I Love School Essay

Sixteen years after a sixteen-year-old wrote this book, Francis Ford Coppola turned this novel into a movie. The book is a coming-of-age novel, but the movie focuses on the characters’ loss of innocence. The movie follows the story line very closely. The reader is only told that this story takes place in the southwest, but the movie places it in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the year 1966. It also changes the conflict from the East Side versus the West side to the northside versus the southside. This minor directional change was probably made due to the relative time proximity to the musical West Side Story, which won the best picture Academy Award in l961. However, as with all movies, character insight that is critical to understanding the story is lost when the format goes from the written word to the screen. Ponyboy is telling us the story, the same as in the book, but the 91-minute film only glosses over many character relationships. With the exception of Ponyboy, the viewer misses out on knowing most of the novel’s characters. Darry and Soda are relatively minor characters in the movie, and the viewer is given little insight into their lives. The same is true for the rest of the gang, even Dally. Dally’s death loses much of its impact because viewers aren’t able to get to know him. Only the reader is aware of the fact that Dally’s gun is unloaded, and the symbolic death of Dally in the spotlight is gone. Johnny’s character is also weaker in the movie than the book. Viewers don’t see the growth in his character, because they don’t know Johnny. Johnny’s appreciation for life at the end of his own is barely noted, but it has great impact on Pony in the novel. The whole point of the telling of Ponyboy’s story is to give meaning to Johnny’s death. Johnny had wanted Ponyboy to tell Dally certain truths, and given that Dally is dead, Pony writes this story down for all of the Dallys in the world: â€Å"Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore.† The movie and book do begin and end with the same lines, the difference being, only readers understand the meaning behind them.

Moral/Ethical Implications of Euthanasia

Euthanasia refers to the act of removing support systems for the maintenance of life of a person suffering from a terminal or grave illness. Despite the negative arguments put forward against euthanasia, at least four ethical philosophies support the practice of euthanasia. Among these are utilitarianism, Kantianism, egoism, and emotivism. Each of these moral philosophies shall be discussed below to provide support to the practice of euthanasia. Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is an indispensable word in the study of normative ethics, whether it is medical, legal, or other professional ethics (Merriam-Webster Online). Indeed, utilitarianism could provide sufficient arguments against or in favor of removing life support systems of one who appears to have no hope of recovery from an illness. Utilitarianism, the theory that could either save a life or relieve pain and suffering in the above situation, has been entered in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary as â€Å"a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of its consequences; specifically: a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number (Merriam-Webster Online).† Utilitarianism is anchored on the principle called the â€Å"Greatest Happiness Principle,† which holds as morally right or ethical such actions that promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number (Mill). John Stuart Mill explained the said principle in his work entitled Utilitarianism in 1863. He explained, thus: The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote    happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of   Ã‚   pleasure (Mill). Utilitarianism still exists at the present as a strong argument in favor of many ethical issues, such as the propriety of euthanasia. Applying utilitarianism to such a scenario, one could argue that removing the life support system would be in accordance with the â€Å"Greatest Happiness Principle.† Euthanasia would be justified under this moral philosophy because it is an act that would remove pain from the patient who, on his own, could not continue living. The same conclusion would be had if the situation is observed from the viewpoint of the patient’s family and friends, whose suffering would not be needlessly prolonged by the sight of their ailing loved one. Kantianism Kantianism is an ethical philosophy put forward by 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant (The Categorical Imperative, 2001). Kant, in his writings, presented a criterion of moral obligation that is a break away from the traditional moral philosophies of his time. Whereas traditional moral philosophies prior to his time focused on good character traits and the consequence of actions, Kant formulated one supreme principle of morality, which he called the categorical imperative. (The Categorical Imperative, 2001). He belongs to the deontological tradition, which is believes in the ethical theory based on conformity to duty, rather than utility or practical bearing. It is thus clear that deontology is in direct opposition to utilitarianism or pragmatism. (Deontology, 2006). Kant’s ethical theory provides for the categorical imperative, which is the ‘supreme principle of Morality’ on which moral actions are based. The categorical imperative is characterized by objectivity, reason and freedom of choice (The Categorical Imperative, 2001). In describing this standard, Kant stated , â€Å"So act, that the rule on which thou actest would admit of being adopted as a law by all rational beings (Kant, 1886).† According to Kant, this standard is â€Å"the only possible standard of moral obligation (Kant, 1886).† Under the categorical imperative, subjective considerations like emotions have no place; rather, morality is determined through rational considerations of necessity and obligation (The Categorical Imperative, 2001). Kant realizes that human will could be influenced by positive and negative factors, but claims that the human will remains supreme. According to him, only rational considerations matter when deciding moral dilemmas (The Categorical Imperative, 2001). Applying Kant’s moral philosophy on euthanasia, it could be argued that stripped of emotional underpinnings, reason would dictate the rule that a person wholly supporting on extraneous factors be relieved of his suffering, when all facts show no hope of recovery. Given such a situation, the general rule of removing life support systems would be wholly supported by reason. Egoism Another ethical philosophy that could be used to justify euthanasia is egoism. This moral philosophy is grounded on the notion of â€Å"self-interest† or welfare (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2002). This means that a person desires to promote his own welfare or interest in all his actions (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2002). Thus, this philosophy works in direct contradiction to the principle of altruism, which tend to minimize the maximization of one’s self-interest (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2002). Egoism obviously supports the concept of euthanasia, both from the point of view of the ill persona nd his friends and family. On the part of the former, it would be for his interest to remove all his sufferings in favor of non-being. On the other hand, the latter would benefit from the alleviation of worries and the deduction of expenses related to the hospitalization and medical support of the former. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Finally, another ethical philosophy that could support euthanasia is the one posited by Aristotle in his work entitled Nicomachean Ethics (Kilcullen, 1996). In this work, Aristotle expounded on the notion called virtue, which is is the determinant of a person’s or a thing’s nature or character (Kilcullen, 1996). Similar to the philosophy of Kant, Aristotle gives primacy to the notion of reason in determining or attaching moral value to any act or thought (Kilcullen, 1996). Applying this philosophy to euthanasia, it could be argued that reason would support the removal of life support systems provided that the facts warrant the lack of hope for the recovery of   the patient, because reason would recognize the futility of keeping support systes when there is no chance of recovery. References Deontology. (2006). Tiscali Encyclopaedia. Retrieved December 1, 2006, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0023766.html Kant, I. (1886). The Metaphysics of Ethics. Kilcullen, R. J. (1996). Aristotle's Ethics: Essay. Retrieved April 22 2007, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/Ockham/y67s08.html Merriam-Webster Online. Utilitarianism. Retrieved April 26, 2007. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2002).   Egoism. Retrieved February 19, 2007, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/ The Categorical Imperative. (2001). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   December 1, 2006, from http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/categorical-imperative.html ;

Results and discussion Essay

Before conducting this research, an investigator was choosing between different research frameworks. On the one hand, I strongly believe that learners’ community is a democratic and participatory complex social system of individuals. Each of them possesses unique experience and background. Nobody can be viewed as a bad student how ever his pace of learning and an array of skills differ from the ones of the co-student. These assumptions grounded on my professional experience place me as a researcher within an anti-positivist critical theory paradigm (Habermas, 1984; Adorno, Marcuse, Horkheimer and Fromm). The goal of any critical investigation is not just to search empirical (practical) social environment for variables and measurement patterns but to prepare the ground for improvements in regard to emancipation of the victimized, democratic equality and individual freedoms (Cohen et al. , 2000, p. 28). That is why a substantial part of research was dedicated to receiving feedbacks from students on the use of the hypermedia learning environment. Judging from the multistructural questionnaire administered to the learners in the end of the study week, the perceived effectiveness of the hypermedia learning environment in motivating and helping students to achieve the specified learning outcomes of improved reading and visual comprehension, science learning and ICT skills was found to be generally high by the students. Table 2 shows the questions asked, and the average of the responses on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is â€Å"very useful† and 5 is â€Å"useless. † On this scale, the average rating for questions relating to the understanding and identifying of facts, issues, problems and factors, was between 1. 34 to 1. 92 which is in the â€Å"very useful† to â€Å"useful† region. It is interesting to note that on another question that the hypermedia resources and both experiential and symbolic simulations added â€Å"active and dynamic dimensions to classroom learning processes,† the average was an overwhelming 1. 08 indicating that the students welcomed the new innovative learning environment. Table 3 shows how the hypermedia learning environment was perceived by the students as an instrument for learning on a 4-point scale, where 1 is â€Å"strongly disagree† and 4 is â€Å"strongly agree†. Upon the whole, students reported finding the hypermedia environment very useful in various ways. Based on the qualitative observations of students working with â€Å"Pompeii: The Last Day†, the researcher found out that those who investigated the theme in the hypermedia environment spent more time on studies than those who used exclusively textbooks and written handouts as well as listened to the teacher’s instructions. In the process of studies and after the evaluation, students were asked to comment freely on the new possibilities provided by the hypermedia resource, its effectiveness in supporting Science learning, and their attitudes to learning with/without the hypermedia. Some of the responses to the critical implications of hypermedia collaborative learning are presented in the following. The question asked was whether students would use the hypermedia resource such as this when studying other scientific topics. They were asked to specify their decision, either negative or positive. Among those who used the hypermedia learning environment, there were more positive responses (there was only one student unaffected by the hypermedia environment on the point of his poor eye-sight; his eyes were aching because of the glow of a monitor). Sample Comments A: Yes, because the hypermedia is an awesome chance to learn a new subject. It is more interesting and exciting than skimming books and trying to cram the dry facts into one’s poor head. The experiential simulation to design different types of volcanoes was perceived as a game in the beginning. However, by the end of the week I recognized that I do remember all kinds of volcanoes and their specific characteristics. I think, this happened due to the simulation which was not time consuming but was an important fun. B: Yes, all the definitions and concepts studied in the lectures were completely alien to me before taking this hypermedia class, I memorized the theories in a serious effort but the hypermedia learning resource showed how important and grasping they are. I feel that my knowledge has improved significantly. C: Previous to this experimental class I would have been skeptical about learning by the hypermedia and creative (instead of formal) assessment, but having participated in one myself I would encourage anyone to follow us in using this type of learning media. D: A hypermedia learning environment would make a subject like Science more luring by: a) being enjoyable; b) by making it necessary to apply everything one learns to get through, rather than get through a couple of questions on an examination. E: I thought this process/project was fantastic. It was certainly the most fun I’ve ever had doing an assignment. I found it a great way to get a handle on the quite complicated issues involved in the Pompeii situation, and very useful in seeing the theories we studied play out. In my opinion the volcano activity details are so interesting in relating to human life! It also led to getting to know and interact with a wider range of students within the subject, rather than the one or two people that you know in your tutorial group. I know some people have complained about the amount of time involved, but I personally thought it was not at all excessive (it was required to spend 90 minutes on researching the hypermedia site. However, almost all of us spent even more time on it without any problem). I also greatly enjoyed the chance to do something different from the interminable stream of research essays that the teachers ask for. Best class I’ve done! However, a researcher had to incorporate also some positivist viewpoint in regard to the necessity of evaluating the difference between the hypermedia and traditional learning in quantifiable terms. Results are shown in Figure 1 and Table 4. Figure 1 revels that students who were introduced to the hypermedia learning resource voluntary took additional research on the topic besides the required 90 minutes. The difference between time spent on studying the topic by those with hypermedia resources obligatory research and those without was subjected to a t-test which revealed a t value of t = 2. 2518 (df =38) suggesting significant difference between those with hypermedia obligatory learning and those with traditional mode of learning and instruction (p

