To what extent was Malcolm X a typical American Or To what extent was Essay

To what extent was Malcolm X a typical American Or To what extent was Malcolm X a typical African-American A MUST At lease A- paper - Essay Example ntified himself as a Muslim and black American living in the white American society, there are characteristics that make him both typical American and African-American. Drawing primarily from his autobiography, specifically on the speeches he delivered during the height civil rights activism in the 1960s, this paper discusses the characteristics that make Malcolm X a typical American and African-American. This paper posits that religion is the common denominator found in Malcolm X’s being American and African-American. Malcolm X is a typical American because he subsists to the fundamentalist view of religion and politics: for him, African-American society should seek its own society independent from white American society and guided under the values and teachings of Islam. Malcolm X is also a typical African-American because he confronted his unique experience of oppression by subsisting to religion and faithfully following the teachings and religious principles of Islam. The first position this paper discusses is how Malcolm X became the typical American. As a Muslim fundamentalist, Malcolm X strictly adhered to the teachings of Islam, which includes the belief in establishing an independent society wherein the rules of Islam religion dominate and becomes the socio-political structure of this new, independent society. This is the proposition that has always been advocated by Malcolm X, citing how the religious teachings of Christianity have been used to oppress and take advantage of the African-American society. To demonstrate that the African-Americans always had the right to become independent from the white Americans, Malcolm X argued that the white man had ‘no sense of history.’ In his speech, â€Å"After the Bombing,† Malcolm X asserted that the Negro has a sense of history because all races take root from the Negro heritage—even the white man. From Latin America to Europe, the African-American race dominated the world, until the white

Governance Research and Analysis Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Governance and Analysis - Research Paper Example The Nova University was established in 1964 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It started as a small college with a small number of students. Initially, it offered graduate programs in physical sciences and social sciences. Gradually, the University also started offering programs in â€Å"law, business, education, computer science, psychology and oceanography†. In 1971, the Nova University was first recognized by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 1972, the institution started its first distance-learning program. Gradually, the Nova University grew into a reputed educational centre. Meanwhile, the Southeastern college of Osteopathic Medicine was founded in 1981 in the southeastern part of USA. During the period 1987-1991, this institution began offering courses on â€Å"pharmacy, allied heath, optometry, dental sciences and medical sciences† (Nova Southeastern University 2011). The College continued to expand and came to be known as the Southeastern U niversity of the Health Sciences. In 1994, the Southeastern University of Health Sciences joined with the Nova University and the Nova Southeastern University was born. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Mission Though the NSU is a private organization, it is not guided by profit making motives. It offers its students a diverse range of academic programs both on its campuses as well as through the distance learning mode. The University encourages its students to pursue academic excellence, research opportunities and engage in intellectual enquiries by way of fruitful interactions with the faculty members. The institution is devoted to serving the society by shaping its students to be future leaders of the community who are capable of shouldering diverse responsibilities. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Vision The NSU is not under the regulation of the State University System, but has its own identity as an independent University. The Board of Trustees of the NSU has been very c lear and categorical about maintaining the independent status of NSU. The administration, faculty and staff of the NSU provide its students with an independent opportunity to pursue academics of their choice. The educational courses offered by the University have been modified to meet student requirements. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Values In its continuous pursuit of excellence, the NSU embodies the values of fostering collaboration, engaging in community service and engagement, encouraging diversity, providing educational access, promoting efficiency, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, maintaining its commitment towards integrity, ensuring the development of quality academic programs and encouraging active student engagement in scholarship and research. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Other Relevant Information The NSU offers attractive facilities to its students which contribute significantly in making the University environment stimulating and conducive fo r the purpose of education. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) II. Institutional Leadership The NSU is headed by the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. George L. Hanbury II. NSU also has a Board of Trustees which has established the mission of the University. The Board consists of three types of members. The Board Members include eminent personalities who occupy important positions in the society. Ronald G. Assaf is the present Chairman of the Board Members. The

Vygotskys Theory of Psychological Development

Vygotskys Theory of Psychological Development Lev Semenovich Vygotsky was born in Russia in 1896, the same year with Piaget. He attended Moscow University and graduated with a degree of law in 1917 just before the start of Russian Revolution (Driscoll, 2005). After a while the Russian revolution where the Marxism replaced, Vygotsky worked in psychology. The new philosophy of the Marxist stressed socialism and collectivism in society. So his views represented Marxist ideas of social change to language and development. Vygotsky also studied various subjects in school such as philosophy, psychology, literature and art. He worked as a teacher at a teacher training institution where he founded a psychology laboratory. His main entry into psychology started with the second Psychoneurological congress in 1924. Vygotsky presented a paper and criticized Pavlovs reflexology theory. After his brilliant presentation performance, Konstantin Kornilov who is the director of Psychological Institute of Moscow University invited Vygotsky for a po sition in university (Gredler, 2005). His dissertation, in 1925,The Psychology of Art, was accepted for the Ph.D. degree. Vygotsky completed manuscripts, articles, and books and edited a journal until his death in 1934 because of tuberculosis. His major writings are about the role of cultural signs and symbols in the development of attention, abstraction, language, memory and reasoning ( Gredler, 