Thought Fox

Fox: What do you mean? Starting with an interpretation of â€Å"The Burnt Fox,† and going on to an analysis of the poem, aim to figure out what exactly might be the relation of poem to dream, dream to poem. Refer closely to both, quote, and analyze what you have quoted, in support of your argument. In the year of 1952, Ted Hughes was a second year student at Cambridge University. For the first two years of his schooling he studied English in hopes to become a poet. However during his time there he had a profound experience. For quite some time Hughes was working on a paper over the lasting contributions of Samuel Johnson but had only ever been able to wright one sentence. The night before the paper was due for his English teacher he gave up and went to sleep. That night he had a very graphic and disturbing dream about a fox. In his dream he was still sitting at his desk trying to write his paper. He looks over at the door and a fox face peers. The fox stands about five or six feet of the ground on two legs and is as large as a human. However, one of the more disturbing parts of the fox is that it is burnt and â€Å"smoldering all over as if it just escaped from a furnace† (Rees 2009; 3). The fox walks over to Hughes and puts its paw, which looks like a human hand at this point, on the blank page. He smears blood on the page and says, â€Å"You are killing us†. Hughes studied English in school so he could become a poet or creative writer. However, his studies never seemed to be geared in such a manner. The burnt fox dream here is a cry for help. Hughes seems to be splitting his own self by not being able to do what it is he loves. The strict writing style that’s expected of him is not in his true nature. The fox, his inner self, in the dream is dying because Hughes’ has to stifle or suppress his real identity. The stereotypical archetype of the fox is wit. Wit and knowledge are closely related. Here the fox is clearly burring, representing the destruction of knowledge. Through the further examination of the Thought Fox, the poem he wrote after his dream, we can see that it is very closely related to the dream through deep symbolism. After this dream Hughes changed his study major to anthropology and archeology. This important change in his life sparks this poem. In the first sentence he sets the time at midnight. This word is very powerful. Midnight is a time that’s neither night nor day. It’s a transition period, which is important to this poem as there is a transition being made in the author life. The next line reads something else is alive. I feel like this is playing on something that is distantly known to Hughes. Perhaps it could be the creativity that he knows he possesses but that he has lost somewhere. In the end of the first stanza he talks about the blank page where his fingers move. Here I feel it doesn’t represent anything but, it is more of the literal blank page that he was trying to write his English paper on. At the beginning of the second stanza the poem starts to become not only personally deep but also slightly dark. There are two pieces of symbolism here that invoke a strong emotional response. He see(s) no stars through the window. This is a metaphor for a lack of hope. Stars give off light and light can be easily seen as hope. Hughes is thoroughly crushed by the pressure of the essay he’s been struggling with. The window is the reader’s way of seeing into Hughes’ more personal self and deepest feelings. If we go through the window, at first we can only see the darkness of his loneliness, which he explains throughout the rest of the second stanza. Next we see a fox. Hughes thought it was very important to understand nature if we wanted to understand ourselves. He even wrote a whole series of poems on animals. All of which have extraordinarily spiritual meanings that relate to everyday human life. The image of a fox's nose touches twig, leaf is presented to us. This is a beautiful scene that can only take place in nature. Hughes is trying to reconnect with his spirit animal, the fox, by connecting with nature. He is trying to find his primordial self; his true nature. This true nature is his creativity. Then it’s almost as if he has connected when he expresses that the moment is viewed through the fox’s eyes: two eyes serve a moment that now, and again now, and now. The word snow is seen again for the second time in the beginning of the forth stanza. Here it can be interpreted in two ways. On one hand we can view the fox literally as it sets neat prints into snow as he walks or on the other hand the snow could be seen as the blank page he’s trying to work on. After this entence though, the poem gets even blacker again. Hughes uses a lot of words in the next three lines such as lame, shadow, hollow, lags, and stump. These words all have a negative connotation that come with them. There is an immense amount of struggle and pain that the author is dealing with. However after the fox leads the readers through the forest the pain and evil of the darkness seem to leave. Itâ €™s almost as if we, the readers, have come upon a literal clearing in the fifth stanza. It seems to be viewed through the eye of the fox again with extreme pleasure. Words like greenness and brilliance can be easily categorized as something that is seen in a positive light. There are contrasting feelings in stanza four and five. As Hughes moves form one view to the other we can see the deep spiritual transition from anger and sadness to happiness and relief. It’s almost as the fox has been the guide in the journey to an enlightening experience. From here we can determine that it is not a literal clearing we’ve come to but a clarity in the since of a new state of mind. Hughes has realized that his current studies are crushing him and he knows he has to change. However in the last four lines there is a clear warning that is given by the Burnt Fox. The poem seems as if it were to end in a joyous manner. However, the Burnt Fox sneaks, as foxes often do, into the hole of the head, back into his thoughts and create the since of doom again. There is now the same lack of light from the stars, the same lack of hope. The sharp hot stink of the fox is a strong reminder that he must change his life before he destroys himself. The poem ends with the page is printed. Printing ink on a page is a very permanent action. So permanent that it could symbolize the sealing of one’s fate. If Hughes didn’t change the current suppression of his inner self he could permanently damage himself. Hughes’ work is very symbolic and can be interpreted in many ways. When comparing the Burnt fox to the Thought fox many connections can be made. The readers can clearly see the pain Hughes was hiding. It is very important as we move through our lives that we stay true to our inner nature if we wish to be happy.

Dr. Faustus as a Tragically Flawed Character Essay

It seems impossible to define Dr. Faustus, from Christopher Marlowe’s play â€Å"Doctor Faustus,† as being anything other than tragically flawed. Faustus is not evil, foolish, or rebellious. Faustus’s flawed nature rests solely on his own prideful, overly-ambitious ways. Even so, the question still remains as to whether or not such an all-encompassing flaw should result in the damnation of one’s soul. Faustus is obviously confused as to the nature of religion, but attempting to justify Faustus’s punishment through any sphere other than religion would be improper considering the implications of the play. While Faustus’s punishment is obviously upheld by the Christian religion, his behavior, in a moralistic fashion, suggests that his soul is not deserving of such damnation. During the initial Prologue, the Chorus, reminiscent of earlier Greek tragedies, prepares the reader for the tragic story of Dr. Faustus, a man whose â€Å"swollen and cunning† ways lead to his inevitable downfall (Prologue. 20) . Faustus, who eventually will â€Å"mount above his reach†, is compare to Icarus from Greek mythology who flies too close to the sun and drowns (Prologue. 21). The Chorus tells us that this is most assuredly not a story about â€Å"pomp of proud audacious deed,† but of a man whose ineptitude leads to his eventual fall from grace (Prologue. 4-5). The Prologue serves to begin the story by focusing on Faustus, comparing him to any other tragic hero of Greek literature, and letting the reader know that even though they may sympathize with Faustus position, he is essentially damn for the beginning of the story. Because of the inclusion of a Chorus it the play, Marlowe is reiterating the fact that Faustus should still be considered a tragic hero. Like Achilles, Faustus has a flaw that will lead to his demise, but the damnation of Faustus would be the equivalent of damning great Greek heroes such as Achilles or Hercules. As Faustus’s character is revealed through his initial speeches in the first chapters, his flaws of pride and ambition become apparent. Faustus begins by contemplating the merits of various forms of science. He deems the study of rhetoric, medicine, and religion to all be unworthy subjects for a variety of selfish reason. Even when he decides to pursue a study of magic, he does so in hopes that magic make him â€Å"a mighty god† (1.62). This initial decision is instrumental in much of Faustus’s character development throughout the play. Faustus considers two important alternatives, the study of medicine to help people or the study of religion to learn of God. Faustus decides that neither of these goals is personally profitable for him at that time. His shortsightedness when deciding which subject to study is in direct correlation with his other various displays of pride and selfishness. Shortly after beginning his studies of dark magic, Faustus summons Mephistopheles, one of the demons at the service of Lucifer. Here and many other times throughout the play, Faustus displays signs of guilt and remorse, and even considers repenting of his misdeeds. Because of these various vacillations on the part of Faustus, many times throughout the play two angels, one good and one evil, appear to present arguments as to why Faustus should or should not repent. Even the early arguments that convince Faustus to enter into his pact with the devil are aimed at his ambitious pride, telling him he may one day be king of all Germany. Later in the play, he is convinced to remain in league with the devil because of all the money and riches he could make through his powers. Faustus proves that he is unable to consider the long term ramifications to his decision. Even when his own body revolts against the pact, congealing his blood to prevent his signature, Faustus seems unaware of the negative consequences of his actions. His lack of foresight has confined his logic to considering only the short term gains associated with this pact. In another particular instance, Faustus again shows uncertainty in his convictions toward the devil. This time, the simple arguments presented by his angelic representations are not sufficient to easy Faustus’s mind. In order to relieve his misgivings, the devil and his demons parade images of the Seven Deadly Sins before him. These sins, all representatives of tragic flaws themselves, encourage Faustus, and he delights in this parade. His enjoyment of the sinful display points to a need within Faustus to recognize tragic flaws or sin within others. He is reassured by this display because he sees a common connection with these other various sins, and is able to relate to them. Throughout the play, he continues to build himself up by seeking dramatic flaws in other characters. During a previous discourse with Mephistopheles, Mephistopheles tells Faustus that he is constantly â€Å"tormented with ten thousand hells in being deprived of everlasting bliss,† but Faustus only seems to delight in Mephistopheles admission of weakness (3. 77-80). Instead of recognizing Mephistopheles statement as a warning toward the horrors of Hell, Faustus chastises Mephistopheles for his lack of â€Å"manly fortitude† (3. 85). Faustus’s conversation with Mephistopheles reveals his own blinded nature. Even when presented with the raw, uncensored truth of Hell, Faustus is unable to comprehend the vital information that is being given to him. Faustus is too prideful, and here, as in the parade of sins, he reaffirms his own position by delighting in the infirmities of others. As Faustus wanders, displaying the powers that he has obtained from the devil, his inevitable demise becomes apparent. Initially, Faustus has high hopes of obtaining his lofty goals. He rides through the heavens in chariots drawn by dragons and is even able to confront the pope, but, as his time on earth begins to wane, his performances become less impressive. He has transformed from a hero with a tragic flaw into a comic display of simplicity and waste. Everything about him is rather unimpressive. He is reduced to playing pranks on horse-coursers and performing tricks for royalty. In Vanholt, he appears to be just another rouge or clown. As a response to his own demise, Faustus comments to himself, â€Å"What are thou, Faustus, but a man condemned to die? † (10. 24). While his flaws become more and more apparent throughout the play, the idea that Faustus deserves harsh punishment becomes more ambiguous as the play continues. Many of his tragic qualities seem to be the direct result of his inability to comprehend the true nature of God, as presented through the Christian faith. In his initial consideration of religion, Faustus is unable to focus on forgiveness or salvation, but only sees that all men are condemned to death for their sins. He is constantly reminded by his angel companions that God’s forgiveness is available to him if he only repents, but Faustus finds himself unable to do so. He confuses Mephistopheles statement that Hell is everywhere to mean that â€Å"hell is a fable† and simple a continuation of an earthly existence. Because of his apparent naivety toward religion, Faustus character is able to effectively question the legitimacy of his punishment, even though he has been warned of it consistently throughout the play. It is because of this ambiguity that Faustus is able to remain a sympathetic character. It is apparent from the beginning of the play that Faustus is a tragically flawed character, but, by its end, the reader must decide what becomes of a tragic character whose flaw prevents him from overcoming the need for grace and repentance in his life. Faustus is a character overcome by the expectations of grandness in his life and a pride that he will someday meet these expectations. Because Marlowe places Faustus within the context of a struggle between the acceptance and denial of traditional Christian values, the reader is forced to judge Faustus within the circle of Christian ideology. Faustus denies grace and, through this particular ideology, deserves the punishment of being condemned to Hell, but, in a strictly moralistic fashion, in may seem to many that Faustus has previously found his Hell on earth and is undeserving of an eternal damnation.

