Motorola Failure

Motorola Mobility, the ailing cellphone maker that Google bought in May, told employees Sunday that it would lay off 20 percent of its work force and close a third of its 94 offices worldwide. The cuts are the first step in Google's plan to reinvent Motorola, which has fallen far behind its biggest competitors, Apple and Samsung, and to shore up its Android mobile business and expand beyond search and software into the manufacture of hardware. The turnaround effort will also be a referendum on the management of Larry Page, Google's chief executive, whose boldest move has been the $12. billion acquisition. Though Google bought Motorola partly because of its more than 17,000 patents, which can help defend against challenges to the Android operating system, it also planned to use Motorola to make its own, better smartphones and tablets. One-third of the 4,000 jobs lost will be in the United States. The company plans to leave unprofitable markets, stop making low-end devices and focus on a few cellphones instead of dozens, said Dennis Woodside, Motorola's new chief executive, in a rare interview. We're excited about the smartphone business,† said Mr. Woodside, who previously led Google's sales and operations for the Americas. â€Å"The Google business is built on a wired model, and as the world moves to a pretty much completely wireless model over time, it's really going to be important for Google to understand everything about the mobile consumer. † But some analysts wonder whether Google can succeed in the brutally competitive, low-margin cellphone business. Ninety percent of the profits in the smartphone space are going to Apple and Samsung, and everyone else from Motorola to RIM to LG to Nokia are picking up the scraps of that 10 percent,† said Charlie Kindel, a former manager at Microsoft who writes about the mobile industry. â€Å"There's no real sign that's changing anytime soon. † It was not always this way. Motorola executives lik e to talk about its glory days. The company, started in 1928 in Chicago, unveiled the first commercial cellphone in 1973.By 2004, it looked as if Motorola could again lead the cellphone industry when it introduced the popular Razr. But Apple and Samsung won consumers' hearts with the more exciting iPhone and Galaxy phones. Motorola Mobility – which split last year from Motorola Solutions, the division that makes devices like police radios – lost $233 million in its first six weeks under Google. The phone business has been unprofitable for 14 of the last 16 quarters. â€Å"It got left in the dust by the competition and kind of missed the smartphone transition,† said Charles S. Golvin, a mobile analyst at Forrester Research.In addition to the coming cuts, Google has gutted Motorola management, letting go 40 percent of its vice presidents. It also hired new senior executives. It will shrink operations in Asia and India, and center research and development in Chicag o, Sunnyvale and Beijing. Mr. Woodside also plans to cut the number of devices Motorola makes from the 27 it introduced last year to just a few. He wants to make the company's products cool again by loading them with things like sensors that recognize who is in a room based on their voices, cameras that take crisper photos and batteries that last for days.Many of these new ideas will come from a group of just a few dozen people within the company that has the unassuming name of Advanced Technology and Projects. To foster innovation, Google created the group to drop a Silicon Valley-style start-up into a lumbering Midwestern company and recruited Regina Dugan from the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, to run it. Ms. Dugan, though coming from Washington, already speaks the language of Silicon Valley. â€Å"It's a small, lean and agile group that is unafraid of failure,† she said, and it will â€Å"celebrate impatience. She is hiring metal scientis ts, acoustics engineers and artificial intelligence experts. They will work for her for only two years so they feel a sense of urgency, she said, an idea she borrowed from Darpa, where people wear their resignation date on their name tags. Motorola has been spending too much money on too many different cellphone components, said Mark Randall, whom Google recruited to run Motorola's supply chain from Amazon. com, where he did that for the Kindle. He said he planned to jettison suppliers and buy 50 percent fewer components.How to get people excited about Motorola phones when shiny iPhones are on the next shelf? Gary Briggs, who ran consumer marketing at Google and now does so at Motorola, is working on advertisements that he said would be more like Google's – simple and emotional. They will focus on Motorola's storied past and the ways the products are better than the competition's, like battery life. â€Å"We have a right to compete in this market,† Mr. Briggs said, â⠂¬Å"and I think we've got to prove why we're going to build and bring devices to people that are worth talking about again. † Competitors like Sony, LG and HTC will be watching losely to see how the Motorola-Google relationship develops, especially whether Motorola receives special treatment from Google. Like Motorola, they use the Android mobile operating system, for which Google receives no payment. â€Å"They certainly don't believe Google's going to keep a Chinese wall in place,† Mr. Kindel, the former Microsoft manager, said of the other cellphone makers. â€Å"The reality is people work together, they can pick up the phones and talk. There is going to be an advantage. † There is, for instance, a program for Google software engineers to work at Motorola for a year or two. But Mr.Woodside said Google benefited from many manufacturers' using Android, and repeated Google's promise that Motorola would have no advantages. He said Motorola would also compete equal ly with others to build Google-branded Nexus devices, which Google makes with a hardware partner when it introduces new versions of Android. A Motorola Mobility executive who recently left the company and would speak only on the condition of anonymity because he was uncomfortable talking to the news media, said that if anything, it had become more difficult than before for Motorola to have impromptu collaboration with the Android team.But still, because of the relationship, Motorola could get priority on Google products, like a mobile version of desktop software. And, people familiar with the companies say, Google could decide to follow Apple's lead and build a phone from silicon to software, perhaps by creating a separate operating system for Motorola that other phone makers cannot use. Google and Motorola seem to have a mutually beneficial marriage of hardware and software, Mr. Golvin said.Motorola needs software smarts and Google, which has struggled with Chrome laptops, Google T V and most recently the Nexus Q, needs help with hardware. Motorola's set-top boxes, which it sells to cable operators, could also help Google make the leap to TV screens, if it does not sell that business. In the meantime, Motorola's cellphone expertise has already been useful. Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, called to see whether the sky divers he had hired to perform at a recent conference could get cell reception a mile in the sky.

IKEA Case Essay

1. ) There are three main factors that account for IKEA’s success in the furniture retailing industry: (a) its unique, Scandinavian designs, (b) its product strategy, and (c) its cost efficiency. a. IKEA’s simple, yet unique designs are undoubtedly a critical factor in its success as a furniture retailing company. In its early years, IKEA’s cost-focused strategy led to its manufacturing of â€Å"low-priced furniture [that] was functional at best, ugly at worst† (4). However, over the last decade, the company has deliberately focused on creating products with a more distinct design aesthetic. Today, consumers appreciate IKEA furniture for its both its functionality and appeal, rather than solely for its functionality. Ingvar Kamprad, the company’s founder, first introduced furniture into the IKEA product range in 1947. He solicited local Scandinavian manufacturers in the forests close to his home to design and build the furniture. The history of Scandinavian influence on IKEA’s products and its company culture was a major factor in its success. b. IKEA’s innovative â€Å"matrix† product strategy was also critical in the company’s success. Its product-development process was â€Å"overseen by a product-strategy council, which consisted of a group of senior managers who established priorities for IKEA’s product lineup† (3). After analyzing consumer trends, these priorities were established, and a product developer would use â€Å"the matrix† to set the product’s target retail price. The matrix is a grid that consists of three basic price ranges and four basic styles, and within each price range, the company would survey the competition and set benchmarks of prices 30% to 50% lower than those of its rivals (3). The matrix also used to identify gaps in IKEA’s product lineup, because there was a separate matrix for each type of product the company sold. The â€Å"matrix† product strategy was very successful and has generated massive amounts of revenue for the company. c. IKEA’s cost efficiency plan was a huge determinant of its success. In 1956, IKEA began designing products so that they could be packaged flat and assembled by customers on their own. This greatly reduced transportation, labor and storage costs, and it enabled the company to charge lower prices to consumers. IKEA estimated that its â€Å"transport volume was six times less than if it shipped its products assembled† (4). Like Wal-Mart, IKEA emphasized cost efficiency in its company culture. Employees were encouraged to save on electricity by turning off lights and idle computers, and managers always traveled coach and took buses instead of taxis if possible (3). The company focused on cost-efficiency in engineering its products as well. IKEA liked to use high-quality materials on furniture surfaces that were high-stress and visible and low-quality materials on surfaces that were low-stress and less visible to the consumer. These cost-cutting measures definitely helped IKEA become successful. 2. ) I believe IKEA’s slogan – â€Å"Low price with meaning† – perfectly parallels its product strategy and product range. The â€Å"matrix† development system seems overly simple, but it has been proven to work. Of course, there are sure to be some discrepancies regarding the competition’s prices, but IKEA’s product strategy and â€Å"matrix† system does a good job of targeting potential market opportunities as well as pinpointing areas of improvement and gaps in its product range. Overall, I think IKEA’s product strategy and its product range are perfectly suited to the company’s culture and slogan. The matrix system allows IKEA to deliver to customers the best possible product at low prices. 3. ) There are definitely some downsides to shopping at IKEA. The biggest downside is the realization that the furniture you are buying probably won’t last very long. Some of IKEA’s products have been known to fall apart after only a few years or during a simple move to another apartment. Another glaring downside is the fact that customers must pick-up and assemble their purchases without the help of an IKEA employee. Of course, this is part of what makes IKEA unique and what enables the company to charge its low prices. The final downside to shopping at IKEA is the low ratio of sales reps to customers. Ironically, the company’s vision statement proclaims that IKEA wishes to establish a â€Å"partnership† with its customers. On a global scale, IKEA has created a partnership with its customers through selling appealing yet affordable products. But on a smaller scale, and more specifically, within individual IKEA outlets, the company has failed its mission. Its strategy of having consumers purchase products (most likely without the help of a sales rep) and then immediately drive home to assemble them creates a clear disconnect between the company and its customers. Manufacturing functional furniture does not create relationships, it drives profits, and if IKEA truly wants to establish a â€Å"partnership† with each of its customers (while creating appealing and affordable furniture), it has to find a way to make consumers feel less disconnected; they have to feel as though they are a art of the brand. I believe more sales reps could be a good start to fixing this issue. 4. ) I agree with the concept of â€Å"mini-IKEA† stores. Implementing â€Å"IKEA Lite† shops would expose the brand to a larger and more diverse customer base. IKEA outlets are notorious for being large, cavernous warehouses – a typical outlet consumes 15,000 to 35,000 square meters. IKEA could create more brand awareness by installing IKEA Lite shops in shopping malls or in large, urban areas where retail space is scarce. Overall, I think it’s a great concept and would serve the brand well. 5. ) No, IKEA is not being overly optimistic in its growth plan of opening fifty stores in the United States by 2013. Many furniture retailers have far more than fifty stores in the United States. Wal-Mart, the leading US furniture retailer, has 4,005 stores in the US, so I think IKEA’s goal of fifty stores, while lofty, is perfectly reasonable and would position the company well to gain a greater market presence in North America. I think IKEA could improve its value proposition by providing more after-service support and communicating more with its consumers about who its suppliers are, what its working conditions are like, etc. , because Americans value ethical companies and transparency. We want to buy products from a company we can trust. 6. ) I don’t think IKEA needs to change a lot with regards to its product strategy in order to accomplish its goal of having 50 stores in the United States by 2013. I think IKEA should make the product matrix more detailed to account for the larger US furniture market. By this, I mean break down the designations of â€Å"high,† â€Å"medium,† and â€Å"low† in the product matrix into specific percentages. Going along with this, the company could add more than four styles to its product matrix to allow for more specificity. I believe if IKEA created more specific price points and furniture styles, the matrix system will continue to work and help the company identify gaps in its product line.