2005). Most of his writings were published after his death. His concepts of cultural historical development of cognitive development remained incomplete at his death. After his death some basic concepts fixed with his studies were added his theory. Basic Principles of Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory To understand Vygotskys theory, to look at political environment of his time may be helpful. In 1917, after the Russian revolution, Marxism penetrated all society and emphasized socialism. Sharing between people and co-operating was supported, and the success of any individual was thought as the success of the culture. Marxism also took place on history, believing that every culture could be understood only by examination of the ideas and events that had formed it (Vasta,R., Haith, M.M., Miller,S.A., 1995, as cited in Riddle, 1999). Vygotsky also influenced Marxist theory of social change to language and development (Schunk, 2008). His theory covered these elements in terms of human being development that has been called as a sociocultural approach. According to Vygotsky, the ones development is a result of his own culture and development refers mental development including thought, language and reasoning process. These mental functions were believed to develop through social interactions with people and so represented the shared knowledge of the culture. Vygotksys theory is also a form of dialectical constructivist theory that emphasizes the social environment as a facilitator of development and learning. His sociocultural theory emphasizes interaction between people and their environment. For him, the processes of the human cognitive development are the part of the process of historical development (Schunk, 2008). Briefly, Vygotskys theory is based on the idea that learning begins with social interaction and then knowledge is constructed individually. Vygotskys theory has three basic assumptions. These assumptions are i) nature of human intelligence, ii) biological and sociohistorical lines of psychological development and iii) nature of psychological processes (Driscoll, 2005; Gredler, 2005). Vygotsky thought about the differences between animal and human behavior in terms of psychological development and thought that the behavior of modern cultured adult is the result of two different process of mental development. Firstly, in the human beings, biological factors dominate the early months of life and physical growth is responsible for perception and simple memory, and involuntary attention. The emergence of these mental functions is referred to as primitive development. And sociocultural development is responsible for development of complex mental functions (Gredler, 2005). Secondly, Vygotsky also believed that human mental abilities develop through interaction with the world. Vygotsky investigated how these social interactions turns in to psychological principles In order to explain this phenomenon Vygotsky mention about the terms signalization and signification. According to Vygotskys perspective, a child does not touch a hot stove after putting his hand and feeling pain is an example of signalization (Gredler, 2005). Also, signification process that is a process of assigning meaning to an active stimulus differ human behavior from other animals. These processes are transforming from primitive humans to humans who use signs symbols to change own mental functions. So, Vygotsky believed that psychological development includes the transformation of primitive mental functions to higher mental forms (Gredler, 2005). Vygotsky stated that development does not proceed toward socialization; it is the conversion of social relations into mental functions (as cited in Driscoll, 2005). The social environment influences cognition through its tools such as cultural objects, language and social institutions (Schunk, 2005). According to Vygotsky, humans use tools that develop from the surrounding culture such as speech and writing, to mediate their social environments. So, culture gives opportunities the children with the meanings to, what to think and how to think. Initially children develop these tools to make sense of their worlds as social functions, ways to communicate needs. The tools, cultural signs and symbols, can be technological or psychological. Cognitive change results from; using these tools in social interactions and internalizing and mentally transforming these interactions (Schunk, 2005). Vygotsky also gave importance the emergence of speech in terms of distinguishing humans from other animals. In Vygotksys view, language was the most important psychological tool that influences childrens cognitive development. By acquiring knowledge a child is supported the means to think in new ways and obtains a new cognitive tool for making sense of the world. For Vygotsky, the analysis of thinking and speech was a major task for psychology, and the central problem was the relationship of thought to word (Gredler, 2005). He identified three different stages in childrens use of language. At first, language is primarily used for communication. It refers social speech. For Vygotsky, speech begins to develop independent of thought. And then, thinking becomes verbal and children begin to use egocentric or private speech to guide their own thinking. Both Piaget and Vygotsky observed that as in problem solving situations pre-school children talking to themselves. While Piaget referred th e self directed behavior as egocentric speech, Vygotsky labeled to it as a private speech. He claimed that private speech originated in the childrens interaction with other people and with these interactions; they start to use their parents instructional comments to regulate their own behavior. Private speech such as talking aloud or whispering while performing a task refers speech for oneself. Researches indicated that children tend to increase the amount of self-talk when facing more challenging tasks (Gredler, 2005). Children start using private speech to organize (plan, direct, or evaluate) their behaviors. The use of private speech peaks during  preschool  years and then decreases. For Vygotsky, this decrease with private speech turns first into inner speech and then into verbal thinking. At last stage of language development, egocentric speech becomes inner speech and children start to use inner speech to guide their thinking and actions. The inner speech is speech for one self, not for communication without words (Gredler, 2005). This transition of speech from social to self-directed to internalized reflects the Vygotsky ´s concept of development as a process of internalization. With the internalization of private speech intellectual development that is the path of all higher mental functions occurs. It was described by Vygotsky in his law of the development of higher mental functions. He stated law of the development of higher mental functions: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). (Vygotsky, 1978; as cited in Gredler, 2005). Acording to Vygotskys view, development of complex mental functions involves two processes; mastering of the external means of cultural development and thinking (language, counting, writing) and learning to use symbols to master and regulate ones own behavior. Briefly, every higher mental function was external or social before it