Notes – Belonging

English Related Texts Text 1: Text 2: â€Å"My Big Fat Greek Wedding† Text 3: Text 1: What does it convey about belonging? The image conveys the concept of not belonging. It conveys the idea that a sense of not belonging can cause feelings of frustration and confusion. The image also communicates the message that being different physically from what is accepted as the stereotyped norm can influence whether or not one belongs. It conveys the idea that a certain image is valued in our society and that everybody who does not fall into the stereotyped image is or can be socially rejected. Techniques: Salient image: the salient image is the three tall and thin women that appear to be rejecting the lady that is slightly shorter. The fact that the taller women are the dominating aspect of the image reinforces the idea that these types of women are valued with in our society. o Colour: the dominating women are wearing the colour red while the lady that is being rejected is dressed in the colour green. The colour red is represents beauty, power and passion. The fact that the colour red is worn by the dominating women reinforces the idea that these women are valued in our society.The woman that is being socially rejected is wearing the colour green which usually is a symbol of nature. The green implies that she is naturally beautiful. The image however conveys that her natural and inner beauty is rejected and she is looked down upon as her exterior image does not resemble that that is valued and accepted. o Symbolism: the three dominating woman are looking up, with their noses lifted up in the air. This is usually a symbol of superiority. They believe themselves to more significant than the other lady whom they are rejecting.This conveys that they perceive her as worthless, insignificant and inferior. It clearly emphasises the idea they do not accept her. o Text: the written text â€Å"Damn! Should have worn red†¦ † highlights the idea that not belongi ng causes feeling of frustration and confusion. It shows the viewer that she does not comprehend the reason for her rejection as she does not perceive her self as any different. It conveys that she believes that if she had worn red she would have been accepted into the group. Text 2: What does it convey about belonging?This text conveys that one will always feel a sense of belonging to family and culture to some extent regardless of the circumstances because family and culture shape your identity and are always with you were ever you go. It illustrates the idea that family, culture and beliefs all shape ones identity. It also conveys that sometimes, in order for one to belong within a certain group, they must make change to them selves in order to meet the expectations of the other group. Scenes: 1. Opening/ introductory scene 2.Tula meets Ian’s family 3. Ian’s family meets Tula’s family 4. The wedding ceremony. o Scene one: In this scene, we are introduced to T ula, the protagonist of the movie with her father Gus. From the opening line of the movie, it is clear to us that she has not fulfilled the expectations of her family and specifically her father. â€Å"You better get married soon, you look so†¦ old† her father tells her. The atmosphere represents the mood of Tula. It is raining heavily and dark outside, suggesting that she is discontent with her life.The techniques of flash back and voice over allow us to view Tula in her childhood. These collaboratively convey that as a child Tula was not accepted with her peers as she â€Å"[she] knew she was different from the other girls†. Her culture and significant different appearance was a barrier to her belonging with the other girls at school. Tula’s unacceptance had a profound impact on her as we can clearly see that she was envious of the other girls through â€Å"I so badly wanted to be like the popular girls†.The quotes â€Å"way past my expiration dat e† and â€Å"I have no life† emphasise the idea that Tula is not content with her life and suggest that she has no aspirations for the future. o Scene two: In this scene Tula is introduced to her boyfriend’s parents. Her boyfriend Ian is a non Greek that her family disproves of. Previous to this Ian showed Tula that he accepts her despite their cultural differences through â€Å"what’s there to work out? We’re not from different species†.This conveys that he perceives them as equal and does not discriminate against her due to her culture and family. In the scene where Tula meets Ian’s family we see the cultural difference is a major barrier to belonging. The awkwardness in this scene and the silence from both parties indicates that their cultural differences restrict them as it causes a lack of communication and understanding. They are unable to empathise with each other. The lighting is dim which further highlights the awkwardness and Tula’s discomfort. Scene three: in this scene, the difference between the two families is clearly illustrated. The close up of Ian’s parents when they first arrive at Tula’s house clearly conveys their shock, confusion and disturbance. This is due to the clash in their lifestyle and also because they were expecting a â€Å"quiet dinner [to] meet [her] parents† and instead find the whole family roasting meat on a spit in the front yard. The silence from Ian’s parents when Gus introduces his â€Å"family† conveys that they are speechless and further emphasises their shock.Repetitive close-ups of Ian’s family furthermore convey their shock and inability to comprehend some of the Greeks’ actions. At the end of this scene, we see Gus Portokalos’ perception of Ian’s family and his belief that it will not work between him and his daughter due to the clash in lifestyle as his parents they â€Å"look at [them] like [thei r] from the zoo† despite their kind actions towards them. o Scene four: It is during the wedding ceremony that the Miller family and Portokalos family finally accept each other.During this scene we see that Ian’s family are finally enjoying them selves as they no longer have a confused and surprised expression on their face. They have finally reached an understanding and came to the ultimate realisation that despite their cultural differences they are still the same and that Ian and Tula should be together. It is in this scene that we see that everyone belongs as they have bonded due to the love of Ian and Toula. The mid shot of Ian’s mother after Gus’ speech allows us to see her expression and reaction to the speech.We see that she has found humour in his speech and agrees that despite their differences they are still the same. Ian’s father tells Toula that it â€Å"is just a really nice wedding† which contrasts with his reaction to when he first saw the reception. The voice over of Toula at the end of this scene â€Å"my family is big and loud. but they’re my family†¦ and where ever I go, what ever I go they will always be there† conveys that she herself has finally come to accept her family, culture and traditions and she finally feels a sense of belonging towards them.Text 3: What does it convey about belonging? This image conveys the struggle for some to belong. It conveys that sometimes difference can cause unacceptance into some groups which ultimately leads to not belonging. Techniques: o Symbolism: The yellow duckling is the outsider. It is different to the others and thus does not belong. It is literally looking up at the other duckling suggesting that it figuratively looks up to them, envies them and admires them. It shows us they the little yellow duckling is struggling to fit in. Irony: the fact that the yellow ducking is not fitting in with the black duckling is ironic because it is usua lly the yellow ducklings that are the dominant group and the black one is classified as the â€Å"ugly duckling†. This reinforces the idea that being different will cause not belonging with another group. o Colour: The colour green on the other end of the ledge that that the black ducklings are walking on symbolises another side where it is better as the saying goes â€Å"the grass is greener on the other side†. On the other hand, the yellow duckling is stuck on the grey side and is struggling to move up.This conveys that while the dominant group will progress and move forward with their lives the yellow duckling will continuously struggle and be stuck. This conveys that not belonging can affect an individual in a negative way. o Symbolism: the dominant group is above the rejected duckling which symbolises that they are superior and more significant while she is below them. The fact that she is below them conveys inferiority further reinforces the idea that not belongi ng can have negative effects on an individual.

