously, â€Å"I would like to be a white poet;† meaning behind that, â€Å"I would like to be white.† And I doubted then that, with his desire to run away spiritually from his race, this boy would ever be a great poet. But this is the mountain standing in the way of any true Negro art in America—this urge within to race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible (Hughes, Modern Internet). As a successful writer, Langston Hughes was proud to be African American, a fact inherent in all his literary works. Hughes’ optimistic attitude that not all people are prejudiced provided impetus to take chances to get his poetry noticed. Intensely criticized by many Negro critics and intellectuals, Hughes wrote about oppression and other racial themes in his works and utilized a jazz and blues rhythm in conjunction with black urban language. James Mercer Langston Hughes’ writing was profoundly influenced by his life, his ethnicity, and the way he viewed the world around him. He never lost sight of the fact he was African American and wrote his poetry for the people not his critics or contemporaries. Vachel Lindsay greatly influenced Langston Hughes’ writing style. Hughes, wanting to hear Lindsay read his poetry and knowing he would not be allowed into the auditorium because of his ethnic background, dared to handwrite three of his poems and leave them beside Lindsay’s plate at a restaurant where Hughes worked as a busboy (Langston, Elements 378). Langston Hughes knew he would never be allowed to speak to the famous poet, and took a risk to give Lindsey handwritten poetry; he hoped the literary giant would notice and perhaps appreciate his work. Hughes was not ashamed of being African American or a busboy and that’s why he took the chance Lindsay would actually look at his work. Hughes’ ploy worked when the headlines of the local paper the next morning read that Vachel Lindsey claimed to have found the next great African American poet. Hughes, a well-educated and traveled writer by the time he was in his mid-twenties, enjoyed the clubs around Harlem, New York and other cities around the world where he traveled. These clubs heavily influenced the poetry written by Hughes.

Astronomy, why is the sky dark Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Why is the night sky dark?†(Hienrich) For thousands of years this question, also known as Olber’s paradox, has been asked. Astronomers are constantly growing closer to the answer but still no one has yet found a finite answer. As scientists relentlessly collect data hoping to find some clue as to the answer to this riddle we seem to realize that the answer may be because of something that is too mind blowing for us to comprehend. Several explanations have been considered over the years. But as of right now only about two reasons seem to answer the question at hand. Here are several explanations, some of which have been scientifically accepted and others that just simply appear to be logical. The first explanation is that there is too much dusk in the universe to see the light from distant stars. This is obviously wrong. The dust does act as a shield, making some of the light harder to see from earth. But the amount of dust that it would take to completely block out all starlight would also block out light from the sun and this is clearly not happening. A second explanation is that the Universe has a finite number of stars. Well, regardless of how finite the number of stars is, the reality is that the number of stars we do have would be enough energy to light up the entire sky. There is too much luminous matter in the Universe to allow this explanation to be correct. A third explanation is that the distribution of stars is such that some hind behind others and so the lig...