BSC Implementation & the Internal Business Process Perspective Essay

BSC Implementation & the Internal Business Process Perspective - Essay Example Our focus will be on BAE systems will be our basis which was implemented and supported the organizational cultural change and was inline with the goals and objectives of the organization. ANALYSIS There where efforts done to implement the balance scoreboard cultural approach with less compromise to the whole organizational setup. Its council focused on a number of factors to enhance activities. The unit growth was based on customer support and defense systems the other unit was commercial aircraft. The transformation was based on the historic perspective it engaged in a number of factors. BAE was to improve on their reputation, this was to be accompanied by up to date technology to enhance its image. This enhanced performance and the same time made it competitive to the industry (Murby & Gould, 2005). They also included positive cash flows, in their operations and a good working relationship with its client base. There was also included employment of skilled laborer who where engaged on service training and support to its internal employees. There was also lack of cost of control at designing new product in the market. Poor strategic management and the organization reaction to changes in the market demands were poor. There was need in ensuring this problem was dealt with, the management decided in implementing a change in the program to ensure that they remain attractive to the market. They included reducing overreliance on managerial authorities; they included a narrow division of work so as to improve on the output of each employee among other factors (Murby & Gould, 2005). These adjustments where made possible by major factor which was that the scoreboard was central to the organization control system. Some stapes had to follow to achieve the specific target a far as the balance scoreboard system is concerned, they included the following; First there was need to revise its competitiveness capability, this was made possible by the change in technology (Braam, 2012). The change in technology was to be based on the demands on the market; the adjustments will be more focused on how it will be advantageous to the entire organization. This was made possible by a term of coordinated professional. The second stage was to involve the senior most employs of the organization. The senior employees where the directors who where five in number they where undertake the valuation of the company and state what the company needed. The board reviewed on the companies operations and performance and it was taken to task and evaluated upon. They suggested on a group of some employees to ensure that the proposals are made appropriately. There where a group of 130 members to be involved in the process (Murby & Gould, 2005). The following step it was about strategy based, they where efforts on how to transform and carry out the changes. The way forward about the company’s’ future was also strategized by the team of 130 members. The fourth was all about communication of f the vision this was to create a agreement along the 130 members (Murby & Gould, 2005). They created five major areas to lay their focus on, value creation was the major point of discussion and the other areas included strategic making and human behavior. This

Gulfstream G650 Program Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Gulfstream G650 Program - Research Paper Example The airline industry is growing rapidly in the globalised business environment.With advancement of technology,modes of transportation have improved significantly.In the global village,transportation and communications occupies a key position in the business front as well as in the personal lives of individuals. Hence, the private jet sector is expanding rapidly. A number of companies are competing steeply with one another in the international market. In this paper, the case of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation has been presented with reference to the benefits accrued to the company by adopting activity based costing strategies. The research design provides an overview of the pattern of research made in this paper. Research design is the basic framework that is used to collect information and evidence for exploring the research question (Bryman & Bell, 2007). In this research, the deductive approach to research has been adopted, in which the researcher studies theories existing on the benefits of activity based costing and verifies them by testing them in the context of a selected airline company.Secondary data for the study has been collected from existing sources, such as newspapers, magazine articles and company annual reports published in the print media as well as on the internet. It has also been explored in this paper whether the company would benefit by using standard costs and its consequence in international business scenario. This paper also provides an over view on how decision making in the firm is affected by these approach to measure costs. The factors that encourage incorporation of standard cost in the company’s costing structure have been discussed. Implications of standard cost on price variance and quantity variance have been explored. Benefits of expansion, consolidation and downsizing for the firm have been explained in the paper. Finally, it has been discussed how the firm might benefit by implementing the relevant method of costing in its future projects. Company background Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is one leading airlines service provider in the United States. It is a subsidiary firm of General Dynamics (Gulfstream, 2012). Gulfstream is one segment of the parent company; the four main segments of the company are aerospace, marine systems, combat systems and information systems and technology. Gulfstream designs, develops, manufactures and sells some of the most technologically-advanced jet aircrafts (Gulfstream, 2012). The aircrafts are designed for both commercial and also defense purposes. Besides innovating, designing and manufacturing their own vehicles, the company also has pre-owned aircrafts that it lets out to customers for contract ownership. The company has its headquarters in Virginia, but operates in several countries across the world. Some of the best skills and talents from different countries are possessed by Gulfstream. More than 11,500 people employees work with Gulfstream in 11 locati ons in different countries. The company is a market leader in all the segments in which it operates. Gulfstream has reached this position by following a disciplined approach towards growth. The company has developed its profile very carefully and selected its product and service portfolio in sync with its target markets. It

Integrated Human Resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Integrated Human Resource management - Essay Example The growth towards centres of excellence has changed the system through which managers interrelate with HR experts who help them with all the core HR processes. Several businesses have outsourced HR work to large organisations, and line managers take help by means of a call centre system. Thus, from this issue, the changes of such occurrence can be explored. It also emphasised to examine the impact of the HR roles on HR professionals and line managers in the present organisation. It is required to find out the relationship between HR as well as line managers as their responsibilities have changed and has continued to evolve (Human Resource Management, 2010). The line managers in present organisational environment are gradually becoming responsible for performing human resource activities in order to develop, encourage and facilitate learning of the employees. A line manager is defined as a manager who is authorised to direct the work of subordinates and is responsible for accomplishi ng organisational goals. This paper examines the role of line manager in human resource development activities. In this paper, the current role of line manager in organisation and its great involvement in human resource development have been highlighted (Siugzdiniene, 2008). ... Before devolving HR responsibilities to the line managers it is required to provide training of practises and procedures of HR otherwise line managers will falter which results in inconsistent practices of HR. Thus, training should be provided to both local HR managers and the line managers in order to understand their HR responsibilities. HR manager may be unwilling to discard the familiarity of their traditional roles. Devolution may promote tension with line managers and the central personnel department. Though line managers are supportive of devolution, they are unwilling to take the responsibilities of people management due to the workload and their uncertainty in receiving sufficient training (Bach, 2000). The two distinct features of the present-day HRD approach are ‘the devolution of HRD practices to line managers’ and ‘the integration of HRD with business strategy’, or the emergence of Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD). The delegation of H RD policies and practices to line managers is one of the key enabling characteristics of the SHRD system. The basic assumption is that line managers can make the policies and procedures of HRD. These are designed in order to achieve the strategic objectives through identifying, developing and supporting the appropriate knowledge, skills, commitment and performance in employees of organisation. Line managers are able to identify the communication problems and knowledge gap. They act as a vital link between the learning process within the organisation and a channel through which knowledge is transferred. The managers have a power to block or support the implementation of HRD strategies. The power of line manager may not appear from any hierarchical

Issues of Race, Class and Gender in A Rose for Emily Essay

Issues of Race, Class and Gender in A Rose for Emily - Essay Example The use of the derogatory term â€Å"negro† is a clear picture of author’s intensions. Faulkner actually conveys the experience of the African American in the period the story was written. By using the tern â€Å"negro† or â€Å"nigger† to describe African Americans, shows how stripped they were. Faulkner uses some of these derogatory terms to elucidate prejudices suffered by African Americans in the South. Another example is in the text "he who fathered the edict that no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron" (308). From this text, one can clearly see that colonel Sartoris’s intentions were to enforce rules in which African Americans were to be seen as workers, not people who socialized. â€Å"Of course a Grierson would not think seriously of a Northern, a day laborer" (Faulkner 311) is such an ironic statement which can be examined from different perspectives to bring out different meanings, depending on the reader. However, t his statement could be termed as an ironic humor to describe such a pretty and obvious extension of bigotry. The statement could be analyzed to bring out a picture of sexualized master-slave relationship. Fathering the edict seems to in some way be fathering the women, to be fathering that state of affair. Gender The role of gender is apparent in ‘A rose for Emily’. Faulkner’s commentary on role of women in society is clear. He believes that women are inferior to men, something close to second class citizens. For example, in the text, "he who fathered the edict that no Negro woman should appear on the streets without an apron" (Faulkner 308) is an indication of the place of women in the society. In fact, the aspect of gender is clearly portrayed right from the beginning of the story. Faulkner begins the story by saying that â€Å"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monumen t, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This statement can be analyzed to mean that women are less honorable. Moreover, Faulkner believes that a woman’s true value to society is her appearance. He actually spends a lot of time describing Miss Emily’s appearance throughout the stages of her life. Characteristically, he doesn’t detail any male character as vividly as he does to Emily. Since the text presents just the one word â€Å" fathered, â€Å" one can not be in a position to clearly explain its context by a way or text alone but would find that word heroic, another neutral abstract. Therefore, it can be argued that the sexual- intercourse that took place between whites and Negroes could be a sign of just paternalism. â€Å"No one should appear on the streets without an apron† this far, the statement could be portraying and identifying servants that show their state of conduct as workers. This means that the y should be distinct from other classes of people. Social class The aspect of social class is portrayed in different ways. The character Tobe highlights the role of race in the setting of the story. Tobe is seen to be disrespected and dehumanized throughout the story. For example, judge Stevens refer to him as â€Å"†¦ that nigger of hers...† (Faulkner 319) this evidently shows the dehumanization of blacks as low class people. Amazingly, the townspeople don’