became an internal mental function. And also Karpov and Haywood stated that; All higher mental processes are mediated by such psychological tools as language, signs and symbols. Adults teach these tools to children in the course of their joint activity. After children internalize these tools they function as mediators of the childrens more advanced psychological processes (Karpov Haywood, 1989, as cited in Schunk, 2008). Mediation is the key mechanism in learning and development from Vygotskys perspective. When mediation becomes increasingly internal and symbolic higher mental functions are created. Vygotsky stated that mediation referred that interposing tools between people and their environment, to modify it and obtain benefits (Schunk, 2005). And also mediators such as tools and language help to people to accommodate to their environment. From Vygotskys point of view, higher mental functions include categorical perception, logical memory, abstract thought and voluntary attention (as cited in Gredler, 1992). These are the products of the sociohistorical development. Vygotsky distinguished the higher mental functions from the primitive mental functions. Primitive mental functions are biological in nature and higher mental functions are the part of the social and cultural heritage of child move from social plane to psychological plane, from interpersonal to intrapersonal, from socially regulated to self regulated, from assisted performance to unassisted performance and from social control to self control (Gredler, 2005). Zone of Proximal Development Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a key concept for Vygotskys theory. ZPD defined from Vygotsky as the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers( Schunk, 2008; Driscoll, 2005). Briefly ZPD refers the gap between what children can do individually and what they can do with assistance from more knowledgeable person. Also Bruner (1984) stated that ZPD reflects activity in which those who have more knowledgeable or are more skilled share that knowledge or skill to accomplish a task with who know less. Vygotsky claimed that learning occurs in this zone (Riddle, 1999). In ZPD teachers and students work together on a task. With the help of more knowledgeable partner the child can complete a task when he cannot do unassisted. Working in ZPD requires a good deal of guided participation. Learners bring their own understanding to social interaction environment and construct meaning by integrating those understanding with their experiences in the context (Schunk, 2000). Level of performances development shows a change from self regulation to social regulation. Gradually require to the assistance decreases and capacity for self regulation increases. The progress in ZDP is gradual from assisted performance to unassisted and self regulated performance (Moll, 1990). The process in the ZDP described as a stage model which includes four stages which focuses on the relationship between social control and self control. In stage 1 learner has very limited capacity to complete task and parent, teacher or more capable peers offer directions and modeling. Learner response is acquiescent and imitative. Learner gradually understands how related the parts of an activity to one another. Understanding develops with conversation (Moll, 1990). In stage 2, there is a change of mental activity from intermental to intramental. Learners start to handle task without assistance. However, performance is not fully developed. In stage 2, self directed speech reflects development of profound significance. Key mechanism of self directed speech is self regulation (Moll, 1990) In stage 3, assistance does not require and assistance is no longer need. Performance is already developed. Task have been internalized and automatized. Vygotsky described this stage as fruits of development (Moll, 1990). And finally in stage 4, it can be thought that learning is lifelong. However, although a concept can be accomplished by an adult, another concept cannot be accomplished (Moll, 1990). For Vygotsky, teacher direct students while scaffolding process in ZPD and try to provide assistance about how the learner can achieve his goal even without the assistance. A Vygotskian teachers aim is creating self-regulated learners. In Vygotskys theory, role of teachers is to provide the guidance required for learners to bridge the distance between their current skill level and a wanted skill level. Educational Applications There are many educational applications of Vygotskys theory. Instructional scaffolding, reciprocal teaching, peer collaboration and apprenticeship are some of these applications (Schunk, 2008). Instructional Scaffolding Although scaffolding is not a Vygotskian term, in order to it fit nicely in the ZPD, it added by Wood, Bruner and Ross in the theory (Schunk, 2008). Instructional scaffolding is also the process of controlling task elements that are beyond learners capabilities (Schunk, 2008). It is the condition of sufficient support to promote learning. Supports can include some resources, a compelling task, templates and guides and guidance on the development of cognitive and social skills. In scaffolding process, the instructor becomes a supportive tool for the student in the zone of proximal development. The characteristics of an ideal teacher are those of a scaffold: provide support, function as a tool, extend the range of the learner, permit attainment of task otherwise possible, use selectively only as needed (Schunk, 2008; Driscoll, 2005). In short, instructor creates a ZPD and provides the scaffolding for students to be successful (Moll, 2001 as cited Schunk, 2008). Moreover, for scaffoldin g process prior knowledge have an important role for Vygotskain teacher. Because, teacher need to give less assistance if there is more prior knowledgeable person. Reciprocal teaching Reciprocal teaching is an instructional activity that takes place in the form of a dialogue between teachers and students regarding segments of text. Teacher and students take turns assuming the role of teacher in leading this dialogue (Schunk, 2008). The purpose of reciprocal teaching is to facilitate a group effort between teacher and students in the task of bringing meaning to the text. The dialogue is structured by the use of summarizing, question generating, clarifying and predicting (Driscoll, 2005; Schunk, 2008). Peer collaboration Peer collaboration is the notion of collective activity. When peers come together to accomplish a task cooperatively, this social interaction can lead learning. If each student has assigned the responsibility, researches showed that cooperative work is most effective (Schunk, 2008). Apprenticeship Apprenticeship is another application of Vygotskys theory. The purpose of cognitive apprenticeship is to help learners to learn the cognitive processes that experts use to overcome complex tasks through guided experience. While operating in ZPD novices and experts works closely in joint work related activities. For instance, student teachers work with cooperating teachers in schools. It is an example of apprenticeship. Apprenticeship is also a form of dialectical constructivism that depends on social interaction (Schunk, 2008). Critics about the Theory Vygotksky seems social interaction as only way of learning. According to Vygotsky