Umar Cheema and International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Umar Cheema and International Relations - Essay Example He is not only fighting for his country but also trying to encourage other countries to open their minds and try to have a deeper look of what is really happening in their countries and the citizens. He’s work on condemning the September attack that left bruised and battered did not stop him in his goals to make a change and fight for a cause (Maina, 2011). The Tully Center Free Speech Award honors journalists who show courage in the face of threats against free speech. The Martha Gellhorn Award for Bravery was awarded to Cheema having obtained unanimous votes from the judges. International relations is sometimes called as â€Å"foreign relations† which refers to the collective interactions of the international community, individual nations and states, inter-governmental organizations such as the United Nations, non-governmental organizations like Doctors Without Borders, multinational corporations, and so forth (www.wisegeek,com, What is International Relations).

Training and Employee Development Annotated Bibliography

Training and Employee Development - Annotated Bibliography Example Undeniably, training is a very important component of any profession and as such every organization has to provide for the training needs. The provision comes in varying forms, for instance, large enterprises can have dedicated training departments while small organizations can outsource the services from individuals or dedicated training institutions( Carliner 2003, p. 45). There are is need to have a form of training, whether it is outsourcing or having an established and dedicated department. First, training is beneficial to the company staff in many ways and to the company since they are the company’s critical asset. It improves organizational efficacy through the use of refined skill imparted to the trainees. It also transforms the organization by improving the capabilities of the human resource department (HRD). The HRD is able to perform effectively and deliver its mandate to supply the company with a motivated and equipped workforce. The fundamental aim of training is to develop the capacity to realize and accomplish a company’s aims. Developing this capacity requires learning new skills, communication patterns, attitudes, and knowledge. In some instances, the aforementioned already are in the trainees and the training comes in handy to refresh or hone those requirements. The initial form of training was developing organizational skills of workers. In the early ages, industrialization, and development, workers were required to work together and in groups. To enhance coordination, groups were required to have a common understanding of the tasks and role-playing. In this century, training progress is relentless. The training activity assumes that you can prepare individuals for the future by taking them through what worked in the past. Training department has had challenges from the changing times.     

Evaluation of an argument through analysis Essay - 1

Evaluation of an argument through analysis - Essay Example To aggrandize on this judgment, it is wise to relate the aspect of rational and irrational factors; while the latter can be related to women, it can as well be used to justify why women speak much. Irrational persons tend not to take close precaution while speaking and factors can be related to their superior speaking techniques which in most cases are situation and theoretically assembled (Holmes, 38). Nevertheless, rational talk attributed to men is based on attributes of honesty, factual and being concise. However, Holmes argument is not based on the amount of words spoken but on the quality of the talk. She challenges women to construct a formidable talk in order to counter balance patriarchy. Primarily, Holmes present women talk based on social factors such as friendship and trivial relationships, compared to male talk which focused on critical global arguments. To justify the above description, it is wise to note that Holmes essay is based empirical evidence in critical examina tion based on science, environment and demagogy principles. The essay has applied strong literature dogmas; for instance, of humor, proverbs, imagery/ symbolism, simile/ metaphors and as well borrowing close examples. This essay will counter examine Holmes essay by; firstly, close checking on the claim and subsidiary claims. Secondly, the essay will base its principles on hilarious practical evidence presented. Thirdly, the essay will examine on technical presentation applied by Holmes; primarily focusing on opposing views, credibility, language, organization and the tone of the essay. Finally, the conclusion will establish whether the argument â€Å"women talk too much is valid†. Claim What is the main claim presented in the essay? Is it clearly stated the essay does it reflect the purpose of the essay The main claim in the essay is the argument against the quality of talk compared between sexes and what governs the talk. While men uses talk to exemplify power, women uses ta lk to express emotions and relations. Women are more interested on trivial elements; for instance, of how the society perceive them as individuals and not what men argues out; how the society perceive the general concept life and how it affects mankind, what are the necessary changes and solutions to challenges. The essay categorizes men as discreet and in very unique cases they would speak out their problems but women are more interested in speaking out their lives to access comfort. According to Holmes (43), men are interested in presenting a certain social point of view and debating on it, while women are more concerned whether the point of view does directly affect them What are subsidiary claims presented in the essay? In other words what claims are used to support the main claim? Are the claims clear and valid? And they related to the main claim? Holmes aggrandizes on the main point of view, literature aspects have been categorically employed to empower the main point. Subsidi ary claims presented stretch from literature, psychological, gender and biological claims. For instance, according to the essay women are more interested to hear their own voice than the validity of what they are talking about. Consequently, biological claims prove that; while a male is developing before conception, the testosterone hormone alters the brain (Brizendine, 2011 56). The hormone is significant in

Organizational Structure Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Structure - Annotated Bibliography Example The author used to be a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and has a Ph.D in the subject of social psychology. His work is objective in nature because it is completely based on objective research. The opinions formed in the book are based on these researches. The author proposes that the organizational culture can be utilized as a tool for adopting and promoting change. The book even focuses on the significance of leaders and their contribution towards utilization of culture to attain organizational aims and objectives. The content of the book provides various theories that can help in identifying how different leaders use different leadership styles to promote organizational change. This information will be used in the research to identify the impact of leadership on culture and how culture can become a change driver. Vaccaro, I., Jansen, J., Van Den Bosch, F., & Volberda, H. (2012). Management innovation and leadership: the moderating role of organizational size. Journal Of Management Studies, 49(1), 28--51. The source titled â€Å"Management innovation and leadership: the moderating role of organizational size† has been authored by Ignacio G. Vaccaro and other researchers and the source is a journal article (Vaccaro, 2012). The source has been published in a journal titled Journal of Management Studies and the sources has been cited for 96 times. The Journal in which the article is published is a journal that published research regarding management and social sciences and the article is reviewed by experts of the field and if the article is relevant to the subject of journal, it is published in the journal. The research is accepted as it is scientific in nature and the findings are based on results obtained from statistical tools which make the results objective in nature. The author of the article is associated with the Department of Strategic