Sexual Offence Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sexual Offence - Case Study Example It was held that the judge ruled that the evidence was inadmissible and the appellant was convicted on a majority verdict5. The appellant was consequently fined 50 and ordered to pay 100 for the fees of prosecution. He later appealed inter alia, that the judge's ruling was incorrect. On November 13, 1979, between the hours of 4:45 and 5 p.m., five officers of the law from the South East Area Vice Squad kept plain clothes observation on a public convenience store in Portsmouth6. For the duration of this time, the appellant, aged 22, entered and exited the shop on four occasions. Two times he followed two officers inside the restroom of the store where the plaintiff masturbated for approximately one minute near the urinal. Both officers reported that the appellant masturbated openly, noisily and violently and while staring at them for the duration of the episode7. The appellant was asked to leave the store and was then cautioned outside. The officers reported that the appellant stated that he had been satisfying his lust due to the fact that his girl friend was away. The officers reported that the appellant then denied that he was attempting to attract other men and explained that he felt the urge to masturbate as he passed the convenience store. The appellant cou ld neither explain the reason why he failed to go to his house nor why he had failed to use a stall. He conceded to the officers that his actions looked bad and he later repeated this defense at his trial8. The jury failed to reach a consensus at the appellant's first trial and on the re-trial, the appellant sought to tender comprehensive evidence regarding his heterosexual relationships with females in order to refute inferences from witnesses9. The appellant appealed via a certificate of the trial judge under section 1 (2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 196810. His appeal was based on terms of whether on a trial for persistently importuning for an immoral purpose, if evidence regarding the appellant's heterosexual disposition would be admissible. Also, if this is the case, whether this evidence should be limited to general evidence of reputation or whether it could include specific evidence regarding heterosexual relationships11. It was held that though a defendant would be able to call evidence to show that he did not commit the acts alleged against him, he is not allowed to call evidence that he was of a disposition that brings about the unlikelihood that he would have committed the offence charged12. Applying the case of Rowton (1865), the trial judge ruled as he did arguing that the construction of the type of evidence in the present case would have been inadmissible and undesirable, and in addition to this, the appeal would be dismissed13. History The appellant had originally been tried on March 31, 1980 and the present trial was a retrial. During the first trial, under his Honor Judge Brodrick, the appellant produced five bundles of documents described as love letters14. Included in the documents were images of the plaintiff with five girls. The images were taken in contexts to suggest that the plaintiff was on intimate terms with the girls. During the first trial, the appellant alluded to the fact that he had had sexual intercourse

Strategic Management for the International Business Essay

Strategic Management for the International Business - Essay Example Global strategy can be stated as the way a particular business organisation views the global marketplace. The success or failure of global strategy depends on various interrelated factors. The factors include activities like sourcing, research and development, marketing and manufacturing, etc. All this factors are now incorporated in a global organisation strategy direction. In the present business context, every organisation tries to be responsive to the local market condition. Their strategies are incorporated in such a way which firstly is looking for being successful in local market then venturing in the global market. The Coca Cola’s strategy can be stated as an example in this case. The business organisations at present follow the motto of â€Å"Think global but act local† (Zou & Cavusgil, 1995). Global competition has increased the competitive edge in every strategic decision that a company takes in any organisation. Global competition is a phenomenon which occurs when various companies’ cross-subsidies market share on a national level and then it battles for being successful as a global brand and also acquiring global distribution positions. Global business looks towards acquiring economies of scale and cost efficiency in their business by venturing outside of their homeland. As a global company, an organisation tries to acquire international retaliation, world scale volume and also enabling cross-subsidisation. Global companies try to establish their strategies by fixing their locus of responsibilities mainly away from the country organisation (Hamel & Prahlad, 1985). Global market and corresponding strategic decisions are the main focus areas of any business organisation in the present scenario. This has brought in a new phenomenon called global markets which is made especially for standardised consumer

Capital Punishment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Capital Punishment - Essay Example After 2004, lethal injection (perceived by many as the least gruesome way of executing someone), hanging and beheading were the main methods used. Electrocution and the gas chamber are used in the United States only if the inmates wish to be executed by these methods. Stoning to death for sexual offences still occurs in some Islamic countries, notably Pakistan.2 From 1990 to 2003 Amnesty International reported a global average of 2,242 executions per year. In 2003 Amnesty reported 1,146 executions in 28 countries, 88% of them in just 5 countries: The People’s Republic of China 726, Iran 108, the U.S. 65, Vietnam 64 and Saudi Arabia 52.3 The figures reported by Amnesty in 2004 showed an increase over the previous year, totaling 3,797 executions in 25 countries, about 90% of them (3,400) in The People’s Republic of China, 230 in Iran, 64 in Vietnam, and 59 in Opposition to Capital Punishment began in Europe in the 1750s. Persons like Cesare Beccaria (Italian jurist), Voltaire (French philosopher), Jeremy Betham and Samuel Romilly (English law reformers) declared that Capital Punishment was inhumane and should be replaced by life imprisonment.5 Today, Capital Punishment has been abolished in the vast majority of democracies in Europe and Latin America, while it is still retained in most democracies in Asia, the U.S. and almost all totalitarian governments. In the U.S., the Supreme Court abolished it in 1972 on the grounds that it was being applied in an arbitrary and capricious manner which constituted cruel and unjust punishment (Furman v Georgia 1972).6 On July 2, 1976 in deciding the case Gregg v Georgia, the Supreme Court legalised capital punishment.7 Today following a four-year moratorium, Capital Punishment was reinstated in 1976. Today, it is followed in 36 States as well as by the Federal Government.8 Capital Punishment is a far better tool than life imprisonment primarily considering the saving of State and

Video games rivalry Essay Example for Free

Video games rivalry Essay Introduction The video games industry faces an entirely new rivalry situation. After 11 years of leadership, Sony has nearly lost its strong positions on the market, which gives the other two players – Microsoft and Nintendo the chance to compete for the leadership. While the goal of Nintendo is to stay in the industry, Sony and Microsoft aim to strengthen their positions on the home entertainment market, which is constantly growing. The key factors, the companies need to consider in order to gain a competitive advantage, are good marketing and well developed distribution, as well as providing a huge range of games with recognizable characters. As the market segmentation increases, it is of crucial importance to put an emphasis upon the new target groups and reqruit as many new players as possible. However, there are also a lot of factors outside and inside the industry, which play a major role and have to be considered in order to become a better idea of the state of the industry, and to estimate its profitability and tendency of growing. Summary of macro-environmental analysis Stricter legislation both advantageous and disadvantageous for the video games industry is expected. As governments become more concerned about the increasing violence among teenagers the control of video games content is strengthened. On the other hand the laws against piracy aim to reduce the number of the illegaly copied games. With the rise of the prices of everyday goods, petrol, etc. , while salaries don’t go up as fast, the disposal income declines and for many entertainment becomes a luxury good. People are not willing to spend as much on it as they used to. However, as the average age of the video games players goes up, there are more players with own incomes, who are able to buy more games. The industry is expexted to grow due to the fact that, as surveys of the NPD Group show, kids spend more time playing and the hardcore gamers spend an avegare of 45 hours per week playing video games. On the other hand the growth prospecst are dampened by the increasing concerns of the parents about their children being too inactive and spending more time playing video games than playing sports or taking part in other activities. However, there is also a tendency of video games being increasingly regarded as an entertainment for the whole family. The future growth of the industry is theratened by the declining birthrates. Teenagers are the main consumer and less teenagers in the future means less games sold. This effect is compensated by the fact that the avarage age of the video games players goes up. Video games reach a broader audience and more adults and even elderly people start playing. The technological progress is beneficial for the growth of the industry as the the producers are able to constantly improve the quality of the games and include new features and functions to the consoles. However, this causes higher costs and also the time needed to develop a new game grows. The growing awareness of environmental issues has also an impact on the video games industry. The implementation of eco-friendly technologies and the constant growth of energy prices cause an increase in the cost for manufacturing of the consoles and the DVDs. Overall, the video games industry is expected to grow faster than average industry growth rates, particlularly due to the socio-cultural trends and the constant technological progress. Summary of industry analysis Due to a range of factors, which make it difficult for a new company to take part in the video games industry, the threat of new entrants is low. First of all, the industry is characterized by huge ecomonies of scale, as the producers need to sell great numbers of games in order to make a profit. Second, the capital requirements are very high because of the increasing costs of games development and consoles manufacturing. It is also costly for the customers to switch to a new producer, because this would mean they have to buy a new console. Suppliers pose a medium level of threat. The main reason is the crucial importance, which their input has for the final product. Also the costs for the input are high relatively to the total purchase. However, the concentration of the suppliers is relative low as they are many video games publisher but just three producers of consoles. Threat of forward integration exists as well, due to the fact that some of the big publishers of video games have the ressources to try to enter the industry. Although there are some substitues for video games and the differentiation is fairly low, buyers don’t have a lot of bargaining power. Their concentration relative to the industry is low and they have to face high costs if they want to switch to one of the substitutes (buy a computer for example). To have the newest console or play the latest games is considered to be a sign of â€Å"coolness† at school, so strong incentives for buying exist. The power of substitutes is considered to be low to medium. The biggest threat comes from computer games. Due to the fact that almost every family possesses at least one computer, computer games are a cheaper alternative to video games as one doesn’t have to buy the console. However, the lack of multiplayer function impairs their perfomance, especially when video games are regarded as a family or group activity. The switching costs are high as well and the buyer propensity to switch is fairly low, particularly for buyers, who are addicted to playing video games. The video games industry is charaterized by medium rivalry, which is getting more intense lately. The industry grows slowly as they are three establishes players, that compete among each other and every one of them try to outsell the others and become the market leader. The rivalry is enchanced by the low level of product differentiation and the high fix costs of the manufacturing of the consoles. However, the rivalry is reduced by two major factors: the switching costs for the buyers are high and there is a lack of understanding of the technological differencies of the consoles, because of their complexity. As a result of the stage of these five forces in video games industry, the industry is considered to show a relatively high level of profitability. Interconnections and interrelationships between the two analyses There are several interconnections between the macro-environmental analyse and the industry analyse that can be found. Mostly the macro-environmental trends have an impact on the forces, which determine the profitability of the industry. Sticter regulation of the video games content limits the scope of games a new company can present to the market while trying to enter the industry and make this more difficult for them. The increasing licensing fees for the exclusive rights to intellectual property of media companies or sport organisations are addtitional obstracles for entering the industry as they enhance the capital requirements. Economical factors such as decreasing disposalble income have also an impact. People start searching for cheaper substitutes so the power of substitutes for video games grows. The bargaining power of buyer becomes higher as well, as buyers condition their purchases on the price-performance ratio of the product. As the number of video games players goes up, the demand for a larger library of games rises. This leads to an increase in the power of suppliers due to the fact that the producers need them to develop more new games and develop them faster. With the rapid advance of new technologies it is to be expexted that new substitutes for video games will be introduced to the market for enertainment in the near future. Thus, the power of substitutes will rise, as well as the bargaining power of buyers. The growing rivalry in the video games industry prompts the companies to improve their products, sell them cheaper and expand their target group. As a result video games become amore attractive kind of entertainment for a broader audience. Recommendations With the competition in the video games industry getting more intense, the next steps of the players become of crucial importance for their positioning on the market. Due to the low product differentiation, the next market leader will be the platform provider that manages to offer much more different gaming experience. Furthermore the extra features of the consoles have to be further developed, as the producers aim to establish the consoles as the central tool for any kind of home entertainment, not just for video games playing. Important issue regarding the extra features is the fact that many of the users are not aware of them, so more information and communication with the customers is required. The companies have to learn by the mistakes of the past and try to avoid making them again. It is of significant importance to develop a much larger library of games before the introduction of the next console, as this was proved to be a major factor for success in the past. Another factor that needs to be considered is a better control of the games and their distribution, as well as perfectly realised marketing campaigns. As the video games audience becomes broader, the companies should make an effort to reqruit new players from the new target groups: females and older people, by creating a greater range of games, directed towards the interests of these players, and more intensive advertising. The new image of the video games as family entertainment has to be extended as well. The possible entrance in the industry of some of the big games publisher creates opportunities for establishing of alliances. An alliance between one of the platform providers and a major publisher will give them a very strong position on the market and a sustainable competitive advantage. Thus, they will have the best chances to become the new leader of the industry.