all learning is a social process begins as social activities by interacting with other people and people internalize these processes and can use them independently. But researcher states that as it is known that cultures are critical and needed to be thought while explaining learning it is not only constrained social environment (Schunk, 2008). And it is showed that children learn certain concepts which do not depend on social environment (Geary, as cited in Schunk, 2008). However I agree with Vygotsky in terms of explaning learning from social context to individual context. In my opinion, Vygotskys theory is based on the idea that learning begins with social interaction with other people or environment and then knowledge is constructed individually. Implications of Vygotskys theory are considered by researchers as not clear (Wertsch, as cited in Driscoll, 2005). It is thought that there is no answer to the questions how it is explained the differences between the ZDP of children who have similar history and how it is account for the changing relation between subject and child development. I think the effect of the culture and social environment on learning is important. The culture and social environment affect how children can learn. And also we construct meanings and common shared knowledge of a culture. So we affect and are affected from our culture and history. And our leanings can come from this social environment. But it has still not clear enough to understand learning with only sociocultural theory, and how the teaching should be. Conclusion Although new learning approaches appeared in education, since the earlier in the 20th century Vygotkss sociocultural theory has lost influence on learning. Because Vygotksys theory contributed to development of constructivism with Piaget, Dewey, and Glaserfields theories. Many teachers are still using application of Vygotskys theory such as group works, class discussion or guided discovery consciously or unconsciously. And as Vygotksy claimed children begin to learn in social environment in classrooms with social activities by interacting with other people such as peers or teachers and they internalize these processes and can use them independently. Even though researches showed that children learn certain concepts which do not depend on social environment, the sociocultural approach certainly could not explain all human learning alone. It can explain learning particularly in terms of a social environment. Therefore it is termed as dialectical constructivist theory. To sum up, although there are some criticisms to Vygotksys sociocultural theory, it is clear that the study of human development has benefited from this theory from twentieth century to nowadays. It is clear that although Vygotksys theory remained in complete because of his early death, researchers could not ignore his theorys importance for learning and they developed his theory as we know today.

Essay example --

A 2006 Pew survey on the Internet use of American teenagers between the ages of twelve and seventeen showed that not only are ninety-three percent connecting to the Internet, but sixty-one percent of them are online at least once a day (Haugen and Musser 100). As society is becoming further dependent on technology for communication, cyberbullying is becoming increasingly prevalent among teens and young adults. Cyberbullying occurs when someone uses the Internet or digital communication to harass others; this includes texts, e-mail, social networking sites, and instant messaging (Parks 9). The problem of cyberbullying leads society ask how it can be stopped, which leads to the debate of whether or not cyberbullying laws are an appropriate solution. Implementing cyberbullying laws could decrease or even stop cyberbullying because the laws would allow for consequences, which multiple cyberbullies are avoiding by using the Internet to remain anonymous. Cyberbullying should be illegal be cause it is growing in popularity, worse than traditional bullying, and causing devastating effects to teens and young adults. Cyberbullying is only getting worse as technology becomes the primary source of communication. Peggy J. Parks addresses this popularity of cyberbullying in her book Cyberbullying. Assistant criminal justice professor and author Marie-Helen Maras states, â€Å"With cyberbullying, bullies no longer need to confront their victims face-to-face. Instead, young cyberbullies use communications technology to annoy, embarrass, humiliate, abuse, threaten, stalk, or harass other children or teenagers† (qtd. in Parks 8). Also, a survey of students between the ages of eleven and eighteen conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center showed tha... ... harassment of cyberbullies. Its growing popularity, ability to humiliate teens instantly, and harmful effects are all reasons why cyberbullying laws are needed to stop cyberbullies everywhere. Cyberbullying laws are needed to stop the growth of cyberbullying, as well as the bullies who are taking advantage of technology to harass others. Victims of cyberbullying are affected psychologically and all too often suicidal. Stopping cyberbullying would decrease the number of cyberbullying-related suicides, therefore, saving the lives of victimized teens and young adults. As of November of 2011, anti-bullying laws that include electronic harassment have been enacted in thirty-five states. Cyberbullying affects the lives of teens and young adults everywhere causing psychological harm and even suicide; laws against cyberbullying could be the answer to ending this epidemic.â€Æ'

Strategic Operations Issues

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS ISSUES Elizabeth Kelly ABSTRACT This paper identifies an operational issue of a national food-chain. The problem is identified with the demonstration of the functional relationships and process flow analysis. With the use of concepts of operations and process management, the problem is analyzed and methods sought to provide recommendations and an implementation plan. TABLE OF CONTENTS Background of Hi-Lo Food Stores†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Problem Identification†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Background of the LINX Operating System†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Analysis using Concepts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7Recommendation and Implementation Plan†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 BACKGROUND OF HI-LO FOOD STORES Hi-Lo Food Stores is a supermarket chain operating in Trinidad since 1950. With 17 outlets spread throughout the length and breadth of the country, Hi-Lo Food Stores employs over 1800 employees. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION At Hi-Lo Food Stores, which is considered a mass service process type (Slack et al, pg. 114) customers are afforded the option of different payment methods. Payment methods include cash, credit cards and debit cards.In an effort to continue to provide better options for settling of payments to merchants and customers alike, the company Infolink was formed. Infolink is a joint venture company owned by the four commercial banks of Trinidad and Tobago whose focus is to provide state of the art financial transaction-switching technology by way of debit card payment. In recent times, it has been observed that on peak commercial periods, Hi-Lo Food Stores terminals have not been able to process debit card payments. The message ‘No Communication Field’ is generated when debit card transactions cannot be processed.The customer is either forced to use a credit card or use cash. The nature of the business of Hi-Lo Food Stores would in some instances cause for a large sum of money at the check-out terminal. Customers, who do not have a credit card facility available, are then forced to leave their merchandise at the store and locate an Automated Banking Machine (ABM) to withdraw cash and then return to the store to complete the transaction. Hi-Lo Food Stores is then faced with the issue of storing in a secure manner those items selected and already bagged for the prospective customer and can only be delivered until payment is tendered.This then causes a storage issue since these items are usually placed at the termina l the customer was accommodated at. Sub-issues of pilfering and bottlenecking of check-out counters have also been evident. The second issue arises when the customer does not return for reasons such as, no ABM facility within range of Hi-Lo, and then causes the customer to leave to a more convenient supermarket. This leaves Hi-Lo with spoilage and re-stocking of the items already held at the terminals. Customer dissatisfaction sets in and an erosion of brand loyalty occurs.The impact on Hi-Lo Food Stores can then be summarized to include increased check-out times at terminals, customer dissatisfaction and decreased sales. BACKGROUND OF THE LINX OPERATING SYSTEM In 1992 saw the advent of the LINX shopping experience to Trinidad and Tobago. Infolink Services Limited is the facilitator of the LINX Network where debit cards from any commercial bank in Trinidad and Tobago would be processed at all Automated Banking Machines (ABMs) regardless of the commercial bank the customer so belonge d.This system led the way for merchants to employ the LINX Network at their Point-of-Sale terminals thus allowing debit cards issued at any commercial bank in Infolink’s Accredited Partners to be accepted at these participating merchants. While the LINX system proved seamless during its pilot project phase of operations, in recent times as the service became more widely accepted by the general public, LINX seemed to be unable to manage the demand of merchants. Evidence has not been offered on the number of transactions over a structured period, in order to ascertain the workload capacity of the Infolink Services Limited’s system.As the writer has evidenced at Hi-Lo Food Stores, the debit card payment system seemed unable to handle the workload during peak periods of demand. ANALYSIS USING CONCEPTS The use of technology to supersede traditional methods of payment can be seen to deliver great advantages and benefits to Hi-Lo Food Stores. The process design of the debit c ard system in its conception can be seen to provide great advantages to the mass service process type. This payment method can be seen as an internally supportive method of increasing operations capabilities.For example, in times prior to the LINX operations, Hi-Lo Food Stores terminal processing time was generally a longer process. This could have been caused by the customer having to present a personal cheque for payment along with a cheque guarantee card, if applicable. The second step would be for the cashier to examine both card and cheque for validity. In instances where the cheque was written in excess of the card guarantee amount, a supervisor would then be referred to for authorization.A process that would guarantee a longer turnaround time than the now widely used LINX service, debit card payment option. In analysis of the process however, we must measure the impact of the unreliability of the service and how it causes delays and decreased outputs. These delays then impact on the cycle time at checkout counters. In carrying out a process analysis, it is obvious that the LINX operating system has a process capacity which has not yet been determined. In identifying the system’s capacity, resources may be input into the process for improved reliability and performance.As can be seen the debit card payment system when effective can have a positive strategic impact on operations performance objectives. By firstly, impacting on the speed by which customers is processed at check-out terminals. When you have a quick turnover time you reduce the traffic and congestion in the supermarket which can result in breakage and accidents. Secondly, the LINX system has impacted on flexibility by allowing the customer the option of choosing a more direct form of payment as opposed to credit cards.Dependability can be seen as a performance objective where the system can be relied upon. The above performance objectives, speed, flexibility and dependability have bee n negatively impacted on as the debit card system has become unreliable during peak operating times as such the issues Hi-Lo has experienced relates to its inefficiency of its customer experience, its quality of service is risked, thus losing the trust and loyalty of some customers. RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION PLANIt is the writer’s recommendation that an immediate sourcing of an Automated Banking Machine (ABM) be allocated to all branches. This ABM facility will give the customer the ability to exact cash to the check-out terminal without leaving the premises. The ABM facility will have the effect of speeding up turnaround time at terminals for payment. The added advantage of the facility not only being available to check-out customers but the facility will encourage more traffic with customers who may need just the convenience of an ABM facility.The ABM facility will be strategically placed in an area just after the bank of check out tellers, but away from the main e ntrance point. This would force the person who came for the convenience of the ABM facility only to line up, surrounded by small convenient items that may encourage purchasing of candy, gum, magazines etc. In the hopes of a long term resolution, Hi-Lo Food Stores conduct a process design-analysis. This analysis will determine the throughput time and impact upon the flow rate of customers by measuring the number of successful or unsuccessful attempts using the debit card system.In conducting this analysis, list the customers alternate payment method used and whether immediate payment was affected. The system of process mapping can assess the processes for example, Hi-Lo Food stores must also account for those customers who are inconvenienced by having to visit an ABM to use cash as a payment method. List those persons who in fact will follow through and complete the transactions as against those persons who find it far too inconvenient to return to Hi-Lo.With the use of this data, Hi -Lo food stores will then be able to account for manpower used at the terminal for processing a void transaction, storage of items, spoilage of perishable items which may occur and hours of duty time spent re-stocking. Finally, Hi-Lo in conjunction with Infolink needs to formalize a structured plan of action to implement a larger capacity for processing of debit card transactions, and for Hi-Lo to ascertain its feasibility. ACTIVITY| TIME| OWNERSHIP/RESPONSIBILITY| 1. 1 Source a consultant | 2 weeks| IT Department| 2. 1 Identify number of transactions incomplete| 6 weeks| IT Department| 2. Identify time periods for ‘down’ time| 6 weeks| IT Department| 3. 1 Identify source of problem| 1 week| Consultant| 4. 1 Make recommendations| 2 weeks| Consultant| 5. 1 Implement changes and test| 6 weeks| IT Department| 6. 1 Gather feedback from customer| 2 weeks| Marketing Department| 7. 1 Make further recommendations| 1 week | Consultant| 8. 1 Implement and test| 3 weeks| IT Depart ment| | | | REFERENCES Slack, N & Chambers, S & Johnston, R & Betts, A 2009, Operations and Process Management, Principles and Practice for Strategic Impact, 2nd edn