Corporate Governance & Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Corporate Governance & Ethics - Case Study Example The drugs manufactured by the company targets diseases such as asthma, viruses, infectious diseases, diabetes and digestion related complications (Mathew, 2011). The drug Industry controls a significant amount of the global revenue with drugs constituting over 10% of medical cost in the United States. It is also considered as one of the fastest growing segment in the world economy with significant research being conducted with pharmaceutical giants like GlaxoSmithKline international. A number of patents and ethical issues that guide the processes of drug discovery, clinical trials and marketing control the pharmaceutical industry. In this paper, ethical issues that guide the pharmaceutical industry will be analysed with emphasis placed on the practices of GSK and how lapses in the ethical practices has affected its ability to market high quality products. The processes of ensuring ethical practices within pharmaceutical discoveries, marketing and post market surveillance will also be evaluated to identify how GSK failed to prevent future ethical dilemmas. Ethical mistakes and conducts have a number of consequences on the reputation of a company as it affects the attitude of the market towards the company. The paper will also evaluate the impacts of ethical lapse at GSK on the market and how this affected the sales and market control. GlaxoSmithKline scandal also occurred in sections of china and this was revealed following an investigative report released by the Chinese government. This paper will also provide detailed description on why the GSK scandal happened on china and the impacts that the scandal affected the reputation of the company in china (Mathew, 2011). Ethical lapses and their impacts at GSK Ethical issues and litigation affects the position of a firm and the credibility of its products especially if the lawsuit against the company succeeds. A number of ethical lapses at GSK have been attributed to increased litigation claims against the company a nd these have had significant effects on the quality of their products and the market response. A wide range of criticism have been levelled against GSK for lack of adherence to drug testing and safety issues and this has resulted to a number of litigation measures which have consumed a significant amount of the total revenue generated by the company. Chief among the accusations that have been made against the company include intentional marketing of drugs with detrimental impacts on the health of patients. One of the main ethical misconducts that have had significant impact on the reputation of the company is the production of avandia drug in Cidra Puerto Rico. A report by Cheryl Eckard in 2010 revealed a number of ethical lapses in the production processes at the GSK plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico. Eckard, a quality assurance manager employed by GSK was assigned to assess the manufacturing conditions of the companies processing plant in Puerto Rico. In her report, she indicated the w anting condition of the processing plant and recommended for the halting of the production immediately to allow for a review and upgrading of the plant. However, this recommendation was ignored by the plant supervisor, who allowed for continued production and sales of the drugs despite the dilapidated condition of the plant. Despite her recommendations, which were meant both, improve the production pr

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Lens Discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Lens Discussion - Research Paper Example The word lens was derived from a Latin word lentil since the shape of lentil has similar attributes to double-convex lens. According to Whitehouse (1999), it is believed that the oldest lens belonged to Ancient Assyria dating back 2700 years ago. Whitehouse also illustrated that the work of David Brewster of making a proposal of starting fires through a magnifying glass that concentrates sunlight, regenerated to evolution of the lens. Other historical records about the lens were retrieved in ancient Greece in a play called The Clouds by Aristophanes by mentioning about the burning glass. This statement referred to the biconvex lenses that were used to produce fire through creating a common focus of the sunrays. The work of Pliny the Elder also expressed the usage of burning glasses in the Roman Empire, especially after providing the descriptions of magnifying effects of the glass that was filled with water. Glick (2005) shows that lenses were widely used in Europe, especially after the invention of spectacle in Italy. This invention created a progressive nature of optical industry to use lenses, where other Western nations expanded the idea including Venice, Florence, Germany, and Netherlands. However, the optical industry created a room for invention of other technological advancements that changed the experimentation algorithms. For example, between 17th and 18th Centuries became a major progress for lens usage after microscope and telescope were invented. This caused the opticians to the draw board and came up with constructive lenses that formed the spherical figures in their surface and varying features of curvature. This led to the production of achromatic lens that is more compounded by Chester Moore Hall in 1733 at England. This led to improvement of experimental operations in biological, physical, and chemical analogies. Currently, lenses are spherical in nature, where both longitudinal

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Course-work assignment 2, Lent term, 2015 Essay

Course-work assignment 2, Lent term, 2015 - Essay Example This question may be explicit or remain hidden. Luc Besson is known due to his action movies and blockbusters, there are hidden layers that involve social questions, depth of feelings and life choices to be resolved. He has his unique individual style to depict the way the events of life create the presuppositions for formation of people’s features of character, shaped by the challenges and experiences they face. This paper appoints as its goal an attempt to interpret the phrase â€Å"I am guided by a single preoccupation: that modern society creates a familial crisis, and an emotional lack for young people† by Luc Besson through the films he created, particularly â€Å"Nikita†, â€Å"Leon† and â€Å"Fifth Element (as a supportive source). Reviewing films of Luc Besson, it is important to view shortly his biographical background as it evident that the way childhood and maturation passed determines the formation of personality and the products he or she creates. The child of two scuba educators in Paris, Luc was born on March 18, 1959, and spent a large portion of his childhood taking after his parents on the club Med circuit in the middle of Greece and Yugoslavia. Luc was an avid diver like his parents. At ten years old, â€Å"he swam with a wild dolphin while his parents were diving† ("Luc Besson full biography," 2010). The experience influenced him so that he chose to commit his life to watching and comprehension the ocean creatures by turning into a sea life researcher. Bessons fantasies of turning into a sea life researcher were dashed at 17 years old after a mishap that rendered him not able to dive. Taking after his recovery, he went to Paris to complete school. While adapting to city life, Besson found T V and the filming ("Luc Besson full biography," 2010). They soon substituted his enthusiasm for the ocean, and he chose to seek after a filmmaking profession; in the wake of dropping out of school, he started

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Markting concept - Essay Example The second stage of product life cycle is growth. During the growth stage the product gains market acceptance and firms start generating good revenues. The profitability of the company improves during this stage. Since production increases the cost per unit decreases. The sales numbers increase as advertising campaigns target mass media audience instead of specialized marketplaces (Answers). The third stage of the product life cycle is the maturity stage. The maturing stage is a period in which the sales of product slow down because the most potential buyers already purchased the product. Competition increases during this stage and profits tend to go down. The final stage of the product life cycle is the declining stage. During the declining stage products are phased out as new products with greater utility come into the marketplace. During this stage sales plummet as profits erode. Price wars are common during this stage as competing companies want to capture the remaining market sh are of the marketplace. A product that recently went through a declining stage was cathode ray television sets. These types of televisions have become obsolete as flat screen LCD television sets have gone down in prices tremendously. The use of the product life cycle has helped me as a customer and it has impacted my work life.

Chaos theory Applications to PDEs (geometry design) Essay

Chaos theory Applications to PDEs (geometry design) - Essay Example 55). Therefore, there has been a growing demand for the development for a much stronger theory than for the finite dimensional systems. In mathematics, there are significant challenges in the studies on the infinite dimensional systems (Taylor, 1996; p. 88). For instance, as phase spaces, the Banach spaces have many structures than in Euclidean spaces. In application, the most vital natural phenomena are explained by the partial differential equations, most of important natural phenomena are described by the Yang-Mills equations, partial differential equations, nonlinear wave equations, and Navier-Stokes equations among others. Problem Statement Chaos theory has led to profound mathematical equations and theorems that have numerous applications in different fields including chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering among other fields or professions. Problem Definition The nonlinear wave equations are usually significant class of equations especially natural sciences (Cyganowski, K loeden, and Ombach, 2002; p. 33). They usually describe a wide spectrum of phenomena including water waves, motion of plasma, vortex motion, and nonlinear optics (laser) among others (Wasow, 2002). Notably, these types of equations often describe differences and varied phenomena; particularly, similar soliton equation that describes several different situations. These types of equations can be described by the nonlinear Schrodinger equation 1 The equation 1 above has a soliton solution 2 Where the variable This leads to 3 The equation leads to the development of the soliton equations whose Cauchy problems that are solved completely through the scattering transformations. The soliton equations are similar to the integrable Hamiltonian equations that are naturally counterparts of the finite dimensionalintegrable differential systems. Setting up the systematic study of the chaos theory in the partial differential equations, there is a need to start with the perturbed soliton equations (Wasow, 2002). The perturbed soliton equations can be classified into three main categories including: 1. Perturbed (1=1) dimensional soliton equations 2. Perturbed soliton lattices 3. Perturbed (1 + n) dimensional soliton equations (n? 2). For each of the above categories, to analyze the chaos theory in the partial differential equations, there is needed to choose a candidate for study. The integrable theories are often parallel for every member within the same category (Taylor, 1996; p. 102). Moreover, members of different categories are often different substantial. Therefore, the theorem that describes the existence of chaos on each candidate can be generalized parallely to other members under the same category (Wasow, 2002). For instance; The candidate in the first category is often described by a perturbed cubic that often focuses on the nonlinear Schrodinger equation 4 Under even and periodic boundary conditions q (x+1) = q (x) and q (x) =q (x), and is a real constant. The can didates in category 2 are often considered as the perturbed discrete cubic that often focus on the nonlinear Schrodinger equation + Perturbations, 5 The above equation is only valid under even and periodic boundary conditions described by +N = The candidates falling under category 3 are perturbed Davey-Stewartson II equations 6 The equation is only satisfied under the even and periodic

Building and Managing Capability for Marketing Innovation Essay

Building and Managing Capability for Marketing Innovation - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that business model innovation is becoming increasingly important in a world where competitors can easily imitate strategies. Business model innovation represents a higher order of innovation compared to product or process innovation. Many standard business functions have been undergoing radical transformations. Manufacturing no longer involves the mass production of standardized large lots, but the lean production of customized units of one. Not surprisingly, new voices have been calling for the reinvention of marketing. Today’s marketers face new challenges. Consumers are time poor and information-rich; they expect better quality, better services, lower prices and more value for their effort and money. New channels are proliferating, traditional distribution channels are consolidating, and competitors now come from all over the world, increasingly, with lower costs and sometimes of higher quality. By tapping multiple sources of com petitive advantage, a new business model can help a company leapfrog competition. Companies need to keep examining their business model and their relevance for customers in an era of cutthroat competition. An innovation represents a significant improvement over what exists. A successful innovation generates a product or service that is valued highly by customers. As Peter Drucker puts it, â€Å"innovation is the process of finding a new with a new capacity to create wealth. Innovation may improve the yield of existing resources or may provide more value or satisfaction to customers.†Ã‚  " Innovation may endow resources with a new capacity to create wealth. A radical process innovation may be much more disruptive than a minor or moderate product innovation. But, in general, it may be reasonable to say that a radical product innovation is more challenging than a radical process innovation. This is because process innovations are typically internally focused and many of the vari ables are under the organization's control. On the other hand, product innovations are externally focused and markets never cease to surprise. 2.2. Current market challenges: Markets always change faster than marketing. Peter Drucker, (1954) wrote that the business enterprises have two and only two basic functions: Marketing and Innovation. Marketing and innovation produces results; all the rest are costs. Today, companies unabashedly declare their wish to get closer to customers; marketing is actually loosing power to other functions in the corporation. New products are failing at a disturbing rate. Recent studies put the failure rate of new European consumer products at 80% (Nielsen, 1999). Consumer behaviors vary across time and space as well as by contingencies and changing images. In a world filled with choices, there are no sustaining themes or consumption patterns. Some of the reasons for new product failure are: a high level executive pushes a favorite idea in spite of negative market research findings; the idea is good but the market size is overestimated; the product is not well designed; the product is incorrectl y positioned, ineffectively advertised or overpriced; the product is not well designed; the product is incorrectly positioned, in effectively advertised or overpriced; development costs are higher than expected; or competitors fight back harder than expected. Poor performance by Western nation firms in the area of new product development reflects excessive emphasis on profit maximization and risk avoidance. 2.3. Role of innovation in marketing: Marketing styles and innovations have an important role in achieving trade objectives. Marketing style may also influence the nature of a firm's approach to innovation. Only after an organization accepts that innovation should be driven by the need to meet customer aspirations rather than financial community's demand for profitability, does it become possible to evolve a more effective innovation management philosophy. Many companies are beginning to