Plato’s Theory of Knowledge, A Guide to Reaching Higher Grounds Essay Example for Free

Plato’s Theory of Knowledge, A Guide to Reaching Higher Grounds Essay The human knowledge may be regarded as having a two parts: One that he sees hears and touches, on the other he organizes mind s on what he learns through the senses. Philosophers have given considerable attentions to questions about the resources of knowledge. Some philosophers think that that the particular thing seen, heard and touches are more important. They believe that general ideas are formed from the examination of the particular facts. A philosopher who feels that the knowledge is acquired in this way is called empiricist. The view of the knowledge can be attained only through the sense of experience. According to them the real knowledge is based on what our sight, hearing smell and other senses tell us it is really out there and not what people makes up in their heads. Other philosopher thinks it is more important to find a general law according to which particular facts can be understood or judge. This method advocates rationalist. A newer school pragmatism, believe that the value in use is the real test of the truth and meaning and truth of an idea are tested by the practical consequences. These are some of the groups that search about the roots of the theory of knowledge. When a person wants to be enlightened you must know what the light within us is. This light will guide us in every step of our lives. It is a process on what is greater than life, what is greater in the physical things that we see. It is the moment when we begin to know something that is greater than, which is also within ourselves. According to the Augustinian Theory of knowledge, there are two objectives to be considered. One is to show how knowledge of all kinds is achieved and how therefore true reality maybe discovered. The second is to provide the groundwork for the reform of the cultural education to ensure the proper development of the people through teaching knowledge. Inner awakening is that you follow your ego, but after you realize and enlightened, we follow god’s will. We as a person must know and search ways to be enlightened. Enlightenment is the aim of any person. But after you get this enlightened don’t fear that you will loose everything. You must enjoy things more passionate but you know when and how and do not abuse your power of enjoyment like you did before enlighten. The theory of knowledge gives us a guide on how human reach the higher level of enlightenment. It gives us the one by one step and details on how knowledge is acquire. Plato a great philosopher considers some of the details about what is the nature of knowledge and the way it was obtained. In the traditional analysis of knowledge Plato’s theory of knowledge divides into three approaches: (1) the allegory of â€Å"the cave† (2) the metaphor of the â€Å"divide line† (3) and the doctrines â€Å"the forms†. The cave tells us that most of the people who are living in the cave, in the dark has converted to salvation because of the knowledge that they acquire. The â€Å"divided line† visualizes the levels of knowledge in a more systematic way. Plato states that there are four stages of the knowledge development. (1) Imagining, which tells us that the looks or appearance seen as true reality. For example an art, which tells us that what we have seen is not necessarily what, you get. (2) Belief, Plato gives us the idea of seeing the reality does not always believe. We have the strong conviction of what we see but not with absolute certainty. (3) Thinking, it is believe the visible world and move into intelligible world which it stands for the power of mind. Plato wants to see all things as they really are so we can see that all things are interconnected. (4) The development stage of the knowledge due to thinking. The third Approach is â€Å"the Forms† are the highest levels of reality. The forms are called ideas. These are independent existing entities whose existence and nature are graspable only by the mind, even though they are not depend on being so grasped in order to exist A person is in then stage of immaturity, when theory of knowledge takes place he will undergo such different stages like at first he will see what is the source and problem of its immaturity understanding what is immaturity will mean a process that under go such enlightenment. After understanding and knowing the problem he will go to the next stage which is by visualizing the level of knowledge of being immature. He can have a research or he can conduct a qouestion and answer so that he can get some opinion so that it can help a lot in defining the problem of being immature. For instance, what distinguishes real knowledge from mere opinion? The real knowledge is based on the logic, the laws and the methods of reason that we use to understand the universe (Velasquez, 1999) By getting such knowledge and analyzing of what category or level he can create a new solution in order of getting out of being immature.Thingking of the possible solution and ideas is the last satge of getting out of being immature.This process or step of solving ones problem is an example of theory of knowledge which can be apply to enlightenment.In any of the different stages they are interconnected to one another so that it can create a good solution which enlightens on a person. There is a given change of such enlightenment. For Parmenides, Change is the confusion of the appearance (motion) with reality (permanence) and therefore the change is simply an illusion. Reality is the basis of truth (knowledge) where as changes produces only opinion (lack of knowledge). Although the senses tells us that the things appear to change and therefore things do change, our reason can distinguish the truth from that which appear to be true. When reasons say reality must be single permanent substances, then there can be no change. (Hankinson, 1998) Plato’s theory of knowledge leads us down many roads, but we see the same theme through out: the light to dark; ignorant to educate: reality to really real.The theory of knowledge imparts us that in every circumstances in life there is a solution. In every situation that we have there is an appropriate answer. Having a knowledge or education gives us the true meaning of reality and real.That is when enlightenment takes place. When we have already the knowledge and reasons we know now how to handle and solve on any situation that we have.   Enlightenment is one of important part in our life to have a sense of direction. If we can apply the the different stages of theory of knowledge and integrate it   to its process of enl;ightenment there is a good way that humanities can have the truth , the reality, and the essence of having a knowledge.Believing to the knowledge that we have and through by the grace we can struggle and survive in any situation that we have. Velasquez, Manuel â€Å"Philosophy: A text with readings†. New York: Wadsworth publishing company, 1999. Hankinson, RJ.† Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought†. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. â€Å"Human Knowledge and Human Nature: A new introduction to an Ancient Debate Oxford University Press, 1992   ISBN 0-19-875101-X ISBN 0-19-875102-8 (pbk.) http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/pcarruthers/HKHN-Conclusion.htm â€Å"Augustinian Knowledge Of theory† http://www.users.bigpond.com/seckington/Augustinian%20Knowledge.htm What is Enlightenment ? (Quest-ce que les Lumià ¨res ?), in Rabinow (P.), à ©d., The Foucault Reader, New York, Pantheon Books, 1984, pp. 32-50. http://foucault.info/documents/whatIsEnlightenment/foucault.whatIsEnlightenment.en.html