Media Culture: the Triumph of the Spectacle

Media Culture: the Triumph of the Spectacle â€Å"Media culture is a contested terrain across which key social groups and competing political ideologies struggle for dominance and . . . individuals live these struggles through the images, discourses, myths, and spectacle of media culture† -Douglas Kellner, Media Culture Table of Contents Introduction——————————————————————————————-3 History of Media————————————————————————————-4 Media Spectacle————————————————————————————–5 Douglas Kellner’s Contribution & Guy Debord’s Influential Analysis of Spectacle——-7 The Spectacle Form of Media Culture————————————— ———————8 The Spectacle in the World of Business———————————————————-9 The World of Celebrities————————————————————————–10 The Madonna Phenomenon———————————————————————–10 The World of Politics——————————————————————————11 Conclusion———————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€13 Bibliography—————————————————————————————-14 Introduction At the end of the twentieth century, society became more and more aware of the changes in communication technology. People began to see changes in ommunication between individuals, changes in how individuals and society communicated, and changes in communication between societies and cultures. This led to an understanding of human development. The ability to communicate with the help of symbols is one of the fundamental features that differentiate us from the rest of the animal world. Without these practical communication skills and the intellectu al capacity needed to use these skills to transmit, preserve, and propagate thoughts, emotions, and values, it would not have been possible to create such unique religious, ideological, and philosophical systems. Furthermore, without communication, we would not have art. Art has had a strong relationship with the media throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. New inventions and technology created a very favorable atmosphere for the development of new methods and means of communication. These new communication methods both benefited and furthered events within society. At the end of the 20th century, advanced methods and technologies in the field of communication fully changed the face of the world. Due to this change, some say it is very hard to find the line between reality and the reality that has been created and filtered by media. Some contemporary communication theoreticians have said that we find ourselves in the era of the simulation of the world. History of Media Mass media, a term that arose in the United States in the early 20th century with the advent of far-reaching advertising campaigns and news networks, includes all those mediums through which information is distributed to the masses. This includes advertisements, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the internet. According to some scientists, people started to speak of the media as far back as ancient Greece and Rome. These discussions of media focused mostly on the rhetoric surrounding the practice of persuasion. The Greek philosopher Aristotle said that rhetoric is â€Å"the faculty of discovering in any particular case all the methods of persuasion. † This kind of communication puts a heavy emphasis on meaning, and how the meaning is constructed and conveyed. Current mass media works in a similar way. One of the most important goals f today’s media is to construct a message that will convince the receiver to agree to do or believe something. The earliest surv iving copy of a paper book, a Kumarajiva translation of the Hindu text The Diamond Sutra, is dated 868 CE (AD). Due to the slow spread of literacy among the common people, and the relatively high cost of paper and production of written media, written materials did not exist as widespread media until Johannes Gutenberg’s 1450 CE invention of the printing press with movable type. Thanks to Gutenberg’s invention, printed materials suddenly became much less expensive, and the spread of information in the form of written material became much easier. However, much of the population still remained illiterate and the cost of publishing printed materials remained high enough to limit media from reaching a wide range of the population. Newspapers were first developed in 1605. The first English-language newspaper was published in Amsterdam in 1620. Soon after that, newspapers published in England, and, eventually, in America, began to reach mass audiences directly. Around this same time, America was being colonized, and printed and written materials played an important role. Revolutionary material such as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was published and distributed to the colonists, allowing the spread of ideas that eventually resulted in the creation of the United States. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Mayflower Compact1 were all examples of early colonial and American documents that figured prominently in the development of America as a nation. In the 1940s, new technologies and advancements in the field of media began to emerge. Radio began to play a major role in mass communication, as America went to war. Radio could provide information much faster than newspapers. These new advents in technology allowed media to gain significance, new meaning, and wider function. Radio, film, advertising, and the press grew as industries and became the center of the culture of communication within the U. S. nd within other capitalist democracies. The culture of media became a dominant force within all aspects of life, including politics and social life. 2 It was the beginning of a new era. The media industry began to concentrate on the invention of new technologies. They both wanted to provide people with a wide range of different good s from which they could choose but also wanted to continue to develop ways in which to reach and influence people. The media could now easily affect the minds of the public, forcing the people to accept a particular set of beliefs, which occasionally diverted from actual reality. Societies started to be manipulated and people were indoctrinated. The main goal of media was and still is to be persuasive enough to attract the attention of a potential receiver, and one of the most convenient ways to accomplish this goal is through the multimedia spectacle. Media Spectacle ‘Media spectacle' is a term created by Douglas Kellner to describe the creation by modern media of a display of contemporary dreams, nightmares, fantasies and values. The phenomenon of media spectacle has evolved over centuries, starting in ancient Greece and moving forward through hundreds