Healthcare Factors behind Cost Curve and Supply Curve Coursework

Healthcare Factors behind Cost Curve and Supply Curve - Coursework Example The recent scare globally is the threat of ebola, which needs special attention from the healthcare providers. Hospitals need to be ready for such emergencies to ensure safety of all citizens in the country. Secondly, affordability of healthcare services to most citizens remains to be a great issue that the federal government seeks to address. The cost of medical care continues to shoot day by day. The amounts allocated in the federal budget every financial year continues to rise despite various interventions to this sector. From the report that was recently issued by the government, it predicted that the entire spending of this sector will be close to 20 percent of the GDP by the year 2016. Policymakers have largely questioned this because increase costs does not reflect better, and quality services in these hospitals (Hicks, 2014). Further, the sector has vowed to eliminate both racial and ethnic disparities in their institutions. Trainings to all members of staff operating in these hospitals has been enhanced in oder to ensure performance excellence and improved healthcare services to all in the country. I totally agree with her arguments and findings. For instance, with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, every citizen and employee in this industry is expected to have an insurance cover. However, most people who are insured are seeking medical care from these hospitals leading to strain on the available resources. Hence, this directly affects the cost curves. To some extend, people who are insured are normally charged slightly higher in these hospitals. Another issue that has been addressed in her essay is the number of taskforce operating in rural hospitals in the country. Generally, there is a shortage, and the federal government has to address this issue by employing more staff to work in these hospitals. Most of these hospitals operating in these areas experience a lot of pressure due to

The Economics of Speculative Construction Development Term Paper

The Economics of Speculative Construction Development - Term Paper Example The housing sector in 2010 had recorded sales of 276,000 houses in the urban and semi-urban areas. This figure in last few years has increased to approximately 454,000 (Athey, 2009). Although the housing sector has been earning steady revenues, the required rate of growth has not been satisfactory. Common people are finding it risky to invest in property by acquiring loans due to the consistent rise of interests. Post financial crisis, most of the financial institutions have established stringent policies in respect of providing housing loans. The housing sector of the U.K. however plays a major role in the development of the economy as a whole. Even though the sector has been incurring slow growths, the revenue obtained from the housing and development sector is seen to be persistently high. The demands for houses have remained high as the economy is quite prosperous. Individual in the U.K have a high level of disposable income, due to which they find it feasible to invest in proper ty (Berry and McGreal, 2003). Research and studies in this sector have indicated that the demand for houses is expected to rise steadily. Construction companies are, hence, considering it profitable to develop sites and invest in properties of the U.K (Harrison and Leitch, 2010). In order to boost the housing and development sector, foreign investors are devising different types of schemes. Since population is consistently rising, it is essential for property developers to construct more homes. A recent survey had estimated that it is essential to build at least 150,000 new homes each year so as to be able meet housing requirements of the growing population (Haveman and Sexton, 2008). In the recent years, many real estate developers from the U.S. have increased their investments in the U.K. The positive market trends and steady growth in real estate have been successful in attracting foreign investors (Berry

Describe in detail the set of religious observances known as the Five Essay

Describe in detail the set of religious observances known as the Five Pillars of Islam - Essay Example The five pillars of Islam form the foundation of worship and dedication to the Islamic faith. They are: Shahada, Salat, Sawm, Zakat and Hajj (Ellwood, & McGraw, 2009). Shahadah is a statement of belief that professes monotheism and acceptance of Muhammad as the messenger of God (Allah) (Ellwood, & McGraw, 2009). The creed is customarily recited in Arabic during each call to prayer (Azaan) and when one wishes to convert to Islam. It is also believed that one should also recite the creed when they are about to die. Salat describes the obligatory set of prayers that each Muslim should partake in daily. It consists of five prayers that should be recited each day as defined by the Sunna (Hedayetullah, 2006). The first prayer is the Fajr that is performed at dawn just before the sunrise. The second prayer is the Dhuhr and is performed at noon after the sun has passed its apex. The third prayer is the Ê ¿Aá ¹ £r that is performed in the afternoon before the sun sets. The forth prayer is the Maghrib which is performed in the evening after the sun sets. The final prayer is the Isha which is performed at night. Each of these prayers comprises of a set amount of rakaÊ ¿Ã„ t (prescribed words and movements). All of the prayers are performed while facing the Islamic holy city of Mecca. Before each prayer, Muslims must partake in Wudu (Cleansing), achieved by washing themselves. The third pillar of Islam is fasting (Sawm). According to the Quran, there are three types of fasting that Muslims should partake in. During the month of Ramadan, all Muslims have to partake in ritual fasting. This type of fasting is mandatory and followers of Islam have to refrain from eating, drinking and other worldly pleasures from dawn to dusk during the whole period (Khan, 2006). They are also expected to be particularly attentive of other sins. The other two types of fasting are as compensation to penance and abstinent fasting. Sawm allows believers to