Hispanic and Latino Americans Essay Example for Free

Hispanic and Latino Americans Essay The United States of America has been called the â€Å"melting pot† of the world. It is a country that is open to diversity and welcomes culture, race and ethnicity of all sorts, for as long as it complies with its laws. United States become a nation rich in immigrants who found new home in a foreign land. Most of the big and key cities in the United States are culturally and racially diversified. This diversity is taught to be an asset of the society. If not understood well, this diversity may also lead to internal and external conflicts such as discrimination and stereotyping. Stereotyping can be as harmless as thinking that Chinese cooks the best orange chicken or Indians have the best chicken curry, but it can also be as destructive as stereotyping Muslims as potential terrorists or Mexicans as potential illegal aliens. Stereotypes come in different forms and it is also apparent in the news, media, television, songs and even literatures. Latino or Hispanic race, for example, has been a hot topic of racial stereotyping. A Latino man behind a cash register may often hear a customer asking â€Å"habla Ingles†. Failure to assimilate to American culture, including language, is one stereotype Latinos are facing. In the story â€Å"Rain of Gold†, written by Victor Villasenor, most of the characters spoke little or no English until they entered the United States. Another literary work, a poetry, written by Pat Mora entitled â€Å"Immigrants† contained lines that read â€Å"before the baby can even walk, speak to them in thick English, hallo, babe, hallo†. There may be some humor to the poem, but it stereotypes the Latino immigrants as having â€Å"thick English† accents. â€Å"Rain of Gold†, written by Victor Villasenor was about the three generations of two Mexican families whose hardship and adventures date back in the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The book chronicled the characters’ escape from Mexico and entry into the United States. It was entitled â€Å"Rain of Gold† because it is the English translation of the characters’ home town of â€Å"La Lluvia de Oro†. In the book, the characters spoke little or no English, which may still be apparent today in our society. However, from the book, we cannot generalize that Mexicans cannot assimilate the way of living or system of other culture. In the book, it was also written that the characters learned to use the survival techniques of Native Americans in order to survive the difficulties they were facing in their environment. The poem â€Å"Immigrants† by Pat Mora also wrote examples on how Mexican try to adapt the American culture by eating hot dogs and apple pie, by naming their children Bill and Daisy, or by buying their children football or blonde dolls with blue eyes. In the modern America, most stereotypes related to the Latino race are exaggerated in the movies or in the media. The movies would often depict Latinos as blue collared workers with little education, family with more than four children, or young Latino with literacy problem. Another stereotype that is attached to the Latino culture is the use of spiritual healing or magic. There are three literary works that took note of the Spiritual healing practice of the Latino culture. â€Å"Rain of Gold† by Victor Villasenor noted that during trying times, the character held on the belief of spirits and asked for their guidance and healing. â€Å"The Curing Woman† by Alejandro Morales was about the power of the traditional healers who use spiritual connection to heal physical ailments. It is about a Spanish woman named Marcelina who learned how to use â€Å"white magic† from her Spanish mother, Dona Marcelina Trujillo. â€Å"White magic† uses herbs, plants, minerals, chants and astrological formulas to cure diseases of the human body. â€Å"Curandera†, a poem written by Pat Mora describes the dependency of a Latino woman to the nature as means of survival and healing of the people. In the poem, the curandera (a woman who practices folk medicine), uses the elements found in the desert, plants, sunlight, and wind to heal other people to survive. Living in a modernized society and the availability of technology used as tools in medicine will create plenty of skepticism and mockery to spiritual healing as a form of cure. The use of spiritual healing will be rejected by most of American populations who grew up with vaccines, radiography, and antibiotics. It will be a challenge for any Latinos practicing this part of their culture to make someone else outside of their race to understand. Another Latino stereotype that affects most Latino men, is the machismo schema attached to Latino men. It is viewed that in Latino culture, men are the dominant gender, and women are submissive to their male counterparts. However, in â€Å"Rain of Gold† written by Victor Villasenor, the character of Dona Margarita, a wife and a mother, possessed strength that was even able to boldly reprimand the character of her husband. Dona Margarita’s strength and support was valued in the book as one of the reason of fulfilling the family’s dreams. She was able to express her anger and frustration on her husband, Don Victor, when he gambled and got drunk. Her family felt hope when she did not give-up her hope that her daughter, Sophia, was still alive. Although she wanted to give the leadership role to her husband Don Victor, the book made it apparent that she is the strength of her family. However, the story also depicted Dona Margarita as a housewife whose primary role is to raise her children and manage the household. Most Latino written works also depicted the common stereotype that Latinos mostly worked blue collar jobs. For example, in the â€Å"Rain of Gold† by Victor Villasenor, most men worked as miners, while some worked as soldiers. In the movies, most Latino females play characters such as nanny, cashier, waitress, or housekeeper. In conclusion, I believe that the Latino race does not only suffer from being stereotyped by people from another culture, but also from the literary works of Latino authors. Pat Mora, for example, used the â€Å"thick English† accent of Latinos to provide some humor to her poetry. In more than two literatures the â€Å"spiritual or magical healing† was also noted, providing a stronger connection between this practice and the Latino race. Personally, I believe that I am a victim of the movies and television programs who effectively instill cultural stereotypes in me. Fortunately, I was able to know numerous Latinos that proved that the stereotypes should not be used as a general depiction of their race. A research study survey noted that the stereotypical images of the Latinos in the media are not accurate and that most Latinos who participated in the survey were able to assimilate well into the US culture (Latino Professional Survey, 2006). The survey noted that 98% of the survey respondents were fluent in English and 80% were college graduate (Latino Professional Survey, 2006). This defies the common stereotyping that Latinos cannot speak English very well and mostly occupy blue collared jobs. Reference (2006). Todays Latino Professionals are Educated, Fully Bilingual and Assimilated: HACEs Findings Shatter Stereotypes; Results of 2006 Latino Professional Survey Help Understand Latinos. Newswire, R Kanellos, N. (1995). Hispanic American literature. A brief introduction and anthology. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley.