LG Group: Leadership and Management Development

LG Group: Leadership and Management Development There is no company which is resistant to environmental changes, especially business environment. As the year comes by, new inventions or innovation will absolutely give impact on every type of business in the world. However, the causes of the impact, in other words, the root of the changes in the environment is not merely coming from company external territory; in most cases the impacts (either negative or positive) can come from external territory and internal territory of the company. This written analysis focuses on the LG Groups Chairman Koo who once stated and defined his vision for the LG group to develop and improve significantly and to be a leading company in its local market area (Korea) and the wider market scope, international market and increase its revenue significantly within 7 years period. This is known as LEAP 2005. Even though is not an easy task to do, he is much certain that the group can do that. He considers the past performance of the group and the major internal changes within the company will enable it to achieve what its chairman wants. The main key success, as the management agrees, lies on the future leaders of the group. There are several questions that arise as the result of the discussion between the management in relation with this key point, namely where and how to find these future leaders, what capabilities of competencies these leaders should possess how to develop these key competencies and so on. ANALYSIS OF LG GROUP SITUATION Briefly speaking on LG historical background, a common first impression on the company is that it has tremendous historical records in terms of business performance and business revenue. Citing the record, LG was established for the first time in 1947 as a small chemical company. As the time went by, there are expansions that the group has done. As a result the company got bigger and bigger. The applied several strategies that really work well are the main reason why the company grew bigger within a relatively short period of time. These days, LG is one of the strongest players in Indonesia industry. As the case of LG Group already describes, what is meant by LEAP 2005 desired by Chairman Koo reflects the his dream to make LG Group as the leading company in Korea and leading company in the world as well. This leads to for sure the increasing revenue to US$380 billion. To achieve this, certain development an improvement towards the company as an organization is an urgent necessity. The significant matter or points which are at the same time can be the conclusion of this brief analysis is that the improvement on internal aspects of organizations, which at the end should result in the transformation of LEAP 2005 into reality. Further, it is agreed that the management should focus on the human organization and make the first priority above all. The analysis is written as follow. LG GROUPS DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN ORGANIZATION An ideal human organization that can facilitate the achievement of Chairman Koos LEAP 2005 vision of future definitely has three most fundamental characteristics namely: 1. Strong LG company culture/values, 2. Qualified competent people as its component, 3. Good managerial strategies and operations by the management. These all explains how the company will provide itself its needed sources to meet the requirements of the company to achieve the vision. Each of this characteristic can be described as follows. Strong Company Culture A company with certain strong culture (or some term it as values) can usually stand up against all turbulence that occurs during its operations. The LG Group itself has already passed some bad period with great success and continues showing positive progress. Addition to this, there is for sure changes of transforming (STABILITY, HARMONI, RESPECT) to the cultures (CHALLENGE, SPEED, SIMPLICITY, BOUNDARYLESSNESS). These changes are in line with the demand of business environment which requires a company to quickly adapt themselves to the changes. Competent Human Resources The core component of a business organization is the humans who move it and run the companys operation. The more competent the person of the company the more prosperous the company will be. If the all person in the company are competent in their own field it will lead to best product that the company produces. Furthermore, this will end up in the achievement of customer satisfaction target (consumers demand and wishes). This all will result in better competitive advantages that the company has. Good Managerial Practices by Best Management Company management can be is the back bone of the company. They are the key person who drives the company towards certain direction. They are the decision maker of in the company. The fate of the company is in their hands. The culture that the management builds inside the company will also influence the day to day operation of the company. In terms of external relation, the management acts as the representative of the company. The can influence the business partners as well as potential consumers. Specifically speaking, in relation with human resources, the management should provide strategies that relate to human resources management such as defining organizational strategy, defining organizational structure and man power planning, defining the critical jobs, defining the job description that matches with the companys competencies, setting competency model and implementing it in form of setting HR tools and functions such for performance appraisal and reward and compensation recruitment, promotion, training and development. The human organization with the above mentioned characteristics that LG Group have and will help the company to achieve the LEAP 2005 vision will face obvious problems related to the organization and business the period of the vision achievement progress, they are for example the impact of paradigm or culture changes towards the company, process of setting up the companys core competencies, the changes on business orientation and target (e.g., business goals, from international to international (global) player, the internal (company value) and external cultural change, the demand of new employees to fulfill the need of increasing work load and competent employees, to prepare human resources management system and its tools in line with the company development. As the human resources management plays significant roles the process of translating the chairmans vision in 2005 they should be discussed further in details. The overall implementation of strategies, policies, programs, and or practices by Mr. Y. K. Kims LG Human Resource Team that can help Chairman Koo transform his LEAP 2005 vision into reality must link to how the management organizes and manages the human resources that the company has. These could be the strategies of attracting best new employee, develop the star performers (or other may call high potential) in terms of soft and hard skills or competencies, retain the best performers, manage work effectivity etc. LG GROUP STRATEGY: DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS FUTURE LEADERS As explained before, the key success of the company in transforming the vision LEAP 2005 into reality relies on how the organization prepare and develop the future leaders of the company which will determine how the company will operate and run in the future. These leaders will be having several capabilities as what Chairman Koo desired so that these competencies will enable them to perform well. First and foremost, these leaders must possess a sense of competition for global perspective. This competency strongly connects with the capability to fight and compete with the world class companies. Secondly, this has a relation with how wise and strategic a leader can create a global management system. Finally, a sharp sense of global perspective will assist a leader on how to create a world class business. The other attributes that a future leader must hold is his ability to maintain the quality of the company output. In relation to this they must have capability to create maximum value for customer. In other words, the satisfaction and loyalty of the costumer towards the company has to be the first priority and target for the future leaders that the group will need in the future. As important as the focus on outputs (products) the leader must also embrace the values that have been the LG values directly given by the Chairman. The two other values that basically are the required attributes for all future leader of LG to have are the skills (managerial) to conduct the business with integrity and the good level of contribution towards social development. Practically speaking, when it comes to day to day business activity, the basic capabilities for them to master is that the knowledge on what and how the company process runs. Thus, when there is a problem in certain area of the business, they can quickly tackle down the problem and solve it. Finally, they must have what so called global orientation and global leadership capabilities. These will define the company orientation in the future as well as solve the problem that may occur such as significant and drastic different environmental and business condition changes. LG GROUP STRATEGY: HUMAN RESOURCES APPLIED STRATEGY To discuss the case of future leaders in more detail, the whole process of preparing the future leaders can be described in more specific process and stages as follow: To identify and attract the best leaders. Here research I believe will benefit the company much in the sense of tracking the best candidates in the future. Nowadays, competition is occurring not only attracting best costumers/consumers but also in attracting the potential competent employees. To select, recruit and hire the future leaders. The activities are the follow up of the research conducted in the first phase. Citing the case of LG, the company will need a really significant number of employees, both Korea and Non-Koreans. These involve certain strategy to achieve best output in terms of attracting future leaders with competent capabilities. To train and develop the future leaders of the company. Here, a training center such as what Dr Lee runs with his LG Academy plays an important role. Their task involves defining the current employee competencies required for better performance and a set of competencies on which they can focus assessment and development activities in the future. This also one of the main concerns of the management. They see training and development for technical competencies as the main component to achieve the LEAP 2005 To provide motivation, appraise, and rewards as implementation of strategies to retain the competent company future leaders. The company should not reenact what so called as Bamboo Ceiling which most Japanese company once faced. The management must develop clear and transparent career path for all employee. The assessment for promotion should also be made fair so that all employee can see the progress of their career and most importantly, and equal opportunity for career improvement must exist in the company. This will guarantee the all employee can achieve higher position as their performance says so. In regards with the future plans in LEAP 2005 vision, the company plans to attain 50 % of the whole revenue from international market the number of non Korean employees will increase significantly. In the practices, the company and the management plan to fill 3 or 4 business presidents with non-Koreans out of 50 positions and give 20% portion of all executives at the office at Seoul. To maintain the unity and fairness of the management approach, the team could take the same approach to the both Korean and non-Korean employees. However, the customization may take place in accordance with the background of culture of those two groups. However, in general the common strategies must be implemented to both groups. What must be emphasized is the output which is all employees can implement the strategies in to the business and provide the desired outputs. CONCLUSION In summary, by analyzing the case of LG Group: Developing Tomorrows it can be concluded that a company business activity can not be separated from internal and external influences. Internally the management may have a set of future plans and strategies or even vision that must be implemented and transformed by all company components. Externally, the changing business environment in each different period often requires the company to constantly prepare a set of strategies to cope possible problems and stay survive in the midst of uncertain condition. Here, the human resources team plays an important role since a competent future leaders are the key person that can manage the company through the hard time that may happen in the future. It is the responsibility of the human resources team to attract, develop, and maintain those future leaders for the sake of company stability. Comparative Film Analysis: Shutter Island and Insomnia Comparative Film Analysis: Shutter Island and Insomnia Shutter Island Insomnia. Movies such as Shutter Island and Insomnia both display attributes of neo-noir and classical noir films which contain a great deal of tension and suspense. The detectives in both films are determined to find clues and answers that uncover the truth. In their attempts to uncover the truth, both detectives experience hallucinations and flashbacks from their traumatic past. Each mystery involves an investigator or detective who has the overwhelming desire to uncover the truth. There are often many distractions and misdirections that the detectives must overcome in order to solve the mystery. The misdirections of the cases are frequently caused by false or inaccurate leads, but each detective examines every lead they receive and treat it as being potentially helpful in solving the case. The Shutter Island and Insomnia films possess distinct similarities and disparate elements in the characterizations, social issues and cinematic effects. Film-noir is a movie genre based in the 1940s and 1950s that generally feature characteristics of mystery or crime dramas. The elements of film-noir consist of black and white produced stories that involve violence, crime, femmes fatales and skeptical detectives who seek the truth of a mystery. Neo-noir is classified as a sub-genre of crime and mystery stories which heavily rely on the influence of film-noir movies. The term neo-noir describes any film coming after the classic noir period that contains noir themes and the noir sensibility (Conard 2). Neo-noir movies often share a similar resemblance to film-noir genres in regards to the plots, themes, characterization and cinematography. Shutter Island is a psychological thriller based in 1954 that gives the impression of a classic film-noir. Mark Conard states in his book, The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, You know a classic-noir when you see it, with its unusual lighting, tilted camera angles, and its off-center scene compositions (Connard 1). The detective in Shutter Island is Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), a federal marshal who travels to the island with his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), to investigate the escape of patient in the mental institution. As Teddy Daniels further investigates the mystery of the island, he loses control in grasping the real truth as his perceptions are blurred by hallucinations and conspiracy. As the story unfolds in Shutter Island, the viewer is taken on a psychological trip through the cognitive processes of Teddy Daniels mind. It is apparent to the main character and the film viewers that there is a secret hiding within this mysterious island. The story provides a solid discernment of Teddy Daniels mind as his sense of reality and fantasy is blurred. Throughout the film, Teddy experiences delusions that are derived from his traumatic past as an American soldier fighting Nazis in World War II, and the death of his wife. The exploration of Teddys mind provides pure entertainment for the viewer as it is difficult to distinguish fantasy from reality while experiencing everything through Teddys eyes. The realism in the mystery of the patient that escaped the island exists on an imaginative state which is exposed by the truth during the end of the film. The main character in the Insomnia movie is Will Dormer (Al Pacino), a veteran LAPD detective whose exhaustion is intensified with exposure to the unfamiliar northern Alaskan landscape where there is constant daylight. Dormer and his partner, Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), receive the disturbing details in the autopsy of a teenage girl that was murdered in Alaska. The autopsy revealed that the girl was extremely beaten and her hair had been brushed as well as her nails clipped by the murderer after her death. One of the most significant scenes is when Dormer and his partner are investigating the girls murder. They begin a foot chase with a suspect after being shot at in the thick fog. Dormer sees a silhouette of a person that looks like they are aiming to shoot so he fires a shot at the person without hesitation. He runs toward the body and realizes that he has shot and killed his own partner because he couldnt see through the thick fog. This symbolizes the protagonists clouded judgme nt and is the beginning of his slow descent into insanity. Dormer deliberately lies to the police about what really happened and explains that the girls murderer had shot his partner because he is afraid of the consequences. Dormer is dishonest about shooting his partner and goes through great lengths to cover his own tracks instead of having full focus on the murder case he was assigned. The primary suspect of the girls murder is novelist Walter Finch (Robin Williams) who witnessed the accidental shooting of Dormers partner. The well-being of Dormer declines further as he experiences extreme sleep deprivation, hallucinations and flashbacks of accidentally shooting his partner. The characterizations of the protagonists in Shutter Island and Insomnia have analogous qualities as they attempt to uncover the truth in each mystery. The protagonists in both films are persistent investigators who are losing their grasp on reality due to traumatic experiences. Dormer and Teddy share mixed emotions including anxiety, guilt and panic. The protagonists in both movies are manipulated psychologically by the antagonists who drive them to do things that they normally wouldnt do. Dormer and Teddys memories and troubles from the past have a significant affect on their attempts of solving the mysteries. Although there are many similarities in both films, the cultural and social issues in each film are quite different. Shutter Island was set in 1954 and deals birth of psychiatry experiments and the traumatic events of World War II. The scene where the camera pans over the American soldiers as they perform an execution of Nazi soldiers in the Liberation of Dachau conveys the barbaric nature of World War II. Teddy experiences many flashbacks of these events and the guilt starts wearing on his sanity. The social issues in Insomnia deal with murder in a community and corruption within the police force. The murder has a drastic impact on the isolated Alaskan town where everyone knows one another. While investigating the murder, many of the officers are faced with the difficult decisions of lying, framing suspects by planting evidence or clearing their own names by destroying evidence. Dormers guilt of shooting his partner sends him into severe sleep deprivation where he seems increasingly delusional as the film goes on. Cinematic effects such as camera shots, lighting and sound design are utilized in both films to convey the pure emotions of the characters in the films. The best thing about Insomnia is that despite director Christopher Nolans soft spot for moody-blues obfuscation, he has the good sense to keep his star in practically every shot, said Peter Rainer, a New York Magazine writer, on the film critic website, rottentomatoes.com (Rotten Tomatoes website). Insomnia made an effort to zoom in on the protagonists emotions and at times showed the point of view shots to express the sleep deprivations and hallucinations from the eyes of the main character. There was high contrast lighting used in setting the mood in the Insomnia film. Even though a lot of this movie was shot outside in the constant daylight setting of Alaska, low-key lighting such as heavy fog and silhouettes were used to symbolize the level of clarity in Dormers mind as he continues to lose sleep. The sound design used in Insomni a was used to create tension and suspense in the film. The cinematic effects and setting used in Shutter Islandenhance the symbolism and themes in the film. Similar to the Insomnia films camera shots, Shutter Island also uses the zoom-in camera effect to display the emotions and thoughts of Teddy. When Teddy is experiencing hallucinations of the past, the camera shots and lighting flash to indicate that he is dreaming or seeing flashbacks. Film critic, Lisa Kennedy, from rottentomatoes.com states, What is real? What is delusion? What is montrous? What is decent? Shutter Island may not shatter the heart but these are gnawing achievements for a movie about madness and paranoia (Rotten Tomatoes website). Fire was used as a key lighting to symbolize Teddys insanity in the film. Fire is the symbol of Teddys imagination, while water is used to symbolize the true reality of his past. The sound design of Shutter Island correlates with the intense instrumental music to portray the suspense as used in many film-noir genres. ParralaxView.org explai ns noir sound design on their website, The sound of noir-plaintive sax solos, blue cocktail piano, the wail of a distant trumpet through dark, wet alleyways, hot Latin beats oozing like a neon glow from the half-shuttered windows of forbidden nightspots (Parralax View website). The Shutter Island and Insomnia films display similarities and differences in the characterizations, social issues and cinematic effects. The protagonists in both films are determined to find clues and answers that uncover the truth. Both detectives experience hallucinations and flashbacks from their traumatic past in their attempts to investigate the truth. There are often many diversions that the detectives must overcome in order to solve the mystery. The cultural and social issues in each film were contrasting even though there are many similarities in both films. Cinematography was successfully utilized in each film with camera shots, lighting and sound design to display the pure emotions of the characters in the films.