Coming to America, Scarface, and Borat Essay Example for Free

Coming to America, Scarface, and Borat Essay Motion pictures due to its nature, creates somehow a subliminal effect on its viewers. Certain dialogue and inherent acting can leave an impression to anyone who may watch it. These impressions have a large probability that what people see on screen could actually be real. Filmmakers on the other hand, know this effect on its viewers and create movies based on their own intention. For some filmmakers the purpose could be is to simply entertain, for others to educate. But even with this purpose in mind, some films made even though most likely unintentional, can cause a variety of reactions depending on the viewers perspective and comprehension of a specific film. A lot of these kinds of reactions may come from a twisting plot or a thought provoking characterization of its actors. The latter proves to have more reactions generated due to its social relevance, the characterization in films by the minorities of society. Since the inception of including minorities in film, a lot of criticisms were raised due to what others may deem offensive for the part of how the minorities are at times being falsely stereotyped and while others will consider it socially acceptable when analyzing it in a larger context (Sienkiewicz Marx, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze three films namely Scarface, Coming to America, and Borat. The study will discuss the roles portrayed by the lead actors in which they are also considered as part of the social minorities. This paper will break down the stereotypes or negative images in which the film may convey and how does these films contribute to oppression of one group or another. Data Analysis Coming to America In this film, Eddie Murphy plays the role of Prince Akeem a soon to be King of his wealthy country Zamunda. The plot revolves around Prince Akeem’s motivation to find his bride, since the type of wives being offered to him by the current king his Father, seems to be like Prince Akeem’s soon to be slaves, due to their nature to obey and please whatever the Prince will desire. That part alone shows the characters of women, (in this movie majority of the women are black) especially growing out from poverty will do anything just to get married to a Prince. Although women here is not considered minority but the negative image conveyed by the film of their characters, except for the main lady Lisa McDowell (in which Prince Akeem soon married due to her distinct quality), are basically like Gold diggers and will do absolutely anything just to get rich. Another incident, in which the film portrays and intentionally to be funny, was when Akeem and his cousin went to America to find the bride of his dreams, they encountered deceit and theft mainly from black people living in the impoverished area of Queens New York. Criticisms here depends on the type of viewer perception, some may react that not all Black people are like that, and they might even add that they just did those crimes due to poverty, but others will just look at it as unintentional and as a way to create a joke, but based on a study social and political themes the proportion of blacks who resort to violence has risen substantially over the last decade (Powers, Rothman Rothman, 1996, p. 179). Also a scene worth noting, was when it showed the future Father in-law of Akeem, Cleo McDowell (played by John Amos) running his business, which have almost the perfect resemblance of McDonalds due to its signature usage of the Golden Arches, in which he calls the McDowell’s. This scene portrays another character of the black people engaged in playful deceit for the purpose of comedy, although ugh the scene naturally funny but again may create a message that in general black people are simply like that. Even on the way Cleo treats his daughter on finding the right man, he always preferred a wealthy young man to be his future son in law, thus Akeem here for his purpose to be loved by the way he is and not for money he assumed the role of a poor man, in which his Cleo totally disliked and preferred the more well off son of a rich family Daryl. Deceit lies and the motivation for money seems to be the underlying themes of this movie, although created as a comedy to somehow cover these types of elements, it was really shown clearly when the stereotyping ended on the scene when Akeem’s father the King went to New York to find his son and stop the potential marriage of him and Lisa, offered a significant amount of money to Cleo for his troubles, Cleo then stood up for his hidden principles and reacted as if it was an insult to treat her daughter like that. This could a positive affirmation and probably the filmmakers created this scene for viewers not to generalize and jump into conclusions on the nature of the black people in this film. Scarface On the movie Scarface, Al Pacino plays the role of a Cuban refugee named Tony Montana. As an immigrant Tony was depicted as a very strong character incapable of fear especially driven by his goal of making it big on a different country like America. This characterization of Al Pacino explains the American immigrant experience suggesting that crime which is the centerpiece of which is drugs cannot be disconnected from the American Dream (Sharret, 2001). After him and his best friend Manolo (played by Steven Bauer) went out the refugee camp after a tumultuous rebellion, they found themselves on having a job as dishwashers. This shows that in America most of the jobs for immigrants with little education end up as blue collared workers doing hard work and long hours. This kind of work only made Tony feels that it was nothing different from back home in which he tried anything possible to get away of the communism grip. He decided to results into what he feels he can do best. Violence and drug dealing, this has made the movie somehow more dangerous in respect to all immigrants trying to live an honest hardworking life in America, as viewers may perceive that this is the way immigrants are, due to their background on either poverty or a tough government from their own countries. Thus stereotyping again may exists, however this film offered much more than just the immigrant experience, from that foundation it went to describe the both the horrific image of drugs in the contemporary world and the violence and corruption attached to it (same as Sharret, 2001). It was not long when Tony Montana thought he had achieved the American Dream, he killed his former boss, took away his business and his wife and even his own bodyguard to work for him. This happened as portrayed, that tension occurs when minorities (like Tony the immigrant from Cuba) and his White boss tried; but failed to resolve issues and misunderstandings (Powers, Rothman Rothman, 1996, p. 180). Tony knows he cannot do it alone without the help of corrupt bureaucrats who actually assist drug traffic as part of the realpolitik of post-war foreign policy (same as Sharret, 2001). Those scenes have a tremendous negative effect on not only to the violence by an immigrant but on his ability to utilize the system of the society in America that seems to support the idea of competition and acquisition as hallmarks of success and accomplishment (same as Sharret, 2001). There was what it seems as turning point in the film, in which Tony, His Wife Elvira (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and Manolo went to a fine dining restaurant. In this particular scene Tony now considered rich and powerful, went beyond as he insulted his wife for being a drug addict, and made a scene with the whole considered to be the elite class of the society. The film conveys the message that this kind of society only knows where to point fingers when it comes to trouble and it a lot of times it goes to the immigrants whom they perceived are the bad guys and specializes on dealing drugs and partaking in violence. This explains that those other diners may have no idea what an immigrant experience could be and possibly do not care except if it affects them directly, in this particular scene it did. A lot of people considered Scarface as an epic gangster film, due to its themes of the capitalist lifestyle (in contrast to communism) violence and effects of drugs. Borat Borat is a film, that is supposed to comedic in nature, turned out as a heavy racist context, full of offensive themes for both the Kazakhstan people and the Americans as well according to its critics. But is it really? again depending on the type of viewers’ point of view. The film portrayed the country of Kazakhstan as a medieval society in which rape and incest are cheerfully accepted, and sometimes combined, some audiences knows that this kind of joke is not on the country itself, but on the western perception that foreign cultures are backward (Ryan, 2006). The ploy is centered on the character Borat Sagdiyev, (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) Kazakhstans second-best reporter, going to America to analyze the attitude and nature of the American people. In his travel accompanied by his producer Azamat Bagatov (played by Ken Davitian), Borat tries to learn the American sense of humor by interviewing an American coach, this scene conveys that the joke in which adding the word and exclamation Not! At the end of every sentence is proudly of American Origin ( same as Ryan, 2006). The other particular scene in which Borat interviewed the Veteran Feminists of America, can be considered nothing more sophisticated than a prank at the expense of those who dont know what the joke is, or even that there is a joke (same as Ryan, 2006). But this scene in particular portrayed the seriousness of the Veteran Feminists which either way doesn’t want to be stereotyped as Borat would prefer. This somewhat immigrant experience of Borat has also led him to his infatuation to television personality Pamela Anderson. Borat then meet with a group of drunken friends ( which this scene is not scripted) and these guy showed Borat a videotape of Pamela Anderson having sex with his then boyfriend Tommy Lee, having seen this Borat feels very depressed, since in his country the belief of virginity is very important, and before he have seen the video he thought that Pamela is still a virgin, this again portrays that Kazakhstan people are primitive as well as naive. The guys who showed Borat the video claimed (since this was an actual shot) that they are unfairly represented in the film as sexist louts because of their drunken state, but during that scene their celebratory screening of the tape reveals their sexism indisputably (Metz, 2007). There a lot of scenes in the film in which can be easily concluded as racist tags or false stereotyping, but as some of the scenes which are shot are not scripted like, the scene discussed earlier, explains some of the actual nature of the Americans on how they sometimes treat an immigrant especially if they don’t have any background of a specific immigrant. The immigrant experience here shows that people in whom he interacts can be well perceived as if they are trying to understand the minority, but at the same time holding their ground if they see something is not just normal by their standards. Conclusion The influence of film on audience perception can really be significant. Especially when dealing with the social order of the society. In this study we analyzed three films on which the corresponding focal point is the immigrant experience by the main characters. They all seemed reacting on what the new society already has in place for them. For us viewers, we see these types of minorities and a lot of times we simply cannot enjoy a film as it is, due to the disturbance of the negative messages of violence, offensive jokes, racism, drugs, sexism and lot of subliminal messages the film itself conveys to us. The problem with this is clear from this study, that it indeed has an effect that can possibly create oppression for a particular group, and in this case the immigrant minorities of our society. Reference List Charles, L. (2006). Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. United States:Four by Two. De Palma, B. (1983). Scarface. United States:Universal Pictures Landis, J. (1988). Coming to America. United States:Eddie Murphy Productions Metz, W. (2007) Shark Porn: Film Genre, Reception Studies, and Chris Kentis Open Water. Film Criticism 31. 1 Powers, S. , Rothman, D. , and Rothman, S. (1996). Hollywoods America: Social and Political Themes in Motion Pictures. Boulder. CO: Westview Press. Sharrett, C. (2001). Cinematic Drug Wars. USA Today, Society for the Advancement of Education. Sienkiewicz, M. Marx, N. (2009). Beyond a Cutout World: Ethnic Humor and Discursive Integration in South Park. Journal of film and video 61. 2 Ryan, G (2006). Thongs of Freedom: The Kazakh Ace Reporter Uncovers Uncomfortable Truths about the US. New Statesman