Impact of Knowledge Sharing for Elderly Housing Support

Impact of Knowledge Sharing for Elderly Housing Support The Impact of Knowledge Sharing in the Provision of Floating Support in Sheltered Housing for the elderly. Abstract As the population ages, increasing number of vulnerable older people are living alone in own home, sheltered housing or residential care. The needs of the older people are constantly changing and there is need for long term support. Older people living in sheltered housing with complex and high needs require access to services with a network of different types of support; high staff cover and supervision. Supported people introduced floating support to aid people with high and complex needs. Floating support aimed at preventing homelessness among people with high difficulties; and intensive support, with out-of-hours cover, for people with high needs. Housing services, social services, ‘health services have to liaise and coordinate the services being provided. Knowledge sharing will help ease of the tensions and demands among the agencies. This paper, which is based on an on-going PhD project, begins by examining the field of sheltered housing for the elderly, discusses floating support and the key prayers providing the support. This is followed by analysis of knowledge sharing and potential factors that are important to a successful knowledge-sharing in providing floating support to the services provider. This paper concludes that , trust, motivation, effective communication, shared mindsets, training and leadership are the critical for effective knowledge sharing in provision of floating support in sheltered housing for the elderly. Effective gathering and sharing knowledge and information between supported Housing providers, social services and health and Care agencies through the establishment of the Knowledge sharing initiatives. Keywords: Knowledge sharing, sheltered housing, floating support and Provisions Nowadays Knowledge is regarded as a strategic resource in organizations, and thus the leverage of knowledge is a key managerial issue. Knowledge creation, sharing and dissemination are the main activities in knowledge management. This study examines the influence the social and technological factors such as learning culture and IT use, could have on knowledge sharing of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) students. A cross-sectional survey was used as a methodology for data collection and 137 valid responses were collected from all the three categories of students that include graduates, undergraduates and preparatory students. The study shows that there is a significant positive relationship between the student learning culture and IT use on student knowledge sharing. The study limitations, practical implications, along with directions for further research are discussed.. Despite the strong interests among practitioners, there is a knowledge gap with regard to online communities of practice. This study examines knowledge sharing among critical-care and advanced-practice nurses, who are engaged in a longstanding online community of practice. Lack of knowledge and sharing knowledge with each other was also reflected on (Table 2 and Appendix). The participants from the specialized unit for demented people spoke about their lack of knowledge concerning demented people in general and they wanted more training. Their practical knowledge gained through long experience was put forward by the supervisor. Lack of resources, principally lack of time was another topic for reflection (Table 2 and Appendix). The participants spoke about the work with demented pensioners as time-consuming and that they hardly ever had the time they wanted, for instance to sit down and talk to the pensioners. The descriptions presented during the sessions and derived from practical experience could also support other staff who are dealing with the complexity of caring for demented people. The participants were given the opportunity of sharing their own knowledge with each other through comparing how they handled various tasks. Several studies show that staff who are given the opportunity to share their practical knowledge with others gain a wider variety of experience, attitudes, new ways, views and solutions to problems (Bulechek McCloskey 1985, Kadushin 1985). Johns (1995) emphasized that reflective practice always needs to be guided and that clinical supervision is central to the process of learning. Clinical supervision offers an ideal milieu for the guidance of reflective practice just as reflective practice offers an ideal method to structure what takes place within clinical supervision (Johns 1995). The benefits of these reflective discussions are not the focus of this study. It s eems reasonable, however, to assume that such well-designed discussions also help the nurses to achieve high quality care. (Olsson and Hallberg 1998) Effective knowledge sharing is vital to successful provision of floating support in sheltered housing for the elderly. There is still little knowledge available about home-based professional care for demented people and how to support it from a managerial point of view. In order to develop clinical supervision techniques further and to understand the home care staffs specific problems in their caring for demented people living in their own homes, it seems useful to study the content of supervision sessions. The professionals narratives during such sessions may contribute to a deeper understanding of professional home care for the demented. It is estimated that the best solution for elderly demented people is to stay at home, since their known environment can better support the maintenance of their personal lives and values. Staying at home supposedly gives demented people an opportunity to maintain ADL-performance, and promotes the individuals sense of self and integrity (Zgola 1988, Kihlgren 1990). Studies from Canada and the USA show that demented people remain in their homes during the major part of the disease (Alessi 1991, Gallo et al. 1991). It may well be that the circumstances are the same in Sweden. No studies, however, have been located. Usually demented people who stay at home are cared for by their own families (Dellasega 1991) and this is known to cause strain on the family caregiver (Given et al. 1990, Pushkar Gold et al. 1995). The family caregiver also seems to benefit from increased satisfaction and self-esteem related to taking on and carrying through the responsibility for their demented family membe r and they do not necessarily worry about their demented next of kin, as they tend to do if the demented becomes institutionalized (cf Stephens et al. 1991). On the other hand the family caregiver may suffer from social and affective limitations in his/her life especially at the beginning of the next of kins disease (Grafstrom et al. 1992) and Saveman et al. (1993) show that there is a risk of abuse of elderly people in informal care. Home care staff may have the opportunity to relieve such strain.(Olsson and Hallberg 1998) (Olsson and Hallberg 1998) Research on outcomes in supported housing has been very limited and most published studies are descriptive, rather than evaluative. Cost-effectiveness has generally not been investigated. The outcomes most commonly evaluated are satisfaction and quality of life. A recent GOSW research review has concluded that: Â § There are some beneficial effects of supported housing, particularly in relation to quality of life that could lead to improved health; Â § There is a lack of research into health related outcomes, such as re-admission rates or clinical symptoms; Â § The objective of promoting independence, as stated in the South West Regional Housing Strategy, should be assessed formally; Â § There is a need for formal evaluation of supported housing schemes to ensure that the projects meet the needs of the clients and the wider population. ABSTRACT In the area of knowledge management, many studies have been devoted to investigating how to design an effective knowledge-sharing system in organizations. These studies emphasized the importance of various aspects to the success of the knowledge-sharing system and provided us with hints concerning what critical factors we should consider in the design of a knowledge-sharing system for group learning. In this study, we aim at exploring the critical components of a successful knowledge-sharing system and influential aspects we should consider in the design of a system for group learning. To achieve this task, we conducted an experiment during a semester-long course. The participants in the experiment were the final-year undergraduate students of a business school in Hong Kong. Finally, several factors important to the success of a knowledge-sharing system were identified. Implications for teaching and learning were also provided. Keywords Knowledge sharing, group learning, critical success factor INTRODUCTION Knowledge sharing among students is believed to be an effective approach to facilitate studying and improve their academic performance. Therefore, how we should carry out successful knowledge sharing in the classroom is a meaningful topic and should be given some attention. To build a knowledge-sharing system is an approach worthy of effort in conducting effective knowledge sharing in school. However, which system aspects merit consideration is still a problem under investigation. Based on previous research, the present study explores potential factors that are important to a successful knowledge-sharing system and discusses some implications for academic teaching and learning. LITERATURE REVIEW In the area of knowledge management, many studies have been done to investigate how to establish an efficient system for sharing knowledge in organizations. These studies emphasized the importance of various aspects to the success of knowledge sharing system. For example, Almeida et als study (2002) emphasized the availability of multiple mechanisms, formal and informal, to share and transfer knowledge so as to flexibly and simultaneously move, integrate and develop technical knowledge. Besides, the organizational culture that is capable of supporting the flow of knowledge was also addressed as an important factor. Another study by Nelson and Cooprider (1996) empirically tested the relationships between IS performance and mutual trust and influence among IS groups and their line customers. They found that mutual trust can facilitate knowledge sharing and can then increase shared knowledge. Bryants paper (2003) mainly studied the role of leadership in organizational knowledge manageme nt by comparing the effect of transformational leadership and transactional leadership on knowledge sharing. The involvement of high technology in knowledge sharing is addressed by Hubers study (2001) that claimed that some of the barriers to knowledge sharing can to a certain extent be raised by utilizing appropriate technologies. A few studies noted the role of motivation in knowledge sharing. Most of them discussed the different effects of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on knowledge sharing. It was believed that extrinsic motivation is a short-term approach and cannot create a lasting commitment to sharing knowledge (Kohn, 1993). Moreover, extrinsic motivation is also inappropriate if the knowledge shared is mainly tacit in nature (Osterloh et al., 2000). In Hansens paper (2002), the results showed that project teams who could conveniently access related knowledge from other units by virtue of pre-existing relationships could complete their projects faster than those who failed to do so. Thus, pre-existing relationships are also a facilitating factor due to their shortening the path among units who possess related knowledge. Lastly, a common language is also believed essential for effective knowledge sharing so that knowledge producers and recipients can achieve fluent and accurate communication in exchanging ideas and knowledge (Ali, 2001). EXPERIMENTAL SETUP For this study, we planned an experiment that was conducted during a course and lasted for whole semester. The participants in the experiment were the final-year undergraduate students of a business school. For the purposes of this experiment, we separated all students into different groups with each group consisting of five to six students. We then assigned relevant project topics to different groups and asked them to finish the projects by the end of semester. At the beginning, we counseled the participants that sharing knowledge is an effective way of improving performance and encouraged them to share their knowledge with their group mates as much as possible during the projects. MEASUREMENT A questionnaire was designed to test the participants perceptions concerning knowledge sharing based on their experience acquired in the group projects. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. In the first part, we selected eight factors based on past studies, including knowledge-friendly culture, motivational practices, multiple available channels, leader supportiveness, trust, pre-existing relationship, common language and level of technology. Participants were asked to indicate the extent to which each of these factors is important to the success of knowledge sharing. The second part had four items: Email, Knowledge repository, Face-to-face (F2F) meeting and Formal seminar. We ask participants to indicate the frequency with which they used each of the above methods to share knowledge with their group mates. We distributed the questionnaire to 91 students in a course and finally obtained 75 usable samples for further data analysis. RESULTS The mean, max and min values for each of the eight variables in the first part are summarized in Table 1. In addition, we conducted a series of paired t-tests to statistically compare every possible pair of means. Based on the results of the t-test (Table 2), we categorized the eight factors into five different groups: knowledge-friendly culture and motivational practices, multiple available channels and leader supportiveness, trust, pre-existing relationship and common language, and, lastly, level of technology. Trust Culture Motivation Channels Leader Relation Language Tech MEAN 6.04 5.84 5.76 5.52 5.51 5.12 5.27 4.71 MAX 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 MIN 3 4 4 3 4 3 3 1 Importance MAX MIN Table 1. Results of the first part Culture 2.15 Motivation 2.71 0.92 Channels 4.36 2.66 2.31 Leader 5.18 3.42 2.32 0.12 Relation 6.54 6.11 5.16 2.95 3.04 Language 6.31 4.22 3.66 1.98 1.96 0.95 Tech 9.28 8.41 6.83 5.03 5.73 2.70 3.50 t-value Trust Culture Motivation Channels Leader Relation Language Table 2. Results of paired t-test ( p In each above group that contains more than one factor, the factors are not statistically different from each other. For example, the knowledge-friendly-culture factor is perceived as equally important as the factor on motivational practice. We then prioritized these five groups in terms of their importance to the success of knowledge sharing by comparing their mean level. Obviously, building trust is the most important factor and the level of technology the least, as shown in Table 1. The mean, max and min values of the second part of the dataset are exhibited in Table 3. We also worked out the percentage of responses that rated the item more than 4 points. By referring to this percentage and checking the corresponding mean values, we can obtain information concerning how many of participants at least frequently used each method to share their knowledge with others. To conclude, F2F meeting is the most frequently used approach to sharing knowledge. Formal seminars, on the contrary, were the least used. F2F Email Repository Seminar MEAN 5.83 5.41 4.48 3.00 MAX 7 7 7 7 MIN 4 2 2 1 Frequent Usage 94.7% 85.3% 46.7% 21.3% Table 3. Data of the second part IMPLICATIONS Our study has essential implications for course teaching and learning. Our study suggests that in order to facilitate knowledge sharing among students, building trusting relationships is the first and most important step to take. Such trust can be built and strengthened via gradual mutual understanding. Therefore, there should be various opportunities and occasions for students to get to know each other. In this way, improved trust due to good understanding can raise the psychological barriers to communication and can then increase the students willingness to share knowledge. Moreover, a healthy culture should be fostered among students that learning from others and sharing what you know with others is the right thing to do and an effective way of improving study. In this arena, instructors play a particularly critical role. As for the sharing activity itself, increasing interactive communication between students is still an ideal way of proceeding. Whether in class or after class, s tudents should be provided with adequate opportunities for face-to-face discussions without the presence of instructors so that they can actively share knowledge during these discussions. Frequent formal seminars are not an effective approach for sharing knowledge because they hardly communicate with each other to exchange opinions and thoughts during the seminars. REFERENCES Ali, Y. (2001). The intranet and the management of making and using skills. Journal of Knowledge Management, 5, 338-348. Almeida, P., Song, J. and Grant, R. M. (2002). Are firms superior to alliances and markets? An empirical test of cross-border knowledge building. Organization Science, 13, 147-161. Bryant, S. E. (2003). The role of transformational and transactional leadership in creating, sharing and exploiting organizational knowledge. Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 9, 32-44. Hansen, M. T. (2002). Knowledge networks: Explaining effective knowledge sharing in multiunit companies. Organization Science, 13, 232-248. Huber, G. P. (2001). Transfer of knowledge in knowledge management systems: unexplored issues and suggested studies. European Journal of Information Systems, 10, 72-79. Kohn, A. (1993). Why incentive plans cannot work. Harvard Business Review, 71,54-63. Nelson, K. M. and J. G. Cooprider (1996). The contribution of shared knowledge to IS group performance. MIS Quarterly, 20, 409-432. Osterloh, M. and Frey, B. S. (2000). Motivation, knowledge transfer, and organizational forms. Organization Science, 11, 538-550. Knowing in Community: 10 Critical Success Factors in Building Communities of Practice The Limits of Knowledge Management Many companies are discovering that the real gold in knowledge management is not in distributing documents or combining databases. In the last few years many companies have used the internet and other new information technology to link professionals across the globe to share documents or compare data. But many are discovering that the real value in knowledge management is in sharing ideas and insights that are not documented and hard to articulate. This undocumented, hard-to-articulate knowledge is what has been called tacit knowledge (Polanyi, 1958). A group of systems designers for a computer company tried to share their knowledge by storing their documentation for client systems in a common database. They soon discovered that they did not need each others documentation. They needed to understand the logic other system designers used — why that software, with that hardware and that type of service plan. They needed to understand the thinking of the other system designers. A petrophysicist trying to interpret unusual data from a deep sea oil well needed help from a colleague who had seen similar anomalies and could help him think through how to interpret it. Only in the course of the discussion were they able to understand the anomaly. A geologist faced with an array of new seismic tools needed to know which would be most useful in his particular application. A product development team at an auto company found through their internet that another development team had developed and rejected a design ideas similar to one they were considering. They needed to understand the reasons for the rejection and get feedback from the other team on the approach they were considering. A sales manager working with a particularly difficult client needed to know how sales managers for other product lines had dealt with that client. In all these cases people needed tacit knowledge; knowledge that was not documented, that their peers had never previously articulated, and t hat needed to be thought about to be shared (McDermott, 1999a). Using typical knowledge management methods to leverage tacit knowledge often results in information junkyards and empty libraries. At the heart of most knowledge management efforts is an attempt to document and share information, ideas and insights so they can be organized, managed and shared. But documenting tacit knowledge frequently does more harm than good. When a major computer company first introduced its knowledge site, it asked field engineers to place their files in a common database. But, like many other companies, this company soon discovered that their staff did not want to hunt through many, redundant entries. As one engineer said, My own file cabinet is bad enough, why would I want look through everyone elses file cabinet. Rather than a resource, the company had created an information junkyard, full of potentially good material that was too much trouble to sort through. The field engineers wanted someone familiar with their discipline to assess the material, decide what is important and to enrich the documents in the database by summarizing, combining, contrasting, and integrating them. This would make the junkyard useful. Another company instructed their professional staff to document key work processes so others could easily learn from them. Most staff felt their work was too varied to capture in a set of procedures, but eventually they completed the task. Within a year the database was populated, but little used, an empty library. Most people found the information to be too general to be useful. The help they needed was still in the experience — the tacit knowledge of their peers. Communities of Practice Leverage Thinking Ironically one of the oldest elements of organization is key to leveraging tacit knowledge, communities of practice. Communities of practice are groups of people who share information, insight, experience, and tools about an area of common interest (Wenger, 1998). A communitys focus could be on a professional discipline like reservoir engineering or biology a skill like machine repair or a topic like a technology, an industry, or a segment of a production process. In a manufacturing company, for example, communities were formed around steps in the production process. Shell Oil Co.s New Orleans operation, which is organized into cross-functional teams, formed them around key disciplines and topics that cross individual teams. Communities of practice have always been part of the informal structure of organizations. They form spontaneously as people seek help, try to solve problems, develop new ideas and approaches. Some say that spontaneous communities of practice have always been the real vehicle through which technical knowledge spreads through organizations. Spontaneous communities of practice are informal. People participate in them as their interest, time and energy dictates. Although they usually gel around a particular topic or domain, the specific issues they focus on change over time, as the needs and interests of their members change. Communities are held together by passionate interest and value. Communities of practice frequently form around topics community members have invested many years in developing; topics they are often passionately interested in, a science, a craft or a manufacturing process. But communities of practice are not just celebrations of common interest. They focus on practical aspects of a practice, everyday problems, new tools, developments in the field, things that work and dont. So people participate because the community provides value. Community members frequently turn to each other to help solve technical problems, like interpreting anomalous data. Because they are often linked, not only to each other but also to suppliers, universities and others outside their organization communities of practice, they often keep members informed of new developments in the field. Because community members share a common technical interest, they can share ideas and concerns with others who really unders tand. And praise from community members is often the most meaningful because technical peers really understand the difficulty of the work or the brilliance of an analysis. As a result, people often have a great deal of their professional identity tied up in their communities. Communities of practice link people in many ways. Communities frequently link people with a common interest who do not have regular day-to-day contact. For example, in Shell Oils New Orleans operation, communities link people who work on different teams. In this double knit organization (McDermott, 1999b) teams are the core organizational structure. Communities form around technical disciplines and topics that draw people from many teams. Each community operates in its own way, but the Turbodudes community is fairly typical. The Turbodudes draw people from different disciplines (geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir engineering) who are interested in a particular kind of geological structure common in the Gulf of Mexico, turbidites. The Turbodudes stay together through five key components: a coordinator, mentors, a weekly meeting, presentations by outside vendors, and a website that stores topics discussed at previous meetings. For the last two years the Turbodudes have met ev ery Tuesday at 7:30 in the morning, before the other organizational meetings begin. Typically twenty to forty people come to the meetings. While there are often many new faces at the meetings, there is a core group of ten high-contributors who make most of the meetings. The meetings seem very informal. The coordinator asks who has a question or problem. After a short presentation, others offer their observations, describing the logic or assumptions they made in formulating those observations. A technical specialist takes notes on her computer. The following day meeting notes are posted on the communitys website. While the meeting only lasts an hour, people often leave in small groups hotly engaged in discussions of the meetings topic. But these meetings are not as informal as they seem. Between meetings the coordinator walks the halls connecting people with others who share similar concerns, following up on the meetings topics, and finding topics for the next meeting. To keep discus sions focused on cutting edge topics and to keep senior community leaders engaged, the community developed a mentorship program for people new to the field. The mentorship program provides an avenue for basic questions and distributes the job of educating new community members in an equitably. Communities thrive on trust. One of the main dynamics of the Turbodudes and many other communities of practice is that members ask for and offer help solving technical problems. Regularly helping each other makes it easier for community members to show their weak spots and learn together in the public space of the community. Having frank and supportive discussions of real problems frequently builds a greater sense of connection and trust between community members. As they share ideas and experiences, community members often develop a shared way of doing things, a set of common practices, and a greater sense of common purpose. Sometimes they formalize these in guidelines and standards, but often they simply remain what everybody knows about good practice. In the course of helping each other, sharing ideas, and collectively solving problems, everybody often becomes a trusted group of peers. Communities of practice are ideal vehicles for leveraging tacit knowledge because they enable person-to-person interaction and engage a whole group in advancing their field of practice. As a result, they can spread the insight from that collaborative thinking across the whole organization Critical Success Factors for Community Building Communities of practice are a new/old kind of organizational form. Even though communities of practice have been part of organizations for many generations, we have only recently begun to understand their dynamics and tried to intentionally develop them. Because they are organic, driven by the value they provide to members, organized around changing topics, and bound by peoples sense of connection, they are very different from teams and other organizational forms most of us are familiar with (McDermott, 1999b; Wenger Snyder, 2000). The challenges they pose and the factors in making them successful are also different. There are four key challenges in starting and supporting communities capable of sharing tacit knowledge and thinking together. The management challenge is to communicate that the organization truly values sharing knowledge. The community challenge is to create real value for community members and insure that the community shares cutting edge thinking, rather than sophisticated copying. The technical challenge is to design human and information systems that not only make information available but help community members think together. And the personal challenge is to be open to the ideas of others and maintain a thirst for developing the communitys practice. Ten factors, dealing with each of these challenges, are critical to the success of communities of practice. Without them, communities tend to flounder or fail. Critical Success Factors in Building Community Management Challenge 1. Focus on topics important to the business and community members. 2. Find a well-respected community member to coordinate the community. 3. Make sure people have time and encouragement to participate. 4. Build on the core values of the organization. Community Challenge 5. Get key thought leaders involved. 6. Build personal relationships among community members. 7. Develop an active passionate core group. 8. Create forums for thinking together as well as systems for sharing information. Technical Challenge 9. Make it easy to contribute and access the communitys knowledge and practices. Personal Challenge 10. Create real dialogue about cutting edge issues. The Management Challenge Knowledge management, like total quality and reengineering has become the latest of management fads. Many professionals have found that if they just keep their heads low they can escape the extra work and impact of these fads. With so many pressures drawing on their time, it is often hard to get the attention of professional staff. Four factors can communicate that management really does support knowledge-sharing communities. 1. Focus on knowledge important to both the business and the people. To show that communities of practice are important, form them around topics at the heart of the business, where leveraging knowledge will have a significant financial or competitive impact. Communities of practice at Shell, a very technically oriented company, started around technical topics. At a manufacturing company, we formed the first communities around major steps of the manufacturing process