Tennysons Ulysses and The Lotos Eaters Essay examples -- Poetry Tenny

Tennyson's "Ulysses" and "The Lotos Eaters" The great hero Odysseus has captivated readers throughout the ages. It is no surprise that the Victorian poet Tennyson not only read the Odyssey but wrote poetry about Odysseus as well. In the poems 'The Lotos Eaters' and 'Ulysses,' Tennyson remains true to the legends, but he infuses the characters with the ethos of his own day and his own experiences. 'The Lotos Eaters' recalls the Homeric legend that has Odysseus and his men passing through an island that grew magical fruit. Anyone who ate of the fruit would ?forget the way home? (Bk 1X, line 97). Odysseus sent three men to scout the land. They tasted the fruit and had to be dragged back to the ship protesting and crying, by Odysseus. No word is mentioned about why the sailors had to be dragged back to the ship, weeping. No word of what they wanted so badly to forget. Tennyson, in 'The Lotos Eaters,' fills us in on why he thinks the sailors were bone-tired and why they wanted rest. ?All things have rest and ripen towards the grave/ in silence; ripen, fall, and cease: / Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease.? It serves as a parenthetic explanation to Homer?s legend. However, the specific nature of and reason for their weariness is Tennyson?s own creation. ?Why should we toil alone, / we only toil, who are the first of all things? while the ?flower ripens in its place, / ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil, fast-rooted in the fruitful soil?? The speaker rages against the human condition that has humans seek endlessly for the path to their fruition. It isn?t encrypted into their soul as it is in the soul of the fruit which blossoms and ripens without effort. For the... ...es of nature, and not his own soul. Both heroes are victorious through the powers of their intellect, but what they seek to overcome, and what they seek to understand, is vastly different. Though Homer wrote his epic over two thousand years ago, it still excites the modern reader; though Dante wrote his poetry nearly one thousand years ago, his language and sinful characterization are captivating; and though Tennyson wrote his poetry over one hundred years ago, its pain is fresh and was a precursor to the existential pain of the modern man. Works Cited: Tennyson, Alfred. "Ulysses." The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1998. 1139-41. Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. ?The Lotus Eaters.? The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. 1208-1213.

Henry Adams :: essays research papers

The Education of the Henry Adams reviews Adams’s and the United States’s education and growth during the 19th century. Adams was an old man who had Puritan beliefs about sex and religion. In this autobiography, Adams voices his skepticism about man’s newfound power to control the direction of history, in particular, the exploding world of science and technology, where all certainties of the future have vanished (anb.org, 1).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adams grew up in the United Stated where he was a Puritan. Puritans believed that sex (women especially) was just a form of fertility and reproduction; otherwise “sex was a sin'; (Adams, 384). “American art, like the American language and American education, was as far as possible sexless'; (Adams, 385). The only sculptures and paintings of women that Adams viewed with understanding were those like the Virgin Mary, who was always seen as non-sexual. For example, “America was ashamed of her…have strewn fig-leaves so profusely all over her'; (Adams, 384). However, during this time of the technology revolution, women were beginning to be viewed differently, especially in Europe. Women were viewed as beautiful and mortal beings. People such as Rodin were representing women in paintings and sculptures sexually. Sex was becoming something more than just a means of reproduction. Suddenly Adams was far, far away from his Puritan custom-bound life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People were no longer motivated by religion, being saved by God, and going to heaven; science, technology, money, and power had taken over the drives of man. Religion (a common “scale'; of the past) had taken the backseat to science, technology, money, power, and the new ideas and art of sex (all new “scales'; of the present and the future). “In opposition to the medieval Virgin, Adams saw a new godhead—the dynamo—symbol of the modern history’s anarchic energies'; (anova.org, 1). Adams desperately wanted to learn about the new world of technology, the “dynamos';, yet he felt helpless to find this new knowledge and to comprehend it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Adams was overwhelmed by the technology of the dynamos. When Adams saw the dynamo, it became a symbol of the future, of infinity (Adams, 380).

Little Prince :: essays research papers

A Fable For Adults -- The Little Prince by Saint-Exupery I guess that among people who have read the book The Little Prince which has an amazing amount of readers around the globe merely second to the Bible, there should be many more grown-ups than children, though the classic tale can be read on many levels and enjoyed by readers of any age. Undoubtedly, it is full of vivid imagery and beautiful illustrations that make it sweet enough for children. However, because of the symbols, metaphors, hidden sentimental atmosphere, especially the tragic ending -- children are used to such sentences as the princess lived happily together with the prince for ever and ever -- and the moral it conveys, teens will not have proper understanding and appreciation of this story. I ¡Ã‚ ¯d rather believe that Saint-Exupery had written The Little Prince which is simple yet profound for the adults who still keep child ¡Ã‚ ¯s hearts. The little prince came from a tiny unknown planet. He had left his beautiful rose, traveled to lots of places, and met all kinds of ridiculous things as well as a wise fox and a pilot the narrator. He was looking for something though he was not aware of it. After all, the little prince learnt life lessons and we adult readers learn more from him. Adults in the Prince ¡Ã‚ ¯s Eyes Leaving his own planet, one after another, the little prince met a king, a conceited man, a tippler, a businessman ¡Ã‚ ­ and finally he arrived on the earth. All the person he met is either stupid or selfish -- from children ¡Ã‚ ¯s point of view, adults are always hard to understand and they are doing inexplicable things. But it is true! Aren ¡Ã‚ ¯t we always pursuing empty things such as fame and fortune just as the king who ruled no subjects and the man who was extremely conceited? Aren ¡Ã‚ ¯t we always trapped in a circle set by ourselves just as the tippler and businessman -- drinking for forgetting drinking, selling stars for making more money to buy stars? Aren ¡Ã‚ ¯t we always keep working but forget the aim of working just as the geographer? As we are growing up, something much more valuable than money or social status deserts us little by little without our notice. Maybe we will begin to appreciate the simple things in life again and discover the real difference between children and adults after reading this beautiful tale. The Rose and the Fox