The Information Seeking Behavior of Graduate Students

The Information Seeking Behavior of Graduate Students People seek information in different ways and using different methods to access the information they need. One individual might prefer to get the information from a news agency while another might prefer to access the latest news online or from TV, newspapers, and SMS services. Academics and students have their own unique seeking behavior and their own ways of obtaining information whether it is from a scholarly database, the web, library collections, or from their peers, therefore, it is important for us to know in this thesis how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. Another important factor that this research is looking at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established information behavioral model, and if that model can help us explain more clearly the seeking behavior and the process students go through when searching for and obtaining the information they need. From my experience as a university graduate student in Kuwait University, graduate students face problems related to how to search and seek out related information in the appropriate databases for their work. Because there is an absence of a course and a curriculum in Kuwait University that teaches the basics of information, information types, information searching process, information seeking behavior, and an information seeking guide or strategy design, the graduate students spend most of their time struggling to find a suitable way to seek and obtain the information they need correctly. This information seeking process is done on a trial and error basis by the graduate students during their coursework assignments and projects. It would be more helpful to have this kind of information incorporated in the universitys courses and curriculum especially in the first year of study to help the students improve their information seeking process. Some students also face access problems bec ause they are not given access to the databases from outside the campus by some universities. This thesis will investigate how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. It is also important to know in this research whether the students were satisfied with the material they found during their searching process, and whether the resources found was enough for them in which they got to a point where they stopped searching for any more materials. Another important area of investigation that this research is looking at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established information behavioral model, and if that model can help us explain more clearly the seeking behavior and the process students go through when searching for and obtaining the information they need. It is interesting that there arent many or enough previous research studies that study graduate students research activities and problems students faced during the information seeking process. For this reason, graduate students information seeking behavior will be examined to identify the types of search activities undertaken, and the problems they faced during their coursework and research papers. Although a number of studies have been conducted on information seeking behavior, but the issue of research activities interrelation with topic-related activities, how the results of the search activities were understood by the students, and whether the students feel that they have satisficed their information needs and achieved information fulfillment particularly in the context of Kuwait University graduate students in Kuwait, as one of the developing countries, have not been given much consideration. Also, there is a gap in the information seeking models described in the literature revi ew, whereas the models dont show the integration of students library usage or knowledge about their resources as well as citation analysis. There needs to be an integration of library use and citation analysis in these models to give a better understanding of students information seeking behavior. It is important to understand how students browse the variety of resources because it helps educators in developing and assessing courses designed to instruct their students in library and electronic usage. However, there might be a possibility that students may not be familiar with library resources, or not be aware of which resources a library might have, or how to make use of them. It is therefore of interest to us to try and understand what makes one student go out and explore library resources, while another one might not use the library for printed material but instead uses only electronic or web resources to access the material needed from a remote location such as from the working offices or from home (Waldman, 2003). 2. Related Work Since this thesiss research questions focuses on investigating the information seeking activities that are undertaken by graduate students, when students feel that they have satisficed their information needs, and did the students achieve information fulfillment, it is important to define these terms in relation to this research. There is an increasing recognition that in order to understand information seeking we need to understand the context in which it takes place and which to some extent shapes it (Allen and Kim, 2001; Brezillon and Saker, 1999; Chang and Lee, 2000; Cool, 2001; Kuhlthau and Vakkari, 1999; Solomon, 2002; Sonnenwald, 1999; Talja et al., 1999; Vakkari et al., 1997; Wilson and Allen, 1999 cited in Ford, 2004, p. 183). Information seeking within its broader context is often termed information behaviour, defined by Wilson (1999, p. 249, cited in Ford, 2004, p. 183) as: those activities a person may engage in when identifying his or her own needs for information, searc hing for such information in any way, and using or transferring that information. The notion of information behavior broadens that of information seeking by including consideration of the use of information in satisfying the purposes for which it was required. But taking into account such wider context may also have a narrowing effect, since the contextual elements that broaden the focus of a model may at the same time narrow its generality, in that they may be specific to particular domains of activity (Ford, 2004, p.183). Simon defines satisficing as a decision-making process through which an individual decides when an alternative approach or solution is sufficient to meet the individuals desired goals rather than pursue the perfect approach (Simon, 1971, p. 71 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). When individuals satisfice, they compare the benefits of obtaining more information against the additional cost and effort of continuing to search (Schmid, 2004 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). In fact, in many organizations, problems are considered resolved when a good enough solution has been found, that is the manager satisfices as she looks for a course of action that is satisfactory (Choo, 1998, p. 49 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). Theoretically, decision makers consider all potential alternatives until the optimal solution emerges (Stroh et al., 2002 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). However, such an exhaustive analysis would require additional time and expenditure which information se ekers must weigh against the likelihood that they will find additional information of sufficient value to offset the cost of continued searching. The consequences of putting time and effort into finding optimal solutions can be costly; therefore, decision makers must be willing to forgo the best solution in favor of one that is acceptable (Stroh et al., 2002, p. 94 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78). In so doing, information seekers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦satisficeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and choose the one [solution] that produces an outcome that is good enough' (Stroh et al., 2002, p. 94 cited in Prabha et al., 2007, p. 78) The foregoing examples suggest that users may satisfice their need for information based on what they are able to find and thus stop looking for more information. Users may also stop looking for information prematurely if the information systems are difficult or unusable. The very abundance of information makes it crucial for information seekers to decide what information is enough to meet their objectives. (Prabha et al. 2007, p. 78). Information Fulfillment can be defined as the achievement of all information needs. The provenance of the term can be traced back to the 1870s when it was used to describe the fulfillment of a commercial order. The aim of an information system is to ensure that the end user is able to function effectively within the organization and able to access all the necessary information in order to complete a task. There have been a variety of information models proposed which aim to plot the sequences of events from the initial information seeking to information finding (Burke, 2006, p.446). Seeking information is still a fundamental activity which involves searching, collecting, organizing, storing, retrieving, and using information (Abouserie, 2007). Abouserie (2007) stated that it has become easy to save time and make less effort in retrieving information on a subject or to get a information source by its title, author, subject, and date of publication through the use of information based research tools. He also explained that the tasks of making several information seeking strategies and retrieving information have been improved by the emergence of new generations of hardware and software (Machionini, 1995 cited in Abouserie, 2007, p.3). Adequate knowledge about the information needs of users is imperative for libraries in re-orienting their collections, services and activities to synchronize them with the information seeking behavior of users. New technologies have affected the information seeking process. These technologies have affected some functions and processe s in universities, schools, libraries, and information centers (Abouserie, 2007). Abouserie (2007) also described that storing, organizing, retrieving, and providing access to information are the main processes that have been positively affected. Many library materials are available in online databases. In addition, it becomes possible for many users to use each database at the same time without affecting the quality of the service or the response rate. He also stated that information seeking is a broad term that includes the ways individuals formulate their information needs, seek, evaluate, select and use the needed information. Many factors contribute to the selection and use of different information sources such as: cost, past success, accuracy, reliability, comprehensiveness, usefulness, currency, response time, accessibility, technical quality, and the format. Investigations into the information needs and information seeking patterns of individuals would help improve the current information systems and resources for providing to the continuous changing needs of their users (Abouserie, 2007). In this thesis information seeking behavior is described as an individuals way and manner of gathering and sourcing for information for personal use, knowledge updating and development (Kakai et al, 2004 cited in Ajiboye, 2007, p.546). Waldman (2003) stated that information seeking behavior is the way people search for and utilize information. It is important to understand what factors are relevant in motivating a person to seek out information. A particular focus of inquiry has been on those factors that play a role in deciding to use the library and its resources as a place to seek information, either physically or virtually, as opposed to just surfing the Internet. He also stated that it would appear that more people are using the Internet to find information they need, and information that is unmediated by the library. He stated that informed library users are aware that libraries have resources that are more comprehensive and scholarly in nature than most Web resources available on the Internet. Also, libraries may provide access to scholarly literature that is not freely available on the Web, or may not be online at all. Equally important, users become aware of libraries resources, usually while having to write research papers in their undergraduate or graduate studies. Waldman (2003) also said that it is critical to understand what makes students use the librarys resources whether (print and/or electronic) while others will not think of the library as a place to find scholarly resources for their papers. One difficulty to the use of a librarys resources, and in particular its electronic resources, is that they are not seen as being direct. In contrast to an Internet search engine, where a single keyword search will usually result in thousands of hits, no matter what the topic is, on the other hand, in the library, students have to choose a particular database and be more selective in the search words they use according to Waldman (2003). 3. Objective of the research and the proposed methodology The aim of this thesis is to know how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. It also aims at knowing whether the students were satisfied with the material they found during their searching process, and whether the resources found was enough for them in which they got to a point where they stopped searching for any more materials. Another important factor that this research aims at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established information behavioral model, and if that model can help us explain more clearly the seeking behavior and the process students go through when searching for and obtaining the information they need. The following objectives will be used in the study to structure the inquiry and to guide the development of the research procedures and methodologies: To identify and synthesize the literature relevant to information seeking behavior. To determine the place of this research within the published literature. To select and develop a method of data collection. To examine and analyze how students obtain the information they need. To gather and represent data on the information seeking activities and strategies of students. To investigate the extent to which model of the information seeking models could explain the information behavior of graduate students. To test the applicability of a generic (Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981) and a non-linear information model (Fosters 2005 information behavior model) to the information behavior of graduate students. To examine what difficulties students face and what types of behavior they experience during their information seeking process when finding or not finding the appropriate information. For this reason, an exploratory qualitative research approach with semi-structured, in-depth interviews was chosen as the methodology, because this research focuses on studying the information seeking behavior of graduate students, and the most suitable method to study the behavior of students as well as their information needs and process of acquiring information is through the qualitative method. According to Ambert et. al. (1995) qualitative research seeks depth rather than breadth, and instead of drawing from a large sample of an entire population, qualitative researchers seek to acquire in-depth information about a smaller group of persons. The aim of qualitative research is to clear about how and why people behave, think, and make meaning as they do, rather than focusing on what people do or believe on a large scale. In addition, qualitative research frequently results