of years of wars and other major public events. Today, media spectacle continually strives to achieve sensation and attract attention. In the contemporary world, media spectacle exists in nearly all spheres of our lives. The role of the media is not only to inform, educate, teach, and persuade but also to entertain. The role of media today might suggest that the â€Å"fun factor† has become the leading motivation for our involvement in media and information. The main goal in media is now to attract the visual attention of potential consumers. Therefore, images have become more important than text. It is also very important for the creators and producers of media to keep up with ongoing changes in public interest and attitudes, so media companies face a continual need to be flexible and creative in order to reach consumers. This applies not only to advertisment but also to political and entertainment media in general. Media not only needs to be visual and relevant, but also attractive. Advertisers, public relations departments, and political campaigners need to create messages that are structured in an attractive way, so that it reaches viewers and corresponds to their high expectations of mass media. If this is not done, the consumer will likely not respond to the media. It frequently occurs that a person is faced with a constant influx of media. The information that he or she is presented with may come from a variety of sources, and is likely both true and false information. Over time, it may become difficult for the consumer to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong; to distinguish between reality and fiction. Modern life is shaped by media. It is a power that affects both conscious and subconscious decisions and shapes ideas. We are surrounded by media. Boorstin writes that â€Å"each society and its culture are impelled by fascination with the image and the stimulation and due to it lost its grounding in substance or reality†. 3 Douglas Kellner’s Contribution & Guy Debord’s Influential Analysis of Spectacle Widely recognized social scientist Douglas Kellner and sociologist Guy Debord focused heavily on the topic of the Media Spectacle and its impact on perceived reality. Kellner is the author of the article â€Å"Media Culture and the Triumph of the Spectacle. † The scope of his activity and achievement includes membership in the American Sociological Association. He was also a member of the editorial service board of many journals including Theory, Culture, and Society. It is this journal that for more than twenty years has published some of the most innovative works in social science. It has been in the forefront of the renewal of cultural sociology. It provides a forum for articles that theorize the relationship between culture and society. In his article Kellner refers to ideas put forward by Guy Deboard. He is known for his impact through the group known as Situationist International. This was a libertarian group that came to prominence during the May Events in France in 1968. This band of avant-garde artists and intellectuals was influenced by Dada, Surrealism and Letterism and concerned themselves with the infusion of poetry and music, and with the transformation of the urban landscape. At first, the group was principally concerned with the suppression of art, that is to say they wished, like the Dadaist and the Surrealists before them, to supercede the boundary between art and culture as separate activities and to transform them into part of everyday life. In their analysis, the Situationists argue that capitalism limited life as a spectacle. The spectacle is the main concept of their theory (in many ways they reworked Marx's view of alienation). They say that the worker is alienated from his product and from his fellow worker and finds himself living in an alien world; moreover, they argue that capitalism, in order to ensure its economic growth, has created â€Å"pseudo-needs† to increase the consumption. According to this theory, modern society, or consumer society, is now a society of spectacular commodity consumption. People within this spectacle are treated like objects, rather than like active subjects. In this theory, people are like marionettes whose strings are pulled by invisible power. The Situationists’ idea was, in spite of all kinds of separation, to make a world in which individuals could directly produce their own life; in other words, to engage people in an active, creative life. The solution, for them, was not to wait for a distant revolution but to take a different approach, a â€Å"step by step† process of the reinvention of everyday life, here and now. To transform peoples’ participation in the world was for them the same thing as changing the structure of society. In the place of the society of the spectacle the Situationists proposed a society without money, commodity production, private property, wage labour, class division, based generally on communist ideas. The most important tenet of the proposal was that the so-called pseudo-needs would be replaced by real desires. This utopial ideal seemed to some to be slightly out of touch with reality but aimed to move the focus of the world away from lies and distortion. The Situationists placed a large amount of focus on the concept that individuals should actively and consciously participate in the reconstruction of every moment of life. They called themselves Situationists because they believed that all individuals should construct the situations of their lives, release their own potential, and obtain their own pleasure. The Spectacle-Form of Media Culture As I wrote earlier, spectacle culture has expanded in every area of life â€Å"and is becoming one of the organizing principles of the economy, polity, society†4. Guy Debord argues that â€Å"spectacle is†¦ social relation among people, mediated by images. The spectacle †¦ is a world vision, which has become objectified. . . in all its specific forms, as information or propaganda, as advertisement or direct entertainment consumption, the spectacle is the present model of socially dominant life†¦. â€Å"5. The spectacle phenomenon in this case refers to both high culture and to low cultural shows. The development of new media technologies made it easier for media to exercise influence over contemporary societies and cultures. In these societies media presented with images has the edge over plain texts. The visual spectacle, which combines all aspects of culture that communicate through visual means, made itself the ruler of the â€Å"outside world†. Factories and offices where people work are visually soaked environments. Films, television, video games, and the internet are also part of the influx of visual media that affects our thinking and behaviors. Moreover, we comunicate with the help of visualization. When we are trying to cross over cultural boundaries, our knowledge is often communicated visually, for example, we may use visual cues such as map boundaries and business graphs and data. The Spectacle in the World of Business The propagation of the spectacle is a major aspect of business, and plays a decisive role in whether any given corporation will succeed or not. Businesses, in order to survive, need to be present and visible for the potential customer. Entertainment and advertisement are the powers that support the business world through various of methods, one of which is creating a ‘pseudo event’. The idea of a ‘pseudo event’ was put forward by Daniel Boorstin, an American historian, who claimed that America and other countries find themselves in an age of illusion. The ‘pseudo event’ occurs where â€Å"an event is planned and staged entirely for the media, which accrues significance through the scale of its media coverage rather than through any more disinterested assessment of its importance†. 