A Survey of Engineering Education in Nigeria Essay

Sustainable development at local, regional and global scales is perhaps the most daunting challenge that humanity has ever faced. Knowledge and its application are two elements common and central to each of the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development and the many approaches aimed at achieving sustainability. Solutions to the major sustainability problems of the 21st century including poverty alleviation, decoupling of economic growth and environmental impact, renewable energy sources, desertification, diminishing ecosystem services, biodiversity maintenance and use, climate change, and the risk of megacities – all critically require knowledge from scientific research and appropriate technologies. Those solutions are available to any society which invests adequately in the optimum education and training of its engineers. The role of educational outcomes in the promotion of economic growth has long been recognized by economists and other people. Early researchers like Smith are cited by Okoye (1989) to have noted the acquisition and use of the abilities of all inhabitants or members of a society through education as part of its economic fortune. Engineering education has been an integral part of national development strategies in many societies because of its impact on productivity and economic development. Galloway cited by Eze (2008) made a serious case about engineering education reform for the American Society in particular and for the global arena in general. She argued that if engineers are to compete successfully in the global world in the 21st century and establish the profession as a leader in solving most of the world’s problem of infrastructural development, engineering education must embrace the need for professional innovation and do so very quickly. Central to this innovation, the presentation explained that the institutional understanding for the long established methods of practicing engineering and educating future engineers are in critical need of reforms, if the profession must remain relevant. If United States that have almost finished public infrastructure can be invited to any engineering education improvement summit, then Nigeria who is in search of technological and economic transformation that could rival that of the 1st world countries come the year 2020 needs total overhaul in engineering administration and training. Nigerian institutions turn out large number of engineering graduates every year. Yet, not many of our engineers are involved in many of the engineering activities going on in most parts of the country. Why?  We shall examine briefly the making of the Nigerian engineer as a basis for determining his relevance and proper placement in committee of global professionals. THE EDUCATION OF THE NIGERIAN ENGINEER Ideally, an engineer has to be trained in a broad sense so as to be able to synthesize ideas, design new systems, plants and machinery and manage a complex mixture of resources including men, materials, machinery and money. In pursuance of this, the Nigerian engineer begins his introduction to formal learning much like any other person from the very basic forms i. e. the nursery and primary schools. He then proceeds to the secondary school which is where some diversification begins. Here, the student gets his first introduction to basic science and technology ideas and concepts. This also marks the beginning of the process where the individual attains cognition, acquires process skills and develops scientific attitudes which will enable him think critically. After the secondary level, he then progresses to the tertiary stage. The entry qualification to an engineering program had been reviewed by Oluka et al. This involves a minimum of five credits in ordinary level subjects which must include mathematics and the basic sciences. With this qualification, candidates apply through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) who conducts a national examination for applicants. Final admission is given by JAMB on recommendation by the Universities based on certain policies which include merit, educationally disadvantaged states and discretion. For direct entry students, admission is given without any examination. However, the candidates must have the higher school certificate or GCE advanced level in three subjects-Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Candidates must undergo at least 6 months of Industrial Attachment under the SIWES program sponsored by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Oluka et al (1999). It is in the Universities that the engineer gets properly acquainted with engineering theories and practical via the regular forms of formal training (lectures, seminars, projects etc) and interactions with experienced people in the field of study. The selection and organization of curriculum content, curriculum implementation and evaluation, the development, distribution and use of teaching materials,  standard of examinations among other things go a long way in determining the effectiveness of this process and how the workforce of engineers being produced through it is able to meet the demands and yearnings of a fast changing world. ROBLEMS OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN NIGERIA THE CURRICULUM OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND ENGINEERING STUDENTS EVALUATION As discussed above, some factors such as the curriculum and how it is implemented, facilities available, prevailing government policies regarding education, general standard of education in Nigeria affect the quality of the engineers that are produced by the system. While the domain of education in Nigeria has been growing largely because of the need to have adequate manpower to meet the challenges of making the country great and to meet the demands of the 21 century, unfortunately, there is no sustained efforts to use education to prepare the Nigerian engineer to meet the on-the-job requirements of entrepreneurs in blue chip companies in the country or to fend for himself and also create job for others given the supposed wealth of knowledge. This simply means that the dydx in the classroom require some modifications so as to translate to putting food on the Nigerian engineer’s table in the event of job unavailability upon graduation. What obtains now is as dangerous as it is disheartening. An average Nigerian graduate engineer is considered â€Å"half baked† or †unemployable† because they have been claimed not to possess adequate competencies required by their end users. This has thrown a big challenge to tertiary education and training of future engineers in Nigeria. It is noteworthy that the problems related to curricula became noticeable soon after Nigeria’s independence from colonial rule in 1960. By the mid-1960s, educators and educational planners were rethinking Nigeria’s education system and in particular, the curriculum being taught in the schools. The question is; has Nigeria educational policy been capable of providing the needed manpower development to stir the nation’s socio-economic exigencies left by the colonial masters? Eze (2008) affirms that an independent survey by an indigenous project managing firm put the contribution of engineering construction of all categories and dimensions to Nigeria’s GDP at only 1. 5%. This is compared with 6% which the sector contributes to GDP in most developed and developing economies. For example, engineering related activities account for about 8% of the UK’s GDP, 16% in Republic of Ireland’s, 11% of the United Arab Emirates, 6% GDP in India and South Africa respectively. The slow pace of industrialization and technological growth in Nigeria can be attributed to the widening gap between science and technology as a result of inability of engineering education programme to adequately utilize the scientific ideas to promote technology. Science Teachers’ Association of Nigeria (STAN) is a body that have worked hard to translate national and educational objectives into curricula and teaching objectives through the development of curricula designed to help individuals attain cognition, acquire process skills and develop scientific attitudes which will enable them to think critically, manage and use available resources, to effectively adapt to their environment, assume responsibilities and fulfill domestic, economic, social, and political roles. The council for the regulation of engineering in Nigeria (COREN) can as a matter of urgency seek any needed support from government and institute an active machinery to give a critical appraisal of the engineering education curriculum with a view to identifying defects and devising original solutions. Today, there are many institutions made up of eighty nine universities owned by government and private organizations, several colleges of education and agriculture and mono/polytechnic that produce graduates for the few job situations that are available in the country. The graduate engineer is therefore faced with the difficulty of readily gaining jobs immediately after school due to the deficiencies in the curriculum and evaluation pattern in which he was molded. Some of the problems associated with the current curricular and evaluation methods include but not limited to the following: * They are based on a foreign model involving ideal conditions (staff, equipment, infrastructure, training opportunities, etc) that are not easily duplicated in developing countries. * There is a shortage of highly competent indigenous teaching and support staff with h sufficient wide practical experience of technological intricacies. * The curricular seems to exhibit some imbalance between pure and applied sciences and the practical engineering and technology realities, project/business management and innovation concepts and entrepreneurship skills development. * The duration of the sectional semesters for the teaching of engineering courses is very short to allow for good comprehension and application by the students. * The student evaluation and grading is almost dependent on his performance on theoretical examinations devoid of consolidating practical orientation. SELECTION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS Given a very good curriculum, engineering education administration must be free from mediocrity. My participation in teaching and invigilating engineering students’ examinations raised issues which have continued to agitate my mind as a lecturer, and as one who is expected to make inputs to the production of good engineers. A good percentage of the students find it very difficult to understand the basic principles of engineering courses and hence put a very poor performance in the examinations. This is a pointer that they are not supposed to have been admitted into the engineering school in the first place. In event of escaping a dependable and credible admission scrutiny, COREN in conjunction with the engineering school administration should device a process of pruning the engineering misfits and placing them in other disciplines where they would perform better and later contribute to nation building. The problem recognition, formulation and solution task of an engineer really calls for a little above average students who will later consider societal repercussions and constraints within a complex landscape of old and new ideas. With this, Nigerian engineering graduates will be dissociated from the report of Okadara (1984) and Oladeji (1994) who variously showed that of the initial years of tertiary education, majority of graduates (86. 6%) found work within two months of searching, but as their institution grew older, the length of time they needed to find employment increased. I strongly believe that institutions remain the same but the quality of students that pass through it experience gradual degeneration due to unwarranted compromise. INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT Suppose the right students are admitted into the engineering schools and their training is guided by a well structured and societal problem-responsive curriculum, the problem of poor or absence of state-of-the-art laboratories, instructional materials and a conducive engineering academic environment must also be arrested. The situation why engineering graduates find it difficult to secure adequate job after their graduation is not unconnected with infrastructural handicaps in their institutions which is no fault of theirs. Consequently, many engineering graduates do not possess appropriate job competencies required by employers. Some could not develop their personality traits due to the absence of suitable infrastructure to spur creative and innovative strategies that could promote the engineer’s qualities and enhance his proficiency. Unfortunately, several end users of engineering graduates’ skills have had to spend huge sums of money to retrain these graduates to suit their business after the completion of their programmes of study, even though they were selected at the background of excellent and imposing certificates. This certainly calls for engineering curriculum innovation and renewal, better monitoring and evaluation of engineering students, as well as immediate overhaul of engineering schools infrastructure in Nigeria. Such action must be in line with every factor needed by engineering students to confidently secure or create employment easily for themselves and the several others who are waiting on the unending employment queues outside the tertiary institutions. Our universities, polytechnics and technical colleges that are supposed to train proficient engineers, technologists, and technicians are now filled with obsolete and in most cases nonfunctional equipment. This affects the quality of products from these technological institutions. India, it is claimed, ranks third to the United States and the former USSR in scientific and technical manpower (The Nigerian Engineer, December 2003). It has over four million scientists and engineers. In 1985, Indian universities have 750,000 Engineering students