in discovery of new information, and new practices or behaviors rather than verification. It may also involve complete redirection, or modification of, or additions to, existing ideas or models. Qualitative methods are a set of data collection and analysis techniques that can be used to provide description, build theory, and to test theory Van Maanen (1979 cited in Shah and Corley, 2006, p.1824). The reason why quantitative method is not being used in this research is because this thesiss aims and objectives are not to develop and employ mathematical models and hypotheses concerning phenomena using calculations and statistical procedures. Qualitative research is a better method to be used for this thesis because it provides a deeper understanding of the issues and insight into the process we are studying. Researchers in this field such as George, C. et al. (2006) study explored graduate students information behavior related to their process of inquiry and scholarly activities. Qualitative method was used through in depth, semi-structured interviews that were conducted with one hundred graduate students representing all disciplines and departments from Carnegie Mellon Univers ity. Other researchers like Foster (2005) offers a new, nonlinear model of information seeking behavior, which contrasts with earlier stage models of information behavior and represents a potential cornerstone for a shift towards a new perspective for understanding user information behavior. The model is based on the findings of a study on interdisciplinary information-seeking behavior. The study followed a qualitative approach using interviews of 45 academics. The interview results were inductively analyzed and an alternative framework for understanding information seeking behavior was developed. The research approach that will be applied in this thesis will be the use of Grounded Theory (GT). This thesis and its research questions try to find an answer or an explanation to the phenomenon which is the graduate students information seeking behavior. This research has no previous theory or a hypothesis to test, but it seeks to generate a new idea, information, added value, or a theor y to previous research done in the subject of information seeking behavior of graduate students. Therefore, the most suitable qualitative data analysis method chosen for this thesis is Grounded Theory (GT). Grounded Theory is a general, inductive, and interpretive research approach which was originated in 1967 by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Glaser defines grounded theory as an approach that is based on the systematic generation of theory from the data collected and analyzed that is obtained from social research. Theory is generated during the actual research, and this is achieved through continuous interplay between analysis and data collection. Researchers who use GT as their research method do not test or verify any preconceived hypothesis. In contrast, researchers in this approach develop new theory based on the collected data. Instead of having hypotheses to test, researchers in GT studies have research questions to address. In grounded theory, a researcher should keep his/her mind open to any possible evidence that might exist in the dataset. In Glasers words (1992, p. 8) GT is inductively generating theory through qualitative analysis of qualitative and/or quantitative data. To define the meaning of qualitative analysis, Glaser (1992, p. 1) states that qualitative analysis entails any kind of analysis that generates findings or concepts, as in grounded theory, that are not arrived at by statistical methods. Although GT is a well-established methodology, it is an approach to research rather than a detailed research method. The general goal of GT research is to develop theories in order to understand the phenomenon under study. GT has been developed and also used within the field of social science, and has been successfully employed by people in a variety of different disciplines including information science. In addition, Pace (2004) states that the main and essential stages in the process of GT development involves first coding the data collected, memo writing, sorting the data, and then writing the theory. This study is also significant because the uses of information resources especially electronic resources are used by students in universities and academic libraries. Since the access and use of electronic resources is faster and less time consuming, it makes it more appealing for students than that of obtaining printed resources. This research will be applied in Kuwait University in the College of Graduate Studies by choosing a sample of graduate students to study, because students in Kuwait face problems related to how to search and seek out related information in the appropriate databases for their research papers. Graduate students in Kuwait University need a strategy to guide them in their information seeking process. New information, added value, and a theory integrated with the information seeking models will be proposed in this research paper. 4. Results of data collected The sample was drawn from the population of graduate students enrolled at the College of Graduate Studies at Kuwait University. The 24 students that were interviewed and observed in the library and computer labs were from the Information Systems, Social Sciences, and Library Departments. The data that was collected from the students transcribed interviews were coded into meaningful categories using qualitative data analysis and represented in the figure below and will be described in 8 key points that will hopefully help in answering the research questions of this thesis and address the gap or problem in this research. From the data collected it is clear that the students information seeking behavior and activities were only caused by their course-related homework and that they mainly used online resources to find information they needed for their coursework in a hope to reach information fulfillment. Also from the data collected during the interviews, the students expressed that the y dont seek information or make any research activities outside their university coursework or for personal use. Plus, so far from the data collected, the students seem to follow Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981 and Fosters 2005 information behavior model that were explained in the literature review and they are applicable in their situations. The findings were summarized in the following key points, topics, or themes: types of research activities, activities interrelation with topic, library usage and role in obtaining information needs, Internet usage and role in obtaining information needs, result of search activities understood by students, support from instructors and fellow students in getting information, achieving satisfaction with information needs, and achieving information fulfillment. 4.1 Data Analysis The main approach to the data analysis involved a detailed analysis of the interview transcripts collected from the graduate students at Kuwait University. First of all, notes from each interview, made both during the interview and immediately after it, were reviewed and then highlights as well as new concepts were identified. Secondly, the transcript from each interview was reviewed and coded. Thirdly, each new interview was compared to the previous ones for confirming or disconfirming evidence. Open coding using Key Point Coding was used for coding the responses from the interviews to give P1, P2, and so on where P indicates key point (Allan, 2003). The codes are then analyzed and those that relate to a common theme are grouped together. Concepts are then grouped and regrouped to find categories. Then these concepts and categories lead to the emergence of a theory. If the data has been analyzed without a preconceived theory or hypothesis, that theory is truly grounded in the data b ecause it came from nowhere else. Preliminary patterns describing the factors that influence information-seeking behavior were developed based on concepts identified during the literature review (Mansourian, 2006). Key Points Responses from sample P1: Types of research activities Only university courses related activities from (I1 to I27). I3, I26 also researched for personal work. P2: Activities interrelation with topic Activities are interrelated with topics from (I1 to I27) P3: Library usage and role in obtaining information needs I3, I4, I6, I9, I11,I13, I16, I22, I25 P4: Internet usage and role in obtaining information needs I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12, I13, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I21, I22, I23,I24, I25, I26, I27 P5: Result of search activities understood by students I1, I2, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I9, I11, I12, I13, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I24, I25, I26, I27 P6: Support from instructors and fellow students in getting information I1, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I9, I10, I11, I12, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I21, I22, I23, I24, I25, I26, I27 P7: Opinions on achieving satisfaction with information needs I1, I3, I4, I5, I6, I7, I8, I10, I11, I12,I13, I14, I15, I16, I17, I18, I19, I20, I21, I22, I23, I24, I25, I26, I27 P8: Achieving information fulfillment I18, I24, I25 Key Points are presented using the code (p) as in key point no.1 (P1), key point no.2 (P2). Responses from the sample that was interviewed are presented as (I1, I2). The code (I) refers to Individual 1, Individual 2. This thesis examines what types of research activities are undertaken by graduate students, and how these activities were interrelated with topic-related activities. This thesis identifies how the results of the search activities were understood by the students, when students feel that they have satisficed their information needs, and did the students achieve information fulfillment. Also, this thesis sets out to investigate the extent to which model of the information seeking models could explain the information behavior of graduate students, and to test the applicability of a generic (Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981) and a non-linear information model (Fosters 2005 information behavior model) to the information behavior of graduate students. From the data collected during the interviews and observation, it is clear that the students search activities were interrelated with topic-related activities. Their information seeking behavior and activities were only caused by their course-related homework and that they mainly used online resources to find information they needed for their coursework in a hope to reach information fulfillment. Also from the data collected during the interviews, the students expressed that they dont seek information or make any research activities outside their university coursework or for personal use. Plus, so far from the data collected, the students seem to follow Wilsons first information seeking behavior model of 1981 and Fosters 2005 information behavior model that were explained in the literature review and they are applicable in their situations. The findings were summarized in 8 key points, topics, or themes. The students all expressed that they always feel that they havent satisficed their information needs and dont achieve information fulfillment. They also face problems during their information seeking behavior and demanded that Kuwait University find a solution to these obstacles to improve their i nformation seeking experience. One student recommended that, Kuwait University must provide us with training courses and workshops for all types of searching that is organized with the library and should be incorporated within our courses. Also, skilled librarians should be hired who are aware of other fields and majors so that they can help us with our searching process and save us time when finding materials. Plus, the university should subscribe to more databases as well as English and Arabic journals in addition to the ones that are already available. Moreover, there should be one web page or portal to unite the access to all database web sites by entering just one username and password, because there is the burden and difficulty of entering a username and a password for each database web site. There is no portal that unites all of the universities databases where only one username and password is entered at the beginning and then you can browse all the databases. Another studen t suggested that, My information seeking process and obtaining experience could be improved by being able to download all articles from the universitys databases, because right now I face a problem in downloading some articles. Also, the university needs to subscribe to more databases so that I have a variety of resources to search for my topics. The databases that the university is currently subscribed to should work. Finally, there needs to be more organization in the university library in terms of keeping articles or books so that we can easily find them and not take so much time in searching for resources that could be lost without us knowing. Furthermore, a student said that it would be lovely to see the university, Provide me with full access to databases off the university campus. Additionally, meetings should be organized with librarians and students to help them on the ways of searching for materials, and on how to get the printed and electronic resources available physical ly at the library or on the universitys online web site. Equally important, all students suggested that the university should provide them with up-to-date software programs and good hardware devices with no technical problems or defaults. 4.2 Graduate Students Information Seeking Behavior Model at Kuwait University The following proposed model describes and shows the steps and process of what graduate students actually go through and what they do in their information seeking behavior. The boxes in the model show processes, inputs, outputs, steps, and people, and the arrows represents a mixture of information and decision making trajectories and the relationships and inter-relationships between them. First, the graduate student is given the option of choosing his or her topic to do a research on, or a topic is assigned to them by the instructor during the coursework. The topic is interrelated with the research activities or the information seeking behavior. Then, the students seek for information either from the library or from the Internet. The graduate students use mostly electronic resources from the web via Google Scholar, The Invisible Web, and from the databases that the university is subscribed to. When the students are experiencing their information seeking behavior, they sometimes get h elp, support, and advice from their instructors and fellow students or friends. Afterwards, the student gets the results of his or her search activities and the information seeking behavior might result in satisfaction and happiness to the student or non-satisfaction which then leads to lack of satisficing and information fulfillment. Finally, the satisfaction of the information should lead to information fulfillment for the student. 5. Conclusion Academics and students have their own unique seeking behavior and their own ways of obtaining information whether it is from a scholarly database, the web, library collections, or from their peers, therefore, it is important for us to know in this thesis how students go about seeking and obtaining their information needs taking into account their behavior. Another important factor that this research is looking at is whether the information seeking behavior of the graduate students follows an already previously established informatio