The Opponents And Supporters Of Neoliberalism

The Opponents And Supporters Of Neoliberalism When one speaks of globalization what comes to mind is basically the financial globalization, which has occurred since the mid-1980s and has been associated with an increase in capital flows among industrial countries and, more notably, between industrial and developing countries (Prasad et al. 2003). Since then a, sometimes, contested debate has emerged as to the effects of financial integration on developing economies. Apparently, in order to assess whether globalization, financial or globalization in its wider sense, has been a boon or bane we need to have a standard of reference. The writer believe that the most objective, value-free, standard of comparison is to provide in the section 1 some useful definitions of Globilization and Neoliberalism, then distinguish between those two definitions and also explain the Anti- globalization movement. In section 2 the writer discusses some of these competing discourses. These three discourses are: first of all, Joseph Striglitz who argue that globalization is potentially beneficial, but it must be made to work, that it needs of human face, second discourse is the free trade economists such as Jagdish Bhagwati and financial times journalist Martin Wolf, who argue that globalization already works, that it has a human face; and final discourse are scholars such as Marxist geographer David Harvey and Subcommandante Marcos, spokesperson of Mexican rebel movement the Zapatistas, who argue that neoliberal globalization involves accumulation by dispossession, that is the fourth world war. Finally, in section 4 the writer derives her conclusion. In addition, this essay has a further material of globalization as appendices which are structured as follows. In Section 1 we provide some further definitions. In Section 2 we discuss some theoretical arguments in favour and against globalization. In Section 3, we present the empirical evidence when it comes to the benefits of costs of globalization. Globalisation is a continuing process that integrates regional economies, communities and cultures through a network of communications and business dealings (Dicken 2007). Globalisation is mostly used to refer to economic globalisation. This is however not the case. Globalisation is a reality, not one that affects finance only but almost all the aspects of human life. Globalisation has effects on technology, culture, and entertainment. Globalisation is viewed as being influenced by a blend of factors like economic, technical, social, cultural, political and scientific. The earliest description of this concept was coined by the United States businessman who was later made a minister, Charles Taze Russell (Khor 2001). He came up with the terminology, corporate giants in the year 1897. Since the time this idea was conceived, it has motivated many other definitions and descriptions (Bordo 2002). The UN ESCWA has revealed that globalisation is a term that has a wide range of usage and as a result has numerous definitions (Harvey 2007). When the term is used from the finance perspective, it refers to the lessening and elimination of regional boundaries between countries for the purpose of facilitating the transfer of capital, products, services, and workforce (Glyn 2006). Tom Palmer describes globalisation as the reduction or removal of state-enforced constraints on transfer of products and services across boundaries and the incorporated and sophisticated international systems of manufacturing and exchange that has come up as a result. Thomas Friedman has investigated the effects of globalisation and claims that globalisation and politics have transformed the world completely. The changes have been both positive and negative (Dicken 2007). According to Takis Fotopoulos, globalisation is the outcome of methodical movements revealing the marketplace economys grow-or-die nature (Perraton 2001). This is the case following the speedy growth of multinational enterprises. Due to the fact that these movements have not been counterbalanced efficiently by counter-tendencies that could have come from labour movements and other sorts of political actions, the result has been globalisation. This is a complicated and an irrevocable occurrence within the scheme of the market economy. This phenomenon is evident as financial globalisation, that is, the opening and deregulation of the market which has caused the current form of neoliberalism (Bordo 2002). The globalisation since the Second World War as resulted from the making of the politicians. They began attempting to eliminate the boundaries hindering business to raise affluence and interdependence thus decreasing the opportunities for another war. The works of the politicians made possible the Bretton Woods Conference (Held 1999). This was a conference by the influential politicians of the world, to come up with a system for global commerce and finance. This was also an effort to establish global institutions that could see this come to pass. The two major institutions that were thought of were the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Since then the policies of this two institutions have affected globalisation. Globalisation is also evident as political globalisation, that is, the coming up of international elites and the removal of the all-powerful nation-states of the past. There is also the concept of cultural globalisation, that is, the uniformity of culture all ov er the world. Others are ideological, technological and social globalisation (Bordo 2002). Neoliberalism This term is used to refer to economic liberalism. This term was used for the first time in 1960s by Marxists. It used to refer to the finance policies founded on neoclassical theories of economics (Harvey 2007). These philosophies reduce the role played by the state and increase the private enterprise sector. Neoliberalism is used to as a critic to the policies and ideas of contemporary administrations and the major international finance institutions. The expression is also used in cultural studies as a description for social, cultural and political activities and policies that utilise the concepts of marketplaces, economical efficiency, consumer preference and business deals (Hardt and Negri 2000). Generally speaking, neoliberalism tries to transfer a portion of the control of the economy from the public sector to the private sector. This is done in the assumption that the process will lead to more efficient governments and improve the economic growth of a country. The concept of neoliberalism is derived from the Washington Consensus. This was a list of policies proposed, that seemed to have been agreed on among the international financial agencies based in Washington, such as the IMF and the World Bank (Hà ¤usler 2002). Neoliberalism is thus as set of finance policies that became widely used since the 1990s. These policies have been imposed unto governments by the international financial institutions (Harvey 2007). Neoliberalism and globalisation In most cases neoliberalism and globalisation are used interchangeably. These two are however related due to the finance nature that binds them. Noam Chomsky puts forward the claim that globalisation can be used in a doctrinal point of view, to point to the neoliberalism. The notion of neoliberal views the state as an enterprise. The enterprise sells itself as a market place, instead of trading in export products (Held 2004). In case the government in power is a neoliberal one, it will implement the policies designed by the financial institutions in making the country better for investments. Where these investments and business deals are dome on a global level, then Globalisation prevails. Globalisation is thus linked to neoliberalism where the marketplace is used to trade in global arena (Harvey 2007). Anti-globalisation movement This is the term utilised in describing the political group that is opposed to the neoliberalism. Some criticisms of globalisation are some of the reasons used in opposition to the neoliberalism. This movement comprises some of the processes and action taken by nations or the citizens in the effort of demonstrating its sovereignty and carry out independent decision-making. This may take place in an attempt to uphold hindrances to the international movement of labour, products or beliefs. This can also take place as a way of preventing market deregulation, promoted by institutions like the IMF or the WTO (Perraton 2001). Naomi Klein asserts that the term anti-globalisation movement can be used to refer to only one movement or as an umbrella terminology that encompasses more than one movement. In either case, the members of such movement(s) stand in opposition to neoliberalism (Hà ¤usler 2002). Globalisation needs a human face Joseph Stiglitz is known as one of the great contributors to the knowledge of economics. He contributed to the economics of asymmetric knowledge and the issue of efficient wages. According to Stiglitz (2007), globalisation is a close interrelation between nations and people. He cannot be said to be against globalisation because according to him it has the potential to achieve good to the world. He claims that as a result of globalisation, it is now possible for people to have longer lives and achieve better living standards. Stiglitz asserts that despite the fact that globalisation has the potential; it has not operated the way it ought to have worked (Stiglitz 2007). He sees as if something has gone terribly wrong because globalisation has not delivered its promises to the people. Globalisation has not provided better lives for those in need of its expected advantages. As a matter of fact, Stiglitz argues that globalisation has led to concentration of resources in one place leading to high levels of inequality. This has taken place between nations as well as within nations. It has led to increased rates of poverty and decreased rate of independence. In his personal point of view, the number of individuals living in poverty in the African continent has increased twice in the last twenty years or so. In the industrialised countries the rate of wages for the working class has also gone down. All this has taken place due to the fact that globalisation has been mismanaged. This means that the issue is not globalisation, but the poor management of globalisation. This is why Stiglitz asserts that globalisation requires a human face (Stiglitz 2006).This is the only way that it can be made to function. According to Stiglitz, the policies that need to be targeted for globalisation to work are those of International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He also cites neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus as the general targets in the proper management of globalisation ( Stiglitz 2006). The description of neoliberalism according to Stiglitz is the grab-bag of ideologies that is founded on the fundamentalist concept that marketplaces are self-correcting, distribute assets effectively, and take into account the interests of the people very well. It is this marketplace notion that motivated Thatcherism, Reaganomics, and the Washington Consensus (Stiglitz 2003). Stiglitz points out that the International Monetary Funds is the major villain in this issue. This is because this institution has pressured the neo-liberal policies, on the Third World countries without taking into consideration their significance in prevailing conditions (Stiglitz 2002). The outcomes of these policies to the developing countries have in very many occasions been detrimental. The global financial agencies have impacted a specific philosophy, that of market fundamentalism. This ideology as turned to be bad economics as well as bad politics. This idea is founded on principles concerning the functi oning of markets that are not operational even in the global economies. The policies have been forced to the society without even taking into account the understanding of the society or even the role of economics in the community. These policies have also been imposed in manners that are undermining to the budding democracies (Stiglitz 2002). Stiglitz is particularly against financial and market liberalisation citing the fact that this leads to economic instability. According to Stiglitz, this concept was a key contributor to the East Asian Financial Crisis (Stiglitz 2002). He asserts that if globalisation has failed due to the enforcement of Washington Consensus, as well as policies and lack of proper management, then the solution would be implementation of proper policies and good governance of globalisation. He argues that if globalisation was well managed, then it would bring in a lot of benefits to both the developed and the developing nations. Stiglitz proposes reforms to the global financial institutions (Stiglitz 2003). Globalisation has a human face This is a somewhat contradictory concept to the earlier one of globalisation needs a human face. This concept is brought up by a colleague of Stiglitz, Jagdish Bhagwati. He claims that the concept of globalisation needs a global face is wrong (Bhagwati 2004). This is because this notion sends a false signal. He argues that globalisation has a human face and it is up to us to make that face more agreeable. Bhagwati introduces two kinds of critic of globalisation. The first one is the huge number of strong opponents who possess strong opposition for globalisation. Conversations with this group of protestors are impossible. The second group is of the opponents whose dissatisfaction is well within the limits of normal dispute and dialogue. This group argues that globalisation is the cause of very many social problems like poverty, illiteracy, child labour, inequality in women, and deterioration of the environment. This group of critics require an extended and well thought of response. In the response there is need