registered. There were five elite institutions called India Institutes of Technology, funded and equipped to the highest standards, to provide high quality university graduates in electronics, computer science and other high technology disciplines. Their products emigrate in large number to the University States and other countries to apply their skills where they are also valued and in demand, like the Republic of Ireland and Philippines. It is however not a surprise to see engineering graduates in our Nigerian Universities who cannot differentiate between a bolt and a nut. Some other problems associated with engineering education and technology development in Nigeria includes but not limited to the following: * Lack of innovation and motivation. * Graduates are produced in older discipline at the expense of new or emerging discipline. * Poor funding * Graduates of Science and Technology exodus to other professional areas * Dilapidated and obsolete state and quality of laboratories in engineering schools and departments * Very astronomical student increase and lecturers decline TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT The technological development of any nation is critical to the economic survival and vibrancy of that nation. This holds particularly true for developing nations like Nigeria, who is still grappling with chronic problems of public infrastructure, total unemployment and underemployment, which have retained them in the class of 3rd world countries with dismal economic frustration. A country is said to be technologically backward when * It cannot produce capital goods such as tractors, lathe machines, drilling machines, cars, trains, and other very important equipment. * It is unable to exploit her natural resources except with the help of foreigners who will normally provide the technology and expertise to undertake the exploitation of her resources. * It is unable to mechanize her agriculture i. e. crude implements are still used for agricultural production activities by a large percentage of those who are involved in agricultural production. * It depends on other countries for the supply of its spare parts for industrial machinery etc. Nigeria can be adjudged a technologically underdeveloped/poor country going by their possession of all the characteristics itemized above. The greatest contributor to her qualification as such is the inadequacy of the indispensable trio of science, engineering technology and innovation (SETI) for any economy that is serious about technology development. SELF-EMPLOYMENT Self employment can be defined as earning a living by working independently or running a gainful business for the satisfaction of one’s needs. Having realized this, many industrialized and newly industrialized countries have committed resources and time to the promotion of entrepreneurship through various means including specific emphasis on the educational sector  reorientation, especially at the tertiary level. As stated earlier in this paper, many Nigerian engineering graduates have been branded â€Å"unemployable†. It is the duty of engineering educators to rebrand our future engineers. Suffice it to observe that the present problem accumulated over the years. The compartmentalization of educational, industrial, employment and labour policies in Nigeria seem not to have encouraged self employment right from the colonial era. Many of the educational policies centered on primary, secondary and adult education. The colonial educational policy centered on the production of literate nationals who were required to man positions, which would strengthen the colonial administration. Thus our educational institutions, few as they were remained factories for producing clerks, interpreters, forest guards and sanitary inspectors as no special professional or entrepreneurial skill was envisaged in the educational system, (Akinyemi, 1987). Unfortunately, the trend affected the foundation of engineering education in Nigeria. The complete absence of enterprise education in the educational policy had continued till now. The industrial policy which came on board only after the Nigerian independence in 1960 initially concentrated on the establishment of big industries with utter neglect for small scale business. By so doing entrepreneurship which is the bedrock of small scale business was unwittingly de-emphasized. The combination of apathy to ‘education for self-employment’ in the engineering schools system and the long term apathy to the development of entrepreneurial skill through a robust and all encompassing engineering curriculum has contributed in no small way to the serious unemployment problem facing the engineering graduates. There needs to be an urgent link between engineering education, enterprise and self employment through an integrated national policy on engineering education. This would serve as a panacea for solving the massive unemployment problem, diminish rural poverty and empower a larger percentage of the citizens economically. NEED FOR REFORM It is obvious that Nigeria is grappling with myriads of economic, social and political problems. Even, the structures and practice of democratic governance reintroduced in 1999 needs a structural reform to sustain it. Faced as it is with so many short term issues, the government should be aware that she should also address long term issues, which posses the greater potential to shape the countries future. In today’s world in which markets are increasingly globalizing and technological changes are recognized as a leading indices of economic growth and dynamism, Nigeria cannot afford to neglect the need to an active Engineering and Technological infrastructure operating in a policy environment, which encourages and rewards research and development, as well as meritocracy. Much as Nigeria has conveyed a curriculum conference to restore the direction of our National education objectives in 1969, and have experienced some technological growths, we are yet to see technological development. Our economic life has refused to improve in an era when many nations of the world have entered the phase of industrial revolution in which computers, robots, microelectronics, biotechnology and nuclear technology are in common use, Nigeria is yet to grasp the first phase of industrial revolution which began in Europe in the eighteenth century. We must henceforth seek to create the much needed technological culture in which the general public is made aware of the need to use scientific methodologies in their daily operation. Many graduates of our institutions are unemployed or unemployable. This ultimately poses questions to the nature of training given to them in our institutions. Do they have enough specialized skills that would make them job seekers or job creators in the area of Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation? Meanwhile, the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) demonstrated that so much has been put into paper to grow the economy. This has not translated to the much expected transformation, technology development and self employment capability in the citizenry. Something really has to be done and very quikly especially with reference to the Millenium Development Goals (MGGs) which is focused on poverty eradication and the Vision 20-20-20 national development plan. REMEDIES AND CONCLUSION STAFF TRAINING AND RETENTION Continuous training of the trainers is very important in engineering education. To obtain a grounded knowledge and detailed experience in real world aspects of engineering theories, policies and global best practices, with emphasis on current status and further studies of various engineering fields, the engineering educators must be subjected to continuous sponsored training courses. Making efforts to prevent the fully trained engineering educators from resignation of their duty is equally essential. Engineering is a professional course. Their practitioners must be well taken care of by government. If not, the experts would be tempted to move to other spheres where they get better pay for their services. Poor conditions of service also explains why engineering lecturers leave the country to acquire more knowledge and skill but either refuse to return or leave teaching entirely for the industry. There is also some cases where skilled and intelligent engineering teachers remain in their teaching and research objectives, but do not devote their full attention to the work in their bid to supplement their economy through other activities. The engineering lecturers’ remuneration ought to be adjusted to come at par with that of other professionals in the country. This will not only arouse the needed interest in the job but also prevent brain drain in engineering education and provide for more efficient teaching and research exercise. A number of recommendations for the successful administration of science and engineering education in Nigeria are given below with respect to self-employment and technology development in the nation: * Strengthening University-Industry Interaction Programme * Periodic Accreditation Exercises by Regulatory and Professional bodies such as National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), COREN, MDCN, NIA, etc. * Introduction of Supervised Graduate Training Scheme in Engineering (SGTSE) * Curriculum Review in Institutions to address the current unemployment in the country * Establishment of Nigeria Institute of Engineering Technology with the aim of providing practical drills to graduate engineers of all discipline. * Provision modern engineering infrastructure. * Establishment of Technology Innovation Fund. * Launching and Development of Mobile Internet Unit for easy access to current trends in engineering practice. There is also the need to bridge the gap between the Nigeria Entrepreneur and the University. Very few entrepreneurs have been stimulated to have meaningful interaction with the Universities and Polytechnics. There is a lot to be learnt by the Universities from the experiences of entrepreneurs who have toiled, failed and succeeded, and failed again and succeeded (Olufokunbi, 1995). Similarly the entrepreneurs can achieve this inter-relationship by: * Inviting academics to spend some time in their establishment e.g. Sabbatical leave; * Sending some of their staff for in-service training in tertiary institution * Visiting higher institutions on invitation to share experiences with students and staff * Financing research and consultancy especially those related to their businesses. CONCLUSION A survey of the administration of engineering education in Nigeria has been made in relation to technology development and self employment. Its advantages and drawbacks have been reviewed. It is now known that for any nation especially developing ones like Nigeria to grow and develop, proper attention has to be paid to the environment, condition and manner in which engineering education is taught in her institutions, as it is the backbone of all technology development. Qualitative mastery of the tenets of engineering by lectures and students will aid self-employment and inadvertently effect the actualization of the federal government of Nigeria’s vision 20-20-20 development goal. REFERENCES Oluka, S. I. Onwualu, A. P, Eneh, I. I. (1999). Engineer – In- Society. SNAAP printers and publishers, Enugu Eze, E. M, (2008). Infrastructural Development in Nigeria: Need for Engineering Edducation Reforms. On the occasion of 12th Herbert Macauly Memorial Lecture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, june 7, 2008 Bassi, S. Y, (2004), The role of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA) in Technology Transfer and Acquisition in African Countries. Proceeding of Africa Regional Conference on Engineering Educatio, University of Lagos, Nigeria, 20th-22nd September, 2004 Okoye, C. C. (1989). The place of manpower planning in national economic development. Paper presented at the national seminar on manpower planning organized by National Manpower Board in collaboration with ILO and UNDP http://www. herpnet. org/REFORMING_HIGHER_EDUCATION_IN_AFRICA/Chapter%2015. pdf Okadara, J. T. (1984). Employment Status of University of Ibadan Graduates 1950-1971 Ibadan University Press, Ibadan. Olunloyo, V. O. S (2002). The challenges of Globalization for the Design of Technical Curriculum in Developing Countries, First Edition, University of Lagos Press. Federal Government of Nigeria: National Manpower Board. 1986, 1984 Graduate Employment Tracer Study. Lagos, Nigeria. Oladeji, S. I. (1994). Absorption of educated manpower into Nigeria’s informal sector. Diagnostic Studies, National Manpower Board. Lagos, Nigeria. Adeniyi, E. O. (2001). Problems of the national education system. In strategies of introducing new curricula in West Africa, Akinyemi A. O. (1987). Effects of Government Policies on the Development of Small-Scale Industries in Nigeria. Paper presented at the National Conference on Small-Scale Industries Organized by Business and Projects Consultancy of NISER Ibadan. 23-25th Feb. 1987. Aladekomo O. Florence: Nigeria Educational Policy and Entrepreneurship. 2004. http://www. krepublishers. com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-09-0-000-000-2004-Web/JSS-09-2-075-148-2004-Abst-PDF/JSS-09-2-075-083-2004-Aladekomo-F-O/JSS-09-2-075-083-2004-Aladekomo-F-O. pdf Uwaifo V. O. (2005), Vocational Education and Generous education, Conflict or convergence. Niger J. Education press, Institute of Education; Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma Uddin P. S. O, Uwaifo, V. O, (2005). Principles and Practice of Vocational Technical Education in Nigeria, Ever blessed publishers, Benin City. Olufokunbi B. (1995). Entrepreneurship within The Nigerian Economy Today. Paper Presented at the Conference on Entrepreneurship within the Nigerian Economy organized by CIRD, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife. 11th Oct. 1995. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: en. wikipedia. org/wiki/education_in_Nigeria Science and Technology for Sustainable Development. 2002.