Color Blindness Essay examples -- Abnormal Color Vision Color Deficien

Color Blindness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people refer to problems with one’s ability to see color as color blindness, however, unless a person can’t see any color at all, color vision problems should be called by another term. Common terms are abnormal color vision, color deficiency and color vision confusion. Females maybe be effected by color blindness, but usually they are just carriers. Males are more often affected. About 8% of males and 0.5% of females are effected by color blindness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although color blindness may be a result of another eye disorder, the majority of color blind cases are hereditary and present at birth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The retina, is a complex nerve system which converts light energy into electrical energy that is then transmitted to the brain. This conversion is accomplished by two types of receptor cells in the retina called rods and cones do to their shape. The cones are responsible for converting the color. Each cone contains visual pigments that are sensitive to one of three wavelengths of light: red, green and blue. Normally, all colors of the spectrum are able to be matched by mixtures of only three color sensitivities. Therefore, the huge variety of colors we see are a response to different compositions of wavelengths of light. The rods are responsible for encoding white and black.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Color blindness results when one or more of the cone cells fail to function properly. One of the visual pigments may be functioning abnormally, or be absent altogether.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ...

privacy :: essays research papers

It is just part of rules that some American private companies offer, there are many others rules which had been made and could be followed. But for Chinese industry there are less such industry moral principle to follow .In another aspect, only to take the way of self-regulation for industry, only to depend on the self-regulation of private detective company and the conscious of its employees, it is not enough obviously. So in America, the government still made several acts to restricted the industry, and protect the privacy. And for China the situation is different. Majority of people do not receive too well education, and quality of majority is not trustful, so we must make complete law, but not the model of self-regulation of people themselves. And we know there is no enough law about the protection of privacy especially for the Internet privacy of Chinese citizens. And in my opinion, Chinese government is in urgently needed to build law of privacy especial for the Internet privac y, and it should emphasize these following points. Principle 1 make clear the range of internet privacy, it will benefit to the judgments in law case. Principle 2 make clear how the data of individual in Internet is collected legally, and how the personal information in web site be used legally. Principle 3 emphasize on the protection of the peace for people to surf on the Internet, and avoid they were disturbed by spasm e-mail illegally. Principle 4 make specific act about the protection of children ¡Ã‚ ¯s privacy, because it is some different from the adult, and we can learn some from the children ¡Ã‚ ¯ privacy protection act in America. Principle5 make clear how to punish people who infringe other ¡Ã‚ ¯s privacy and digital privacy surely, in order to fulfill some vacuum of criminal law in China. 4.2 for Individual For individual, we should do more education, and make them to know the importance of their privacy, to be more careful when they was requested for the personal information. And encourage them to pay more attention to protect their privacy. In American, more and more employers are monitoring their workers on the job. In fact, according to the American Management Association, nearly tree quarters of U.S. companies now electronically monitor employees in several ways. And with China open to the world, more and more foreign company came to China, and those companies also take much action to surveillance their employees, much of this surveillance is legal, so in order to protect your privacy in the working place, individual need to know what he should do.

Women in World History :: Essays Papers

Women in World History After reading the works of Hughes and Hughes, Ward, and Pomeroy, it seems as though all the information is congruent in the readings. The facts presented in Hughes and Hughes that also exist in the works by Pomeroy and Ward. The repetition solidifies the facts as stated by all three authors. The reoccurrence between the three pieces shows similarities. The similarities show the reader the strength of the information. Women of ancient Egypt had some of the same rights as men, they could rule as long as they showed some masculine traits to help the people understand why they were in power. In Ward and Pomeroy’s texts, there is information that the Egyptian women had the same legal rights as the Egyptian men. â€Å"The women of the family could not only administer the family property, but could also dispute legal decisions and be major litigants defending what they conceived to be their rights of inheritance† (Ward 7). The women of ancient Egypt were able to accomplish a lot on their own. It was possible for fathers to leave property to their daughters in their wills so that the daughter could be self sufficient, should the need arise. A wife could even help run the estate with her husband. Women were also allowed to attend parties where men were present. This was an uncommon practice that women of ancient times were not allowed to do, the women would have to leave the room. Traditionally women were not allowed to be seen in the presence of a group of men, except in the case of the women of ancient Egypt. Aside from social privileges, women were also granted economic privileges. Traditionally a wife would be dependent upon her husband for economic support, however the women of ancient Egypt were not completely dependent. Should a divorce take place, the legal system moved in to assure a fair settlement†¦.First, the husband and wife each took back whatever property they had contributed at the time of marriage. Second, any additional property that had accrued during the marriage was divided between them: two-thirds to the husband, one-third to the wife. In this way, the woman became financially independent, did not have to return to her own family, and might even be considered a good prospect for a second marriage (Ward 7).

Pmo Project Management Office

A Project Management Office (PMO) is a group or department within a business, agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution.In some organisations this is known as the Program Management Office (sometimes abbreviated to PgMO to differentiate); the subtle difference is that program management relates to governing the management of several related projects. Traditional PMOs base project management principles on industry-standard methodologies such as PMBOK or PRINCE2. Increasingly influential industry certification programs such as ISO9000 and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) as well as government regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley have propelled organizations to standardize processes[cita tion needed].Organizations around the globe are defining, borrowing and collecting best practices in process and project management and are increasingly assigning the PMO to exert overall influence and evolution of thought to continual organizational improvement[citation needed]. According to the Standish CHAOS Report (2009)[citation needed], 68% of projects do not meet time/cost/scope targets. Only 32% of projects were completed on time, within budget and delivered measurable business and stakeholder benefits. There are many reasons for such failures. As per a KPMG survey[citation needed] of 252 organizations, technology is not the most critical factor.Inadequate project management implementation constitutes 32% of project failures, lack of communication constitutes 20% and unfamiliarity with scope and complexity constitutes 17%. Accordingly 69% of project failures are due to lack and/or improper implementation of project management methodologies. Establishing a PMO group is not a short term strategy to lower costs. [1] Surveys with companies indicates that the longer they have an operating PMO group the better the results achieved to accomplish project goals (which might lead to lowering costs)[citation needed].PMOs may take other functions beyond standards and methodology, and participate in Strategic Project Management either as facilitator or actively as owner of the Portfolio Management process. Tasks may include Monitoring and Reporting on active projects (following up project until completion), and reporting progress to top management for strategic decisions on what projects to continue or cancel. A PMO can be one of three types from an organizational exposure perspective: enterprise PMO, organizational (departmental) PMO, or special–purpose PMO.The Project Management Institute (PMI) Program Management Office Community of Practice (CoP), views the PMO as a strategic driver for organizational excellence and seeks to enhance the practices of execu tion management, organizational governance, and strategic change leadership[citation needed]. As the largest community devoted to the PMO, with over 4,000 members globally, the PMO CoP is the central forum to collaborate, expand the knowledge base, and mature the PMO practice within their own organizations and the business community at large.

“A Noiseless Patient Spider”

In Whitman’s â€Å"A Noiseless Patient Spider,† the speaker uses imagery to describe how he is studying a spider explore and work hard to fill an empty space by â€Å"Launch’d forth filament out of itself, ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them† (lines 4-5) in the first stanza. In the second stanza Whitman compares how a human can also be in an empty space like the spider like the spider trying to explore and connect to something either spiritually or personally. Another outlook using a Historical perspective you can see how Whitman compares the spider to the American people during his time and the separation between two different sides.In the first stanza the speaker is observing the spider almost scrutinizing the spider. Whitman uses very descriptive words like â€Å"isolated† (line 2) and â€Å"vacant vast† (Line 3) to show how tiny and small the spider is on the promontory compared to the massive universe making it so small th at it is noiseless. Even though the spider is surrounded by immense empty space it still is a â€Å"patient spider† (line 1) exploring and filling the empty promontory with its web. Even though there is only space around the spider it still tirelessly tries to make a connection to something by shooting out that web.When Whitman says the spider â€Å"launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself† (line 4) it shows the spider is patient because you get the image of the spider repeatedly shooting out filament trying to fill the vast space of the promontory. The lesson to learn from this spider is to keep patiently moving forward and explore your life no matter how vast or insurmountable the task maybe. In the second stanza the speaker makes a connection with the spider and relates the spider to himself â€Å"and you O my soul where you stand, Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space† (lines 6-7).The speaker feels like the spider in t he fact that his soul is detached from the world around him and he is searching for something to connect to. When Whitman writes â€Å"seeking the spheres to connect them† (line 8) he uses the word spheres which could symbolize either people or a higher power like god, which means the speaker is trying to make a religious connection or a social one with other people. If the speaker is trying to connect to other people the filament or web would symbolize modern day cell phones or the internet hich we use every day to make connections with our friends or family so we don’t feel isolated, but during the time this poem was written it could symbolize bridges and ships that were built to connect separated countries. After looking at it with a biological and historical prospective different idea came to mind.Learning how Whitman lived through the civil war, the soul in the poem that is â€Å"Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them† could symbolize the division and disagreement of the American people during the civil war. Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul. † describes how Whitman was waiting for the day that America to come together as a nation of one instead of a nation divided. Going back to how the spider used single filaments to create a web that was one. I chose this poem because I liked the idea of putting single pieces together to create something in harmony that was complete.WORKS CITED DiYanni, Robert. Literature . Sixth Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print. â€Å"Walt Whitman . † Encyclopedia of World Biography. N. p. , Tuesday, September 21, 2010. Web. 21 Sep 2010. .