to have adequate assessment of a variety of issues surrounding globalisation. These are the issues addressed by both Bhagwati and Wolf. One of the issues is poverty (Bhagwati 2007). According to Bhagwati poverty has for a long time been associated with globalisation. The response to the critics concerning this issue is that business promotes development and development reduces poverty. To support this argument Bhagwati cites two nations that have been a host of poverty, that is, India and china. The two countries moved to outward orientation about two decades ago. This was the contributing factor to their high economic development in the 80s and 90s (Bhagwati 2007). During this period poverty went down considerably in both countries. Martin Wolf agrees with the argument that the ratio of standard incomes in the developed nations to those in the developing nations has been going up in this period of globalisation. He also acknowledges the fact that the gap in the living standards between the rich and the poor has also continued to widen. Nevertheless Wolf reaches to the conclusion that international inequality amongst people has gone down, with the numbers of the persons living in absolute poverty has gone down (Wolf 2005). The welfare of the people has continued to develop with globalisation. The explanation given by Wolf for the continued poverty in Africa is not globalisation, but partly because of diseases and partly because of its failure to develop. He asserts that what affects the people living in abject poverty is not the fact that they are exploited, but the fact that they are not exploited. This is because they exist outside the global economy. The growth in globalisation of the economy through integration of budding economies has changed the humanity for the better. The problem that faces globalisation is not that it has failed, but the challenge is to bring those who are living outside it into the web of beneficial economic integrations (Wolf 2005). The other issue that requires response is child labour. This is a problem that has been going on internationally throughout the world. Bhagwati argues that there is no relationship whatsoever between child labour and globalisation. The causes of this problem are associated with poverty (Perraton 2001). The fact according to Bhagwati is that whenever globalisation causes wealth and lessens poverty, it leads to reduction of child labour and increase in enrolment into learning institutions. This works two-way because it also deals with the issue of poverty. This consequently impacts positively on the economic development (Bhagwati 2004). Another issue that needs to be addressed carefully in dealing with the critics is womens equality. There is an argument that globalisation has a negative impact on women. Wolf disagrees with this argument by asserting that globalisation has assisted in reducing gender inequality. He claims that the youths who migrated from rural china in search of employment were driven by their attempts to run away from poverty. This was not by force and the wages they earn has assisted them by improving their living standards. This is especially true for women who are offered the chance to earn their own money (Wolf 2005). There are many a number of other issues that Bhagwati addresses in dealing with the critics. Concerning democracy he asserts that globalisation increases democracy both directly and indirectly. The direct impact is that the local manufacturers and farmers are able to access the market directly without being exploited by the middlemen. This has made them into independent people who can participate in the activities and processes of the society such as politics. The indirect impact is that globalisation leads to prosperity that through development of the society leads to democracy (Wolf 2005). Both Bhagwati and Wolf argue that globalisation does no cause environmental degradation. They assert that by improving the standards of living, globalisation leads to proper environmental management. They however support the fact that global economy should be well managed to enhance environmental development (Bhagwati 2004). Bhagwati supports capital controls and emphasises what he refers to as wall street treasury complex. This system has led to many administrations adopting policies of capital-account convertibility (Bhagwati 2004). Globalisation is the fourth world war One of the treaties that will be considered in this section is NAFTA. This is one treaty that has had missed reactions since its inception. The treaty has been acclaimed by its supporters and condemned by its opponents. This is a trilateral treaty that was signed in 1994 bringing together three nations in one trading bloc. These three countries are the US, Mexico and Canada. After the treaty was formed, conflicts broke up in Chiapas, one of the poorest states in Mexico. The conflicts were initiated by a group of revolutionaries known as EZLIN. The Zapatista National Liberation Army came in and took possession of four cities in the country. It was not by chance that the group started conflicts immediately after the treaty was signed. This was because the Indians saw the treaty as a threat. The native Indians in the country, who lived in poverty, felt that the signing of the agreement would make them loose the land that was given to them following the Mexican revolution. During the neg otiations with the American government, the president of Mexico overlooked the only section of the law that was significant to the locals. This was the section that protected the community-owned lands in Chiapas (Marcos 1997). The Zapatistas began fighting until they were overwhelmed by the United States supported military that fought them in the pretence of war on drugs. However the Zapatistas were not defeated because their efforts motivated international anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements. For such groups their main target is neoliberalism. Marcos argues that the start of the fourth world war has begun (Marcos 1997). There is an argument that neoliberalism is a struggle to capture new territories. David Harvey defines it as philosophy of political economic activities that proposes that it is possible to develop the wellbeing of people by raising entrepreneurial liberties within an organisational structure that is typified by aspects like property rights, personal freedoms, and free market. The responsibility of the nation is to come up with the structures (George 1999). One of the most significant aspects of neoliberalism is enclosure. The enclosure of the primitive accumulation as describ ed by Karl Max is where the common people were deprived of means to their livelihood. This involved conflicts as the commons were forcefully evicted from their property. The argument as far as neoliberalism is concerned is that this form of primitive accumulation is still in practice. In world economies it can be seen where privately-owned business premises are constructed in lands that were initially reserved or used for public utilities. For people whose lands are taken away in the name of development, the loss is devastating. The new enclosures are clearly connected with finance and financial institutions in the global arena. Many people are getting removed from their lands, homes, and employment through violence, epidemics, famines, and the International Monetary Fund-ordered devaluations. These people end up scatted at all corners of the world. There is the referencing to finance, that is, debts and credits as the facilitators of accumulation by dispossession (Marcos 1997). Critics however argue that enclosures and primitive accumulation are, but not the only reasons why neoliberal globalisation is war. Another reason cited is the unfair competition in the global arena. The competition causes precarity and uncertainty. According to Marcos (1997), the workers are forced to brave job instability, longer working hours, and low wages. He adds that in short neoliberal globalisation means more war, conflicts, troubles and violence (Marcos 1997). Conclusion As a conclusion it is important to compare the opponents against the supporters of neoliberalism. Martin Wolf argued that the problem facing the poor is not the fact that they are exploited, but the fact that they are underexploited. He added that the challenge is bringing them into the web of globalisation. While Wolf and Bhagwati disagree with the critics of globalisation and neoliberalism, they tend to agree with others like Sachs, Marcos and Stiglitz that neoliberal globalisation increase competition. Where they fail to agree is where the supporters claim that the competition raises efficiency, productivity and reduces prices. The opponents stress on the uncertainty and insecurity caused by the competition. The question that lingers is who among the authors is right. The concluding remarks are the fact that globalisation has potential to be beneficial to people, but to be able to achieve this it should be properly managed. In my own opinion, due to the poor management globalisati on has not been beneficial to the society. However this phenomenon is with us to stay and the only thing that can be done is to change its management so that it benefits the people who heavily rely on its promised benefits. Both individuals and nations need to take advantage of it, however bad they think of it, because this seems the only way to survive through it (Klein 2008). Appendices Appendix 1: DEFINITIONS GLOBALIZATION Globalisation can be broadly defined as a movement of culture, people and goods across international borders. Put differently, globalization could be seen as a closer integration of countries and people (Stiglitz, 2003). Thus, when one deals the issue of globalization he has to take up various aspects of globalisation, i.e. cultural, political, economic aspects. NEO LIBERALISM According to Harvey(2007) neoliberalism is a set of political and economic practices, which can advance human well-being; these practices aim at promoting entrepreneurial freedoms, individual liberty, private property rights, unencumbered markets, and free trade. The role of the state is to create and preserve an institutional framework appropriate to nurture such practices. Neoliberalism has been applied (imposed) in practice through the so-called Washington Consensus that emphasized privatization, liberalization, and independent central banks focusing single-mindedly on keeping the price level at bay. The problem with the Washington Consensus, according to Stiglitz (2003), has to do with the fact that it has been applied on developing countries, without taking into consideration the wider social and political context of these economies. As a consequence, the results of these one-size-fits-all policies have, in many cases, been disastrous Appendix 2: THE TWO THESES THE ANTI- GLOBALIZATION ARGUMENTS In what follow we shall consider certain anti-globalization arguments put forward by Marcos (1997), Increased Concentration of Wealth and Widening Income Inequality According to Marcos (1997), neoliberalism has resulted in an accumulation of wealth for the few, and [in] accumulation of poverty for millions of others. The author continues that of the 5 billion inhabitants of only 500 million live comfortably, while the remaining 4.5 billion endure lives of poverty. Another interesting piece of information cited by Marcos that the total wealth owned by the 358 richest people in the world, the dollar billionaires, is greater than the annual income of almost half the worlds poorest inhabitants, in other words about 2.6 billion people. Increase in Poverty Marcos (1997) argued that globalization and neoliberalism have throw more people to poverty, since in the 1960s and 1970s, the number of poor people in the world (defined by the World Bank as having an income of less than one dollar per day) rose to some 200 million. By the start of the 1990s, their numbers stood at two billion. Appendix 3: THE PRO- GLOBALIZATION ARGUMENTS For Stiglitz (2003) globalisation has definitely benefited people, as their life expectancy and standard of living has clearly risen, but it has not yet achieved its full potential. The outcome of this has been the rise in income inequality both between countries and within countries. He also points that the number of people living in poverty in Africa has doubled over the past two decades, whilst the wages of workers in rich countries have been driven down. However, the problem for Stiglitz is not globalisation per se, which is responsible for the aforementioned ailments, but the way it is applied. Appendix 4: Some globalization supporters have put forward the argument that globalisation promotes democracy. According to Bhagwati (2004:93), in a developed capitalistic system, rural farmers could bypass the dominant classes and castes by taking their produce directly to the market thereby becoming more independent actors. Further, the author maintains that globalisation leads to prosperity, which in turn leads to greater democratisation of politics. . Appendix 5: THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE THE ISSUE OF POVERTY The Reduction of Poverty Sala-i-Martin (2002), in his study, concluded that global poverty measured by poverty rates as well as absolute headcounts declined significantly from 1970 to 1998, but the reductions in poverty varied tremendously across regions. Specifically, the author found that, on a global level, the number of people living in poverty (i.e. people having an income of less than $2 per day) and extreme poverty (i.e. people having an income of less than $1 per day at the prices of 1985) declined significantly during the period under study. TABLE 0à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1: Percent of Global Population in Poverty And Extreme Poverty YEAR GLOBAL POPULATION IN POVERTY GLOBAL POPULATION IN EXTREME POVERTY 1970 40.0% 16.6% 1998