6 So to speak â€Å"pseudo event† exist for sole purpose of supporting media publicity and serves little to no other function in real life and is considered â€Å"real† only after viewing through news, advertisements, television, or other types of media. An extremely simple example is sitting for a family portrait. The event serves no other purpose than to be viewed through a photograph. Other examples include media spectacles, and many types of news. The World of Celebrities Media contributes to the creation of celebrities. â€Å"The celebrity†¦ is the human pseudo event, fabricated for the media and evaluated in terms of the scale and effectiveness of its media yisibility†. 7 A famous person provides dominant role models and icons of fashion, style, personality, and, at the same time, leads to the enrichment of the media industry. Media entrepreneurs want celebrities involved with their projects because they believe this will help them attract audiences. Film producers use stars as mean of attracting investment to their projects. Marketers use public celebrity statements as a means of profiling and branding their products. Sports promoters use celebrity athletes to attract media attention and increase the number of people who would come to that sport event. Celebrities also make money for the individual concerned. Their success depends on various handlers and image managers that help them to develop their public persona. Celebrities invade all kinds of sites today, ranging from contests in shopping malls to the management of major political campaigns. The importance of publicity, promotion and the exploitation of the media event are omnipresent. The Madonna Phenomenon Madonna became a master in her use of image with the help of mass media. Daniel Borstin is responsible for one of the most widely quoted aphorisms about celebrity: â€Å"the celebrity is a person who is well-known for his well-knownness. . . the celebrity develops its capacity for fame, not by achieving great things, but by differentiating its own personality from those of its competitors in the public arena. â€Å"8   Madonna has achieved just that. She has total control over her shows. She writes the songs, produces the music, and designs the stage sets. She controls all aspects of her show; not just her spectacle, but also all the things she does, including her films and public appearances. Madonna's entire life turns around the presentation of her image. Madonna is one of the greatest PR machines in history and she has hired top agents, publicists, and creative personnel to market her and produce her images. From the beginning her every move was surrounded by publicity and year after year Madonna references in media culture have proliferated. â₠¬Å"9   The circulation of an image plays a very important role as well. Madonna constantly changes her public image. Whoever she is at the moment; a good girl gone bad or a virgin in white, a glamour queen or a cosmic spirit or, finally, a doting mother, her ability to change images every couple of years has fascinated the world, and has been vital in her success. There is also other side of the coin, the pessimistic one, that assumes that Madonna is a victim of her own image, or that she finds herself in an artificially constructed reality. That problem is not only a problem for her, but also for our culture as a whole. Image is dominating more and more of our lives. The World of Politics â€Å"The brutal reality of the modern age is that all famous people are treated like celebrities by mass media, whether they be a great political figure, a worthy campaigner, an artist touched by genius, a serial killer. The newspapers and television programs responsible for their publicity do not draw any meaningful distinction between how they are publicised. â€Å"10 The most significant thing is to make a spectacle of oneself in order to be recognizable. If you want to gain the state of being popular you have to make yourself highly desirable, and the most important thing is to be visible through the media. No special achievements are needed to be popular; only the attraction of public attention is required. In the world of politics, if one wants to be good politician, one has to be spectacular. The management of the media' reporting of politics has become increasingly important to contemporary political campaigns. Public relations consultants, media advisers, and press officers have become standard components of the contemporary world of politics. Media spectacle is also an inseparable part of politics. It can often be seen that most well-known people engage in politics. This can be interpreted as political manipulation. It is possible that it is useful because spectators find it easier to identify with a celebrity that they know from TV than with a person that they are seeing for the first time. Conclusion In the contemporary world, mass media, and as a part of mass media, media spectacle, play very important roles. So many people live their lives or parts of their lives vicariously through the image world of the media- through TV, through soap operas, through any media outlet. Everything is just a matter of subjective perspective; everything is relative, depending on where you stand. Everything turns around the world we choose or create for ourselves. There is no reality, there are only images, different images. We can only see the world from where we stand, from that context, that language, that constructed reality. In other words, the things that you say and do are all coming from the outside-from the world of media. The real you is lost. Life becomes virtual, and we are living in the image. Bibliography: 1. Reader â€Å"Literary and Cultural Representation of American Society: Visual Media†, Prof. Dr. R. Isensee, â€Å"Super Media, A Cultural Studies Approach†, Michael R. Real, pp. 26 2. â€Å"Media Culture, Cultural studies, identity and politics between the modern and the postmodern. †, Douglas Kellner, pp. 16. 3. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 4. Reader â€Å"Literary and Cultural Representation of American Society: Visual Media†, Prof. Dr. R. Isensee, â€Å"Media Culture and the Triumph of the Spectacle†, Douglas Kellner, pp. 1. 5. Debord Guy, â€Å"Separation Perfected†, in Evans and Hall(eds. ), â€Å"Visual Culture†,the Reader. Sage Publication, pp. 95-96 6. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 7. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 8. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 9. â€Å"Media Culture, Cultural studies, identity and politics between the modern and the postmodern. †, Douglas Kellner, pp. 268 10. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 7. 11. â€Å"Visual Persuation- The Role of Images in Advertising†, Paul Messaris 12 â€Å"Mass Media and Society†(second edition), editied by James Curran and Michael Gurevitch.