Early Childhood Educational Philosophy

â€Å"It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts †¦ it is to teach them to think, if that is possible, and always to think for themselves. † Robert Hutchins. It is very clear to me that a successful early childhood program must provide a safe and nurturing environment that promotes social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. Young children need a warm and inviting atmosphere to learn. Children must have their basic needs met before any learning can take place. Safety, nutrition, and shelter are a few needs which must be provided. Although early childhood centers may not directly provide these services outside the regular school day, administrators must connect with outside agencies in order to recommend and provide families with necessary services. Children need to be encouraged to express themselves though verbal communication, text/pictures, play, and through art. Children learn through manipulation of objects in their environment, creative play, and discovery of the world around them. It is through group play, role modeling, and through supportive teaching that children grow socially and emotionally. These group activities teach young children how to live, work and play together. Independent and guided problem solving and independent exploration help children gain greater independence. Children need both independent and teamwork skills to become a well rounded person Early childhood teachers need to understand that often they are the one person spending the majority of the time with the children they are teaching. Parents today are busy with work and trying to keep the household together. Released by the U. S. Census Bureau in November, 2009 there are approximately 13. 7 million single parent s in the United States today. These single parents are responsible for raising 21. 8 million children which is roughly 26% of children under 21 in the U. S. today. I strongly believe that early childhood teachers are responsible for forming a superior bond with each parent so they can work together to help each child grow as an individual, based on the child’s needs. A classroom is places where differences should be valued and children and their families are appreciated and respected. Each Classroom is diverse in many ways, including economically, and culturally. I believe each teacher, parent and administrator should be committed to promoting diversity in all its forms, including those related to racial and ethnic identity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, family structure, religion, national origin and ability. I believe as educators we should actively seek to teach children tolerance of all forms of difference, and just as actively seek to dissuade children from bias about norms and stereotypes. Throughout the classroom as well as the center there should be displays that show diversity as a celebration of people, of differences and of ways of living. I believe in early childhood education the best form of assessment is performance records. Performance records are any documentation regarding the child’s development and learning. These records help the child care provider to notice patterns in a child’s behavior as well as learning patterns. It is important to document at various times of the day as well as with a variety of teacher directed and child directed activities. I feel in early childhood children develop at differently, some children develop faster than others and therefore standardize testing is not an accurate account of the children’s abilities. At this age in a child’s life children should not be measured against their peers. I believe that each child should be measured on an individual basis. I feel that the best approach to curriculum is the integrated curriculum approach which involves picking one topic that can be explored across more than one academic discipline. I do feel that children are going to be more interested if they have some choice in the topics. With preschool children they are at an age where they can express what they want. I feel that a teacher should include them in some of the topics they explore. Children should participate independently, with the entire group and cooperatively in small groups. Each day should be a balance of free-choice time and planned structured activities in specific time blocks. Activities throughout the day are either child-initiated or teacher-directed. This variety promotes independence, provides opportunities for children to practice and acquire social skills and fosters the development of a positive self-image. It is important for every teacher and administrator to remember that â€Å"In early childhood you may lay the foundation of poverty or riches, industry of idleness, good or evil, by the habits to which you train your children. Teach them right habits then and their future life is safe. † Lydia Sigourney. I truly believe that each child that walks into our lives is there for us to nurture and help grow and we may be the only one that is laying the foundations. We have a chance to change the life of every child that walks in our center.

Inflammatory Cascades ad NSAID’s

When tissues are injured a specific reaction to the injury takes place. A collection of irritants and other chemical mediators are released into the injured area to aid in stabilization of the injured tissue, protection against further injury, and stimulation of healing at the injury site. These factors are referred to as the inflammatory cascade. And it includes substances such as histamine, bradykinin and prostaglandins, which aid in vasodilation to the injured area; serotonin, which acts as a vasoconstrictor, and growth factors and cytokines which act to increase fibroblast and macrophage migration to the injury site. 1) This is the acute inflammatory response and it is essential to the healing process. It should be noted that this acute reaction is healthy and we do not want to impede this process. We do, however, wish t aid the healing process in order to resolve the acute inflammatory response before it passes into a chronic state of inflammation. It is th chronic state of inflammation that is always destructive to tissues and is equated to disease. (2) When repair is successful, inflammation becomes a limited phenomena. Some conditions such as asthma, allergies, autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, osteoarthritis, peptic ulcers, and psoriasis comprise examples of perpetual or chronic inflammation. (3) It is these chronic conditions, hallmarked by pain and fatigue, that eventually lead to loss of function. The treatment that millions of people turn to each year is Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID's). However, long-term therapy has revealed an alarming list of adverse side effects associated with these drugs such as gastrointestinal bleeding, and suppression of inherent anti-inflammatory pathways and tissue repair. In addition, NSAID's have been linked to â€Å"leaky gut syndrome†, in which gut permeability is increased, allowing antigenic toxins to flood the systemic circulation via paracellular and transcellular absorption. (5) Thus, nutritional modification is the best way to guard against adverse reactions or side effects. More importantly, nutritional status is the foundation in which inflammation becomes modifiable. (3) The natural pH of the human body lies in a range between 6. 0 and 7. 4. 7) However, after an injury the pH of some tissues may fall well-below pH 6. 0, thus owing to a very acidic environment. This type of condition favors the inflammatory cascade. An acid environment is promoted by metabolism of glucose and triglycerides, and gastrointestinal bacterial metabolism of unabsorbed carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. (9) Thus, acid production depends on the diet. Also, meats and grains are a source of potential acids, whereas fruits and vegetables are a potential source of bases. 9) Therefore, a reduction in the amount of meats and grains along with a concomitant increase in the amount of fruits and vegetables would bring about a more balanced tissue pH, which in turn would favor an anti-inflammatory condition throughout the body. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines is essential to the inflammatory response. However, overproduction of these chemicals may be detrimental. The omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids suppress inflammation by decreasing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. 6) Some sources of n-3 fatty acids are flaxseed oil, green, leafy vegetables, and cold water fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel. (7) Omega-3 fatty acid works by decreasing the release of arachidonic acid, a pro-inflammatory substance, from cell membranes, and by competing for the same enzymes that generate highly reactive inflammatory chemicals. (3) In addition, supplementation of the diet with n-6 oils was found to be effective in reducing pain and sweeling in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and has been shown to be effective in the management of eczema, pms, mastalgia, and multiple sclerosis. 8) Some good sources for n-6 oils are evening primrose and black currant seed oil. Free-radicals (oxidants) are very reactive and unstable molecules that can cause damage to proteins, fats, cell membranes, and DNA. (10) When free-radicals attack, for example cell membranes, the remnants of the cell then become â€Å"information† for neighboring cells to begin the inflammatory process. (3) Thus, oxidation by free-radicals can pose a serious problem to tissues. Antioxidants, therefore, are needed to protect tissues from being destroyed by free-radicals. Essentially, polyunsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes are attacked by oxidants, thereby producing even more potent free-radicals. But, in the presence of antioxidants, these free-radicals can be reduced to a more stable and unreactive form, thus sparing other cells from damage. (7) Some important antioxidants are: Vitamins C and E, and the minerals zinc and selenium. Since many antioxidants work at different biochemical junctures, a broad spectrum approach to antioxidant therapy or supplementation should be followed. In addition, concentrated food extracts such as ginger, curcumin from tumeric root, and bromelain from pineapple can help attenuate skeletal muscle injury by modulating the inflammatory event. (11) Foods which contain copious amounts of antioxidants are: garlic, onions, carrots, green vegetables, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, and citrus fruits. In addition, red wine and grape juice contain phenolic compounds that provide protection against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. (12)

Report of what I did last week Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Report of what I did last week - Essay Example This communication was critical because it enhanced the speed of activities and ensuring that each group member was aware of his or her role. Project development was characterized by discussion of the outline discussion and preparation. An outline is crucial in any project because it ensures that participants cover all the necessary parts without leaving necessary parts out. I decided to do opening statement and purpose. The opening statement will enable potential clients to identify project benefits in addition to attracting and maintaining their attention. I suggested and designed a help page for the project. A help page is the page in an application that enables clients to find assistance from the administrators of the application through asking questions. The primary purpose of the help page is to enable clients fully comprehend how the tool works. I volunteered to design this page. Customers will have more interest in using our application tool because they are guaranteed of help when they need it. During project commencement this week, I persuaded group members to create time for more meetings sessions than normal. I believed that the more the number of meeting sessions, the faster would be the duration for project completion. Through encouraging group members to meet regularly, I made vital contribution particularly ensuring that the project was completed within the predetermined period of time. The tool we are currently developing is new and unique; no one within our group has the idea of its components. My friend John had the original idea of this application. I supported him in understanding and developing the main components of the tool. We decided to divide the work among the group members. Division of work is important in any project because it enhances the speed of completion. Division of work will also encourage specialization with its associated perfectionism, motivation to work, and improved quality since each group member will be